It’s a new year and everyone is looking for digital trends that will optimize business strategy this year. We trust that things are already in full swing your business initiatives and we want to recap on our favorites brought to you from our friends at Altimeter.
CEO, Charlene Li, thinks, “Agile customization of experiences becomes a priority” in 2016, and we could not agree more.
Industry Analyst, Ed Terpening, acknowledges a rising complexity in the digital ecosystem.
Today’s business world is not static and your digital strategies must address not only volume of data but recency based on the specific role and need of the ‘consumer’ of that data. That is why our FirstRain Business Web Graph continually scans the structure of the living Web and the topics, triggers and business lines continually change over time, evolving and expanding based on system input and customer feedback.
FirstRain is an enterprise leader in providing a competitive analysis of target market analysis that will help optimize your business strategy this year.
Feel free to contact us for a free demo, and show you how actionable insights can empower your digital strategy this year.
This is part of the FirstRain Persona Series.
The C-Suite has a new kid on the block; the Chief Data Officer and they are here to stay. Many had predicted the roles of VPs and Directors of Analytics would rise to the C-Suite, and they certainly have. Forrester reports an increase of 45% in the adoption of a CDO in 2015 and predicts a 16% increase in 2016.
So why is this role on the rise? The far-reaching collection of data in the enterprise has lead to the need for an executive leader that sits within the C-Suite to establish and preserve the infrastructure around the ever-growing volume of data, and leverage it as a weapon for business development and customer success.
In the past, strategists were left guessing what people preferred and imagination ruled over data, but the times of the Don Draper’s are gone. Now, there is customer intelligence software that reveals customers’ inclinations and can accordingly shape impactful insights that strengthen a company’s business strategy and allows them to scale quickly.
Currently, there is an array of customer intelligence tools and social media platforms that track customer likes, dislikes and measure engagement. If you feel like someone is watching you, well, they are! More than ever, business technology has become an expert in capturing human behavior.
A problem many enterprises face is, what to do with all that data. Gartner identifies this as a core issue; “Business and IT executives regularly claim that information is one of their companies’ greatest assets, but they fail to measure or fully leverage its value”.
Companies have become thorough about collecting information, but many have yet to take the extra step of recognizing data as a bargaining chip. Too often, a gold mine of information sits in the cloud or is stored in drives waiting for someone to make use of it and connect the dots, but often it is too late.
Digital strategies evolve at a fast-pace and require real-time attention, to market trends, patterns, and changes and have created a demand for Chief Data Officers. CDOs are responsible for bridging the gap between information management and toward actionable insights. Many companies have adopted the role, but many are being left behind in the data-driving race. It’s not just about collecting data, but rather doing something about it.
CDOs are responsible for promoting data access across a company structure and creating awareness in the value within. Forrester explains, “CDOs typically address one or more of four main functions along the data value chain: data management, data governance, data analytics, and insights delivery.”
Data management and data governance
Chief Data Officer’s are responsible for setting a strong, clear foundation for data governance that will foster competitive digital strategies in the next stages of their company’s growth. CDO’s often partner up with CIOs to implement an infrastructure that facilitates data accessibility. The first step of data collection will ultimately measure the results of future business goals and initiatives and has become a key priority in the role of a CDO.
The accuracy and integrity of customer data reports rest in the hands of CDOs and can become a stepping stone to business development plans, strategies, and marketing campaigns. If the first step of data collection is flawed, future information will have a falling domino effect.
Data analytics and insights
Chief Data Officer’s are not only responsible for the systems and practices in reading data, but also analyzing data, and using analytics to find new revenue streams and growth opportunities. Everyone has a lot of data, but how you use it can revolutionize your business and create better-informed decisions that can grow revenue.
CDO’s must partner with technology business leaders to increase agility and reduce risk but, more importantly, this partnership must be coupled with actionable insights to drive innovation. Research suggests, “As companies shift their focus from collecting data to driving innovation, new business models will emerge in which companies subscribe to insights and business outcomes rather than data and analytics solutions.”
CDO’s are not waiting for market disruptions to react but rather using business technology like FirstRain’s platform to anticipate. FirstRain delivers relevant real-time information coupled with actionable insights and triggers that help mitigate risks and help CDOs help their employees to dive deeper into niche markets and competitors, giving them a 360-degree view of industry analysis and better preparing them for market changes.
CDO’s play a large role in the business optimization strategy. Not only does data allow a business to reach a niche audience and engage with customers, but it can propel product development teams to create a better platform, website, product and app for a target audience.
Depending on the phase an enterprise is at, the role of a CDO will foster different priorities. For a younger company, the focus might rest around growth and finding a niche customer market, producing aggressive marketing strategy and organic promotion. For a global brand, the focus might rest around customer satisfaction and engagement. But regardless of the stage an enterprise is at, one thing remains imperative; responding to analytics and reports demands the attention of a Chief Data Officer. Welcome to the club!
For further reading on C-Suite persona:
This is part of the FirstRain Persona Series.
Many may not recognize the title, “Chief Strategy Officer,” as part of the C-Suite, as the role has recently become popular, but will recognize a CSO’s duties. People have come to know the CSO as the “enforcer”, or a “mini-CEO” because of their main focus: to implement the vision of the CEO and company.
No one likes to be the “tough guy”, but many companies have already recognized a need for a Chief Strategy Officer such as Deloitte, IBM, Citrix, Intuit, Cloudera, Oracle and Cisco. CSO’s are usually recruited from veteran roles in management where they have a proven track record of successfully leading teams. Often their titles are coupled with CTO, Head of Corporate Development, and VP of Strategic Alliances.
Today, the CSO works closely with the CEO and bears the challenge of rapidly implementing a strategy that will drive a company to meet end goals and objectives. They understand the importance of being able to influence and mentor people to meet industry demands.
So what does the chief strategy officer do? Some CSO’s act more like a strategist while others are “doers”, and others, facilitators, but regardless of their implementation style, they must effectively oversee the entire company’s strategic plan.
A top priority for a CSO is bringing cohesiveness across the company and making sure that everyone is on board with the company’s strategic goals. Not everyone is apt for change, but working together is necessary to effectively move a company forward. A lot of a CSO’s time is spent working closely with upper management to communicate clearly the next stages a company must make. Their message must be clear-cut and definitive to create an immediate response from these teams.
Setting concrete plans, and goals are necessary to meet long-term visions. With a dynamic list of priorities, a CSO must be mindful of change. In today’s hyperactive digital business world, strategies must account for market changes. Successful CSO’s are not reacting to market trends and changes, they are preparing for them.
Acting pre-emptively to threats, competitors and all the other bumps on the road, will be key to the success of the office of the CSO. Today’s CSO must leverage business intelligence tools that are responsive to market trends and changes and, therefore, able to focus on facilitating strategy as the company’s “Strategy Orchestrator”.
For example in the financial industry, a CSO might be responsible for mitigating risk and growth opportunities. They must be aware of mergers and acquisitions, competitors, global economic changes and especially disrupting technologies in FinTech. This can be overwhelming and can deter a CSO away from enabling a strategic plan. Enterprise business intelligence platforms are fulfilling the need of identifying risk within markets. Companies like FirstRain identify market trends and provide their users with actionable insights to better prepare for market changes, competitors and opportunities.
In Industrial Manufacturing, for example, a CEO’s plan might require rapid growth to stay afloat, and this will require a Chief Strategy Officer to work closely with Sales and Marketing to implement a strategy that will require sales teams to work more effectively. For a sales team to drive results, they must be supplied with technology that prioritizes clients and presents actionable insights for new opportunities that help fulfill the corporate strategy. CRM intelligence software helps prioritize tasks that meet short-term goals, mid-term goals, and successfully steers a company to growth.
Regardless of the industry, a Chief Strategy Officer plays a key role as a leader who understands the mechanics of getting things done. The role often demands the CSO to drive a company through market change, growth, or disruptions, but at end of the day, the CSO must be influential in facilitating change and bringing a vision to live.
To read additional posts on FirstRain buyer Personas:
FirstRain is proud to have been named one of Oracle’s key ISV partners as part of Oracle’s Partner ecosystem expansion announcement at this week’s Oracle Open World (#OOW2015) annual conference. In support of helping customers maximize ROI from its Oracle Cloud Applications, our newest offering, FirstRain for Oracle Sales Cloud provides subscribers on-the-go access to real-time, relevant insights into the customers, competitors and markets they care about most. With FirstRain, Oracle Sales Cloud users are coached on who to call and what to say using advanced analytics and are able to quickly stay current on the critical changes impacting their customer’s business and end markets in a simple, elegant format directly in their Oracle Sales Cloud workflows.
You can read the full press release on the Oracle website or you can visit the FirstRain for Oracle Sales Cloud listing here. What to learn more? Please contact us for a demo!
FirstRain understands sales. Who should I be calling today? What should I say to attract their attention? Is my team prepared for that meeting? Are we all on the same page? How is my competition doing? What are they pitching? How do I intersect the value proposition with my customer’s needs? These are the questions that run through your mind every day. We got answers.
FirstRain gives you exactly the key information you need when you need it. Find new opportunities, develop and maintain key relationships with your customers, and ultimately close more deals.
Walk through a day in the life of a salesperson and gain a real-time understanding of the powerful information at your fingertips as a FirstRain user.
Collaborate, get smarter, and win.
The wait is over. The FirstRain Orion release is causing quite an impactful stir in the world of technology. Orion, released on June 17th, is the world’s first analytics platform that brings together external and internal unstructured data to coach teams and professionals on key business developments that affect their go-to marketing strategy, business relationships, and investments.
Recognition for this universal architecture is coming from every angle, including senior executives from Racepoint and top 10 global pharma company who highlight “smooth integrations” and “increased productivity” driven by FirstRain solutions. The primary topics of discussion displayed Orion’s ability to elevate the delivery of information by:
“We are delighted to bring the new FirstRain Orion architecture to our Fortune 1000 enterprise customers,” said Penny Herscher, FirstRain president and CEO. “The seamless integration of critical and personalized customer and market insights into their enterprise-wide solutions and mobile-first initiatives will help them grow revenue by dramatically improving the speed and quality of the employee’s daily business decisions.”
Review some of the articles covering the FirstRain Orion:
New analytics platform from FirstRain
FirstRain Extends Analytics Reach to include Internal Data Sources
The dawn of data-driven is here. Gone are the days of getting excited about backwards-looking analytics and reporting. Join us at INmarket on July 8th, in San Francisco to explore how data and AI are driving billions of dollars of revenue for B2B marketing and sales. Predictive intelligence will impact all industries, businesses, and our daily lives in ways we can only begin to imagine.
Speakers include senior executives from Cisco, Forrester, LinkedIn, Salesforce.com, MongoDB, CSC, NetSuite, Lenovo and many more. The agenda will include topics such as:
As a partner of 6sense, we’re happy to share a 25% off discount code with you (plus all registrations go to . Use code FIRSTRAIN when you register and we will see you there!
The 2015 SAVO Sales Enablement Summit theme – Spotlight on Growth – brings together an elite community of sales, sales enablement, sales operations and marketing professionals united with a common objective – driving growth through a highly effective, productive and tightly integrated sales ecosystem.
FirstRain is proud to be a sponsor at this year’s summit and to show our support we will be exhibiting and demonstrating how our mutual customers can use SAVO and FirstRain together to drive growth.
The SAVO team has done a great job leading up to the Summit sharing with attendees the best way to take full advantage of the Summit. Here are a few blog posts that highlight what we all have in store for us this week:
There are also some great customer testimonials written from by Michelle Genser that are must reads if you are attending:
We look forward to meeting all the SAVO teams as well as customers at this year’s summit, and will be at the SAVO Smarter Selling Lounge from Tuesday evening June 2nd through Thursday June 4th.
Strategic account management is not a new sales strategy and it is known that effective SAM programs create customer loyalty, stimulate growth, enhance profitability, and lead to innovative service delivery. Since 1964, the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) has been focused solely on helping to establish strategic, key and global account management as a separate profession, career path and proven corporate strategy for growth.
This year’s 51st annual Strategic Account Management Association conference is taking place in San Diego next week from May 4-7th. Attendance is expected to be over 700 SAM professionals and sales executives from all over the country. With over 40 sessions, this year’s conference focuses on ‘transforming strategic account management from a sales strategy to a corporate strategy’ should lead to great discussions and learnings from attendees and speakers!
FirstRain is a proud sponsor of this year’s conference and FirstRain’s VP of Marketing & Alliances, Daniela Barbosa and FirstRain Executive Fellow, Nima Niakan will be in attendance to learn about best practices in competing for the future!
Attending? If you want to schedule a meeting with Daniela or Nima at the conference, drop us a line.
We look forward to seeing everyone next week!
Building solutions that meets today’s customer needs is core to our FirstRain mission. Over the last few months we have invested a lot of time with customers and prospects to really understand what today’s sales teams need as part of their sales acceleration strategy. Today we are pleased to announce our newest product update with FirstRain Personal Business Analytics™ for Sales 2.0 for salesforce.com. Starting today, FirstRain customers can download the newest version of FirstRain for salesforce.com from the salesforce AppExchange.
Transforming the way people market, sell and service through a customer-focused lens takes a deep understanding of the customer and the markets in which they operate. FirstRain gives sales and marketing teams the insights they need to understand emerging business challenges and opportunities, driving actions and strategic decisions in order to grow revenue. FirstRain ranks top accounts by the quality of triggers that are dynamically discovered based on a user’s role, and the products and services they sell.
Using an adaptive business graph that delivers powerful categorization and precision, and in-the-moment, context-aware personalization, FirstRain can now coach sales teams by alerting them of “Deal Breakers” and “Accelerators,” which include real-time triggered events on potential risks in active Salesforce.com sales opportunities or real-world events that will help accelerate sales discussions.
Welcome to a new way to know “Who to Call” and what to say!
You can read the full press release here, or sign-up to see for yourself here.
