Cross selling: how the use of data can support Technology companies in their customer base
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In the constantly evolving technology market, the strategy of cross-selling has become an effective way to boost revenue and build solid relationships with customers.
Understanding your customer base and deepening existing relationships is essential to identify opportunities that go beyond your core offerings, generating mutual benefits. In this article, we explore the advantages of cross-selling and how it can be intelligently applied, using data analysis.
Unraveling the market to drive growth
The importance of agility in the technology market requires that companies understand the needs of their customers to offer solutions quickly and effectively. This involves identifying their pains and aspirations, and offering products or services that meet these needs.
Many technology companies operate on multiple fronts, such as selling products, implementation, maintenance, resource allocation, and software development. However, it can be challenging for Sales teams to have a complete view of cross-selling opportunities when they are separated by business units.
Moreover, customer satisfaction and retention play a crucial role in the success of Technology companies. A deep understanding of the customer and their needs allows for a closer relationship, which directly impacts satisfaction and loyalty.
Cross-selling also offers a competitive advantage, as companies add complementary services, new solutions, and offerings that stand out in the market. This attracts new customers, something essential in a market constantly in search of innovative solutions and added value.
How to identify a Cross-selling opportunity
The first step to identifying an opportunity is to understand the customer, their pains, and needs. Here at Cortex, we have a Sales Intelligence solution that offers a differential point for this analysis: understanding your ICP, the characteristics of these organizations, and what they have been consuming from your company.
In parallel, understanding the current set of technologies of the customer can be an important step to start the cross-referencing of information, which is also possible through our Technology Panel,, where we map SaaS technologies and the customers' investment in this area.
By leveraging these data and conducting detailed market research, you can identify complementary products or services that align with your customers' needs and add value to their technological investments, and then use your relationship to start the conversation.
Another interesting scenario, for example, is when we talk about companies that develop projects and allocate resources. Knowing if your customer has an open position in the market for hiring new professionals creates a significant differential, in addition to the competitive advantage of being ahead in this type of prospecting.
This can be done through our Cortex Jobs Panel, where you can create a relationship list from your customer base, and monitor through 12 jobs sources, if any of them has opened an opportunity in the market. From this mapping, you can understand if you can offer resource allocation, or start the conversation for a possible project.
Set Goals and use the data
Just as your Sales team has goals for new logos, it is essential to have a goal and a strategic plan for your customer base. A good tip is to use segmentation techniques to categorize your customer base and identify those who are most likely to benefit from other offers/products in your portfolio. If the Sales team is separated by BUs, integrate these groups so that they can talk and discuss these possibilities and put together a joint action plan.
And, as previously mentioned, use the available data to build your strategy. By analyzing customer data, companies can identify potential interested parties in making upgrades, for example. This is possible by understanding when the customer uses certain technology and what is new in the market.
This information can be used to personalize additional sales offers and increase revenue per customer. Moreover, data analysis can provide insights into customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Measuring and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) is another essential point to track the success of your initiatives. Establish quantifiable metrics that are aligned with your cross-selling objectives, such as conversion rates, average order value, and customer satisfaction scores.
Regularly monitor these KPIs, comparing them to predefined benchmarks and industry standards. The information obtained through this analysis will allow you to identify areas for improvement, refine your strategies, and continuously optimize your efforts.
Although cross-selling presents challenges, such as customer resistance and incomplete data, overcoming them requires a proactive approach. By educating customers, implementing effective data collection and management processes, and promoting internal collaboration, technology companies can maximize these benefits.
In summary, this is a valuable strategy for Technology companies that want to boost revenue, increase customer satisfaction, and maintain a competitive advantage. Data analysis plays a key role in identifying opportunities and personalizing offers, making this tool powerful for growth in the Technology sector.
Andreza Chiprauski is an Account Executive at Cortex, a leading company in Big Data and AI for Marketing and Sales in Latin America. With over 15 years of experience in this industry, Andreza has collaborated with global players such as SAP and Microsoft Channels.
