5 Reasons Why CEOs Should Master Sales and Marketing Data
The role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has evolved over the years. CEOs today have to get their hands dirty and do their share of the legwork, while at the same time being responsible for making the decisions and guiding a business in the right direction. The role of the CEO is such that he/she is more used to putting out fires than preventing the fires in the first place. This means that CEOs are far too reactive and only take action when problems emerge. Using data, they can foresee potential problems and take steps to prevent them. However, they don’t know how to read the data correctly.
Here are 5 reasons why CEOs should understand sales and marketing data
1.Big Data is the New Black
In over 60% of corporations that are relying on data-driven sales and marketing initiatives, the initiatives are launched by the CEOs. Big data has become a household term today. Any business worth its salt invests heavily in gathering and analyzing data about its customers, partners, and even employees. Big data also encompasses the sales and marketing function of a business.
Using the insight provided by big data analytics, CEOs gain a comprehensive overview of their sales and marketing levels, revenue, and bottom-line, enabling them to make informed decisions. If your company is planning to invest in machine learning, you have to be on top of the game to understand how data can drive decision making.
2.Tracking is the Key
Businesses have to track and monitor any activity they invest in, especially sales and marketing. If you want to double your sales volume, this means you have to double all the factors that lead to a sale, i.e. prospects, leads, etc. Effective tracking will enable you to check if you have been able to increase the factors accordingly or not and whether you need to make any changes.
How would a CEO know if the new sales campaign is generating results? It is only possible if he/she has tangible sales data analytics on hand to decide whether to continue with the campaign or look for new ideas. Defining the Key performance indicators(KPIs) for measuring your sales and marketing performance is important to gauge the return on investment (RoI), among other factors.
3.Enhance Organizational Performance
A successful company relies on cohesion, collaboration and communication between the departments. As the CEO, you are overseeing everyone, and hence need to be on the same wavelength as your sales and marketing teams. If you don’t understand the KPI’s they are using for measuring the progress of their campaigns, you cannot hold them accountable or measure their performance. Broadening the scenario, you have to track the performance of the entire business, and understanding sales and marketing data goes a long way towards helping you achieve that.
This is because not all employees have access to the volume of data as you, because you are the person in charge. If you are counting on them to act on information they don’t know about, they won’t be able to meet your expectations.
4.Understand Your Customers Better
Today’s customer is savvier and knows more about the brands he buys products and services from. Your marketing efforts cannot focus on a generic customer profile. You have to understand the ideal client persona and develop it keeping in mind the data you generate from CRM tools. A better understanding of your customers fosters retention and loyalty. For example, using big data, you can get an idea of your customers’ location, age, and spending habits.
5.Make Better Decisions
Last, but not the least, with companies increasing their emphasis on reporting, more data is available to you than ever. As the CEO, you have a bird’s eye view of sales data, marketing data, and any other form of big data your company generates. A keen understanding of the information the data provides and the analytics your team uses will help you make better decisions to improve your bottom-line.
As a CEO, if you find it difficult to understand sales and marketing data, VisualCue can simplify it for you. VisualCue is a comprehensive Sales Performance Platform that boosts performance by transforming the data your team generates every day into actionable insights they can use to work smarter.
We acomplish this by combining revolutionary data visualization with proven Business Intelligence strategies to empower every member of your team with information they need to improve their performance.