Want to Make Zero-Regret Tech Decisions? CRM Automation May Be the Answer

As change becomes the only constant, the ability to spot new business opportunities, innovate fast, and scale with confidence is vital to future success. Many of these abilities depend on having the right digital foundations in place, which means business leaders also need to be able to make tech decisions with no regrets. 

Easier said than done, right?

When it comes to tech choices, the decision-making process can seem overwhelming. Which digital solutions are right for our business model? How can we improve our processes, not just multiply them? What are the tech trends we should be considering?

To illustrate the scale of the challenge, take a look at sales teams, which currently rely on an average of 10 tools to close a deal. Not only are they overwhelmed by data, but by the very tools they use to handle it. It’s no wonder then that 94% of organisations are planning to consolidate their tech stack in the next 12 months. But where to begin?

Here are six pointers that will help you make the right tech decisions for your business strategy — with no regrets.

1. Identify a problem that needs solving and keep it front and centre

Technology works best when it’s used as an enabler. Rather than investing in some whizz-bang new tech for the sake of it, a tech strategy should be focused on the customer problem it’s trying to solve. As Justin Le Roux, SVP, Chief Operating Officer, Salesforce ANZ & ASEAN advises, beware “the trap of adopting new tools just because they’re available.”

Appliance company Fisher & Paykel have avoided this trap by maintaining a laser focus on improving the customer experience.

Previously, customer interactions were inefficient and impersonal. Calls to service centres began with requests for serial numbers and customers often had to repeat themselves as they were transferred to different service reps. And when an on-site technician visit was required? The customer could expect to stay home most of the day waiting for them to show.

With Service Cloud, operators now have immediate insight into the caller through access to a 360-degree view of the customer. And answering the same question twice is a thing of the past. Moreover, with Field Service Lightning customers can track the arrival of their technician then rate the service provided.

2. Be transparent and ethical in your tech choices

The State of the Connected Customer report shows 61% of consumers are comfortable with companies using relevant personal information in a transparent and beneficial manner. That caveat — transparent and beneficial — is critical and businesses must abide by it if they want to build trusted relationships with their customers. Seventy-nine percent of consumers say they’d more likely trust a company with their information if its use were clearly explained. So trust your beacon when deciding on tech solutions or you end up with technology that alienates the very customer you’re using technology to help.

3. Look for ways to make life easier through automation

“Automation is a big focus for us,” says Katrina Trenkner, Program Director, Customer Capability at health insurance group nib. “We don’t want agents to do anything we can easily automate. We’ve set our sights on automating menial tasks so agents can focus on great service, not admin.”

To this end, nib integrated Service Cloud to enable agents to quickly surface the information they needed to support customers by automatically linking policy details to incoming enquiries. The result? A reduction in average handling times of just under 50%.

Service Cloud has the added benefit of transcribing all voice calls in real-time so agents don’t need to take notes. And real-time translation services means transactions can be completed in the local language of nib’s many overseas customers. nib are in good company, with the State of Sales report finding 65% of high performing service organisations use automation, with time-savings the number one reported benefit.

4. Use AI to boost productivity and efficiency

There’s a lot of hype around artificial intelligence (AI) and business leaders could be forgiven for finding it hard to see the benefits for the buzz. The challenge when making decisions about how AI might play a role in your tech strategy is to identify the potential business value, then figure out what AI tools might deliver it. Decision-makers might also find themselves having to navigate resistance or scepticism so building trust and providing appropriate training will be critical to any integration of AI into your business. 

Choosing the right AI-powered tech for your business can have potentially huge cost-saving and productivity-boosting benefits. 

The State of Sales report found high performing sales organisations are 1.9x more likely to use artificial intelligence (AI) than underperformers and 41% say AI delivers a major improvement on forecasting and use of sales reps’ time. 

AI-powered automation can also help meet the demand for personalisation at scale by enabling faster response times, surfacing relevant data at the right time, and triggering follow ups so complaints don’t go unaddressed.

Fisher & Paykel use this capability, for example, to automatically trigger a new user case when a customer records a less than ideal feedback rating after a technician visit. This enables the business to respond rapidly to any issues or complaints before they escalate further.

5. Make CRM the foundation of your tech stack

CRM can connect your mobile, cloud and social technologies to give you a 360-degree view of your customer at any given point in their journey with your business. And a CRM can do this in a scalable way, making it a long-term foundation for your business growth.

Pest control business Bittn, for example, has scaled into new regions by implementing Sales and Service Cloud and has seen a 12.5% increase in revenue as a result. CRM-powered automation has also helped the company streamline its invoicing system, stopping a $200,000 a year leak in revenue. And Sales Cloud helps drive renewals by creating new opportunities for the sales team when contracts are about to expire.

As any business leader researching CRM options will know, however, not all CRMs are created equal. The challenge when it comes to making the right CRM decision will centre around the specific needs of your business and which platform can meet them. An exclusively sales-focused CRM, for example, might not be suitable for a marketing organisation. And you’ll need to make sure the solution you choose can integrate successfully with your other systems. Otherwise it could create more work than it’s saving you. It’s important then, to partner with a reputable CRM provider who offers technical assistance and reliable implementation and training partners. 

6. Keep the big picture in focus by paying attention to every small step

Charlotte Cadness, Executive, Digital Customer and Colleague at NAB, recommends taking it step by step when it comes to maintaining your tech transformation vision. 

“Thirty percent of financial institutions embarking on a transformation lose sight of the endpoint during delivery,” she explains. “To prevent this, I suggest combining your long-term vision with clear incremental delivery.”

For NAB this means deploying cost-saving technology in pilot phases that give opportunity for feedback and fresh iteration.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” says Cadness, “gradually assembling puzzle pieces that will build up to a complete picture while demonstrating value along the way.”

Start making your tech decisions today

Making big decisions about your business’s  technology solutions can be daunting. But centring customer needs, looking for new efficiencies with automation and AI, demonstrating value at each step, and maintaining transparency will help make sure your decisions are the right ones.

Read more

• How finservs can cut costs and boost efficiency with out-of-the-box solutions
• Want to be more efficient and productive? Automate more of your business
• Too many sales tools? Here are four ways to reduce tech bloat

This article was originally published on 22 September 2021 and has been updated.