Regardless of the field, professionals responsible for business development are continually looking to create more personalized client experiences to enhance relationships that contribute to the bottom line.
Relationship insights, like who owns an individual relationship with an organization and what’s the best way to nurture it, are not always readily available. And yet, those very insights are what drive effective sales and client service. It all comes down to building trust and loyalty — knowing your clients as individuals, not just as accounts. The more you know about a client, the more you can appropriately tailor experiences and interactions with them. And, the more you can tailor the experience, the more delivering can become value add and bring the right results.
And the right way to do that is by accessing the right information at the right time. Deloitte is a great example of an organization that has added value to long-term relationships by leveraging insights between them and their clients. By working with Salesforce, Deloitte was able to create what they call Relationship 360 (R360), a groundbreaking app that uses data and AI to foster human-centered, meaningful connections.
R360 gives users a more holistic look at their clients that goes beyond just providing sales data. It pairs sales data with personal data, like interactions and activities, contacts, pipeline, and connections. Every relevant detail is not only available in one central location, but connections between data can be analyzed by AI to offer goals and suggestions such as next steps.
If you’re looking for a more complete picture of your clients, here are four ways a solution like R360 could help you get started, illustrated through the story of how Deloitte is seeing success with the solution firsthand.
1. Implement Technology That Gives Access to Real-Time Data
For Deloitte, a leader in the professional services industry, client relationships are at the heart of their business. But with more than 460,000 people serving some of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, they faced the challenge of managing relationships at scale. The challenge wasn’t a lack of data — it was accessing the right data at the right time. The systems didn’t support access to real-time data, which propelled them to co-create a new solution with Salesforce that would not only benefit them, but future clients as well.
Faster access to accurate, updated data not only allows for the better nurturing of relationships, but it also allows you to keep up with industry trends and make quick internal and external changes across sales, service, marketing, and more. Layer on real-time analytics, the capture and analysis of large volumes of data the moment it’s generated, and you can have the immediate insights needed to enable an organization professionals to make faster decisions than with traditional analytics.
By adopting and implementing real-time analytics technology, you can build and grow more relationships, as well as develop stronger, more lasting connections that truly matter in today’s competitive landscape.
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2. Prioritize a Seamless User Experience
At a time when business and technology are moving faster than ever, you don’t want your teams working with technology that offers a clunky, disjointed user experience. Lacking a seamless user experience doesn’t just create inefficiencies, it can also contribute to a poor client experience or lost business.
For example, if the software isn’t collaborative or in the cloud, you could be working off old information. Version history, offline editing, dashboards for non-technical user accessibility, and integration with other technology are things that contribute to a seamless user experience. Without them, work can be disorganized, contain errors, or take longer than needed, producing worse results and lower employee satisfaction.
In the case of Deloitte, the R360 integrated platform consolidates disparate data sources, ensures team members have the right relationship and sales insights at their fingertips, and effortlessly provides updates across the account team. This experience aims to improve collaboration and relationship development activities in the market by enabling the development of relationship goals based on real-time, seamless access to data.
Katrina Bonner-Witt, Growth CIO, Deloitte Services LP, says, “With the introduction of R360, we are now, for the first time, empowered to methodically track the lifetime value of individual relationships, gaining a comprehensive understanding of each person’s role across the various organizations with which they are affiliated.”
Today, organizations are using AI technologies, like Agentforce, to create user experiences that provide valuable real-time insights. Leveraging the power of AI and Salesforce’s data-driven platform, the creation of R360 delivers unique and relevant relationship insights. This allows professionals to carry forward authentic, personalized, valuable human interactions seamlessly supported by accurate and timely information.
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3. Customize Relationship Insights for On-the-Go Action
At the heart of R360 is the ability to transform data into actionable intelligence. The platform leverages Salesforce’s Data Cloud and MuleSoft to gather and process vast amounts of data, which is then presented through an intuitive interface known as the “initial set of cards.” These cards provide a snapshot of critical client information, including the individual’s career history, most recent online and offline engagement with Deloitte, Business Chemistry® scores, relationship strength, and other relevant insights.
Users gain a comprehensive 360-degree view of the individual by analyzing unstructured data sources, including access to:
- Recent contacts and collaborations with Deloitte colleagues.
- Previous in-person interactions, including conference attendance.
- Associated account sales forecasts.
- Professional profile and career history.
Using Tableau Insights and CRM Analytics, R360 gives Deloitte people unprecedented access to customized insights that directly support their day-to-day activities, from pursuing new opportunities to managing client engagements.
David Carney, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP puts it best: “Imagine having a comprehensive view of every person in your professional network, right at your fingertips. That’s what Relationship 360 delivers. It empowers Deloitte people with a 360-degree view of their relationships and prospects, helping them strengthen connections like never before.”
4. Take an AI-Driven Approach
Salesforce’s new Generative AI in IT Survey reveals that over half of senior IT leaders are either experimenting with or actively using generative AI in their business. The problem? Nearly all admit they must take measures to equip their company to use it successfully and responsibly.
By working with an ally like Deloitte, who has also implemented the technology for themselves, you can rest assured knowing you have the right specialists helping you save time and money with an AI-driven approach. Consider introducing them to Agentforce, which allows them to build and customize autonomous AI agents to support employees and customers at all times and through more channels.
When working with clients, Agentforce analyzes data to suggest the next best steps, whether it’s scheduling a follow-up meeting, sending personalized thought leadership, or connecting a client with a subject matter specialist.
To ensure seamless follow-through, R360 also includes a service agent feature that helps track progress on action items, providing automated follow-up summaries that move engagements forward.
Agentforce service agents also help employees be more efficient. For example, Agentforce can translate a client’s communications into the native language of the human agent before it gets to them. This AI-driven approach helps to ensure that Deloitte’s people don’t just gather data — they use it to foster meaningful, value-driven interactions with individuals.
The Future of Relationship Management
Effective relationship management is essential in today’s fast-paced world, to deliver trust, loyalty, and business success across various industries. It’s about understanding clients as individuals and delivering tailored experiences through timely insights. Deloitte is revolutionizing this space with Relationship 360. By unifying data, unlocking insights, and empowering Deloitte’s people to take action, R360 represents a paradigm shift moving companies from client relationship management to investing in human relationships at scale.
Salesforce MVP Rupesh Bhatia states, “This is the future of relationship management, powered by Salesforce, and the team at Deloitte is proud to be at the forefront of this innovation.”
As Deloitte scales R360 globally, it sets a new standard for the client experience, built on a foundation that is powered by innovative technology to help companies across industries build and maintain valuable relationships that can help lead to sustainable business growth.
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the “Deloitte organization”). DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.
