CRM Software Blog

Six Strategic Objectives You Can Conquer With Mobile CRM

2013-05-13T16:23:00Z

Mobile devices are in the hands and pockets of nearly everyone in every part of the globe. Some might even say that the desktop computer is dead or dying. While such extreme predictions might be premature, it is safe to say that most businesses will encounter employees and customers who expect mobile access to whatever private or public-facing systems they have.

Your company may be doing just fine, and you could choose to ignore the trend toward smartphones and tablets. But if you choose to ignore it, you will be missing a chance to increase sales, accelerate cash flow, increase productivity and more simply by adding mobility to various levels of your business' CRM implementation. A new white paper from the CRM Software Blog called "Why Go Mobile? Six Strategic Objectives You Can Conquer With Mobile CRM" offers solutions that can help you achieve those goals.

So, what are the six strategic objectives? The mobile big six, as the white paper calls them, are:

Increase Sales Values
Shorten Sales Cycles
Accelerate Cash Flow
Collect Information at the Source
Increase Productivity
Improve Insight

The white paper goes beyond simply explaining theoretical strategies. It actually provides real-world examples of industry-leading companies that have worked with Microsoft Partners to mobilize their Microsoft Dynamics CRM systems. It also includes useful tips from Microsoft partners and advice for companies getting started with the mobile revolution.

As the mobile world continues to change the way we do business, those companies that are at the forefront actively embracing these new technologies will have a serious edge over their competition. You can download the new white paper at www.CRMSoftwareBlog.com/mobile-crm as a PDF or as an audio MP3 version so you can listen to it on your favorite mobile device.

More of a visual person? Check out the related infographic, Six Strategic Advantages of Mobile CRM at www.crmsoftwareblog.com/mobile-crm-infographic With current statistics from Aberdeen Group, Nucleus Research and ATT.com you will get the motivation you need to empower a mobile workforce.

By Anya Ciecierski, CRM Software Blog Editor, www.crmsoftwareblog.com

Considerations for Yammer + Microsoft Dynamics CRM Integration

2013-05-09T00:27:00Z

Yammer integration with CRM allows users to collaborate on customer and opportunity records within the UI of both platforms. Yammer users are alerted to deal updates and changes to customer statuses regardless of their access to MSCRM. Users of Microsoft CRM are able to post relevant customer information to Yammer from inside CRM records. Below is a great demo of the possibilities of Yammer + CRM: If you are considering turning on your Yammer integration inside of CRM, there are a couple of...(read more)

Dynamics CRM Multi Currency: How Does it Work?

2013-05-08T21:22:50Z

Multi-Currency in Dynamics CRM Is your organization in need of a customer relationship management system that can support transactional data in multiple currencies? If the answer is “yes”, then Microsoft Dynamics CRM may be the one for you. Dynamics CRM is a multicurrency system in which each system entity record (Opportunity, Quote, Order, Invoice, etc.) or custom entity record can be displayed in their own transaction currency. Base currency(such as the currency used at your company...(read more)

The Value of an Internal Company Microsoft CRM TEAM

2013-05-08T21:18:42Z

So, you spend a lot of time researching the best CRM solution for your company. You involve people from your organization that you feel will bring great value in making a decision based on the individual’s perspective or job role. Meetings are held to discuss all the requirements, needs, and wants of the company. A decision is made and the company proceeds with implementation of the new CRM system. Unfortunately, often times the implementation fails. Why is that so? All the members of...(read more)

The (CRM) Truth is Out There Part 1

2013-05-08T21:13:08Z

If a consultant tells you that your CRM should provide a “360 degree view of the truth” it’s like a coach instructing his players to “go out there and give it all you’ve got”; it’s true, but not particularly useful. When it comes to customer Truth in CRM, the key realization is that you’ve probably already got all the information you need…but the most important stuff isn’t in your CRM. For example, consider these low-hanging fruit CRM requirements: Marketing automation Lead management Sales...(read more)

Webinar – Tips and Techniques to Better Utilize Advanced Find in Dynamics CRM

2013-05-08T21:09:58Z

Are you looking for more details of how you can better utilize the Advanced Find function in Dynamics CRM ? Then invest one hour and attend our Advanced Find Best Practices and Tips/Techniques webinar on May 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET . You’ll learn the basics as well as some more advanced capabilities of the tool. As many know, Advanced Find in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is a strong and flexible tool that functions like a magnifying glass, allowing you to focus on specific data in your database. Using...(read more)

How Microsoft Dynamics CRM Will Use MarketingPilot, Netbreeze, and Yammer to Support the New Customer

2013-05-07T20:11:51Z

Customer buying cycles are radically changing, and CRM software has to evolve to keep up. In an interview at Convergence 2013, Seth Patton, Senior Director of Marketing for Microsoft Dynamics CRM gave his thoughts on customer buying trends, the changing role of marketing, and how Microsoft Dynamics CRM plans to embrace these changes with the acquisition of MarketingPilot, NetBreeze, and Yammer. First of all, we have to set the scene. Whether it is B2B or B2C, customer buying cycles are changing...(read more)

Managed Solution Replacement in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2013-05-07T00:22:44Z

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 introduced the concept of solution management—packaging your customizations so they could easily be deployed to other environments. In CRM 2011, there are two types of solutions: Managed solutions, which prevent the solution from being modified in the environment to which it is imported, and unmanaged solutions, which allow for the solution to be modified after it is imported. Customer Effective typically recommends that users deploying internal customization changes...(read more)

Expand Your Marketing Team with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2013-05-07T00:18:12Z

Most businesses depend on successful marketing campaigns to drive sales and expand their reach to new customers. From planning to carrying through, a marketing campaign involves a great deal of information, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM ( http://mig.com/Software-Solutions/Customer-Relationship-Management-CRM/Microsoft-Dynamics-CRM ) makes it easy to organize and keep track of all that information. When you are planning to start a marketing campaign, you can create and name the campaign in Microsoft...(read more)

CRM at Your Fingertips 24/7 with MOBILE CRM

2013-05-06T23:54:55Z

“He who walks in the middle of the road gets hit from both sides.” – George P. Schultz Do you ever have those times when you are out of the office and run into a situation where you wish you had your office with you? Have you had a customer ask you a specific question and you couldn’t answer it right away, just because you didn’t have your notes and past calls on hand? With customer demands and all the new technology today, companies have made it much easier for customers to make a purchase...(read more)

13 Ways to Encourage CRM Usage in the Office

2013-05-02T19:18:18Z

Purchasing a new CRM system is a great accomplishment. When you find that perfect system and implement it in your business, you may breathe a sigh of relief. You have achieved a great feat, but the struggles are not over. Just because you have a wonderful, shiny new CRM system does not mean people in your organization will actually use it. CIO.com recently contacted several CRM experts to ask them for tips on nudging employees in the right direction toward actually using their CRM systems. Their...(read more)

Top 10 Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Not for Profits

2013-05-02T18:53:52Z

You work for a not-for-profit organization and there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. You juggle different spreadsheets to try and keep track of current and potential donors. You have reminders set up on your Outlook calendar so you won’t forget to touch base with all of the people who have pledged monthly, bi monthly or annual donations. Enough is enough. Microsoft Dynamics CRM can streamline all of the information most important to your company and help make your job much easier...(read more)

Resco Mobile- CRM At Your Fingertips

2013-05-02T18:48:30Z

One of the most common questions that we receive when meeting with customers is: “Am I able to access Dynamics CRM online from my cell phone or portable device such as a tablet or iPad? ” With today’s workplace becoming so dependent on mobile devices, it is essential that customers can access their CRM information seamlessly from anywhere, using any device. With the Resco Dynamics CRM Mobile Application, customers are able to access, edit, and create new accounts from any device...(read more)

Meet Microsoft Dynamics CRM Anywhere, Anytime

2013-05-01T01:20:05Z

Microsoft Dynamics CRM ( http://www.socius1.com/solutions/crm/microsoft-dynamics-crm/ ) is all about keeping you in touch with your data where you need it, when you need it. That’s why it is available anytime, anywhere in a number of ways. Although, Dynamics CRM can be deployed through Microsoft Outlook for direct interoperability between the solutions that maintain and manage all of your critical business contact information and client data, you aren’t limited to accessing Dynamics CRM only in...(read more)

Get Advanced Business Analytics of CRM Data with Power View in Excel

2013-04-30T00:46:29Z

With the addition of Power View to Microsoft Excel 2013, you can easily perform advanced business analytics of your real time CRM data. Just use the Export to Excel feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to export your CRM data, and you can create a table, data map, bar chart, and more. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM team has published a detailed step-by-step guide to the process , but it doesn’t take a developer to do it, and I’ll go over the process in brief here. To get started, open the...(read more)

Lost But Not Forgotten – Dynamics CRM Knowledge Base Articles

2013-04-25T13:46:45Z

Everyone has probably heard the expression that your employees are your most valuable asset. It’s easy to make that argument when you stop and try to quantify the value of the knowledge about your business and its products a few long term employees have. A great way to document and share that experience with other employees and customers using Dynamics CRM is to leverage the built in Knowledge Base. Are Knowledge Base Articles difficult to create? With a few minutes of setup, your users can start...(read more)

Cloud CRM Price Comparison Guide

2013-04-25T13:43:39Z

Here is a quick pricing guide that outlines the different costs of the more popular On Demand CRM packages we run into a somewhat regular basis. Product Basic Pricing Maximizer CRM Live $39/user/month, 5 user minimum Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online $44/user/month Netsuite CRM + $129/user/month Oracle CRM On Demand $95/user/month Standard SageCRM.com $39/user/month Salesforce.com $65/user/month Professional, $125 Enterprise, $250 Unlimited...(read more)

Valued Customers vs. Volume Customers

2013-04-24T04:21:09Z

At first glance, it may seem that having hundreds of customers is a good thing, but when it comes down to the bottom line, more isn’t always better. Having customers is obviously critical, but you want good-customers, not bad-customers. Telling the difference between the two isn’t always easy, but a customer relationship management (CRM) solution will make it easier to find your valued customers and protect yourselves from the risky ones. Useful Patterns. With CRM software, you gain insight...(read more)

Why CRM is a Great Platform to Build On

2013-04-22T20:14:37Z

I’ve been using Dynamics CRM for over five years. I continue to be amazed at what CRM offers our team, here at Rockton Software , in collecting and sharing important information. CRM is one of those products I deem “Microsoft got right” since their 3.0 release, and their focus on simplicity and integration with Outlook. My favorite part about CRM is its customization abilities. A Power User, in a matter of minutes, can add new entities or add new fields to any existing entity in the system...(read more)

Virtual Convergence Offers a FREE Opportunity to Take a Closer Look at Dynamics CRM

2013-04-22T20:11:17Z

Earlier in the month, I wrote a blog post about the acquisition of Netbreeze and how the integration of its social analytic capabilities with Dynamics CRM will benefit users; read it here . The Netbreeze announcement was just one of the many exciting topics discussed at this year’s Convergence conference. If you’re unfamiliar with it, Convergence is an annual conference where Microsoft Dynamics partners, current users and prospective clients come together to hear what’s coming for each Dynamics...(read more)

3 Tips to eliminating confusion with CRM 2011 Rollup Updates

2013-04-22T17:13:55Z

With the recent flurry of CRM 2011 rollup updates (revisions) that have been released it has become harder and harder to determine what features are available in a certain CRM environment just by looking at it. In this blog I will show you how to find out which version you are running and how to determine your organization’s functionality. Tip 1: Check your version From a web browser, in the top left click ‘File’ > ‘Help’ > ‘About Microsoft Dynamics CRM’ This will open a pop-up...(read more)

Identify Opportunities for Staff Performance Improvement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2013-04-21T22:32:46Z

Time and time again, firms voice the desire to deploy CRM to attain a more unified and 360-degree view of their clients and prospects, to collaborate and deliver more consistent service levels, and ultimately improve financial and business performance. Without real-time access to centralized, holistic, and accurate customer data in a leading CRM platform, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, industry laggards have little chance of ascending the ranks and transforming themselves into an upper echelon firm...(read more)

Good Mobile CRM Programs Start with Strategy – Not Technology

2013-04-20T02:34:59Z

Mobile CRM is one of the hottest topics in the CRM world today. The convergence of increased mobile computing power, cloud storage and BYOD policies have made mobility a “must-have” requirement of most CRM projects. The amount of mobile CRM solutions and tools in the marketplace has confused and muddied this topic for CRM administrators and project sponsors. Our advice to those looking at Mobile CRM: don’t confuse tools with solutions. We have seen too often where people fall for a shiny new...(read more)

Faced with Higher Costs, Banks Turn to Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2013-04-18T22:31:42Z

Along with a Starbucks, it is pretty much guaranteed that there are multiple bank branches on every corner in the metropolitan areas across the country. Depending on what part of the U.S. you’re in, the bank brands will differ, but it’s nearly impossible to not run into them in central business districts. A Wall Street Journal article from earlier this month focuses on this topic and points out that the number of bank branches in the U.S. has actually doubled over the past thirty years. Expanding...(read more)

3 Key Tips for Improving “New Lead” Tracking Processes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2013-04-18T22:11:12Z

“The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions.” – Confucius Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help any sales organization improve results by better managing their sales funnel. I’m going to call the top of this sales funnel “Leads”. Every organization depends on a steady source of leads to generate sales for their business. What if you could improve your current “New Lead” tracking processes and expedite the sales process? What would that be worth to your company? Here...(read more)