Every organisation is doing “something, somewhere” around digitization. But there should be no grey zone: All business, process and functional requirements for a CRM platform must be business-led. In many cases, I see that IT is ahead of the business […]
I have a paradoxical question that will tickle your brain: How on earth can organisations become both more digital and more human-centric at the same time? š¤ It’s like trying to juggle apples and oranges while tap-dancing on a unicycle! […]
Hello! Today I wanted to share a valuable lesson I learned when I was starting my career as a consultant at CapGemini ā The complexity of integration in digital transformation initiatives. When I embarked in one of my first projects […]
IĀ care about business users š¤. And I am a firm believer that in any digital transformation project, we must remember that they are the true VIPs of the show. But what does it mean to successfully address the usersā needs? […]
If your key account plans are integrated into your CRM to drive day to day sales, then you know youāre on the right direction. It is frequent that organizations do not have any systematic Key Account Planning process in place. […]
Digitalization is not a product or a service that you can plug and play. It’s a journey and a change in mindset first. š® Any organisation needs to adapt to compete in its business environment. It has always been the […]
Do leaders really make a difference in digital transformation? I got this question from students in Business Management here in Stockholm. It’s a very relevant one. Since most of the time, we talk about the importance of a strong executive […]
And the first question to ask should be: What are we trying to achieve? Alternatively, what is the problem we are trying to solve? Here, taking a process approach will make life easier. Many operational inefficiencies and their root causes […]
I answered this yesterday. The COO of a former start-up, turned leader on its market, was asking me about the (apparent) mis-alignment and lack of coordination between his Marketing and Sales teams. He was worried by the fact that the […]
No one likes turbulent times in business. And with the downturn market, the fintech ecosystem has become uncertain. Iāve been asked to talk about the trends in Fintech. I know this industry well. Iāve been active in it for the […]
Some organisations think that the latest technologies will instantly solve a decadeās operational issues. But I do believe that trying to solve business or CRM implementation issues with additional CRM technology or customisation is fundamentally wrong. š¤ Sources of inefficiencies […]
CRM is a driver for innovation. I see a strong correlation between CRM and business performance. And I strongly champion the idea that greater CRM effectiveness influences positively every organisationās business performance. This is evidence to me. Especially when I […]
There is something very instructive in how organisations approach digital transformation matters. For some, taking a technology-only view is not a problem. At least, in theory. At least, at the very beginning. This is when you hear statements like “CRM […]
There are always enhancements to be made to a CRM system. Any organization that is happy with what it has, needs to question itself. Many business executives say they are not (or never) satisfied with their current CRM solution. They […]
Business leaders should start investigating what voice features might do for their company. Especially to their CRM systems. Let me explain why. Companies have a long history of implementing CRM solutions to support their marketing, sales, or customer service operations. […]
Do you find hard to explain what you do for a living? To your mum? to your dad? To Harry Potter’s fans? I do. How many of us have encountered this question. āWhat do you do in life?ā and feel […]
2023 is now off to a flying start. I want to say a very big thank you to each of you for your contribution, feedback and support to me in making this blog even more relevant. This blog still continues […]
Consider any organization – large and medium. One of the first things it does when it wants to increase its market share, its sale revenues or, more broadly speaking, invest in digital initiatives, is to choose a technology platform. Possibly […]
Digital transformation is not only about changing the way businesses operate by using new technologies. It is rather more about new processes, business models, and organizational practices. Iām listing here some of the 10 lessons learned and best practices I […]
Every time I am attending a conference, there is AI on the agenda. Somewhere. I have to admit this is not a new topic as such – Strictly not -, but it is interesting to see the growing interest from […]
These are the kind of excellent ways to wreck apart your CRM project. If we were really being honest about CRM initiatives performance, we may be wondering why some projects result in very strong benefits – growing profit or reduced […]
There is something attractive about the new announcement by Salesforce and Sprout Social about Tableau. It is refreshing, to some extent, the whole discussion on Big Data. In short, Sprout Social is now providing integration capabilities to Tableau, Salesforceās analytics […]
Everyday I see more and more organisations working on some kind of harmonisation of their CRM processes across their international operations. They want a common set of processes to be deployed globally, and all enabled by a technology platform. Precisely […]
Harvard Business Review publishes an excellent article on ecosystems by Prof. Gianvitto Lanzolla (Bayes Business School) and Prof. Constantinos Markides (London Business School). This is a fantastic topic! You may not realised it but roughly 50% of the top brands […]
In the very near future, Voice User Interfaces will progressively integrate with front office and CRM systems. This is a fact. Voice User Interfaces have the potential to become the next killer application. This is my belief. In my previous […]
I recently posted Big data projects in Marketing are surprising. Constantly (Part 1) explaining that, from my experience, big data projects in Marketing were a do & learn approach. I was highlighting the importance of aligning stakeholders on a common […]
Working in a Big data project in Marketing is constantly surprising. Essentially. When I first got involved in a big data project, it was in marketing. I knew marketers had struggled for ages to really understand who their customers were […]
With the rise of digital business models, ecosystems, and the greater maturity in technologies such as AI, most organisations are forced to revisit their business models and the way they engage with customers. In this paper, I am exploring some […]
SAP and Siebel are head to head! Hey Didier? “Youāre kidding, arenāt you? It’s Monday. We’re supposed to be moody!” Haha! Those were the headlinesā¦ 20 years ago (13 February 2001). For the admirers of Salesforce & Co, I was […]
“Digital and Value Creation: Where Do European Banks Stand?” This is the new 2022 research conducted by the market agency D-Rating. I like to compare performance year after year. So I monitor the D-Rating report every year for the Nordics. In […]
Comments on Gartnerās three important ways Artificial intelligence (AI) can benefit Customer Service Operations. Gartner has recently published an engaging article on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Customer Service operations (Dated 19 January 2022). This article is available online on Gartnerās […]
A special thanks to each of you for making 2021 such a great year ā still a surrealistic year like the previous one, however. This blog continues to reach people beyond my expectations. Google Analytics shows that you have been […]
It should be no surprise to anyone if I add Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the top list of trends impacting the CRM world. AI systems have become a reality and are maturing quickly. For most of us, as consumers, Artificial […]
People often ask me what trends I see today in the CRM and digital transformation fields. It is a kind of legitimate to try to understand what is happening today and foresee how the future will be. In this series […]
2020 has been a surrealistic year. With Covid-19, thousands of people and companies quickly adjusted to a new way of working that we all called WFH. Some moved quicker than others. For some, it was business as usual, for others, […]
According to a recentĀ PEGA study, employees facing customers are often frustrated with the level of service they can provide to customers.Ā They denounce inadequate technology and processes that limit their effectiveness. The survey shows that 81% of respondents mentioned fast resolution […]
Commentary – We were around 350 people and prof. Mark Greeven shared some great insights and practical examples on why and how organisations should leverage partners to build sustainable businesses. On ecosystems ā Have you listened to IMD’s webinar on […]
Commentary – Gartner has just released a 2020 quadrant for Digital Experience platforms (DXP), basically revamping the classical Web Content Management MQ with a new terminology and enlarged scope. It is true all WCM solutions now include enough features to […]
Opinion – I have received a good number of reactions and messages after my post last week on the impacts of the current crisis on projects in Sweden. A project manager confessed the decision had been made to postpone some […]
Commentary – Any new Gartner Magic Quadrant release is a kind of milestone in my life as a CRM consultant. I have just reviewed the recent (2020) MQ for Analytics and Business Intelligence platforms. Sounds fun? Well, this year, Microsoft […]
Opinion – The Covid-19 crisis is revealing flaws in business continuity plans and weaknesses in value chains, exposing business and people alike. Most business continuity plans were based on a few number of key employees performing critical functions. They were […]
Some of my contacts in Sweden are confessing to me that their CRM projects are now at risk. The reason is that some of the critical project resources from their integration partners have been stranded abroad for 2 weeks now […]
I had this exciting discussion yesterday on the risks arising from having inconsistent pricing models and systems. The context was B2B commerce with sales people using multiple pricing tools. This is obviously leading to significant issues such as inconsistencies in […]
Just revisiting the PEGA Business Architect course I attended last year to refresh my knowledge of the platform. Afterwards I will do the same with Salesforce and Dynamics… Life as a CRM consultant…
Preparing for the long Swedish winter, always a good time to revisit old business classics and new inspiring books. This year, my plan is: 1. Refresh my knowledge on Big Data analytics, through the IBM Big Data platform, 2. Revisit […]
Just summarising some of my recent questions on Open Banking. Do they make sense?
Open Banking: The future of banking will be driven by open business models and APIs. The Question: From core competence to market power, what is the best positioning for you? Let’s talk about it!
The question: How do you best set up the right organisation in order to leverage your unique data advantage to compete or partner with Fintech and Bigtech players? This question is actually not new and has been on the agenda […]
I like this statement by Nicholas Negroponte in “Being Digital” (1995). Very relevant in the era of Open Banking! I have just re-read his book during this festive break. I recall reading it for the first time when studying Information […]
