Sales and Analytics: How to use big data to increase sales
The majority of company managers today make strategic and tactical business choices using a combination of intuition, experience, and some degree of analytics. However, the balance between science and intuition is frequently unbalanced in favor of intuition. This is mostly due to the fact that company data is frequently dispersed across several platforms and formats. Big data analytics may help you and your team tip the scales in favor of employing science over intuition by integrating them into your sales process and performance management. Instead of relying on gut instincts or unreliable information, you may make judgments on the facts, patterns, and correlations found in your customers’ behavior. Here are four ways to incorporate big data analytics into your CRM and sales process to help your company achieve a competitive edge.
- Knowledge of the operations that deal with customers.
To boost efficiency, save operating expenses, and promote transparency in the sales, service, and marketing processes, several CRM initiatives have been implemented. The ROI and efficacy of the sales, service and marketing activities will be demonstrated through advanced analytics. Understanding, for instance, the expenses associated with sales and marketing to attract new clients or the costs associated with services to keep existing clients.
2. Predictive Sales Forecasting
Forecasting with accuracy requires both science and creativity. Many patterns, correlations, and individual subjectivity must be considered to obtain an accurate forecast. Predictive algorithms transform sales representatives’ subjective opinions, consider seasonality and other relevant variables, and generate an entirely factual and objective forecast.
3. Decision Assistance
A thorough examination of every trade might uncover strategies or unusual combinations of proven-effective actions. The difference between winning and losing during negotiations may be made by insisting on a demo before a trial or vice versa, sending client success stories early on, and involving an executive. In order to give effective decision assistance, this analysis may be automated, and the guidance for sales representatives can be provided in real-time and contextualized in the CRM.
4. A better understanding of the client.
Your customers and prospects are constantly providing helpful details about your goods and services, costs and licenses, rivals, etc. However, the data is frequently dispersed among several systems and formats. RFPs, survey results, interview transcripts, meeting minutes, and email and support correspondence are a few examples. There is a lot of gold there, but large-scale extraction is quite difficult. Knowing how to collect and evaluate this crucial data will enable you to make the best possible decisions on what your business should do next to continue expanding.
Most organizations have a wealth of information about their operations, their customers’ opinions, and feedback regarding their offerings, pricing, and even their rivals. That wasn’t the case when systems to collect this data were being implemented about 10 to 15 years ago. Growing record-keeping systems will not be the focus of the next revolution; rather, it will make sense of all the data to support choices, assess operational efficacy, and steer the company on the proper path. Businesses that struggle and ultimately fail are those that do not adjust to this shifting climate.
