It is that time of year where companies such as Gartner, PwC and Marketo, to name a few, start publishing their thoughts and predictions for the year to come.
PwC has released their 23rd annual CEO Survey and the results are fascinating, with Brexit and everything else in the news at the moment it’s easy to see why 88% of UK CEOs are concerned about uncertain economic growth.
However, these are the most stand out results, as far as Collier Pickard are concerned:
- 42% of UK CEO’s say they are exploring a new market
- 65% of UK CEO’s plan to launch a new product or service
In a webinar titled ‘2020 Vision: Strategies for High Growth in the New Year’, Marketo talked about why 2020 is the year of the customer and how both the sales and marketing teams need to integrate more effectively to get the most out of their efforts. Quoting a statistic from their own research, more effective sales and marketing alignment can help businesses become 67% better at closing deals.
That’s quite a claim.
So, why are we talking about this? The trend with all of these articles is growth.
An engine for growth?
In a recent study from CMO Survey and Deloitte, 37.9% of CMOs have said that their number one priority is driving growth. To help with this, companies are looking for the best software or combination of software to support their teams in this endeavour.
To achieve steady growth, your organisation must properly understand its customers, its products or services and its approach to the market. The knowledge you need to form these understandings should be found inside your CRM system.
Do you have a solid understanding of your customers? Their journey from lead to client? Understanding who you are selling to allows you to alter and improve your marketing and sales efforts.
When it comes to properly aligning your sales and marketing efforts, both sales and marketing need to be on the same page. That means having access to the same data and understanding its role in the selling process. The marketing team attract and qualify the leads, and the sales team close the deals. All of this can be achieved through a unified CRM and marketing automation system.
Operational CRM
In PwC’s 2020 CEO Survey, they found that 79% of UK CEOs are looking to increase the profitability of the company while decreasing operational costs and delivering operational efficiencies (up from 72% last year).
Using CRM systems like Creatio, with a built-in Business Process Management tools, can support you in streamlining business processes. By making the most of your technology and employees time, you can minimise unproductive tasks and better utilise the resources that contribute to your success, thus helping the business sell more efficiently.
If you want to find out more about Operational CRM, click here to read our Operational CRM eBook.
Conclusion
CRM will help your business grow, however it is more than just software; it should underpin a customer-centric culture within your business. Make sure it delivers a 360-degree view of the client and supports a company culture built around meeting your customer’s needs.
If you want to find out more about CRM and how it can help your business grow in 2020, we have a series of eBooks that you can access here. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with one of our consultants and we will help you in any way that we can.
