Take the Next Step with Dynamics CRM. Fullscope CRM White Paper

Transcription

1 Take the Next Step with Dynamics CRM As a Microsoft customer, Dynamics CRM is a logical step that is good for your people and your business.

2 Introduction Today, sales and marketing professionals are looking for ways to improve productivity through their day-to-day actions, to drive more leads, increase sales and to deepen customer relationships. Being able to move from one communication method to the next or to access customer information and updates with ease is imperative. Few businesses would dispute the potential value of a Customer Relationship Management system for boosting marketing success and sales revenue. Dig a little deeper, though, and you might hear the odd dissatisfied grumble once the shiny newness has worn off. Simple and seamless Where Dynamics CRM wins time and time again is the way that it works so seamlessly with other Microsoft tools that people use across the business. In its marketing messaging, Microsoft asks: Is your CRM as easy as Outlook? This really is the key to the value of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and its ability to gain incremental value from your existing investment in Microsoft tools. New and exciting is always new and exciting but, on the whole, we are creatures of habit we like what we know. Your CRM system s raison d être is to help you to market more effectively, to sell more and to provide a better service to customers (so that they will buy more). But, to do this, you have to use it and continue to use it rather than reverting back to what you used to do. A CRM system is no good if it sits in splendid isolation, with CRM updates merely as an item on your task list. Most of us, whether we like it or not, spend a good chunk of our working day in our inboxes. We re pretty much at home there. To get real value from CRM, it should be as easy as . There are plenty of good CRM systems to choose from, but if you already have Microsoft technology in your business, Microsoft Dynamics CRM can make life a whole lot easier for your marketing folk, your sales people and your IT team. In the long run, easier means less cost and more success. Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Sales Activity Dashboard in Outlook Dynamics CRM s integration with other tools in the Microsoft portfolio, such as Excel and SharePoint, makes it even easier for people to use. From its launch in 2003, Microsoft Dynamics CRM signaled a departure from other CRM products. Instead of providing a standalone application that had its own way of doing things, Microsoft set out to provide a customer relationship management solution that dovetailed into other Microsoft products, both from a user and an administration perspective. Now my sales people are working in Outlook, they re completely at home with CRM. It s a much better tool and they re actually using it. Nalin Parbhu, Managing Director, Infuse

3 Why? By providing native integration between the products users know, CRM becomes an inherent part of the workflow of information between departments and people. What is more, by using the underlying Microsoft infrastructure, implementation is simplified, reducing the need for additional security procedures and processes. Therefore, it is easier for your IT team and easier for the people using it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Associated document view in SharePoint This level of integration is carried through to the more recent cloud version, Dynamics CRM Online, providing similar usability, customization and integration and it is a perfect companion for Office 365 (now in its third release). The good news continues with the launch of Windows 8 and Office With Microsoft s acquisition of Skype and Yammer, for instance, the integration story includes communication and social connections embedded into Dynamics CRM. Everyday benefits So, what are the specific benefits of a CRM (cloud or onpremise) that integrates with Outlook, Office and other Microsoft technology in your business? Here are some everyday situations people face when interacting, or trying to interact, with customers through CRM. What was my login password? We all have multiple login details to remember at work and at home. Just one more password can be the straw that breaks the camel s back. And so it goes with the company CRM application. Overwhelm the CRM user with another username and password and it becomes just too difficult. Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates with other Windows applications and with the Windows Server Active Directory service. This means that when you log into your computer you not only gain access to SharePoint Server, Outlook and other Microsoft applications, but you also gain access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, regardless of whether it is the online or on-premise version. Immediately, you have removed a barrier. I ll just stick to Outlook People stick to things they know and so it goes with business applications. Outlook is probably the most used tool on the desktop and is most likely your sales people s main tool, along with the phone, for keeping contact with customers and managing appointments. So, just think of the reaction when your sales force is told to maintain its calendar and contacts in the CRM system instead. And what if that CRM system is cloudhosted, so you need to have internet access to find out the phone number or address of a customer? The user will most likely try to keep both Outlook and the CRM system up-to-date, but will soon lose interest as it becomes too time-consuming. You start to see people falling back to Outlook and the CRM information becomes obsolete. Remember, your sales people already have to make sure that phone and Outlook information is synchronized easy on some phones but more difficult on others. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is fully integrated into Outlook. This means that all the CRM information is accessible from the same application that is used day in and day out. And it doesn t stop there. Contacts in Outlook can be uploaded and tracked. The same applies to s and appointments that are then converted into activities. In short, this means less duplication of information leading to fewer errors and less time wasted. All of this is done within Outlook with CRM working in the background.

4 Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Sales Forecast Dashboard in Outlook We ve got unified communications. Can I unify CRM contacts too? Integrated CRM and telecoms systems are mostly the domain of call centers. Wouldn t it be great to have the same thing on everyone s desktop? Imagine: just bring up the contact s name within the CRM system and click on his or her Lync address or Skype name. Immediately, a call (Skype, Lync, or integration with your switch) is initiated, either as a voice or video link. Skype is integrated into the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Not only can you initiate calls, but Dynamics CRM will also log the call as an activity and mark it as an outbound call. What is more, if you use Microsoft Lync within your organization you can gain information on your colleagues status in a meeting, offline or available and can initiate a call, IM or phone call with them. With federation, you can do the same with your customers. We keep documents in SharePoint. Why keep a copy in the CRM? Apart from the obvious increase in storage requirements, keeping multiple copies of documents is a nuisance; if you have to save one copy of the document in the CRM system and then another copy in a document management system, that s time wasted. Keeping these important documents synchronized when changes are made is a challenge. Proposals and signed documents need to be managed and available for other members of the company to view and they must be accurate. Dynamics CRM has addressed this issue. You can associate a SharePoint server location/instance with CRM - automatically connecting a SharePoint document library to a CRM record. And even more simply, with Dynamics CRM you can create a SharePoint location (folder) to start storing documents. You can also use an existing SharePoint location where documents are already stored. I can t remember what to do next? Every company has its own procedures and processes to follow. This is no different in the sales organization; where these tend to ensure that products or services are sold with an acceptable profit margin, sold in a legal manner and sold to customers that have a good financial record to reduce exposure and risk. However, like it or not, sales people will always find the quickest way to get things done so that they can get on to the next opportunity. The words sales and process don t always form the perfect marriage. Sales people go where the money is, so are fairly transient employees. What happens when a new sales person joins the company and needs reminding how to close an opportunity and process an order? Dynamics CRM 2013 release introduced process forms. The Process Bar is a simple, guided and intuitive way for users to work through their company s business process. Each step clearly outlines the stage of the process, makes suggestions on information to be collected and recommends specific activities.

5 It is a more process-centric, outcome-oriented and guided experience. Steps in the process can also reside outside Dynamics CRM, with processes continued within Dynamics ERP or SharePoint for example. But I use my phone and tablet when I m out of the office The days of lugging a heavy laptop around to meetings are rapidly fading. Smartphones and tablets now have the power and connectivity needed to carry out everyday tasks. Of course, sales people equipped with such devices expect to have access to the CRM system from these too not just read only but also the ability to update information while online. Microsoft s vision is access to CRM anywhere on any device. Dynamics CRM works well with Windows Phone, ios and Android. By using a mobile client interface you can update or create new activities or opportunities while online. Native Microsoft Office 365 for mobile or apps widely available for other operating systems enable you to work on documents, communicate using Lync and Skype and access documents stored on SharePoint Server. Great features, but so what? It is often the little things that make the biggest difference, and so it is with adoption of CRM. The examples above may not appear to be deal breakers but, believe it or not, they could be the difference between a fully functioning and frequently used CRM system that genuinely contributes to growth and prosperity, and a white elephant that is rarely used by employees. The hard-headed may argue that financial benefits will be the deciding factor when choosing a CRM system. According to a Forrester report, Microsoft Dynamics CRM online used in conjunction with other Microsoft investments, can deliver a 5% user productivity improvement.1 Marketers will argue that CRM is not just about the tools, but also about adopting a customer relationship management approach across the business; often a business shift as well as a technology change. The easier you can make this change the more likely it is to stick. Bottom line: if you already use Outlook and your business has invested in Microsoft technology, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a logical CRM choice for delivering increased sales and revenue. CRM anywhere......on any device About Fullscope CRM Fullscope CRM, formerly Zero2Ten, has shown hundreds of companies that CRM doesn t have to be difficult or expensive. We are the only Microsoft Dynamics CRM firm that combines deployment and a proactive user adoption road map into a single 100% fixed-fee program. Fullscope has implemented more Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online solutions than any other Microsoft provider worldwide. We continually fine-tune our process and user-adoption programs to give you the maximum return on your CRM investment. This commitment to stay with you throughout your CRM journey has earned us the highest CRM customer retention rate in the business. To find out more about how Fullscope can help you to build your business call us now on: US: EMEA: (866) option 2 (0203) Forrester Research - The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Edgewater Fullscope. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Edgewater Technology, Inc. is strictly prohibited.