This June, I had the opportunity to attend the Salesforce World Tour – Chicago.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the World Tour is essentially a smaller version of Dreamforce, Salesforce’s biggest event of the year. It brings the latest technology, expertise and customer success stories all together in a regional “show” that travels through several larger markets throughout the year. The event brings together thought leaders, Salesforce customers, prospective customers who want to learn more about Salesforce, and partners like Sundog who attend to keep a pulse on what’s coming next for our customers and for the industry.
The keynote at any Salesforce event can be summed up in one word: impressive. At Sundog, we were proud to have our clients at MTD/Cub Cadet featured in the pre-show interviews. Both John Wittenberg and Jason Belsito were interviewed about embracing customer experience, while supporting a strong dealer channel experience.
Key Highlights of the Event
The major theme of the day was Artificial Intelligence (AI), lauded as a key component in what’s being called “The Fourth Industrial Revolution.” AI provides us with a new way to gain insights about what our customers are thinking. It also paves the way for new experiences in the Age of the Customer.
Salesforce is also transforming enterprise software with products in five key areas:
Intelligence → Einstein
Speed → Lightning and Commerce Cloud
Productivity → Quip
Mobile → Salesforce1
IoT (Internet of Things) → Thunder
The world is transforming and customers are already seeing results, including a 41% increase in productivity and 38% faster decision-making capacity (Salesforce).
At the heart of it all is one guiding principle: it’s more important than ever to understand your customers, and ensure they don’t need to WORK to understand you. And customer expectations are growing every day.
Spotlight on Manufacturing: More Takeaways
After the morning kick-off, I attended a manufacturing industry presentation. Achyut Jajoo, a global manufacturing industry leader, presented an overview on how technology shifts have forced manufacturers to reconsider the way they go to market. Since the old model is no longer working, Achyut encouraged manufacturers to become more visionary.
To stay competitive, it’s important to transform to the new model that considers:
For more details on this shift and how Cub Cadet is transforming its business to this model, see Achyut’s blog post How a Leading Outdoor Power Manufacturer Grows Partner and Consumer Relationships with Salesforce.
So What Does It All Mean to You?
Transformation is not easy, but it is imperative.
And if you need a hand or have any questions, just reach out to our team. We’ll be happy to help.
The day ended with key presentations from manufacturers who are in the process of transforming – reorienting their businesses around their customers and utilizing platforms to enable intelligent customer engagement. The stories, success metrics and products shared throughout the day emphasized this drive for change.
