Innovation consulting? Innovation Vista is not satisfied with the same IT approach most industries have followed since last century. We Innovate Beyond Efficiency. Our evolutionary approach ensures that prerequisite phase(s) are completed before moving on to the next. As much as business leaders want to jump immediately into “Digital Transformation” (and as much as many consultants are happy to sell services to do so), our experience tells us that companies which aren’t ready with the underlying IT capabilities and stability are simply not ready. As with all worthwhile things, creating revenue or disrupting your industry with technology capabilities require significant effort and preparation. We seek to Build Trust First, and to maintain that trust throughout the journey as your trusted IT strategic advisors.
But from my first-hand experience with multiple CRM launches, I can affirm that EVERY company enjoying high adoption of their CRM also shared these traits as an organization: Churn was minimal. Their sales teams were generally happy and envisioned their future career path staying with the organization, The approach was collaborative. Internal poaching of deals was blocked, and entering notes about a lead INCREASED a rep’s chances of benefiting from a future sale, There was space for long-term thinking. Near-term quotas, if present, were manageable and allowed sales staff to work a bit “on” their process not just “in” it, Required data entry, especially in the early stages of a lead, was kept to a minimum. AI was leveraged where possible to fill in gaps and infer data, Sales managers resisted micro-managing on tidbits and details in the CRM, and instead coached for optimum overall long-term performance.
Recent incidents should serve as sufficient motivation: Yahoo – 3.5 billion account details were hacked in two different breaches. Every single account on a system serving nearly half of the world’s population in 2013-14 (not fully disclosed until 2017). Sony Motion Pictures – hacked by a group working with North Korea and used sensitive stolen data to force Sony to cancel the release of a movie about Kim Jong Un in 2014. Anthem Health – 80 million customers’ identity and health insurance records were breached in 2015. Equifax – 146 million customers’ detailed credit records and social security numbers were breached in 2017.
The world is becoming increasingly personalized. Frequent flier numbers and customer membership programs enable companies to track consumers’ buying patterns; social media platforms and digital marketing channels enable them to know even more about our preferences and lives. The door has been opened to inappropriate uses of this information, as evidenced by the “fake news” and Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandals from the 2016 election. But far more commonly, companies are using customer data in legitimate to personalize their communications with customers, with significant results. Customers are happy for you to know about them. According to Accenture, 83% of consumers are willing to share their data in order to enable a personalized B2C experience, and 91% say it actually impacts their buying habits. For B2B purposes, companies have long known there is easy access to public data about them, so any gain in efficiency is welcomed from suppliers who make use of that information (ideally with internal data as well – see below) to streamline the experience for their clients.
Any business should aim to have an IT consultant! Some technical issues or crisis may be too overwhelming for an internal IT department to solve. Sometimes, hackers breach the systems in a way that internal experts cannot reverse or contain the damage. Natural disasters such as floods or fires may affect technology in a way that only experts can resolve. In such cases, a business cannot avoid hiring experts to restore normalcy and prevent a similar crisis in the future. Read even more info on innovation consultants.
A thing any CEO should know about cybersecurity: Cyber-attacks and security breaches will occur and will negatively impact your business. Today, the average cost of the impact of a cyber breach is $4.9 million. Further, it is incumbent upon CEOs to learn more about cybersecurity to ensure their company is taking appropriate actions to secure their most valuable information assets. This does not mean that every CEO needs to become a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). Rather, CEOs should increase their knowledge of core cybersecurity concepts and leverage their own leadership skills to conceptualize and manage risk in strategic terms, understanding the business impact of risk.