We attended the inaugural Inbox Summit East last week in DC.  Definitive Results’ own, Carly Schrager, shared her insights on Breaking Down the Silos: Integrating Email with Social, CRM and Other Platforms.  The barriers that create these silos include…wait for it…people, processes and systems.  A few of the strategies discussed on how to break down the silos and see greater ROI as a company included:

• People – we discussed the grassroots effort of finding a “champion” to gain some business wins. Then let your champion spread the cool new process/system/strategy with their coworkers and see people come to YOU asking to try doing things the new way!
• Processes –  Simplify!  Make things as easy and fool-proof as possible so that users are not able to omit the data you need.  If it’s easy and you can show the value, your users will get on board with the process. If the process is setup in such a way that they are forced to adapt, they will adapt. Don’t wait to show them how the process will benefit them!
• Systems – Integrate! There is no good reason to have a fancy system that doesn’t speak to your other systems.  A critical element to breaking down silos is to agree on data flow and to find a place for all of your data (billing, marketing, sales) to come together for comprehensive reporting and analysis.

It often helps to have an objective, unbiased third party help guide your business to overcoming the barriers that can naturally develop over time. If you think your company could function more cohesively, reach out today – we would love to help!