Author: sentegram

Managing your customer loyalty program better

The new service will allow companies to build “intelligent” loyalty programs for both their B2B and B2C customers.

Salesforce announced that it has launched Loyalty Management, a new product for companies across industries, including retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, travel, and hospitality. Built on the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform, the product aims to increase customer trust and engagement. Loyalty Management allows companies to build what Salesforce calls “intelligent loyalty programs” for both B2B and B2C environments.

With Loyalty Management, companies can provide more personalized consumer experiences, according to Salesforce. The service will help them evolve their loyalty programs to stay current with customer expectations, they claim, and help drive business value by creating loyal, lifelong customers.

Salesforce has integrated Loyalty Management with Salesforce Digital 360, Service Cloud and Tableau. This allows customers to deliver a connected loyalty experience across the entire customer journey. according to the company.

Highlights of the Loyalty Management service include:

1. The Salesforce platform allows businesses to design a variety of different loyalty programs that meet their unique needs. Whether that is a tiered membership program or points per purchase, businesses can flexibly configure earn and redeem rewards programs.
2. Loyalty Management allows companies to pull in their customer data. This includes marketing interactions, purchase history, and website visits—to create a unified view of the customer and inform the personalized promotions they receive.
3. Thanks to the integration with Salesforce Customer 360, customers can easily sign up for loyalty programs through Salesforce Experience Cloud. This means businesses can send personalized content and notifications to customers with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Customer 360 Audiences.
4. In addition, companies can integrate external systems, like a customer data platform, with APIs. They can also integrate third-party solutions from Salesforce AppExchange.
5. With Tableau CRM for Loyalty Management, companies can measure program performance, member acquisition, and engagement. They can also measure partner performance in a dashboard.

Loyalty Management will be generally available in February 2021.

Credit Source: TechZine and Zednet

 

Technology Can Transform Your Productivity — If You Let It

We all have our own idea of what it means to be productive. It’s usually the tasks that we can complete quickly, easily, and in large volumes. 

Even if you don’t keep an actual to-do list, you might make a mental checkmark as you realize your workload is moving from massive to manageable. 

The challenge for many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is that it doesn’t take long for things to pile up again — and you don’t always have the same energy to put into being productive.

Part of the challenge is that SMBs are often launched by people who have put their best effort into almost everything they do. This includes the products and services they develop, the customer relationships they nurture, and the extra touches that turn engaging with them from a mere transaction into a truly compelling experience. 

This means many SMBs don’t really have to focus on working any harder. As their business grows, they may have to ask themselves if they’re working as smart as they could be.

“Smart” isn’t limited to simply developing the speed or efficiency with which you get through all the tasks in your way. While it’s always good to learn better approaches to the work you do, it’s also important to consider the tools that can let you boost productivity by an order of magnitude.

Many of these tools — which can range from individual apps to an entire platform or suite — are widely available and have been for some time. It’s just that figuring out which tools are a fit and the potential productivity benefits can take up even more time out of your day. 

Without getting into specific products or tools, these are some of the most common areas where technology can make you more productive than you might have thought possible:

Identify and rank your priorities

One of the first things many of us do each morning is figuring out everything that’s going to be on our plate for the next eight hours or so. 

On a bad day, this can wind up eating up the first hour (or more), because it requires poring over email messages or looking through all the questions and problems that have come in from customers the night before. 

When you automate more of your company’s operations, look for tools that can give you a dashboard that brings in all those messages, alerts, and notifications into a single place. That will make it easier to quickly sort through what’s urgent and what can wait. Some dashboards can even be set to do this sorting for you. 

A good dashboard will give you time back first thing in the morning and can keep you from feeling overwhelmed as new priorities emerge over the course of the day. 

Standardize your workflow

How do you order supplies for your company? Maybe there are some weeks where you call and place the order yourself. Perhaps in other instances, you delegate it to a team member who sends an email, which allows the order to be tracked. 

Another team member might log onto the supplier’s website to place the order because they like being able to see your company’s previous purchases and have the ability to tweak the order if your needs change.

All of these approaches can work, but they can also lead to challenges because they’re not consistent. People might waste time following up on orders and searching in vain for the necessary information. You might wind up ordering too much (or not enough) of your supplies. There’s even the risk of paying for the same order twice. 

Digital technologies can bring more rigor to these kinds of processes by offering a single, simple and speedy way for everyone to carry them out. Standardization often leads to productivity because you’re never taking the time to figure out how a process moved from “A” to “B.” 

Manage your projects

It’s hard to stay productive on the day-to-day things when you have a special project that is suddenly part of the mix.

A special project could be opening up a new office, or launching a new product. These projects often require corralling multiple people and making sure they keep on top of milestones in order to complete everything on time and on schedule.

Don’t make the mistake of relying on spreadsheets to organize special projects. There are all kinds of digital platforms that let you break down projects into phases or steps. You can set up work back schedules, assign tasks and manage approvals as the work gets done. 

Always look for project management tools that can integrate with — or are an extension of — other systems you use to run the business, like a CRM.

Make work possible anywhere

No matter how long it takes you to commute to work, that’s time that could have been spent getting closer to achieving your business goals. The same is true when you have to wait to get back to your desk to log into important applications, or for a critical mass of team members to be in the same room before you can hold a meeting. 

Mobile apps, videoconferencing, and even chat tools are empowering remote work like never before. This is bringing flexibility to the workforce, but also a surge of productivity as people can get tasks done from their home or anywhere that’s convenient. 

Conclusion

Productivity can be influenced by a number of factors that have little to do with technology. Great tools won’t address a problem with employee morale, for instance.

Your best bet is to find a metric to track productivity benefits. This doesn’t just have to include the volume of work you’re getting done, but the kind of work you’re able to do. 

If the tools are freeing you up from manual or time-consuming processes, that might mean you can allocate more of your day (and energy) to strategic activity that helps grow the business. 

Productivity is never really an end in itself — it’s a means to SMB success.

Credit Source: Salesforce

What problems did IT leaders want low-code app dev to solve in 2020?

1. Streamlining workflows
2. Faster app releases
3. Reduce time spent on repetitive tasks
4. All of the above

How do they expect to attain this…

… low code made it easy for admins and developers to deliver the technology they needed overnight.

Low code is the simple version of traditional code. It leverages drag-and-drop functionality so anyone can build, without needing to call on developing skills to code.

Why low code? Why now?

Low code is revolutionizing the pandemic for small and large businesses alike. It brings thousands of people the services and goods they need by providing a quick way for new apps to get into the market. When walk-in hair salons shifted to booking appointments digitally, or when loans needed to be processed at a moment’s notice, low code made it easy for admins and developers to deliver the technology they needed overnight.

This inspired 92% of IT leaders to seek low-code solutions at their organizations. According to one software executive, low code “improved time to market, increased reusability of code, and reduced technical complexities allowing faster digital transformation.”

IT leaders prioritized low code to build apps quickly, streamline workflows, and get to market fast

Let’s go back to those uncharted waters. You have your map (which is your product), and you see the destination of land (which is where you want to go). Low code is like an extra boost of wind that helps you get there faster.

Tech leaders recognized this and began prioritizing how to use low code to reach their goals. A majority wanted to use low-code development for streamlining workflows with about half of executives also wanted to release apps faster and reduce the time developers spend on tedious, repetitive tasks.

Another way low code invites collaboration is in its relevance to any industry. Software saw a leap of 44% in low-code usage since the start of 2020, and education services increased their use of low code by 66%. With the power of technology, organizations were able to adapt their business model and shift their brick-and-mortar operations to digital. Low code solves real problems: from tracking attendance to tracking bug reports, it has nearly all the capabilities of traditional coding with none of the traditional hurdles. Low code allows anyone, with or without formal training, to build apps. It enables businesses of all sizes to bridge digital gaps and work from anywhere in a short period of time.

What it takes to increase adoption of low-code development in the future

Low code presents an opportunity for tech leaders to solve strategic business problems. We saw that IT teams who used low code in 2020 reported higher levels of productivity, efficiency, and lower development-related costs.

Digital solutions give businesses an opportunity to grow their presence in the market like never before. If you don’t have a low-code implementation plan at your company, there are plenty of tools to get you started. Low code provides ways for you to stabilize your business and exceed your goals, even in a challenging environment, so you can weather any storm that comes your way.

Source credit: Salesforce

Many people ask, “what does Salesforce do?” In this post, we answer some basic questions you have about Salesforce.

To put it simply, Salesforce brings companies and customers together, Citizens and Governments closer. For this blog, the focus is on companies and clients

Salesforce helps break down technology silos in your organization between departments so no matter where they are, employees in marketing, sales, commerce, service, and IT share a single customer view. This enables a deeper understanding of customers on one customer relationship management (CRM) platform. We call it Salesforce Customer 360 because it gives you a 360-degree view of your customers.

 

Why does this help your teams? This holistic view of each customer shortens the time it takes for your company to resolve customer issues, eliminates redundancies in your communications, and allows you to personalize interactions in order to grow relationships with your customers. Our tools are also completely digital, so you can respond to customer needs quickly, from anywhere.

Got it, but what is Salesforce used for?

You may be thinking — this all makes sense in theory but what does it actually mean for my business?

It means Customer 360 gives each of your departments the tools to build stronger and more authentic relationships with your customers:

• Marketing: Tailor marketing messages to the right person at the right time on the right channel, improving lead gen, customer acquisition, and upselling opportunities
• Sales: Spend less time doing data entry and more time connecting with customers by developing and implementing a precise, repeatable sales process
• Commerce: Build simple, seamless commerce experiences that help grow revenue, engage customers, and connect commerce to the rest of the business
• Service: Deliver consistent, personalized support across every customer interaction — from the contact center to the field, and from service automation to chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI)
• IT: Build modern apps to meet employee, partner, and customer needs; increase productivity by automating key processes; and improve scale, transparency, and security with IT solutions

Digital transformation isn’t one size fits all. That’s why you can tailor Customer 360’s capabilities to your specific needs — from AI to analytics to integration to training. And beyond the technology, our global ecosystem of experts, app partners, and services is always on hand, 24/7.

Why the obsession with customers?

You may have noticed we’re pretty obsessed with putting customers right in the center of business. After all, we named our platform Customer 360.

Why so much customer love? Because over the last 20 years, customers’ expectations for companies have skyrocketed. A whopping 84% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services (see the Salesforce State of the Connected Customer report). Now, it’s not only about what you offer customers, but when, where, why, and how you reach them.

In this customer-powered world, the most important thing you can build as a company is trust. Today’s customers just want to trust they’re getting what they need from you, when and where they need it. They want experiences to be effortless, and they’re loyal to brands they can count on.

We know this isn’t easy for every company. According to a recent study commissioned by Forrester Consulting, business leaders are overwhelmingly challenged by information silos that make it harder to provide quality experiences for their customers.

Here are some of the challenges facing business leaders today:

• 58% strongly agree or agree that customer/prospect and account data comes from too many sources to easily make sense of it
• 58% strongly agree or agree that the lack of an enterprise view of customer/prospect data is a problem
• 56% strongly agree or agree that organizational silos negatively impact the quality of their customers’ or prospects’ experience

The research shows these issues arise because companies take on transformation initiatives in departmental silos. Over half of the study’s respondents report their CRM systems are at least somewhat fragmented across their company. While this approach may help solve a short-term business problem, it can make it harder to deliver better customer experiences down the road.

That’s where Customer 360 comes in. It was built to tackle these issues head-on by bridging team silos and building trust with customers.

Credit source: Salesforce

From conference rooms to kitchen tables, bring employees under one virtual roof to increase productivity, retain focus, and unite teams.

The global pandemic brought kitchen tables instead of conference rooms. It brought a vortex of a million open tabs. What we want is a technology that works for us – not against us – as we strive to increase productivity in this unique era of remote work.

Digital spaces need to center around efficiency to help keep our lives (and minds) in order. And with the majority of people feeling like they are not as productive working from home as in the office, it’s important to set ourselves and our teams up for success.

The problem: everything is everywhere

People crave a place of digital calm. We’re bombarded with communication: chat messages, texts, emails, notifications, and reminders. They are in your notebook and under a search link and maybe even on a Post-it under your cat’s foot.

The goal is to have one central workspace to enhance productivity. When we have to search across multiple systems and open tabs to find a single file, it slows our progress. We want a home where ideas live, information is easily accessible, and people can thrive together — virtually.

The solution: increase productivity with a simple user interface (UI)

Picture a dashboard with everything you need all in one place. You have your company news feed, personalized updates, information relevant to your team, and even quick-access apps used frequently by your employees. Instead of having to search 18 different browsers for that one project, it’s in a task pane to your right. Remember that Post-it on your cat’s foot? Now it’s a digital reminder you can drag-and-drop wherever suits you.

Positive employee experience doesn’t just help your teams feel good; it has a tangible impact on the bottom line. A Forbes research study in partnership with Salesforce found that when employees are happier, it directly increases revenue.

When a simple UI allows your brain to focus all in one place, peace-of-mind follows. Tech leaders can breathe a sigh of relief because one of their top priorities – increased productivity — is answered through a more streamlined employee experience.

A positive employee experience doesn’t just help your teams feel good; it has a tangible impact on the bottom line. A Forbes research study in partnership with Salesforce found that when employees are happier, it directly increases revenue. Companies that valued the work experience of their employees saw up to 1.8x the growth as companies that did not.

Make the best use of your employees’ time with effective technology

The day often begins and ends — eight hours later — on a single screen. This is why technology is such a crucial enabler to employee experience.

Chief information officers across the country see the value of making their employees’ time in front of a screen as worthwhile as possible. They cite the importance of remote work, collaboration, and communications tools — with 93% of leaders who highly value their team’s experience making sure employees have the technology to do their jobs efficiently.

IT and HR leaders can bring their teams together by unifying employee profiles with work history, hobbies, professional interests, and even transparency across roles through easy-to-read org charts. It’s a way for people to learn about each other and feel connected — no matter where they are in the world.

An all-digital world also invites new challenges for getting to know other colleagues. Sixty-one percent of the workforce misses going into the office, which makes it even more important to re-create a personalized employee experience. When people feel united, it boosts engagement. It can also result in a 56% increase in job performance, not to mention a 167% likelihood that an employee will promote their employer. Information technology (IT) and human resources (HR) leaders can bring their teams together by unifying employee profiles with work history, hobbies, professional interests, and even transparency across roles through easy-to-read org charts. It’s a way for people to learn about each other and feel connected — no matter where they are in the world.

The ideal technology system is one that reveals a single source of truth for your employees. There is no guesswork about where information lives, and no agenda item slips through the cracks. Success is simplified. One way to give employees this seamless digital experience is through Employee Workspace. You have a central tech space to call home. You are able to be more productive because every resource you need is right in front of you. No matter what comes across your (digital) plate, you can still drive efficiency and focus on what matters most for your team.

Source Credit: Salesforce

Where the future works

It is clear that even when the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, we are not going back to the way it was. From now on, remote work will just be work. E-commerce will just be commerce. Video meetings will just be meetings.

The future is all-digital, and work from anywhere, and this digital-first world is powering a major evolution of the cloud.

There have been two previous evolutions of the Cloud in the last twenty-plus years. ‘Cloud 1.0’ proved that enterprise software could be delivered through an internet browser. Ten years later, in ‘Cloud 2.0’, mobile phones and social networks redefined the software world.

And now we’re witnessing the next major evolution take shape, Cloud 3.0. We’re working and collaborating from anywhere with Slack and Zoom, and of course Salesforce. Salesforce has spent the last year transforming Customer 360 into the operating system for Cloud 3.0.

As businesses begin to make plans to get back to growth and move beyond the pandemic, they need an end-to-end operating system that enables sales teams to sell from anywhere, whether from a Zoom call or a conference room. They need to be able to service their customers from anywhere, whether their contact center is in a building or only exists in a cloud. They need an operating system to allow them to market from anywhere, do e-commerce from anywhere, and be agile enough to continue the rapid pace of digital transformation we’ve seen in the last twelve months.

Hyperforce is a new foundation of the Customer 360 platform

Whether you’re a B2B company with thousands of customers, or a B2C company with hundreds of millions of customers, Customer 360 connects all of your data, apps, and devices to create a single source of truth across sales, service, marketing, and commerce.

And with Einstein, the first comprehensive AI for CRM, every customer experience can be personalized with clicks. Einstein is doing over 80 billion predictions every single day, whether it’s personalizing an email or the products on an e-commerce website or powering a chatbot session.

On top of all this is the most robust ecosystem in the industry, with 9 million developers, 12 million trailblazers, and our community of partners all working together to extend the power of the Customer 360 platform and innovate across our market-leading applications.

And in a world where your employees are working from anywhere, Slack, which we announced our intention to acquire late last year, can be your HQ in the all-digital, work from anywhere world.

Whether employees are working in a flexible work environment, a distributed work environment, or coming into the office, Slack is a platform to accelerate productivity and growth. And, once the acquisition closes, it will become the system of engagement across Customer 360.

Credit source: Salesforce