Small business is big business – in the UK last year, small and medium-sized businesses created 52% of all private sector turnover.
Salesforce is proud to support more than 150,000 customers, many of which are small businesses, and we were thrilled at how many were able to join us for Salesforce World Tour London 2019.
Sessions for SMBs ran throughout the day, in our dedicated ‘Small Business Theatre’.
These sessions covered so much ground, we can’t begin to do them justice in a single blog post. But we thought we’d pull out a key takeaway from each one. Full write-ups will follow soon, be sure to subscribe to the blog newsletter so you don't miss them!
Here are nine great takeaways for small-to-medium businesses from World Tour London:
👉 #1. On Artificial Intelligence…
From prioritising sales leads to handling routine support enquiries, AI is an incredibly powerful ally for an SMB – and one that can increase sales win rates by 30% if you use it in the right way.
👉 #2. On your marketing priorities…
You don’t need a big team to deliver big results – as long as they’re focusing on the right things. Our speaker’s top tip? Always optimise your inbound marketing strategy before you spend money on outbound.
👉 #3. On service and customer experience…
Today, your service team impacts every moment of the customer experience – both pre- and post-purchase.
Customers now use an average of 10 different channels, and SMBs need to deliver great experiences across all of them – from a unified, AI-assisted service platform, to intuitive self-service options.
👉 #4. On scaling with apps…
The easiest way to scale for SMBs is to use ready-made solutions – like the apps you can find on AppExchange.
88% of Salesforce customers have at least one AppExchange app installed – and what’s more you can now search for accredited Salesforce Consultants on AppExchange to help you, too.
👉 #5. On sales performance…
Building high-performing sales teams is a fine art. One thing most successful sales teams have in common?
They remember to celebrate every success, however small. It helps them stay motivated to do their best, day in, day out.
👉 #6. On culture…
Culture is often overlooked or thought of as an organic by-product of a company. But it’s actually something you can build, and potentially crucial to a company’s success.
So make sure everyone is involved in your culture-building activities.
👉 #7. On growing with Salesforce…
When you’re an SMB, you have the advantage of agility. You don’t need to unpick years of existing processes to change how you do things – you can put your best foot forward from the get-go.
Start early with a Sales Force Automation (SFA) tool, so you’ve a single source of truth for prospect information from day one.
👉 #8. On streamlining sales…
Setting up good sales practices from the start will save your sales reps’ precious time, give managers real-time visibility, and help your entire sales team stay in sync.
Use Opportunity Management to bring together information about your prospective customer, from their needs, to the size and status of the deal, and any next steps.
👉 #9. On nurturing leads…
60% of SMB owners and leaders say finding qualified leads is a struggle.
But one way to make it easier is to zero in on what’s resonating with your audience. Make sure to A/B test your email copy – and, of course, your subject lines.
More from Salesforce World Tour London 2019
This Salesforce family get-together included over 150 different sessions – and a keynote that celebrated some of the UK’s greatest trailblazers.
These takeaways are just the highlights – for more on how to put them in action, check out the rest of our content from the day right here.
