Microsoft CRM Review
One needs no introduction to Microsoft, as it has been a market pioneer and leader in computer technology from the beginning. When the company announced that it was coming out with a CRM system based on .NET, it obviously generated a lot of curiosity and enthusiasm. Despite being priced on the higher side, it is still a worthwhile CRM solution with useful features. The product would definitely be of help to salespeople to ensure that customers are looked after and more orders are generated through better support and service. Microsoft CRM is not just easy to use, but performs more complex tasks like opportunity management and customer support functions efficiently.
Features
Microsoft CRM incorporates several functions that enable better sales management, more streamlined processes, enhanced customer support and much more.
Integration with Outlook, Word and Excel
The sales force will have access to the full range of Office productivity applications, which all integrate nicely with Microsoft CRM. Users are able to access Outlook to obtain a full range of sales functions, regardless of whether they are online or offline. Microsoft Word Mail Merge can be used to create, print and dispatch all kinds of communications. Word can also be utilized to transfer data to Excel for analysis, further planning and execution.
Order management
A product catalog includes many features which include complex pricing support, measuring units and discounts given, if any. The sales force can access the product catalog easily and create the requisite quotations to be given to prospects and these can be converted to orders much faster.
Microsoft Business Solutions/ Third-party Applications Integration
This CRM solution blends and integrates simply and easily with Microsoft Business Solutions applications, which include accounts, contacts, product catalog, orders, quotes and the like. This enables the salesperson to have access to a central location, where all the customer and product data can be viewed and utilized as needed.
Microsoft CRM solutions can also be integrated with third-party applications and XML web services, through secure APIs and SOAP.
Lead Management
Any lead generated can be quickly and easily brought into the CRM system and then assigned to a specific salesperson based on suitable criteria like territory, product and so on. These leads can be then transformed into opportunities without any further data entry and then tracked through the sales cycle on a continuous basis.
Sales Process
Microsoft CRM incorporates selling methodologies which can be customized to sync with particular sales processes. Workflow rules and templates also make it easy to generate and send auto-response e-mail messages to customer requests.
Customer Management
Employees can create, assign and manage customer service complaints from the first contact to the solution provided and then to the final resolution. The communications and activity in each step and case is easily managed and brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
Data Base
Users can access a searchable data base that contains all relevant information about all aspects of lead management and customer support. Review and update processes which are inbuilt ensure that the information is accurate, complete and tagged for easy search and retrieval.
Conclusion
The unique nature of every sales and customer support situation needs a CRM solution that can be easily and quickly customized to suit current needs. Microsoft CRM might be the most easily customized CRM solution available today and this is certainly a plus point, together with its many useful features and applications.
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