9 Reasons Tracking Social Analytics Can Increase Sales

More people, more data. It’s inevitable. Companies big and small are beginning to realize the impact that big data and analytics truly have on business and it’s huge. McKinsey held a recent survey of over 1,000 Sales Organizations and found did 53% of thosethat are considered „high performing,“ rated Themselves as effective users of analytics.

Although sales departments are no strangers to statistics, innovative ways in which we mine and analyze data are powering new ventures.

John the Salesman no longer has the names of every one of his customer’s children. In today’s world, he simply has to log into the latest customer relationship management software (CRM) and the demographics are all there.

And it goes a step further. Now John can know what his customers prefer for lunch, their favorite type of music, what they watch, and all types of behavioral data that give great insight. And when it comes to sales, knowledge means consumer trust.

So why should sales departments care about deep data mining? Here are 9 reasons:

# 1) Thought Leadership

79% of business buyers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor – not just a sales rep – who adds value to their business. Customers are looking for smart sales experiences and social analytics can lead the way. They prefer sales reps that they like. No modern customer is looking like another lead in the funnel.

# 2) Customer retention

51% of sales leaders are focused on increasing customer retention through deeper relationships. It’s no longer about sales as much as it is.

Successful sales teams care about how to do it. When you create a memorable experience for people, they tend to stay.

# 3) Personalization

High-performing sales teams are 2.8x more likely than underperforming teams to make their sales organizations more focused on personalizing customer interactions over the past 12-18 months.

Social analytics allows sales teams to offer a more personalized sales experience at scale. Customers are tired of the „one size fits all approach.“ They want to feel special and social analytics.

# 4) Ad Placement

Consumers have become wholly complacent to online advertising due to ubiquitous ad placement. But social analytics is all that. It’s telling sales and marketing exactly where to put things. The more relevant to ad placement is, the more your message will be heard.

Metrics like traffic, click-through rates, and social barometers all offering insight into which of your channels resonate with customers. If Twitter consistently performs better than Facebook, you can infer an ad fare better on that platform. A little social listening can help you in the right direction.

# 5) Resource Management

Sales teams can refine operational efficiency by studying social data. Communications, location services, and conversion rates tracked through mobile sites can be aggregated and used to leverage sales efforts based on the pitch, geography, and salesperson.

In other words, you can use their efforts in the wrong place. It can help distinguish between warm and soft leads. One of the most potent tools of any modern salesperson is the ability to effectively allocate their resources through robust targeting. Analytics is what makes this happen.

# 6) Product Development

Who better to tell you the customer needs than the customers themselves? Social interactions, sales platforms, and analytics can all be leveraged to improve product development. Social analytics offers a business to better engineer a solution, which in turn leads to greater customer satisfaction.

Metrics, like page views and time spent on the page, can give insight into what is going to be particular interest. This data can then be used to improve product offering, as well as sales efficacy. When it comes to products, social feedback is actionable information.

# 7) Collaboration

73% of sales teams say collaborating across departments is absolutely critical or very important to their overall sales process. In order to have complete visibility in the customer journey, cross-collaboration is essential. Sales organizations can no longer exist in silos and must learn to work with other departments.

Social analytics increases ROI through collaboration. Sales must retrieve data from different channels and partners. Once this data is aggregated, however, it makes them more powerful than ever before. It enables a 360-degree customer view.

# 8) Reducing Inefficiencies

Today’s sales teams are thinking smarter, not harder. They’re using tech to help reduce administrative inefficiencies. Usually, sales need to stay on top of multiple administrative tasks like updating their CRM, managing the flow of paperwork, and keeping pace with mobile clients. With the help of automation, analytics, and mobile capabilities, salespeople are now free to do what they do best: sell.

As it stands, 79% of sales teams currently use or are planning to use sales. This results in more data-driven decision making and deeper insights into lead quality. Sales can now make their top priority when technology lends them greater visibility.

# 9) Smarter selling

Smart selling really boils down to using your time more efficiently. Sales statistics have proven to be many salespeople are bogged down with non-selling activities. That’s why teams are turning to AI and social analytics to make more informed decisions. The following are some stats and trends to demonstrate how effective a tool analytics can be when it comes to modern selling:

Over the next three years, sales teams at all levels expect anticipated sales and coaching capabilities (ie, adaptive intelligence on next-best activities) by 98% .
AI is the top growth area for sales teams – its adoption by sales teams is estimated to grow to 139% over the next three years .
Sales teams who have implemented analytics are now seeing results, realizing substantial improvements in areas such as pipeline generation, prospect nurturing, and forecast accuracy.
Top sales teams are using AI and analytics to craft unique and personal customer experiences . They focus on automatically recommending products based on documented preferences.
Soon lead scoring, product recommendations, email response, and even day-to-day administrative tasks will be autonomously integrated. That allows sales to simply focus on selling.
High-performing sales teams are 3x more likely than underperforming teams to currently use guided selling.
High-performing sales teams are 5x more likely than underperformers to have a positive impact on forecasting accuracy when using intelligent capabilities.
Triple-digit growth is thus expected in areas such as predictive intelligence (118%) and lead-to-cash process automation (115%) in the next three years.

Top sales teams are already realizing the benefits of smart selling. Adopting these techniques can create significant gains in time spent selling and connecting with customers on a deeper level. This clears up more time to create personalized customer experiences and focus on each one.

Tracking social analytics at first might seem like another task to a salesperson, but the time spent setting up automation is far less than the time it will save you. In the age of digital, consumers are intelligent. They can research on their own and thus, do not need to be sold.

Customers are looking for thought leaders in their salespeople and studying social analytics. Analytics thus helps a salesperson free up their time to actually meet the needs of the consumer. That makes AI a win-win for everyone-so when are you getting on board?