What does 2024 hold?

Technology can help us win, but only if we’re clear on what ‘winning’ looks like

A Sales Manager once told me, ‘Salespeople don’t want leads; they want opps’.

As a Marketer whose whole sense of purpose and achievement revolved around serving up a steady stream of MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads), my heart sank.

That was several years ago, but that mismatch of expectations between Sales and Marketing (and Marketing and Sales) persists. Sometimes it feels like a gulf. But what can be done to close the gap?

The answer, it would seem, is a mix of technology, enablement, and cultural realignment.

Let’s start with cultural re-alignment. Marketeers trained stakeholders to value vanity metrics like MQLs, which led to business leaders having a ‘gumball machine’ mentality towards marketing. Penny in, gumball out. Dollars in, new customers out. Neat, simple, and quick.

But we all know this isn’t true.  Especially in today’s digitally empowered marketplace, where salespeople are no longer seen as ‘go-to, trusted experts’, marketing is a bit of a dirty word, and buyers have dozens of options to educate themselves.

A move away from MQLs as a meaningful metric to ‘MTs’ (Meaningful Touches – yes, I just made that up) is needed. Those touches can be Marketing instigated (push marketing like emails), Sales initiated (phone calls, networking), Marketing harvested (inbound enquiries, asset downloads, event registrations), or buyer-initiated (web searches and site visits that trigger intent topic alerts). But the point is Sales and Marketing become one engine, dedicated to weaving a web of touch opportunities, cumulatively increasing trust and intrigue, and all monitoring the strength, frequency, and urgency of engagement so the eventual sales conversation opportunity feels like a natural next step for all involved.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

But how do we enable Sales & Marketing so that the shift to ‘Meaningful Touches’ becomes the gold standard for achieving a full and replenishing pipeline? Visibility, and appreciation for what you can see. The days of Marketing ‘chucking leads over the fence’ to Sales need to be gone. A buyer’s journey, especially in B2B tech, is seldom linear, and neither should the generation and treatment of leads be. When Sales & Marketing can see the same information and understand the value of what they’re seeing, everyone will be empowered to take appropriate action to create the next Meaningful Touch. And when Sales can see what Marketing is doing, and Marketing can see what Sales is doing, the ability to dovetail behind each other’s efforts, avoid duplication of effort, and not step on each other’s toes is infinitely more achievable.

So, to technology – the conduit that can give us that visibility, underpin enablement, and empower cultural realignment.

We are about to go live with Dynamics 365 and Customer Insights (Journeys). As part of the project team, I worked side by side with Sales to make sure our shared views and workflows would move us toward a better-enabled Lead and Opp generation engine. On top of that, we mapped out meaningful reporting, intent data capture, coordinated and complementary engagement and nurture strategies, and AI-powered triggers and responses. 

Technology – it’s grand. But only if we know what winning looks like and can massage technology to move us towards our goals. I’m confident we’re on the right track and excited about the maturity journey these investments will help us take.

I may never be in a position to hand a million-dollar opportunity to a salesperson, but I think we can create lots of them between us!

Trudi Allerby, General Manager - Brand & Marketing

2024, stand by for a major transformation

All the buzz is true. Copilot is seriously the biggest business game-changer in years – on par with historical technological shifts such as the transition from mainframes to personal PCs or the evolution and worldwide adoption of cloud computing and even the internet itself.

Starting with ChatGPT announcements in early 2023, followed by the emergence of Microsoft’s Copilot, it’s been a time of immense excitement for those of us who have lived with the promise of technology changing how we work – but not delivering to the extent imagined.

For those of us who grew up envisaging a future that included flying cars, it’s been apparent that our dreams have struggled to transform into reality. But that’s about to change – Copilot does deliver on the hype.  

With over 30 Microsoft Copilots being released in the next few months, it will be a significant turning point for businesses globally. While the fear of job losses may create anxiety for some, I advocate that Copilot won’t replace our jobs, but somebody using it well will (sentiment stolen with thanks from Charles Lamanna, Corporate VP, Business Apps & Platforms at Microsoft).

So, 2024? From my perspective, the thing I'm most looking forward to is technology finally fulfilling what it has promised for so long. That is, being able to truly get through more in our days. And that's going to impact every facet of our business operations.

All the everyday tasks that technology was going to change, but never really did, will finally become fast and easy. Instead of being a slave to technology, it will become your slave (and a very intelligent one at that) – with no manual data entry required and offering myriad practical applications to all industry sectors.

Need a recap on a sales conversation? Or a beautifully crafted email drafted in seconds? Need content ideas for blogs, websites, or webinars? Perhaps your target audience effortlessly segmented with intelligent ideas offered to expand reach? Need to transform how a service agent can resolve an issue that potentially takes hours of delving into line-of-business applications and knowledge bases? Want on-the-spot and in-the-moment reports and forecasts? Like the power to predict supply chain disruptions, so you can pivot quickly to minimise cost or supply impacts to your business?

Well, Copilot can do it all in seconds.  

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m passionate about technology, so for me to say Copilot is one of the most revolutionary tools I’ve seen in decades is said with complete conviction. Am I (over) excited about Copilot? Yes, I am – and so should you be.

As for flying cars? They can wait – this is better and bigger by far.

Kristy Brown, New Zealand Country Manager - Microsoft

ERP, but not as you know it

Next year, forget about digital transformation. It’s AI (artificial intelligence) all the way.

AI is the hot business and technology topic worldwide and with just cause. If you thought the invention of the internet was big news, just you wait. We are on the cusp of a new way of everything – and ERP is no exception. At every event I go to, every ERP vendor, big and small, is talking about the power of AI.  

Since the first true ERPs came into use in the 1990s, the primary objectives of virtually every business looking to adopt an ERP have been the same: To make efficiency gains, save time, improve business processes, achieve 360-degree visibility across the organisation, streamline operations, and of course, manage the business better.

With the introduction of AI, though, ERPs will fundamentally change in value. They will go beyond supporting and enabling what are often back-office functions and play a more critical role in helping businesses achieve long-term strategic objectives. And it will pose a whole new range of questions for those businesses looking to upgrade, replace or introduce a new ERP.

The new ERP question

If you’re starting the search and selection process and firing out RFPs without thinking about how AI can be used to better your business outcomes and future, you’ll probably be asking the wrong questions. You may even buy the wrong technology – and miss the opportunity to leverage the power of AI as an integral part of your ERP.

So, what should you ask potential ERP partners and vendors now that AI has been thrown into the mix?

Start with “How can I take advantage of AI to improve my business?”

Work that data – and fast

One significant way AI is reshaping our perspective on ERP software is by prioritising the value of data – which should always be a central focus of any implementation. AI relies heavily on access to reliable, accurate, and complete data to deliver meaningful output. For example, you may wish to leverage your customer data (including purchasing and support history) and use AI to suggest who, where, and how you can up-sell or cross-sell, and even provide appropriate personalised offers to encourage engagement. Or use it to predict sales volumes based on historical trends, current consumer behaviour and other relevant factors.

With the addition of AI, your marketing, sales, financial and operations teams can use your ERP data as a competitive advantage and an asset – intelligently delivering maximum return with minimal effort.  

Additionally, forecasting for budgets or your supply chain procurement can take on a whole new dimension with AI-powered suggestions backed by meaningful analytics and insights.

Don’t just dream it - get more done

ERP vendors and partners have long promised employee efficiency, and yes, workflow automation has delivered significant improvements over the years. However, incorporating AI into today’s ERPs is a true game-changer by automating boring, repetitive, and low-value tasks – in seconds, not hours, days, or weeks.

Nearly every ERP will offer embedded AI in the form of ChatGPT or Copilot. With easy-to-use AI tools in the mix, ERP solutions will be more accessible and more utilised as employees can leverage previously unavailable information, models, and predictive analytics.

And that’s just for starters. By combining the transactional back-office data in your ERP with AI, you are opening your arms to real organisational change.

2024, here we come

2024 will be full of new insights and exciting possibilities – for us and you.

I can guarantee that the old questions you used to ask when looking for a new ERP will be shelved in favour of far more game-changing ones that will make a genuine difference to your future. And you’re welcome to ask us what those new questions should be.  

Lisa Nicks, General Manager - Sales

Reinventing the office, for the good of our people

The ability to work from home was wonderful during lockdown, and we’re grateful for that. We could all keep working and deliver the projects our customers needed to weather the pandemic. But I think it’s safe to say that time has passed.  

We all discovered we missed one another as well as the degree of companionship, inspiration, learning, and productivity that only comes from working face-to-face.  

While we asked our team to formally recommence working primarily from the office, we also wanted them to want to come in. That was important to us. But as pragmatists, we accepted that returning to an empty office isn’t a fun or appealing prospect when you’ve grown comfortable with working from home – and that it’s our responsibility as employers to make our workspace (and workplace culture) inviting, engaging, and collaborative.  

With this in mind, we embarked on office revitalisation projects in Sydney (complete), Melbourne (in progress) and Auckland (complete). In some cases, this meant a complete relocation to a better site.  

In particular, the newly finished Auckland office project has been a significant success and reflects our commitment to providing our people with somewhere they want to be.    

After years of languishing in a building plagued by elevator failures and leaks, we unsurprisingly wanted to find a new and special spot. One that was accessible to everyone and near the public transport hub, cafes, and shopping precincts. And we didn’t underestimate the feel-good factor of a spectacular outlook over the city and harbour. While some businesses earmark the best view for the boardroom to impress customers, we instead focussed on delighting our people by placing work areas and our ‘café and kitchen’ area where they captured the most stunning outlooks.  

Why? We wanted to make sure that when our people came into the office, they had an experience they (in most cases) couldn't get at home – enjoying spectacular views while working or taking a break. But as well as views, we worked on untying people from their desks by building good collaboration spaces where they could have conversations and meetings. These fluid and flexible spaces feature leaners and couches, and we’ve dotted easy-to-move stools around to pull up for a quick chat. We have a flexible workspace policy, where our people can sit wherever they feel comfortable – desk, couch, café.  

We also created ‘neighbourhoods’ – where teams who work on specific solutions or services (for example, marketing) can cluster together for convenience. These neighbourhoods are regularly rotated around the office's perimeter to keep the view fresh and fabulous for everyone.  

Our objective has been to make our workspace engaging and special for our people, to reflect the culture of our business, and, of course, to provide a reason to come together.  

And it’s worked.  

I’m writing this article on a Friday afternoon, sitting on level 19 of the Auckland office and admiring the cityscape. Six months ago, the old office on a Friday was often nearly empty. It was difficult to give our people a good reason to come in – and we took on board that it was our responsibility to change that.  

Today, there is barely a spare desk to be had, and the office is truly buzzing – everyone loves being here – and wants to be here. While some are heading home at the end of the day, others are planning to head out together and enjoy the CBD vibe.  

We expect to attract even more of our employees back to our new offices in 2024 – all with a new enthusiasm for working face-to-face in a dynamic, collaborative, and exciting environment. And if the place is packed out, we’ll take that as a win.  

Becky Rutherford, Country Manager & Director Operations