The COVID-19 pandemic brought about years of change in the way organizations and companies do business. Per a McKinsey Global Survey of executives, organizations expedited the digitalization of their customers and supply-chain interactions including internal operations by an estimate of three to four years. Almost all respondents said that they implemented temporary solutions to solve problems that arose from the pandemic. But one thing stood out when asked about the impact of the pandemic on a range of measures — they said that putting funds for modernization and digital initiatives increased above all else.
As this article from MIT Sloan School points out, there are several opportunities for next-gen digital initiatives including: leveraging data to provide compelling, personalized customer experiences using technologies like AI and ML; utilizing automation, machine learning, and augmented reality to bring efficiencies to routine tasks; improving utilization of real-time data to boost operational performance and introducing new services fueled by the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 innovations like digital twins; and transforming business models through digital enhancement and information-based extensions.
The accelerated digitalization left companies scrambling to keep up with customers who were even more connected in the post-COVID world.
This is where CRM solutions like Salesforce came in.
In its essence, CRM software helped unlock siloed data between departments to provide companies with a complete view of all customer interactions with their brand. Using the CRM solution, employees across marketing, sales, commerce, service, and IT departments were able to share a single, unified customer view across devices regardless of channel.
This gave companies a deeper understanding of their customers and also created better experiences for customers when interacting with the company.
CRM software tools enabled companies to keep track of personal information, purchase history, progress, preferences, and all other information associated with customers. Given that customers wanted to be treated as individuals and not just as random buyers, relationships with customers became critical, regardless of company size.
For the CRM implementation to be successful, these are some key high level best practices:
Select a CRM that best suits your needs – Not all CRM solutions are equal. Researching which CRM solution is best for your company should be the first step. Would you prefer cloud-based systems or would you want one that is installed on-premise? Does your company need in-depth, customized software features or is the out of the box functionality more or less adequate? Take your time to weigh every option available before making a final decision.
Put in some time training your team – If your company cannot fully utilize your CRM, then it will be just another expensive filing system. When acquiring a CRM solution, focus on helping your employees understand the entire software workflow and how to take advantage of its features.
Rely on automation – CRM solutions can help your business to grow by doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to customer relationships. This means that the majority of work associated with data entry can be automated. Automation will decrease the chance of errors creeping into your system and will also free up your employees from time spent on repetitive tasks.
Emphasize collaboration – CRM solutions like Salesforce, compared to traditional systems, boost collaborative efforts. CRM makes all information accessible throughout your organization, which can help lessen confusion and break barriers caused by siloed data. This will enable your employees to have continuity of service with customers since all data can be accessed by your team.
Keep it simple – The complexities of CRM options can be overwhelming. Do not go out of your way to invest in CRM features that you think will not benefit your organization. Choose something that is simple yet effective
Before transitioning your business to a CRM solution, make sure that there is a solid foundation of data protection for your business. Business risk is relatively higher during the transformative phase. With the help of dotSolved CRM experts, transitioning should not be a problem.
dotSolved helps organizations streamline their customer experience delivery. The dedicated consulting teams at dotSolved bring more than a three decades of cumulative experience with Salesforce CRM to help you with:
- Business Process Transformation – dotSolved employs a process first approach to lower costs while raising efficiency. Talk to our subject matter experts to systematically define and execute business processes that suit your specific industry, business, and software needs.
- Cloud Migration Strategy – A cloud roadmap for your business is important. dotSolved helps in planning and executing the migration strategy after the audit of existing systems, strategy analysis together with operational support, and re-architecture.
- Implementation and Upgrade – Our dedicated Salesforce experts are highly experienced at any scale of international implementation footprint. We can provide the right business processes and industry-leading practices that are scalable with your business growth.
- Managed Services – dotSolved can deliver functional, technical, and complete end-to-end support functions as managed services for your company’s system both from our onsite and offshore models.
- Team Augmentation – Our team of seasoned consultants can help your company with an in-depth understanding of your organization and business needs with the highest level of professional standards.
- Salesforce Platform Development – dotSolved has helped product companies and enterprises conceptualize, design, build, roll out, and manage applications, add-ons, and accelerators on the Salesforce Platform.
Customers come first after all. Ensuring compelling customer experiences takes top priority. The Salesforce solution transforms customer experience, and dotSolved helps pave the way to a Salesforce enabled digital future.
