A holistic integration strategy gives business owners the ability to build a platform that serves as a true foundation for future growth. Without the right processes in place, it becomes very easy for companies to fall into a cycle of bad communication and redundant work. This is what’s commonly known as silos.
Siloed information can harm your business in many ways when left unchecked. No matter if it’s duplicate work, too much time spent searching for vital information, or repeat documents and orders for the same resources, silos can cause a lot of waste and unnecessary overheads.
How can this be avoided, you ask? Well, you need all your data streams to “talk” to one another. When you can get a coordinated, big-picture view of your business across various departments, you’ll be able to plainly see where you’re excelling and where you can improve. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of integrating systems for a more holistic view of your business’s most crucial data.
Improved Sales Strategy
When you decide to integrate your sales data with other customer data, you open up a whole new world to better understanding potential and current customers. Not only does this help you meet their needs with your products and services, but it also creates a level of consumer trust in your brand. If you can give your customers exactly what they’re looking for, they won’t have to worry about looking anywhere else to get what they need.
For example, by integrating your customer relationship management (CRM) platform with your marketing email provider, you can monitor your consumer email reactions. As a business owner, you’ll be able to see what emails your target audience has seen and hasn’t seen, as well as what they clicked on that sparked their interest.
Knowing and understanding this valuable data will help you pinpoint which customers to target in the future. Depending on their unique preferences and interests, you can send specific promotions or offers to customers whose data proves they’ll be more likely to bite, thus increasing sales and revenue.
Cost- and Time-Saving
There are a variety of ways integrated systems can be more cost- and time-effective. As a business owner—you know time is money. The right integrations can put processes in place that introduce better organization, productivity, and collaboration within your business. Here are some ways proper integration can save you time and money:
- Since these systems can be integrated into your various platforms, you won’t need to spend energy copying over information from your CRM platform to your Lead Generation platform, etc.
- With integrated system management, you can quickly and accurately address customer inquiries by having all relevant information at your fingertips. Being proactive rather than reactive is a huge money and time saver.
- In the case of disaster, an integrated system helps reduce lengthy business interruptions by giving you all the business data and information you need to avoid a halt in primary operations.
- Reduce data complexity with an integration plan that manages multiple interfaces by streamlining information into one user-friendly source.
- Automation technology can take away hours of inefficiencies when you make data proactively talk to one another.
- Create data integrity that ensures your most crucial information is free of inconsistencies, errors, and duplication.
Integrating Project Management
While It’s great to have all your data talking to each other to get a holistic view of your business, you may be wondering, “now what?” Well, You may need to rely on a high-quality project management tool like Sharepoint to put your data to good use.
At Exact IT Consulting, we’re here to help answer your questions, identify the best services and software for your business’s needs, and assist you in feeling confident integrating your systems. SharePoint can be a hugely beneficial way for organizations of all shapes and sizes to improve sales, productivity, and costs. To learn more about Microsoft SharePoint, contact Exact IT Consulting today.
