TechBytes with Katherine Kostereva, CEO and Managing Partner at bpm’online

Tell us how Customer Data Platforms and Analytics are changing CRM platforms?

Customer Data Platforms pull data from various sources and make it available for other systems. While somewhat different in functionality, CDP can supplement CRM features. CDP and analytics make the customer data more sophisticated, enriched with more details that help marketing and sales professionals to make right decisions and precise estimates. Guestimates are so yesterday. Today software is capable of providing all the required information you need to make a decision on whether to proceed with the deal or disqualify a lead or send it for nurturing.

Are CRMs prepared for the next stage of ML-based automation?

AI and ML have already moved from the realms of emerging tech to must-adopt technology and are becoming a critical success aspect for the customer experience and engagement. According to the recent Gartner report, the number of enterprises implementing artificial intelligence grew 270 percent in the past four years and tripled in the past year with an estimated 37 percent of firms now implementing AI in some form.

CRM solutions have also moved further and utilize AI and ML for a broad range of functions. Thanks to the technology, scoring prospects, finding the best next action for sales and marketing representatives, and categorizing cases is easily doable within minutes. Based on the historic data, CRMs are now capable of predicting how likely a team is to close a deal and achieve KPI. Better yet – AI along with ML lowers mistakes and bias. Vendors will continue to improve software and enrich it with emerging technologies further.

What is the future of CRM and Sales Force automation?

The world is accelerating. To thrive amidst continuous innovation and disruption, businesses need to adapt and transform faster. Organizations need systems that help align data, processes, and teams enabling them to better connect with digital native customers and rapidly adapt.

The future of CRM and Sales Force Automation software is in enabling companies to automate their customer-facing operations in minutes instead of weeks and months. They also have to allow for agility as change is the new normal.

We see the future where everyone is a developer. Be it a business analyst, a marketing specialist or a sales rep, software will allow them to create custom processes, analytics and even applications without coding. CRMs have already moved into this direction and offer low-code to no code capabilities, and I believe providers of CRM solutions will continue to follow this strategy.

Will we see MarTech and SalesTech follow footsteps of IT Modernization? If yes, how?

Business requires automation to be delivered in a fast and efficient manner. While IT has a huge backlog and limited capacity to deliver on all requests various departments, including marketing and sales, have.

One of the solutions to accelerate modernization and transformation for marketing and sales is utilizing low-code / no-code technologies, which enable the staff to deliver new capabilities and automation much faster and easier. Leveraging low-code technology sales representatives and marketers can build some automation on their own. Such tools enable even less tech-savvy employees to make required configuration, build processes, interfaces, dashboards with no specific development skills.