1. AI-Powered Automated Workflows
Several years ago, Gartner predicted that approximately 20 percent of all business content would be created by machines by this year. Whether or not it accurately nailed that prediction, it’s clear that our increasingly automated future very much includes a bigger role for artificial intelligence (AI) in the CRM space. The inefficient processes that hinder CRM will no longer be acceptable, and AI-powered automation will play a much bigger role in streamlining workflows. We expect to see an increasing number of enterprises utilizing solutions with AI baked directly into their CRM. Last year, for example, Salesforce.com introduced Einstein, a suite of capabilities such as predictive analytics and natural language processing, all driven by machine learning and deep learning.
AI will develop in parallel with user interactions using various touch points within CRM and evolve continuously to deliver more intelligent and personalized actions. Learning critical patterns will enable AI-infused CRM to automate certain actions, decrease the manual work required, and empower sales and marketing professionals to work more efficiently and effectively.
2. IoT Integration
With the Internet of Things (IoT) making major strides across a spectrum of applications and use cases, market-savvy CRM creators will be taking steps toward integrating input processing from wearables, home devices, phones, and even cars.
This will better tailor customer experiences with contextually integrated and relevant data. Such integration will provide businesses with hitherto unmined opportunities in the form of better and deeper customer insights.
3. CRM at the Center of an Omnichannel Approach
Today, more than six touch points are needed before the typical sale, usually across several channels. As consultants at McKinsey and Co. have noted, simply initiating touch points across multiple channels is not enough—the consistency of customer experience matters as much as the breadth of engagement.
The less touch points you use, the better the sales process, and so CRMs will look toward ramping up API and integration algorithms with the objective of achieving tighter and leaner integrations with external services and tools.
Companies such as Disney, Virgin, REI, and Chipotle are excelling at managing the entire customer experience across channels, and CRM systems are evolving to serve as the nerve center for this omnichannel approach. Leading CRM systems are unifying mobile marketing, social campaigns, landing pages, customer support ticketing, sales calls, and other channels into a coherent whole.
INSIGHTS & PERSPECTIVES
123
34