Week Twelve

Article Summaries:

The first article is about how CRM, analytics, and big data apply to the sales team. The author says the sales team must monitor the company’s CRM system and identify opportunities using metrics such as the stage that prospects seem to get stuck in. The author encourages sales teams to be data-centric and use metrics like prospects moved along and how many prospects they’ve talked to in order to prove their worth to the company.

The second article talks about CRM adoption rates. Now that the CRM system is in place it must be actively maintained to ensure its effectiveness. Monitoring login attempts in a great start but users must be engaged with actively updating information to keep it accurate. Data quality is very critical for adoption as well. If important feeds are not filled out or are filled out incorrectly it will hinder the firm's ability to quickly and accurately retrieve the data as well. Lastly, you must ensure that the usage of the CRM reflects the organization’s process.

Key Takeaways:

• Sales success is as much about process as it is about your people
• Social media listening is a good starting point in figuring out trends in the industry
• Sales operations teams need a 360 degree view of the process
• Key things to take into consideration while monitoring adoption are usage, data quality, and organizational effectiveness
• Login rates are basic success indicators
• Strategic support and direction ensure successful CRM adoption

Articles Used:

Claveria, KC. "How Analytics and Data Can Help You Succeed as a Sales Pro." Business 2 Community. N.p., 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Schmidt, Alicia. “Measuring Adoption: Is your CRM solution healthy and growing?” Salesforce.org. Nov 13. 2011. Web. Nov 16. 2015

Week Eleven

Summaries:

The first article provides an in-depth description of big data. The author says that because of big data, there is an abundance of information available to businesses which is a curse and a blessing because it’s hard to sift through all the data to find information that actually matters.

The second article talks about six important metrics for success when using Facebook. Six key metrics are fanreach, organic reach, engagement, storytellers, click-through rate, and negative feedback. These metrics are give insight on your page is performing and the best parts is that they are built in and free to use.

Takeaways:

• You should pick one or two key metrics to monitor customer health, the rest of the data should be used to refine the company’s approach
• Pick metrics based on your company’s area of concern: revenue growth, profitability, customer management, operational efficiency, and risk/fraud
• The negative feedback metric in Facebook is a great tool to utilize. By finding out who unsubscribed or hide content for your page you can compile the data to notice a trend and correct the action
• The engagement metric is also as equally important as the negative feedback, by seeing who, and how many people are responding to your posts it displays how effective your content was
• Viral reach can drastically increase content exposure

Works Cited

Taylor, Nicole Fallon. "Big Data: What Does Your Business Really Need?" Business News Daily. Purch, 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Nov. 2015.

Post, Guest. “The Six Metrics That Determine Your Success On Facebook.” Duct Tape Marketing. 01 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2015

Week Ten

Article Summaries:

The first article states that a common problem with marketing metrics is that they are not properly linked to financial metrics. The author gives a five step approach to remedy this: Determine your source of truth, get on the same page with finance, build the historical model, reverse the model, and broadcast.

The second article discusses five major areas of importance when dealing with metrics. Help desk KPI’s, Action’s per engagement, response time indicators, conversion rates, relationship freshness, and funnel drop off rates. Out of all of these metrics the funnel drop off rate is most important. With this metric it allows you to find out how often prospects opt out of newsletters/emails ect and by understanding how often potential buyers opt out of your subscription marketing you can make tweaks to correct the behavior.

Key Takeaways:

• Make sure you can clearly articulate what you need from your CRM database
• Use the historical model as a guide for how to plan future investments
• Even if you think your CRM is clean, it’s worth it to invest in a data hygiene project
• Keeping  up with customer relationship management allows a firm to achieve maximum results
• Tracking KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) makes its easier to retain customers
• Using the funnel drop off rate a struggling advertising campaign can be reinvigorated
• Customer freshness is very important. By keeping notes of where your conversation with clients left off

Sources:

Berke, Adam. "How to Tie Your Marketing Metrics to Real Business Results (5 steps)." VentureBeat. VentureBeat, 31 Oct. 2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

Taylor, Michael. “5 CRM KPI’s You Must Track.” CRM Simplified. 23 Oct. 2015. Web 01 Nov. 2015.