There’s no denying that as technologies become smarter, communities become more connected and opportunities to collaborate become wider. Advancements in mobility, including social and wearable technologies, support an Internet of Things (IoT) that can exchange data at lightning speeds, providing not only a more convenient and accessible way to communicate, but also a rich store of data that can be tracked and analyzed to glean valuable insights into customer preferences and behavior.
Continuing our “Future-Focused” blog series, we’re taking a look at new trends for data and analytics in 2015, and how this movement can contribute to more powerful, direct CRM strategies, fueled by the next generation of apps with built-in analytical capability.
A chief consideration as analytical capabilities improve and expand is the exact source of the incoming data, which can be divided into two categories—structured data, which is organized and formatted specifically for tracking on a predetermined data model, and unstructured data, received from various incoming sources in no particular order or design.
While organizations have long tracked structured data, such as customer service inquiries, representative response times, and satisfaction ratings, the emergence of social media means that unstructured insights, such as information shared on a company’s Facebook wall or LinkedIn page, is also a key player in gauging consumer culture and operational effectiveness.
Both sorts of data converge to create what’s known as “big data”—a set of information so large it requires advanced capabilities to analyze, organize, and maintain. To keep up with the seemingly unending influx of information, companies will begin to seek more exclusively applications that include built-in analytical capabilities, which will be deeply, but invisibly, embedded. One such tool is Wave, the new Salesforce Analytics Cloud, featuring business intelligence software designed to drive actionable insights from customer and team data.
Yet, while the crux of analytics is mining knowledge from stores of information, a focus for the future will be less on the actual data itself, and more on the overarching themes of customer interest, questions, and concerns, and how companies can best use this insight to meet these needs. Though technology is growing and capabilities will continue to expand, an organizational focus on the customer remains steadfast, and tools for CRM analytics are only as powerful as the extent to which they help fulfill this goal.
Tune in next week to learn more about the future of data and analytics, and how CRM systems can benefit from improved and advancing capabilities. In the meantime, to learn more about these new technologies and how our seasoned CRM consultants can deliver this functionality to your business, please contact any member of our consulting team at [email protected]. We also encourage you to contact Tokara’s VP of Business Development, Mark Fillingim, directly at +1 972-719-0213.
Sources:
CRM Trends, “Top 5 CRM Trends for 2015,” http://www.crmtrends.com/crm.html.
Gartner, “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015,” October 8, 2014, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2867917.
NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
