Tag: crm 2011

Video: How does Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Automation and CRM fit together?

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Automation

Don Fornes, CEO of our partner Software Advice, sat down with Brad Wilson, General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, to discuss the state of the CRM software market and specifically in this video the Microsoft Dynami. This is the sixth in a series of 7 videos we are publishing, each centered on one question about the Microsoft offerings.

Marketing automation is a hot market right now. Marketo, Eloqua and Pardot are getting a lot of buzz. How important is this market to Microsoft?

Brad discusses the role of Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Automation. He distinguishes where partner products fit into a client’s roll-out planning vs. Microsoft’s marketing component of the Dynamics CRM product. Further he makes an interesting observation about how marketing, sales, and service all fit together, especially within their pricing model. He goes on to discuss when partner products play a part in a customer’s CRM purchase.

After watching the video, we would be interested in your feedback on what you think with regards to Microsoft Dynamics marketing automation strategy. Do you concur with Brad?

Where does Microsoft Dynamics marketing automation fit?

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Automation

Getting More Microsoft Dynamics CRM Information

If you are interested in exploring Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Automation for your company, please select one of the two links below:

For information on other CRM or ERP software products, please see our ERP Software Directory for many more vendors.

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Automation

ERP Software UK And CRM Software UK For an Industry’s Betterment

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning and it deals with the proper utilization of the available resources for the development of an industry. For a better functioning of ERP, it was linked with the computer systems in the form of ERP software. It is widely used computer software that manages and coordinates all the information, functions and resources of a firm from the shared data stores.

The use of ERP software in UK is the most as it was UK where the ERP software was started to be used. As a result the software became popular throughout UK and now it crossed all boundaries and is being used throughout the world by the most leading industries.

An ERP software UK has a modular software and hardware services that basically communicate through a local area network. This modular design allows an organization to configure or reconfigure modules from different vendors during preserving data integrity in a shared database which may be centralized as well as distributed.

Talking about CRM software UK, as the name suggests, Customer Relationship Management, it can be said to be a computer based CRM software that manages a company’s relationships with its customers. It helps to keep a track of the contacts of the customers, marketing and sales of the products and provides proper pre-sales and post-sales reports. With the help of CRM software UK, the concerned employees of a company can generate a detailed invoice of the sales, quotations, and thus they get a great deal of help regarding their projects. The software also provides a helpdesk where solutions to different situations are recommended.

About Author
Antje Wilmer is a freelance writer on eCommerce. He has written the articles and blogs on eCommerce and erp software. Interprise.co.uk offers Customer Relationship Management that manages a company’s relationships with its customers.

Advantages of Online CRM solution

Author: Antje Wilmer

Customer relationship management or CRM is defined as the process of tracking and organizing contacts with your current and prospective customers. An effective CRM practice revolves around different departments of your business process, enhances its productivity and service to match expectations of your customers. According a recent survey conducted by “Benchmark” CRM applications can increase revenue per sales person by 41% and improve lead conversion over 300%. Other advantages of CRM applications are customer retention, better profit margin and decreased marketing and sales cost. That is the reason Claudio Marcus, research director at Gartner commented “CRM is not part of a business strategy; CRM is the business strategy.”

Advent of internet has caused a paradigm shift to age old dynamics of customer relationship management. Web based CRM or online CRM comprises s et of software applications hosted by an Application Service Provider (ASP). These applications enable you to deliver services through internet. From free of cost Google Calendar to Customized and business specific online CRM solutions are available in the market. Their installation in your business process offer manifold advantages. They lower down the cost of entry and ownership. You can implement changes according to demands of customers in a faster manner. It helps in faster transmission of information among the line of organizational hierarchy and your customers.

Accessibility is another advantage of online CRM applications. Though these application you can access your customers from any part of the globe. Implementation of online CRM solutions is easy as they do not need any costly hardware server infrastructure and deployment of backend operations. If you are going for a customized Online CRM solution, it can adopt to growing demands of your business.

In a nutshell, Online CRM solutions and applications will lead you towards smoother operation, expanded customer base and better profit.

Antje Wilmer is a freelance writer on eCommerce. He has written the articles and blogs on eCommerce Software and online CRM Solution.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1124607_11.html

3 Reasons Why CRM Strategies Fail

CRM is often an add-on to an ERP and usually done in a small project that looks at quickly getting it up and running. The care in which an ERP is implemented is not usually found in a CRM implementation.

This article points out the key things to keep in mind when implementing a CRM solution.

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Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most effective tools for improving customer relationships and therefore increasing revenue, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. Unfortunately, some CRM strategies fail. This leaves CRM vendors and their customers baffled, but there a few common reasons why a CRM strategy will fail.

1. Too much focus on the CRM vendor and technology. Some companies get too caught up in having the best possible CRM strategy out there. Some companies want entire call-centers, On-Demand CRM, Web-based, and Blackberry devices which allow their IT people to enter customer information wirelessly. While these technologies are extremely helpful, too much emphasis on them can lead any company astray. It is naturally very important to select the best CRM vendor for your company, but best does not always mean flashiest. Continue reading 3 Reasons Why CRM Strategies Fail

What You Need to Know About CRM

Frank Dazerton

Customer Relationship Management (abbreviated CRM) is a very hot topic among businesses. CRM is such a hot topic because it is a way for businesses to connect with their customers, increase profits, and have better customer service. There are several things that you need to know about CRM.

1. It’s all about the customer. Some companies focus too much on expensive CRM programs and elaborate IT departments and not enough on what is at the core of CRM. CRM programs need to be designed to appeal to the business’ customers. The best Call Centers are the ones which customers find easy to navigate. The best CRM vendors have the customer satisfaction in mind when designing their CRM applications.

2. On-demand is the way to go. Many vendors offer traditional CRM programs and service. I believe, however, that On-demand CRM is the way to go. On-demand CRM is different from traditional methods in that instead of requiring companies to hire new IT people, and use extensive resources to implement elaborate CRM programs, the software comes with support. On-demand CRM is no longer the “bring your own IT department” approach. Many vendors like Salesforce.com, Siebel, and NetSuite offer On-demand solutions that are great for businesses just getting into the CRM market.

3. Customer Relationship Management is not just software. Some businesses would like it to be simply software, but it will never be as simple as that. Customer Relationship Management is an ongoing learning process. The business must learn from the customer and change accordingly. The closer a business gets to its customer, the better. CRM applications and strategies are the methods through which the business can access, analyze, and learn from customer Data. Knowing what CRM applications are actually for is a very important step in understanding how to be successful when implementing CRM practices.

4. It is important to understand that there are hundreds of CRM vendors out there. Many of the vendors claim to be number one, but if you look closely, they may be number one in only one category. Other companies say that they are number one in CRM, but there is no basis for their statement. It is important for companies to choose the right vendor that will attend to all of their CRM needs. This may not always be the most expensive, “number one” company. On the contrary, some simple companies offer CRM solutions that are highly effective. Some of the major CRM providers are Siebel, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP.

5. The best CRM technology can be very helpful for any business. Some CRM applications can now be accessed via BlackBerry devices. Major vendors are constantly updating their software and improving their service. It is a good idea to stay as current as possible in terms of CRM technology. However, always remember to balance technology with customer service. There is no substitute for old-fashioned customer service, the most basic of all CRM ideals.
Customer Relationship Management can be very beneficial for a business if it is carried out properly. It is important to keep the customer in mind at all times when you are implementing CRM practices into your business. Remember that there are quite a few CRM vendors out there, and it is important to choose the vendor that is best for your company. Customer Relationship Management seems like a very daunting idea for someone who has never used it before, but if you follow these steps, you will surely see the benefits of successful CRM.

Frank Dazerton enjoys writing about a variety of Custromer Relationship Management topics. In addition to writing CRM articles, he writes for CRM Lowdown ( www.crmlowdown.com ).

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3 Reasons Why CRM Strategies Fail

by Matt Hogansworth

Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most effective tools for improving customer relationships and therefore increasing revenue, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. Unfortunately, some CRM strategies fail. This leaves CRM vendors and their customers baffled, but there a few common reasons why a CRM strategy will fail.

1. Too much focus on the CRM vendor and technology. Some companies get too caught up in having the best possible CRM strategy out there. Some companies want entire call-centers, On-Demand CRM, Web-based, and Blackberry devices which allow their IT people to enter customer information wirelessly. While these technologies are extremely helpful, too much emphasis on them can lead any company astray. It is naturally very important to select the best CRM vendor for your company, but best does not always mean flashiest.

2. Not enough focus on the customer. Companies can focus too much on technology and strategy, and not enough on what is at the core of CRM: the customer. The first letter in CRM stands for “Customer” and so the customer should be first when thinking about any CRM strategy. A call-center can be wonderful if it is customer friendly. However, some call centers are too complicated and alienate the customer from the company. Alienation is the exact opposite of what companies want to achieve when implementing CRM. The real ROI of CRM is found in customer retention and the acquisition of new customers. In order to have success with CRM, a company must work towards building a strong relationship with its customers. CRM is the path through which the customer and the company can understand each other. Focusing on technologies and ignoring the basics of customer service will cause even the most technologically advanced CRM strategy to go wrong.

3. Rushing into CRM adaptation. Sometimes, company presidents get the idea of CRM into their head and decide that their entire company must be CRM-ready as fast as possible. Rushing into CRM is a recipe for disaster. IT workers need to understand the concept of CRM. Someone who understands the importance of CRM will be better suited to deal with customers and reach the companys goals concerning CRM. Rushing into CRM does not allow ample time for all IT people to be briefed on the basics of CRM and how it will be implemented within the business. Some companies implementing CRM have to create entire departments that never existed before. The greatest care must always be taken when creating an entire new section of a company. CRM should generally be implemented across the entire company. If this is rushed, it can lead to all sorts of compatibility issues, customer confusion, and even employee confusion. Data collected must be viewed across many applications, and ample time must be given for networks to be set up. Companies using CRM technology such as Blackberry devices, or Call-centers must be even more careful when implementing CRM for the first time. Technology is not perfect, and problems can occur at any time. Any company that sends their sales force out into the market with unchecked technology is asking for disaster.

Some say that it is impossible to determine whether CRM is a success or a failure. The true ROI of CRM lies with the customer. A company that avoids the pitfalls of CRM implementation will notice a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction, retention, and acquisition. CRM can help any company significantly if it is used correctly, carefully, but still efficiently. CRM technology can also help companies if it is used thoughtfully and timely. The entire company must be prepared for CRM when it is implemented. A company cannot expect exact numbers immediately after putting CRM into effect. CRM is a long-term strategy that will help achieve long-term goals of a company. Customer focus is essential and will help any CRM strategy to become a success.

Matt Hogansworth writes about CRM and other business topics.