Sales Enablement through CRM tools – But what does marketing have to do with it?

Article Summary :

The article explores the dynamic relationship between CRM tools and marketing, shedding light on the transformative impact of aligning sales enablement strategies with customer-centric approaches. Drawing on vivid analogies and relatable examples, it navigates through the challenges of disconnected data, misaligned goals, and the essential role of CRM tools as personalized roadies for customer interactions.

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Hey there, superstars! Back in the game after a well-deserved break (and maybe a slice of cake for a milestone birthday, no judgment!).

Ever feel like you're working in a maze at a giant company? Marketing's over here with amazing customer data, Sales is over there crushing quotas, and somehow, money just disappears in the cracks?

We're all after the same thing: more impact, more return on investment (ROI), and happier customers. But these siloed structures hold us back. Imagine the power if Marketing and Sales actually, you know, talked to each other systematically beyond just needing more marketing content, collateral and copy?

Here's the problem:

• Disconnected Data: Marketing has goldmines of customer info, but Sales struggles to find it. It's like having a treasure map with no "X" to mark the spot!
• Misaligned Goals: Marketing dreams of personalized campaigns, but Sales OKRs (objectives and key results) focus solely on their own targets. We're all rowing different boats.
• Tech Troubles: CRM tools (fancy name for customer management systems) can be clunky and frustrating. Imagine a spaceship with no instruction manual - that's how some tools feel!?

Imagine your customers are like rockstars! They deserve the VIP treatment, right? But keeping track of all their preferences and past interactions can be a backstage nightmare.

Enter the CRM tool: your personal roadie for all things customer. It's a central hub that gathers all the info about your rockstar fans (customers) – what they like, how they found you, and even the cool merch they almost bought.? Think of it like a party where Marketing brings the guest list, Sales works the room, and everyone has a blast (and makes money!).

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Here's how it rocks your marketing world:

• Targeted Campaigns: Ever blast out an ad to everyone and hope it sticks? CRM lets you personalize messages based on buying habits and past interactions. Imagine sending a discount code for their favorite band tee (product) – way cooler than generic merch, right?
• Automated Journeys: Picture this: a fan sees your ad, checks out your online store (website), and then disappears. CRM lets you create automated "encore performances" – targeted emails or social media messages to keep them engaged and bring them back for more.
• Streamlined Sales: Think of your sales team as the opening act. CRM helps them connect with fans (customers) on a deeper level. They'll have all the info they need to answer questions, recommend the perfect merchandise, and close the deal with a flourish.

But here's the catch:

Just having a fancy CRM tool isn't enough. It needs the right strategy in place, like a well-rehearsed setlist. All critical customer facing/ driving lines of businesses harness the same data, yet the data is not being used in the same way to make business decisions. How you prioritize a customer, their service guarantee, their reviews, their loyalty, their escalations, their experience in store, their experience online - so much to deliver on with a unified strategy.

Here's why:

• Data Harmony: Imagine the band arguing on stage! Data needs to flow seamlessly between Marketing and Sales. Think of it as the rhythm section – keeping everyone in sync.
• Fan-tastic User Experience: A clunky CRM is like a broken microphone – frustrating for everyone. It needs to be user-friendly and fun to use, just like a killer light show.

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Let me give you a relatable everyday example:

Customer has seen your ad on Instagram, landed on your site, favorited an item as an anonymous browser and abandoned.

Options as marketers to retarget this customer is simple: Cross device, cross platform targeting based on customer segmentation (Meta/ Instagram/ Amazon) where applicable. Traditional call to actions would be to just convert. Some may throw in sweeteners to convert.

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Opportunity here: Bring the customer into the eco system as a known user – step 1. Get their contact information and consent. Step 2- let your digital journeys do the work.? Step 3 – create a c360 view of the customer in your CRM platform in case the customer now reaches out to Customer service, walks into a store or wants to check out on ecomm – unlocking personalized offers, next best actions, communications & appropriate triggers for all channels to take in a sequential manner.

This is where most Marketing organizations tend to not go deep enough because of data integration issues and system limitations.

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The beauty that is a CRM tool - limerick

A tool is a cool rule - available to yourself.

Craft one for internal use, place it on desktop shelves.

From handheld to desktop, it's a treasure trove,

?A versatile companion wherever you rove.

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When building this magical CRM tool - the importance of prioritization of features, data attributes, capabilities, reporting, and measurement are just equally as important as the way the tool shows up for the end user – the magical UI/ UX. Yet there are rarely big investments made in the UI/ UX at the scale with which one needs to.? Without the appropriate EX (Employee experience) and hearing the voice of the frontline experts – the tools are as good as the users who WON'T be using it because it's designed for someone who can run quantum physics equations while eating a sandwich.

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The MOST IMPORTANT piece to consider: A tool without the supported operating model is like saying you got a flying saucer with no manual and instructions. Let's cowboy through space together till we either find a planet that supports life named “Efficiency” or run into the fiery meteor headed our way called “Inefficiency”. One needs a plan and research – the other is spray and pray approach.

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How to effectively establish a plan to launch or enhance CRM tool utilization in the sales teams so they are aligned to the strategic OKRs?

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To effectively establish a plan to launch or enhance CRM tool utilization in sales teams aligned with strategic OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), follow these steps:

Step 1

Define Clear Objectives:

?Start by defining specific OKRs that align CRM tool utilization with sales goals. These objectives should be measurable, achievable, and directly linked to key business outcomes – I.e. Why are you asking me to track leads status? What will you do with this information? How does that activity help business? Should lead tracker be part of the sales measurement framework or one of many leavers to look at when assessing performance?

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Step 2

Communicate the Why & Bring them along: Clearly communicate the purpose and benefits of utilizing the CRM tool to the sales teams. Highlight how it will help them achieve their targets, streamline processes, and improve performance. Not only "What's in it for me?" but also, "Did you listen to me?". Building a tool with the end user feedback is critical to ensure the “Car” that you’ve built in the end doesn’t have a cup holder sticking out of the driver's rear view mirror!

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How often do you find off the shelf tools that are clunky – hard to navigate, clearly designed by an engineer and not a UI/ UX expert (nor heavy input from the end user)? ?

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This is where luxury retail differentiates themselves drastically.

Check out this case study by Vo2 Asia Pacific on Bottega Veneta

?The concept of “Clienteling” I will quote an excerpt from Salesforce: “While “clienteling” once was little more than a buzzword that meant “catering to clients,” the modern clienteling meaning is more definitive. The most widely accepted clienteling definition refers specifically to the processes or tools used to promote customer satisfaction through the personalization of the shopping experience. Effective clienteling is part of a complex journey. In essence, it transforms your customer journey into something personalized. To accomplish this, clienteling tools rely on client data, such as purchase history and personal information. The end goal is to increase customer lifetime value”

Clienteling is the process + tools + people + marketing investments + operating model to bring together an eco system that generates recurring value to the business.

When done well, you can take existing CRM platforms – in this case a Salesforce Sales/ Service cloud platform and reskin it.

This creates efficiencies in ways that allows organizations to unify their tech stacks, build powerful, appropriate integrations within a single platform and source of truth, and allow for democratization of the customer 360 across all channels.

Big luxury conglomerates like LVMH use Salesforce service and sales clouds as CRM platforms and reskin it to make sure that the user experience is optimal, aligned to each of their brands, and serves the needs of employees and customers alike.

?This is where data, tech and Marketing play so beautifully together with the channels to bring consistent elevated experience across all touch points, from in-store sales to digital service to assisted clienteling ceremonies.

?Check out these fantastic videos that showcase the work that’s being done there LVMH - The Tech Playground

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Step 3

Provide Training and Support: Offer comprehensive training sessions on CRM tool features, best practices, and integration with sales workflows. Provide ongoing support and resources to address questions and challenges. Use AI tools like natural language processing (NLPs) and automatic nudges and movement based on actions or behaviours to remove friction point, improve accuracy and increase adoption.

Step 4

Incentivize Adoption & Customize CRM Tool : Provide incentives or recognition for sales team members who actively engage with and leverage the CRM tool. Share best practices and successes to build belief and credibility. Customize reports, or employee landing pages. Imagine a fully integrated view for Jane Doe to log into. Jane is a high achiever – she crushes her sales targets and provides exceptional customer experiences. She gets 5-star ratings and is your NPS poster child. Alas, Jane can't keep up with her training and compliance; she also forgets to do the administrative tasks of replenishment or account management. Imagine if Jane could log in and she had a daily health score of the tasks that make her successful. Imagine defining functional and nonfunctional criteria for Jane’s success. Each of them weighted appropriately.

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Jane logs in and while her sales targets are 150% to plan, she's got a health score of 88!

But – ah ha! The employee dashboard gives her the diagnostics of where she needs to work :

1.????? Out of compliance – 5 points

2.????? Administrative – 3 points

3.????? Client engagement – 3 points

4.????? Lead tracking – 4 points

Here are 4 actions you can take today to get you to a 92!

1.????? Submit XYZ form to fix compliance issue for client John S

2.????? Complete your training on Workplace Safety

3.????? Email 3 Clients to follow-up – NPS email, Birthday emails (Click here to see list of eligible clients)

4.????? Here are 5 meetings you had last week (outlook / scheduling tool reported) – move the leads forward in their stage – click here to look at eligible leads

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Imagine the art of the possible. This is where Marketing data, meta data, customer behavioral data, employee performance and activity data can create magic!

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Step 5

Promote Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between sales, marketing, and other teams to ensure data consistency, knowledge sharing, and alignment on strategic goals.? Making sure that if there is a great unlock happening in one part of the organization that other parts of the org are able to capitalize on it as well.

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For instance, you have recently launched your beacon on your ecomm site and it's tracking customer browsing behaviour for both anonymous and known users. How will that impact customer service channels? How will that impact in-store channels?

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Most implementation plans won't look at those channels till phase 4 or 5. But imagine the unlock when you have the data passed on to service agents and that can trigger real-time behaviour on site with a triggered live agent chat pop-up.? For instance, the customer has browsed the same product 4 times and is rage clicking to find information about size and fit and reviews “Did you know that this product has a lifetime warranty? Can I assist you finding the right size and colour, it tends to run true to size?” Forrester data reveals that site visitors who use web chat are 2.8x more likely to convert than those that don’t.

Step 6

Monitor and Measure to improve: Voice of the employee is so critical to continue to optimize the product roadmap – we must establish KPIs to track CRM tool adoption, usage rates, data quality, and impact on sales performance. Regularly review metrics and provide feedback to drive continuous improvement.

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Closing Summary

By championing targeted campaigns, automated customer journeys, and streamlined sales processes, I hope that the article underscored the significance of a well-crafted CRM strategy to amplify business success and enhance customer experiences. Through a lens of seamless data integration, user-friendly tools, and operational excellence, it advocated for bridging the gap between marketing and sales through collaborative CRM solutions that drive sustainable growth and operational efficiency.

Leave you with emphasizing the importance of clear objectives and OKRs, effective communication, user-centric design, and cross-functional collaboration to unlock the full potential of CRM tools and align them with strategic objectives. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement, promoting best practices, and harnessing data-driven insights, organizations can embark on a journey towards enhanced customer engagement, streamlined operations, and measurable business impact in today’s competitive landscape.

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