There have been plenty of stories about the downfall of retail, yet time and again, certain brands rise to the top. One thing these retailers have in common: they use technology and data to make intelligent decisions for their business. The sheer volume of data available—gathered from transactions, social media, opt-in phone tracking and more—can Read more
We are all awash in data and information, yet according to McKinsey, only 10 percent of marketers currently use insights to improve performance. You might argue that you are doing just fine with your marketing without such insights, and as such it really doesn’t matter, but I beg to differ. In this blog, I’ll share Read more
It wasn’t so long ago that prospects considered sales reps to be the primary source of information about products and services. Due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, that’s no longer true. Today’s potential customers do their homework. They’re nearly 70 percent of the way toward making a buying decision before Read more
This week at the SHRM18 Annual Conference and Exposition, we will be showcasing how to empower employees in the modern workplace with Microsoft solutions for Human Resources. While I am excited to attend my first SHRM conference and meet with HR leaders from around the globe, I’m invigorated to see the Microsoft 365, Workplace Analytics, Read more
The U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest in nearly two decades, there’s a shortage of skilled candidates in numerous fields, and job hunters are savvier and more selective about who they’ll work for. After years of having the job market stacked in their favor, talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers now face stiff competition Read more
The future of field service is here. Are you ready to take the next step? A piece of equipment experiences a problem, and the customer calls. You dispatch a technician who goes to the site and runs diagnostics. If you’re lucky, all the right parts are on the truck and it’s an easy fix. But Read more
In far too many organizations, marketing and sales teams often operate as siloed organizations with distinct goals and processes. Marketing busies itself with generating leads and making them available to sales. What sales does, or doesn’t do, with those leads is considered beyond the purview of marketing. Similarly, sales teams maniacally focus on closing deals Read more
Have you ever signed up for a mailing list thinking it will help you stay up to date on a product or service, only to find the future content to be mostly irrelevant? According to CMO.com, 42 percent of buyers say they get annoyed when their content isn’t personalized. There’s a growing buyer expectations gap Read more
Servitization is likely a familiar term to many field service organizations as leading companies around the world, from aerospace to oil and gas exploration, move from a traditional product-centric delivery model to a more service-centric one. In a global, commoditized economy, successful companies understand the need to differentiate themselves through service delivery. In fact, according Read more
Field service organizations have historically run under a reactive, break-fix operating model, only able to respond to device failures after customers report a problem. Modern field service organizations need new ways to make sense of available information to enable their people and take early action to address customer needs. Intelligent, predictive systems driven by artificial Read more
Over the last decade, the retail industry has undergone a massive transformation. The proliferation of e-commerce expanded customer choice, the rise of social media changed how people gather product details, and the expansion of smartphones placed an unlimited supply of information at our fingertips. All of this means that customer expectations are changing—rapidly. Read more