How to Pitch the Latest Emerging Technology Trends to Your Boss

Seventy-seven percent of sales leaders say their digital transformation has accelerated since 2019 and 79% of sales reps say they’ve had to adapt quickly to new, disruptive ways of selling. Moreover, 88% of customers expect companies to accelerate their digital initiatives to provide better experiences. Innovation and technology, then, is at the forefront of driving sales success in the “new normal”. 

With so much data now available across disparate platforms, the challenge is to integrate and activate it effectively to create great customer experiences. CRMs are a powerful tool for surfacing that information cohesively in real time so 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, CRMs 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.

Want to pitch a CRM to your boss? Here’s what to lead with:

The way sales happen has changed dramatically and even in a hybrid world where some customers are happy to return to store and others will stay online, delivering relevant, personalised, efficient experiences is critical. An innovation-led CRM can empower your sales team to deliver those experiences and work more productively in a digital-first, automated environment. 

Customers want seamless, connected experiences. But with 54% still feeling 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.

High performing companies are leading the way when it comes to automation. The recent State of Sales report shows that:

• 69% of high performing companies automate logging sales data and customer notes
• 66% of high performing companies automate managing admin tasks
• 64% of high performing companies automate prioritising leads and opportunities

Want more reasons for why CRM is critical to sales success? Check out our 101 CRM guide for sales leaders.

According to Global Knowledge’s IT Skills and Salary Report of 2020, skills gaps have risen 155% since 2016 and 68% of IT decision makers expect that figure to increase over the next two years.

For IT departments, the imperative then, is to invest and implement digital tools that can educate via on-demand, online learning tools that are engaging and easy to access. Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform is one example of such a tool. 

Whether it’s via introducing one of the many online learning platforms now available, 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.

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. 

Deloitte research estimates that Australian businesses spend $7 billion every year on recruiting new workers and only $4 billion on their teams’ training and development.

The cost of replacing an unsuccessful hire six months into the job is around 2.5x the person’s salary. The impact this can have on morale and productivity is harder to quantify but just as serious. 

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

The challenge for marketers is figuring out which technologies best serve their mission to create the seamless, dynamic, personalised experiences your customers demand. And they do demand them. The recent State of the Connected Customer report shows that 52% of customers expect offers to always be personalised.

AI is playing an important role in helping marketers achieve personalisation at each step and 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.

Want to pitch technology innovations that can make every experience feel one-on-one and do it at scale? Lead with how personalisation can improve ROI by increasing open rates, reducing abandoned carts and deleted apps, improving traffic and driving loyalty. Here are a few examples to bring it to life: 

• Norths Collective email open rates went from 18% to 30% when they stopped treating their database like one homogenous customer and started segmenting it into detailed personas. 
• Cosmetics giant Sephora uses personalisation to drive its loyalty program which boasts around 25 million members and is responsible for 80% of its sales.
• OFX uses Journey Builder to bring the personal touch at a global scale. For example, they use a template that ensures clients receive communications appropriate to their timezones, rather than at 3am which gives the feeling of a non-local, depersonalised action.

Supercharge your pitch with some more amazing examples of personalised marketing and learn how technology can be used to personalise the post-purchase experience.

The work and shop from anywhere model that the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated has seen the number of cloud-based service centres increase 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 allow service teams to engage dynamically with customers across the channels of their choice. 

The education and healthcare sectors have shown just how agile cloud service solutions can be over the course of the pandemic by allowing people to connect across myriad platforms when face-to-face options were curtailed. KPMG research showed that 56% of their surveyed respondents said cloud migration became an absolute necessity due to COVID.

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 imperative.

The latest State of the Connected Customer report shows that an estimated 60% of interactions took place online compared to 42% in 2019, and 68% of customers say they’re online more often than not. The demand then 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. 

Here’s more on why the cloud is critical for service.

 

Nail your next technology pitch and claim those innovation dollars. One deck with six template slides to help you know exactly what information to put in your pitch. Get your pitch deck now.