MarTech Podcast™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth
Episode: The CRM Moneyball Moment
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Val Riley, VP of Marketing and Strategy at Unbound

Introduction

In this insightful episode of the MarTech Podcast, host Benjamin Shapiro engages with Val Riley, Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at Unbound, to delve into the strategic acquisition of Insightly and explore how businesses can unlock hidden potentials within their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. The conversation centers around leveraging data analytics—much like the "Moneyball" approach in baseball—to drive business growth and optimize CRM utilization.

Unbound’s Acquisition of Insightly

The episode kicks off with a discussion about Unbound's recent acquisition of Insightly, a move aimed at enhancing Unbound’s capabilities in managing customer relationships and driving faster business growth. Val Riley shares insights into how this acquisition aligns with Unbound’s mission to help modern businesses build lifelong customer relationships through tailored, out-of-the-box CRM solutions.

Val Riley (01:15):
"Unbound helps modern businesses of all sizes build lifelong customer relationships and grow faster than ever before with their out-of-the-box capabilities that are tailored towards each user experience for every customer-facing role."

Understanding the CRM Moneyball Moment

The core of the episode revolves around the concept of the "CRM Moneyball Moment." Drawing parallels from the Moneyball strategy—where data analytics are used to identify undervalued players who can collectively enhance team performance—Val Riley explains how businesses can unearth similar opportunities within their CRM data.

Val Riley (03:00):
"There are Moneyball moments in everyone's CRM. You have to dig through the data to uncover it, just like they did in the movie."

Benjamin Shapiro emphasizes the importance of moving beyond traditional intuition ("gut instinct") and focusing on data-driven metrics to identify and capitalize on micro-wins that collectively contribute to significant business growth.

Benjamin Shapiro (04:47):
"Don't look for gut instinct. Look for data and KPIs and metrics that show positive performance and that when you put enough of them together, your small wins, that equals to a better performance and a better product."

The Secret Sauce: Maximizing CRM Data

Val Riley breaks down the essential "ingredients" needed to extract more value from existing CRM data. Using a real-world example, she illustrates how a company manufacturing expensive packaging equipment was able to unlock additional revenue streams by leveraging CRM data to manage their aftermarket sales.

Val Riley (05:26):
"The ingredient is quite simply a custom field, but the custom field with a little bit of automation to it. So they created this custom field. It auto populates the category of equipment based on the client. And then the rep puts the piece of equipment in this custom field."

By implementing custom fields and automation within Insightly, the company was able to continuously update their used equipment listings and automate targeted email campaigns, significantly boosting their sales of used equipment.

Toss Up: CRM Automation vs. Time Spent Working in CRM

In the "toss up" segment, Benjamin and Val debate the relative importance of CRM automation versus the time invested in manually working within the CRM. Val argues that the key lies in uncovering buried data rather than merely automating processes.

Val Riley (09:03):
"I just think it's BS that the reps aren't doing the work they are. They're putting things in there. It's just buried. It's buried in places that aren't searchable or discoverable."

Benjamin counters by highlighting the advancements in technology, such as artificial intelligence, which can aid in efficiently extracting and interpreting CRM data without the need for exhaustive manual efforts.

Benjamin Shapiro (09:38):
"You don’t have to go through and read the chicken scratches from your sales rep... we have the tools, we have the technology, we have artificial intelligence."

They both agree that a balanced approach—leveraging automation to handle data extraction and dedicating time to analyze and interpret the insights—is essential for achieving the CRM Moneyball Moment.

Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Benjamin congratulates Val Riley on the acquisition and her promotion, appreciating her contributions to the discussion. Val invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn and engage with Unbound’s offerings.

Val Riley (11:46):
"Catch me on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect with all the listeners of the Martech podcast and we can learn from each other."

Benjamin emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer satisfaction as a cornerstone of business growth, encouraging listeners to subscribe to the podcast for daily insights into marketing and technology.

Benjamin Shapiro (13:58):
"My advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy."

Key Takeaways

• Data-Driven Decisions: Emphasize the use of data analytics to identify undervalued opportunities within CRM systems, akin to the Moneyball strategy in sports.
• Custom Fields and Automation: Implementing tailored CRM fields and automation can unlock hidden revenue streams and enhance sales processes.
• Balanced Approach: Combine automation tools with strategic analysis to efficiently extract and leverage CRM data for business growth.
• Continuous Learning: Engage with industry experts and leverage podcast resources to stay updated on marketing and technology trends.

Notable Quotes

• Val Riley (03:00):
  "There are Moneyball moments in everyone's CRM. You have to dig through the data to uncover it, just like they did in the movie."

• Benjamin Shapiro (04:47):
  "Don't look for gut instinct. Look for data and KPIs and metrics that show positive performance..."

• Val Riley (05:26):
  "They created this custom field. It auto populates the category of equipment based on the client."

• Benjamin Shapiro (09:38):
  "We have the tools, we have the technology, we have artificial intelligence."

Further Resources

• Connect with Val Riley: LinkedIn Profile
• Unbound Website: unbound.com
• Val’s Podcast "Closing Time": Available on YouTube and major podcast platforms.

For more detailed summaries of our episodes and to stay updated with the latest in marketing and technology, visit martechpod.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Follow us on social media at @martechpod for daily insights and updates.