Retain customers with a data platform

For many sales leaders, the promising returns of big data have finally arrived.The move towards consolidated information means a more analytical approach to selling where people can get insights into trends and drill down into the underlying information.

The sales team finally has better data, better access to KPIs and better information about customer behaviour. Companies can replace spreadsheets for data analysis, sales team no longer rely on IT for reporting and have access to real-time dashboards rather than a homegrown reporting tool.

While there will always be a certain excitement that comes with finding new customers, the pandemic has seen a renewed focus on keeping customers coming back. Accurate data enables the sales team to drive loyalty to their brands and provide personalized service.

Here are some interesting statistics compiled from surveys and customer feedback in 2021 about the power of retaining customers.

• 32% of business leaders state that retaining current customers is their number one priority
• 80% of profits still come from only 20% of current customers in most mid-market businesses
• The probability of a sale from a current customer is 60% compared to 10% for a new customer
• It costs 5-20% more to win a new customer than to keep a current one
• An increase of 2% in customer retention can lower costs by 10%
• Businesses lose 71% of customers because of inadequate customer service
• 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience

What's a data platform?

A data platform works with your ERP system to serve as a single source of truth for all your business data. Data analytics takes the information managed in the ERP and combines it with data from CRM, accounting, marketing, operations and other programs and departments in your business to create a more comprehensive and holistic picture of your business. The information is then converted into easy-to-understand charts, graphs and tables and then delivered to those who need it, when they need it on any preferred device.

Now you, your branch managers and front-line sales team can access and analyze a shared understanding of information that drives your business while tracking metrics that are important to their roles and responsibilities.

What insights are in your data?

With the right data analytics platform, your product, customer and sales performance data is at your fingertips. The data, aggregated and analyzed in a central location, can provide the access and actionable insights that you need to develop the right strategies to meet sales targets, while giving customers the confidence in you, your team and your company. Data also helps salespeople to determine what customers are having issues and to be proactive.

Knowledge is power, and the more information that your team has, the better they can proactively respond to customer needs and expectations. By increasing visibility to individual and team sales performance especially now they might be doing more inside selling or working from home, you create a transparent sales culture that will encourage team collaboration to develop new ways to increase revenue and profit. Your data platform becomes the center of your business activity where sales reps can access and reference data about their customers and territories, as well as for a complete picture of team performance. You can create more collaborative and consistent sales activities when everyone accesses and refers to the same data.

Your sales data has significant value to other areas of your business, including operations, marketing and management. As you track buying trends and product sales, you can, for example, coordinate with marketing to develop more targeted campaigns to push underselling or complementary products; provide manufacturing with more accurate forecasting to create a more effective production schedule; and compile KPIs to keep management up to date on the latest performance numbers.

Data analytics can help both inside sales and outside sales by giving them useful insights, which include:

• Understanding customer profitability
• Tracking channel performance
• Assessing profit margin by product and/or service
• Identifying declining customers

Reliable sales data also opens the door to revenue generation. Leadership teams can use data to find sales revenue and leverage insights with sales teams to boost sales.

To learn more about how a data platform can help retain customers, download this free eGuide: Reach sales targets during rapid change