How To Pitch Tech That Will Transform The Customer Experience And Boost ROI

With business evolving so rapidly, investing in technology that lowers costs and boosts efficiency has rarely been more important. But where are investment dollars best spent? For marketing, sales, service and IT leaders, it’s all about identifying the trends that will deliver ROI. Once you’ve done that, the next step is pitching them to your boss.

Here’s a rundown of the technology trends to consider and best practice tips for delivering a winning pitch.

How CRM can drive sales success

Salesforce research has found that brands connect with consumers on an average of 10 channels. This means there’s an abundance of data that brands can harness to improve the customer experience. 

Therein lies the challenge: How can brands integrate and activate all that data? 

For example, sales teams currently rely on an average of 10 tools to close a deal. That puts them in a tough situation. They’re not just overwhelmed by data, but by the 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.

The best place to start? A customer relationship management (CRM) platform.

So, what is a CRM?

A CRM is a powerful tool for surfacing information cohesively and in real time. For sales teams, that means that reps have a 360-degree view of the customer available whenever they need it and customers don’t have to repeat themselves. 

With AI and automation, CRM can use predictive capabilities to forecast more accurately, convert leads more successfully, and automate time-consuming tasks, allowing sales reps to spend time on the more valuable work of building relationships and closing deals.

CRM is not just for your sales team. It integrates seamlessly with marketing, IT and service to ensure everyone is on the same page, all the time. For example, if a customer raises a complaint with the service team, the marketing team is alerted to press pause on campaigns emailed to that customer until the issue is resolved. And because CRM allows a 360-degree view of the customer across departments, the customer never has to repeat themselves when speaking to different parts of the business.

CRM for Sales: the pitch

So now that we know how CRM will benefit your business, let’s dig into how to pitch it.

Empower your sales team with CRM

Our recent State of Sales report explains how sales reps are expected to act as trusted advisors to their customers. They need tools to deliver relevant insights — not just at the point of sale — but in the lead-up to the sale and after purchasing. Equipping reps with a 360-degree view of a customer builds trust.

Pair trust with great customer experience, and you’re practically guaranteed repeat buyers — 94%  of customers say good customer experience makes them more likely to purchase again, improving customer lifetime value and ultimately boosting ROI. A CRM helps reps understand the history, needs and preferences of their existing customers which allows them to make the most of upsell, cross-sell and renewal opportunities, offsetting the costs associated with new customer acquisition.

Get the competitive edge

Customers want seamless, connected experiences. And yet 60% of consumers feel like they are communicating with separate departments instead of one company. There is a competitive opportunity here for sales teams who can seamlessly integrate customer data across departments and be prepared to meet their customers whenever and on whatever channel they prefer.

Using digital tools to educate and upskill in IT

Salesforce research shows that the widening digital skills gap presents a serious challenge to business leaders. In Australia, only 26% of employees feel equipped with workplace digital skills. In five years, that number is expected to drop to 20%. 

For IT departments, the imperative is to invest and implement digital tools that can train and educate employees using on-demand, online learning tools that are engaging and easy to access. Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform is a great example of this kind of tool.

Whether it’s via introducing gamification, virtual training programs or launching a larger scale program like PwC’s Digital Accelerators, more organisations are embracing innovative technologies to deliver technical learnings in bite-size segments employees can fit into their days.

Digital for Tech: the pitch

The double whammy of improving the bottom line and helping bridge the skills gap in IT is a  compelling one. 

Using digital technologies to help upskill and reskill employees is a powerful way for organisations to harness the increasing power of AI and capitalise on existing employee talent — and it can be more cost-effective than hiring. 

The 2022 HR Industry Benchmark Report shows that on average it costs Australian businesses $23,860 to fill a vacant position and takes around 40 days, whereas 24 days of formal training costs only $9,990. And the cost of an unsuccessful hire? Between 15 and 21% more than the employee’s salary.

And don’t forget to highlight how your employer brand can benefit from upskilling initiatives many Australian workers put a high value on training and skills, and RMIT Online’s recent research found that more than 20% of respondents said they’d rather have $1,000 to spend on training every year than $50 more pay each week. Half (52%) said a “learning culture” was more important to them than a “fun culture” at work.

Why personalisation is the key to marketing success

The challenge for marketers is figuring out which technologies can create the seamless, dynamic, personalised experiences customers demand. And they do demand them. The recent State of the Connected Customer report shows that 56% of customers expect offers that are always personalised.

AI will help marketers bring personalisation to every step on every platform. Think tracking real-time customer experiences, creating personalised landing pages, suppressing marketing to individuals who have open support cases, making personalised recommendations, or tailoring push notifications and chat messaging.

An impressive 69% of customers are open to AI being used to improve their experience, so now is the time to make AI-powered tools like CRM, part of your tech stack.

Personalisation for Marketing: the pitch

Want to pitch tech that can make every experience feel one-on-one and do it at scale? CRM-powered personalisation can improve ROI by increasing open rates, reducing abandoned carts and deleted apps, improving traffic and driving loyalty. Here are a few successes our customers have seen: 

• membership-based hospitality group Norths Collective’s email open rates rose from 18% to 30% when it stopped treating its database like one homogenous customer and started segmenting it into detailed personas.
• Beauty company L’Oréal uses Marketing Cloud to build individual customer journeys delivered through preferred channels. Think tailored product recommendations, beauty advice and special offers plus automated abandoned cart emails so customers can pick up where they left off.

• Global money transfers company OFX uses Journey Builder to bring the personal touch at a global scale. For example, it uses a template that ensures clients don’t get 3:00 am emails that feel delocalised and depersonalised, instead getting communications appropriate to their time zones.

Taking service to the cloud gives more than silver linings

The normalisation of hybrid work has seen the number of cloud-based service centres multiply as businesses look for more efficient and effective ways to scale and adapt fast in a volatile environment. Freed up from physical assets in a single location, service teams can engage with customers from anywhere and, by integrating with CRM, provide tailored solutions to customer challenges. Moreover, cloud-based service solutions enable service teams to engage dynamically with customers across the channels of their choice.

Cloud for Service: the pitch

Planning on pitching a move to the cloud to your boss? Start strong by demonstrating that moving service centres to the cloud isn’t just a nice idea, it’s critical.

The latest State of the Connected Customer report shows 53% of customers prefer to purchase online versus in-store — and for Millennials that number is 63%. The demand for fast, efficient and personalised service has never been greater. Service teams that have embraced the always-on capabilities of the cloud and have paired them with a 360-degree view of the customer, have been well-positioned to respond to that demand.

Moreover, cloud means companies can scale at speed, adapting fast to customer needs, even as that customer base expands. Cloud-based CRM can seamlessly integrate with field service to ensure customer experience continuity. It allows service agents to proactively address any issues that come up. That is essential to building customer loyalty, with 80% of customers more likely to forgive a mistake if the company normally provides excellent service.

Read more

• Spending smartly on tech is key in a downturn — here’s how you can do it
• 3 ways to promote efficient growth with resources you already have
• 5 accurate sales forecasting techniques for predictable revenue

This piece was originally published on 29 July 2021 and has been updated.