Sales Insight Roundup:The Importance of Sales & Customer Experience,Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile
The sales insight roundup gathers news, research and provocations from thought leaders in sales and leadership. Here’s what we found interesting this week:
Dreaming of Contextual Marketing
From Forrester
“At Dreamforce in San Francisco…, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Scott McCorkle highlighted retailer Eddie Bauer’s strategy to make marketing so good that it feels like customer service and customer service so good that it feels like marketing. He may well have added that when marketing and service are well executed, they both begin to feel like sales – or at least the extension of sales environments that they are meant to support.
This thinking underscores the blurring lines between marketing and customer experience. Where does one end and the other begin? And does it really matter? Certainly to the customer it doesn’t; all he or she wants is a great experience that delivers value appropriate to the current context. So then, why do brands continue to let organizational or functional silos get in the way? It’s easy to say that legacy systems and processes still dictate what brands are able to achieve, but surely with today’s business technology capabilities, it’s possible to do better.”
Our take: Start where you’re most connected to the customer - in sales. If you start where you’re most connected to the customer, that’s the best chance of creating a seamless customer experience.
10 Proof Points - Why Customer Experience is the Next Big Thing
From Gartner
“I’ve admitted before to being a data junkie. Always have been, always will be. So I went looking for evidence in primary research surveys, in interviews with C-level execs, in publications and blogs, in software and service spending forecasts, you name it. And I found lots of it – in fact a lot more than I expected to find.
One big problem is that the term “customer experience” means different things to different people – people in the same function and in adjacent functions. But let’s not go down that rat hole – I picked a commonly used definition and said “good enough.”
Next came the analysis to evaluate what was most credible – who said it, how many people said it, what kind of people, in what kind of companies, when did they say it, how did they phrase it …. you get the idea. I focused on what large and very large companies in sufficient numbers said as the basis, supplemented with name-brand company executives’ comments. I wound up with over four dozen strong proof points.”
Our Take: Similarly to the Forrester blog, Laura McLellan points out that “customer experience” is the next big thing to pay attention to. The C-suite cares about customer experience, and they’re getting everyone involved. Customer experience is no longer exiled to a Customer Service department; it’s now a priority throughout marketing and sales, too.
New Habit Challenge: Use Your Morning To Focus On Your Goals
From Fast Company
“We're always looking for ways to get more out of our days and taking advantage of the early morning hours is one of the most effective.
But it's not just that we give ourselves more time in the morning before we shuttle off to work; it's also about what we do with that time. One of the best uses of this time, according to motivational speaker Tony Robbins, is starting the day with mindfulness exercises so we can feel more fulfilled in our lives. There are three steps:
1. Get Moving
2. Visualize your goals
3. Talk to Yourself
Our Take: We’ve all been there with e-mail burnout first thing in the workday. Instead of getting right into Outlook, try out some of these tips for a more fulfilling and ultimately more productive morning.
17 Must-Haves For Your LinkedIn Profile -
From Daily Muse
“You (hopefully) know you need a LinkedIn profile, but getting set up on the site is just the beginning. To get noticed by your contacts—and, yes, recruiters—you'll need to put in some extra effort to make sure your profile is complete and compelling.
So, what does that entail? It's all spelled out in this infographic, which outlines exactly how to build a profile that'll stand out and help you land the opportunities you're looking for on LinkedIn. Check it out, then go get updating!”
Our Take: As a sales professional, there’s a good chance you spend a good chunk of time each week on LinkedIn, but how long has it been since you stepped back to objectively look at your own presence on the platform? Make sure you’ve added visual examples of your work & are managing endorsements.
Comment below with other articles you found interesting this week or comment with your opinion of the Insight Roundup articles.
