3 ways real-time data is going to change how we do business

Everything is real-time these days, including the way we collect and use data. In a previous blog, I shared my predictions for 2023. One of them claimed that real-time events will enrich the traditional data we use to do business. Now the new year is officially here, so let’s dig a little deeper into the potential of a real-time CRM platform.

Companies that are already mature when it comes to capturing and using customer information are looking beyond the traditional sociodemographic and transactional data. They are focusing on integrating real-time events and information that was previously inaccessible. Examples of real-time data are web and mobile clicks, machine data, data from wearable devices, etc.

To help companies leverage these new data sources, Salesforce launched the first real-time CRM platform Genie last year. But what does this mean for your business? Overall, there are three ways real-time data will create new opportunities not only for your business, but also for your customers and employees.

1. Data aggregation enriches customer profiles and enables more relevant services

Ultimately, everything you do is about improving the customer experience and standing out from the crowd. The more you know about a customer, the more personalized services you can offer. While many companies use Salesforce across different regions, divisions or product lines, most individual teams have yet to experience the value of cross-sharing this customer information.

For example, take a group of companies that bundle a wide range of activities such as physical stores, e-commerce, and perhaps even services like fuel cards and insurance. While some services are more likely to attract professionals, it may be a good idea to bring all the B2B and B2C data together and create a single customer view to unlock B2B2C or B2C2B use cases. This will not only enhance the user experience, but also allow you to offer more targeted discounts and campaigns that are relevant to the customer.

In this context, the data is not necessarily real-time. It just shows that companies need to break down their siloes and work together more efficiently. In the following two examples, we zoom in on the potential of real-time customer data.

2. Real-time data gives (frontline) employees the tools to take the right actions

What pages did someone visit on your website? What products were they focused on? Did they look up the price of a product? Or suppose a prospect returns to your website two weeks after their first visit ... If your sales team has a platform that collects this real-time data and triggers a buying signal, it will help them to understand when it is the most appropriate time to contact a potential customer or offer them a personalized discount.

Similarly, this information gives call center agents a better view of what a customer has done leading up to the call. For instance, if someone has a technical problem with an app, it can be valuable to see what they have already tried to fix the issue (e.g. turning the app off and on again). Or if a caller has a question about a product and you know which articles that person has already opened, then you can skip the redundant questions and offer more targeted advice. In fact, this can relieve your first-line employees and allow you to send more complex questions directly to people with the right expertise.

Ultimately, customers will appreciate the efficient interaction and enjoy the fact that their problem is solved more quickly and accurately.

3. Companies create new experiences for end users

Finally, access to real-time data will allow organizations to come up with innovative services. In car manufacturing, for example, brands like Ford are enriching their traditional data with telematics data from vehicles. Say an electric vehicle’s battery is low and subzero temperatures are expected, then the system can automatically send a text message to the driver alerting them that it might be a good idea to charge the car overnight.

In this regard, wearables also generate data that has tremendous potential for better experiences. Salesforce Health Cloud has a feature to capture real-time data from activity trackers or wearable devices such as Fitbit or Apple Watch. This information can, for example, be used to trigger a patient recovering from an injury to exercise more often. In clinical trials, the same idea can be applied to ensure that test patients accurately adhere to a treatment. Real-time data can improve understanding of the effect of a treatment and even speed up the time-to-market of drugs.

What about privacy?

Of course, the above examples all require personal data from customers and other users. Yet privacy rules don’t need to be an obstacle. Most customers are willing to share personal data as long as you explain why you collect it, what you will use it for and how it will benefit the user.

In fact, our most recent State of the Connected Customer Report revealed that 61% of consumers approve of companies using personal information transparently. The best advice is to start small and explain how you can further personalize the experience for a customer by adding more relevant data.

Want to learn more about real-time CRM and/or what Salesforce Genie can do for your company? Feel free to send me a personal message.