Pipol - Ask an expert

Technology

Why use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for CRM – a powerful enabler for improving the overall customer experience

Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Back in 2016, Microsoft announced that it would merge Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics ERP in one flexible, highly customizable solution. With nine dedicated business apps, Dynamics 365 is an end-to-end cloud-based platform that runs your entire business—including sales, marketing, service, operations, and commerce.

Ideal for both small businesses looking to grow as well as large international organizations with complex systems, Dynamics 365 offers a highly customizable, flexible solution when it comes to CRM software. Consisting of five standalone applications: Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service, and Project Service Automation, this solution – Microsoft Dynamics CRM – has completely transformed the way we think about customer relationship management. Today, with higher demands from customers, there’s now a greater focus on more value-added engagement.

Why did Microsoft make this change?

Customers now have more power than ever before. They can share their needs, wants, and grievances on various channels and they expect fast and individual responses. They are also free to choose from a large selection of providers and suppliers which has led to higher customer demands when it comes to the quality of products and services, customer experience, and cost. Customers want more than just standard offers and the demand for tailor-made products and services has increased. Organizations wanting to meet these expectations need to react quickly and be able to anticipate demand so they can deliver smooth customer service. Today, everyone expects easily accessible information that they can retrieve from anywhere. Sales automation software must be able to support this demand while also providing ways to optimize and automize processes, deliver analytics, and support employees with their sales, marketing, and service activities.

What are the benefits of using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for CRM?

Dynamics 365 bundles all customer data centrally in one software, with records of all customer activity including quotes, orders, e-mails, and phone calls. Designed to help organizations improve how they do business with their customers, it offers tools to enhance sales, marketing, and service processes. Featuring integration with Microsoft Office 365, it improves overall productivity and collaboration. This fast, flexible, and cost-efficient solution can help streamline processes and drive consistent and measurable improvements in daily business processes.

Available as stand-alone solutions or combined into an end-to-end solution, these scalable, modular-based, tailor-made business apps cover every business process. With no obligation to buy a certain number of apps, organizations only need to pay for the modules they use, allowing them to have tighter control of their budget. And, thanks to Microsoft AppSource, the online marketplace for all 3rd-party developed Dynamics 365 add-ons, it’s easy to add-on industry-specific and company-specific 3rd-party apps to extend the possibilities of these modules.

Most used modules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Dynamics 365 Sales

Dynamics 365 Sales is a sales automation and forecasting business app that helps simplify daily sales activities. It enables salespeople to build strong relationships with their customers, make decisions based on real-time insights, and close sales faster. Organizations can control each step of the sale process and enjoy benefits such as the possibility to increase sales opportunities, manage contacts and accounts, improve time management, and manage the sales pipeline. Featuring business process flow, intelligent tools, and real-time dashboards, it’s ideal for onboarding new team members, optimizing processes, and engaging with customers.

Read more about Dynamics 365 Sales

Dynamics 365 Marketing

Dynamics 365 Marketing improves cooperation between sales and marketing and helps them efficiently generate and nurture sales leads. It handles all aspects of campaign management and communication – from the initial planning phase to measuring success, every stage of your marketing campaign is supported. It offers tools such as detailed customer journeys, personalized mailings, and intuitive, easily designed landing pages, enabling sales and marketing to make smart decisions based on real-time data analysis. Furthermore, it includes functionality to manage and save expenses, generate and send messages, manage workflows, and create targeted lists.

Read more about Dynamics 365 Marketing

Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Dynamics 365 Customer Service lets customers quickly and easily connect through multi-channel service options. It helps organizations respond to their customers in a quick, efficient, and personalized manner to ensure accurate resolution, every time. This module works as a central repository for all your customer information and gives customer service staff the ability to provide a streamlined, consistent, and professional customer service. It’s easy to see the history from a single topic, assign cases to individuals or groups, and use information from the database to answer frequently asked questions.

Read more about Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Dynamics 365 Field Service                         

Field service requires an exceptional amount of customer planning and coordination. Dynamics 365 Field Service can help transform this business function and increase customer satisfaction by simplifying processes and improving productivity during on-site visits. It offers streamlined scheduling and inventory management, and it uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect and solve problems faster, helping improve operational efficiency. It’s possible to automate work orders, scheduling, and dispatching. And, costs can be further reduced with the use of predictive maintenance. It provides technicians with mobile access to all the data they need. And, with mixed reality headsets, technicians can work hands-free further boosting on-site efficiency.

Read more about Dynamics 365 Field Service

Dynamics 365 Project service automation

The Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation is a comprehensive software designed to accurately manage even the most complex projects. It allows users to assign resources, plan, and invoice projects, and communicate efficiently with all stakeholders. Using real-time dashboards, it’s possible to measure resource utilization to optimize allocation and improve skill-based assignments. Using a secure portal, organizations can collaborate seamlessly with customers, simplifying the contracts process. Furthermore, it ensures a faster customer billing process, by allowing teams to submit, process, and approve expenses anytime and anywhere.

Read more about Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation

Meeting your specific business and CRM needs

Built on reliable industry-standard technology, Dynamics 365 is an adaptable and affordable solution that fits perfectly within your existing technology environment. Do you have questions regarding using Dynamics 365 for CRM or want to know more about the benefits it can bring to your organization? Don’t hesitate to contact us today to find out how Pipol can help you define a plan for moving forward.

Your request has been successfully submitted and is being processed. Our team will reach out within 24 hours. Download whitepaper