32 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 IF YOU WANT to grow your business, consider enhancing customer service, increasing customer revenue, improving how you cross sell and up sell products, ensuring customer loyalty and having effec- tive internal communications. It’s these very things that will give you a competitive edge by exceeding client expectations and deliv- ering a responsive service. Easier said than done, you say? Maybe, but there’s no reason to not get started. In strategizing how to grow your busi- ness, you must define how the whole company — every division, department and business unit — engages with cus- tomers. How will each employee, not just those in sales and marketing, manage the customer relationships? Defining how your teams work together and effectively service customers is also known as cus- tomer relationship management, or CRM. Organizations that think CRM can be achieved by simply purchasing the soft- ware will not actually achieve CRM. The software is merely an enabler. A company must have both the software and the strategy, going hand in hand, for it to be successful. Only then will all of your teams be better informed about the customer and therefore, maximize opportunities and deliver better service and the right products to keep customers coming back. Using the information that a CRM collects allows you to effectively profile customers. This helps in identifying cus- tomer segments and developing loyalty programs that offer different rewards for different levels of engagement, or repeat purchases. These profiles allow you to better target customers and potential customers with the right service and How Can Team Cohesion Benefit Customer Relationships? VINCENT VENEZIALE CULTURA SEED SOLUTIONS PRODUCT MANAGER @culturatech • vincent.veneziale@culturatech.com • Seed.Culturatech.com products, ensuring your message reaches the right audience. By combining this information with the data from customers’ previous purchases and at what frequency, sales teams can better anticipate customer needs. Then, they can be there with the right product at the right time to get the sale. True CRM is only achieved when eve- ryone in the business is on board, starting with senior managers. They really need to understand the value of CRM and how it can be used to meet their own objectives, and those of staff and the customer’s. If the users are not on board, then they will not use a CRM, giving you an incomplete picture, or worse yet a false one. The best software in the world will not give you CRM. It’s the people who execute it on a daily basis that will give you a real CRM. IF THE PROSPECT of adding another “to do” to your list is holding you back from engaging in content marketing, you’re likely not alone. That said, the impact of content marketing shouldn’t be overlooked — people are hungry for information. Done well, content marketing will boost your brand credibility and position you as a thought leader, and that can have more of an impact on your bottom line than you might think. A recent study from Edelman-LinkedIn Research examined the impact of thought leadership. Focusing on B2B companies from a wide range of industries and com- pany sizes, the survey found that decision- makers value thought leadership. Fifty percent of survey participants spent more than one hour a week engaging with con- tent from thought leaders. This includes formats such as whitepapers, videos, webi- nars and online presentations It was also shown that 60 percent of companies participating in thought lead- ership felt it enhanced their organizations brand reputation, while the number was actually 88 percent from polled survey participants. The perceived knowledge of the companies offering thought leader- ship also translated into a willingness for customers to pay a premium for thought leaders’ products and services. And when it comes to closing sales, an even more impressive statistic from the survey was that 20 percent of the creators of thought leadership said, “it helps us close and win.” In actuality, nearly half of business decision-makers surveyed said thought leadership has directly led them to award business to a company. So, how can you put this information to work for you? Focus on creating great content that is relevant and timely for your customers. How Thought Leadership Drives Revenue Generation LINDSAY HOFFMAN CREATE BY ISSUES INK VICE PRESIDENT, CLIENT SERVICES @IssuesInk • lhoffman@IssuesInk.com • IssuesInk.com To create thought leadership through your content marketing you need to stay away from pitching your products and services — people want to do business with a company that helps them. Know where your customers are looking for information and be present in those channels. Customers are looking for information they can quickly absorb, so be sure to make your content accessible and vary your formats. Lastly, put your employees front and center. Customers want to be able to access and connect with your senior staff — they are after all your experts. Through your content, potential clients can learn who you are and start to trust you. It feels good for them. It feels good for you. It feels good for everybody. And that is why content marketing and thought leadership work.