Data advice tips
Data experts? But from my first-hand experience with multiple CRM launches, I can affirm that EVERY company enjoying high adoption of their CRM also shared these traits as an organization: Churn was minimal. Their sales teams were generally happy and envisioned their future career path staying with the organization, The approach was collaborative. Internal poaching of deals was blocked, and entering notes about a lead INCREASED a rep’s chances of benefiting from a future sale, There was space for long-term thinking. Near-term quotas, if present, were manageable and allowed sales staff to work a bit “on” their process not just “in” it, Required data entry, especially in the early stages of a lead, was kept to a minimum. AI was leveraged where possible to fill in gaps and infer data, Sales managers resisted micro-managing on tidbits and details in the CRM, and instead coached for optimum overall long-term performance.
CEOs are in a complex quandary on information security. On the one hand this is a topic requiring deep technical expertise which is (usually) outside the wheelhouse of CEOs, unless they head up a security tech company. On the other hand, it has become abundantly clear that in the court of public perception (and for that matter, the court of law), it is considered a CEO’s personal responsibility to ensure that appropriate protections are in place to protect the information of a company’s customers – particularly consumers. No CEO wants to end up on the front page of the newspaper or sued for negligence over a breach.
The world is becoming increasingly personalized. Frequent flier numbers and customer membership programs enable companies to track consumers’ buying patterns; social media platforms and digital marketing channels enable them to know even more about our preferences and lives. The door has been opened to inappropriate uses of this information, as evidenced by the “fake news” and Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandals from the 2016 election. But far more commonly, companies are using customer data in legitimate to personalize their communications with customers, with significant results. Customers are happy for you to know about them. According to Accenture, 83% of consumers are willing to share their data in order to enable a personalized B2C experience, and 91% say it actually impacts their buying habits. For B2B purposes, companies have long known there is easy access to public data about them, so any gain in efficiency is welcomed from suppliers who make use of that information (ideally with internal data as well – see below) to streamline the experience for their clients.
Every business should aim to have an IT consultant! Some technical issues or crisis may be too overwhelming for an internal IT department to solve. Sometimes, hackers breach the systems in a way that internal experts cannot reverse or contain the damage. Natural disasters such as floods or fires may affect technology in a way that only experts can resolve. In such cases, a business cannot avoid hiring experts to restore normalcy and prevent a similar crisis in the future. Discover more details on how to fix crashing systems.
An advice every CEO should know about cybersecurity: Cyber-attacks and security breaches will occur and will negatively impact your business. Today, the average cost of the impact of a cyber breach is $4.9 million. Further, it is incumbent upon CEOs to learn more about cybersecurity to ensure their company is taking appropriate actions to secure their most valuable information assets. This does not mean that every CEO needs to become a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). Rather, CEOs should increase their knowledge of core cybersecurity concepts and leverage their own leadership skills to conceptualize and manage risk in strategic terms, understanding the business impact of risk.
Innovation Vista’s unique methodology for all engagements relating to strategic change, transformation and transition starts with a key step: we BUILD TRUST FIRST. We believe not only that it leads to success; we believe something like it is absolutely required for projects like these to succeed! Gartner reports that 75% of Digital Transformation initiatives will fail, highlighting particularly higher risks when these are seen as “IT Projects”. That is a daunting estimate, but one based on real facts and track records. ..and one we believe is based on human nature.
