THE SOLUTIONS
LAB
Ryan Higginson , Vice President Global Inside Sales , Pitney Bowes
Challenge :
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
10 steps to a connected approach to drive results
# 1 Map your move to digital , against your business priorities
What do you most want your business to achieve , and what tools could help you do this ? Informed business decisions are built on data , so that ’ s a good place to start . Use what data you have to give you insights : if your sales funnel is growing and you want to formalise your customer relationship management , you might consider Salesforce or an alternative CRM system ; if you have sales people with different commission amounts each month , the latest accounting software would work well ; and if you need to meet new industry regulations such as the GDPR , you might want to consider ways of protecting your physical and digital customer information .
# 2 Let your customers drive your digitalisation strategy
How do they prefer to get in touch with you ? Email , phone , or through your website ? Which types of marketing communication do they best respond to ? Their responses will help you prioritise your digital tools .
# 3 Gather as much data from your customers as you can
You can put in place clever analytics behind your website to follow your customers ' browsing journey , or you can create a simple form for your customers to complete when they make an enquiry with you . Collect data you might not think you need – mobile numbers will become invaluable for marketing in the future , if not now , so think long-term .
# 4 Consider the cloud
Data needs to be accessible if you ’ re going
to use it to extract insight . Cloud storage is a great solution , cost-effective and accessible from any device . Similarly , if you do business through your website , look for a cloud-based platform which brings together a wide range of innovative software and applications , from e-commerce payment to shipping tools .
# 5 Identify how you can make your communication work harder
Personalisation is absolutely critical to the success of marketing communications , and once you ’ ve collected your customer data digitally and started to manage it effectively , you have the potential to deliver highly personalised , relevant , contextual communication . Digitalisation is key here .
# 6 Become a beta trialist
Vendors are often on the lookout for businesses to trial their technologies and provide feedback , and many will offer a trial subscription to a software platform before you sign up . Take advantage of these offers as they can be fantastic introductions to new ways of working .
# 7 Consider how your workforce will evolve
Do you have mobile workers , or could flexible working give you access to a wider talent pool ? Do you need to make sure your mobile workers have access to exactly the same tools and technologies as they do in the office ? The latest mail platforms convert mail that comes into an office in physical format , into digital format so it can quickly and securely reach the addressee .
# 8 If you ’ re a government organisation
Think about which tools will help you best meet digital targets , and find out what ’ s working for other local government agencies in your area – they can share best practices and outcomes .
# 9 Make sure you have the right foundations in place
There ' s not much point investing in digital tools and systems if you have a slow and creaking infrastructure underneath them . Talk to your network provider to check you have the bandwidth in place to support your technology objectives . Moving to a different tariff could get you more bandwidth and a faster service for a similar cost .
# 10 Finally , think about how it all works together
Separate apps , tools and systems that don ’ t talk to each other are frustrating and hinder progress . One of the benefits of digitalisation is that it provides a connected , integrated approach , so speak to partners or managed service providers who will make sure everything is joined up .
For more information , ideas and insights head over to www . pbconnect . com
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