So how do you get the most out of your CRM reporting? The first step is knowing you have the access to the information you need. In Microsoft Dynamics® CRM, it’s incredibly easy to get the knowledge out of your system and it’s also the first step to making better business decisions.

You may have previously relied on your IT department to receive sales reports. Now, you can directly access built in sales reporting features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, making it easier to align goals with company objectives.

There is also an intuitive report wizard that helps anyone on your team set up ad-hoc reports. You know that one report doesn’t cover the knowledge base needed by everyone in your organization. This feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes it possible for each of your employees to access the information relevant to their role, without having to dig through a bunch of irrelevant information.

Dashboard and key performance indicators also make it easier to get the most out of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Once these are set up to meet the needs of each department, productivity can soar. The information streaming through these easy-to-read and understand charts paves the way for employees to be the best they can be.

In conclusion, CRM software should produce information that’s relevant to each team member so a company can make better decisions and become more productive. We hope these quick tips about Microsoft Dynamics CRM help you see just how great reporting features can be. If you have any questions, please contact us at Cargas Systems.

By Memie Whiteside with Cargas Systems, Pennsylvania Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Get the Most Out of Your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Social media connected with your CRM software can bring together the sales, marketing, and customer service departments. When these three areas work together, it creates a great concoction of customer satisfaction and more effective lead generation. Here are a few examples of when it especially comes in handy:

Let’s say your sales representative is working on converting an event attendee into an opportunity, but he/she didn’t attend the event and doesn’t have a good handle on what the attendee may have learned or taken away. The sales rep can quickly video chat with the marketing rep to see whether there are offers or if attendees received particular information that he/she can mention. This creates a streamlined sales call for the rep and increases the chances of success.

Let’s say the marketing manager is making plans for the next year, but needs input from a few of the sales reps to get a good handle on what’s working for them and what isn’t. The manager can do some research in CRM to see what type of leads were generated from certain sources. They can also IM or message a few sales reps to get their anecdotal feedback that’s valuable for creating an effective marketing plan.

Connecting social media with your CRM is definitely a way to stay connected with your customers, but it’s also another way to enhance relationships in the office. Take advantage of the technology we have available today to make your job as productive as possible and contact us if you have any questions about how Microsoft Dynamics® CRM works with social media components.

By Memie Whiteside with Cargas Systems, Pennsylvania Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Building a Social Business with CRM Software is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Here are just a few benefits you will realize when combining CRM to your BI Software:

-        Sales Effectiveness: Sales can leverage CRM for their account and opportunity management while also having insight into the company’s revenue goals.

-        Better Leads: Importing leads and background into CRM arms your sales department with the right information to close the deal. Lead assignment can also be enhanced when companies have insight into both customer relationships and business information.

-        Cross Selling: With access to complete buying history, sales departments can take advantage of cross selling opportunities in a timely and effective manner.

-        Speedy Invoicing and Increased Cash Flow: when customers are past due with their payments, it can slow down business. By connecting CRM with BI software, you can be proactive in letting your customers know what’s due, when, and how many days they have to get the payment to you.

-        Accurate Predictions: When you know what to expect, it makes business a little easier to manage and ultimately more successful. If there are trends you can prepare for ahead of time, you will benefit from more sales and happier customers. Combining CRM with BI gives you this knowledge so you’re always better prepared.

If these benefits sound like something your company is in desperate need of, it may be time to combine the powerful forces of CRM and BI software for your business. Contact us for more information about Microsoft Dynamics® CRM and how this advanced solution can help.

By Memie Whiteside with Cargas Systems, Pennsylvania Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

When is it Time to Add CRM to Business Intelligence Software? is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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1. Seek out the right executive sponsor. Having the right executive sponsor on your implementation project can help drive goals and adoption.
2. Define your current sales process, but don’t change it. We find that most companies don’t really follow a formal sales process and are unable to put what they do into an actual workflow. When implementing a new solution, they try to also push a new, standardized process into place although it hasn’t been communicated yet across their departments. This causes a lot of problems and ultimately leads to implementation failure. If you are trying to get a CRM solution up and running fast, you should stcik with the current sales process, and leave it as is. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a long term plan, but if your focus is on a rapid implementation and quick ROI than this is not the time to change your sales process.
3. Training. A new customer management solution is not effective unless your people know how to use it and actually do use it to streamline their daily tasks and increase productivity. The TM Group’s CRM Classroom and online training courses review the important aspects of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, such as customization & configuration, workflows, and extending CRM. We take training seriously because we know the key to adoption with  CRM solution is that everyone understands how to use it.
4. Get comfortable with the basics before the “WOW” features. CRM functionality can be pretty awesome and most people want the cool stuff right away before focusing on the basics. This can backfire quickly and we know that getting comfortable with CRM’s basic features helps increase user adoption rate and sets the stage to add “WOW” features later on.
5. Realistic expectations. Setting timelines that you can actually reach helps set the stage for a more successful implementation. It also keeps the morale high because you’re achieving progress, getting you to the final goal quickly. Decide if you want to hire a consulant to guide you through the implementation process, or if you’ll try a more do it yourself approach like our ReadySetGo for Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach.

These tips should help minimize the main issues during an implementation, such as resistance to change, lack of perceived benefit, and resistance to use technology. If you have any questions on how to successfully deploy CRM, please contact us at andreed@tmgroupinc.com or 888.482.2864.

By The TM Group, Michigan  Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM Partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics SL and SharePoint

Get Ahead of the Curve in 2012: 5 Tips for a Successful CRM Implementation is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Firstly, on the question on what you should expect on email open rates in b2b for net new lists, I read a number of responses where the percentages seemed unusually high to me.  Jumping into the conversation, I discovered most of the open rates were from vendor reports.  Clearly, vendors were being very “optimistic” in what they stated as industry average open rates for email campaigns. 18, 25, 30% were numbers that were thrown out as “normal”.  So, being the good direct marketer that I am, I posted this:

“I have a campaign for a webinar we’re hosting w/ David Raab this Thursday. I pulled a brand new list out of NetProspex, a source of data known to be high quality. I pulled 1K names in b2b, marketing titles, biz/tech services and sent an email blast out inviting to a very high value asset, an analyst webinar. The email executed at 10:30AM EST today.  Click on this link to view the basic stats from the email campaign report
http://ity.vc/raabemail  We delivered a total of 763 – that excluded prior unsubs and bounces already in my database – sending to a total of 763.  This email was sent using SalesFUSION, our MA software. We monitor our IP on return path and have score of 97 today (95-97 on average).  4% open rate thusfar – will probably creep up to 6% by COB

The bounce rate was 17.9% and more than 75% of the hard bounce reason codes were “bad mailbox” I consider NP to be a very good data source and yet 18% of the list bounced.  Moral of the story is be cautious of what data vendors and email vendors claim because the reality is usually much more sobering. I deal with lots of our clients ticked off at 12% open rate because they got their hands on that constant contact report, which is very much irrelevant to real b2b open rates.”

So, what should we expect as normal on open rates and if the new normal is 4-10% open rates, will we need to acquire millions of names just to keep our lead flow going?

Marketing automation, email marketing, and marketing tools in CRM have literally exploded onto the scene in the last few years.  SalesFUSION has been an ISV for Microsoft CRM since 2009 and we have over 125 Dynamics users leveraging our marketing solution, integrated to Dynamics CRM.  Just a few years ago, many b2b marketers were perfectly content using low-cost email blasting tools to get their marketing messages out the door.  Just a few years ago (let’s go with 5-7), the inbox of the average manager in a company was much less cluttered than it is today.  Each day, many of the people we are trying to get to read our wonderfully crafted electronic prose, are buried in a sea of unsolicited information.  This is in large part due to several factors.  Firstly, most b2b buyers engage in product & service research on the web.  We want to engage with our prospects electronically and cheap email is the quickest path to do that.  To hammer  the point home, there are now several email blasting tools that live right inside of Dynamics.  Anyone with a Dynamics license and the permission to do so is now an amateur email marketer.  The end result of this is that inboxes are crowded and it’s getting harder and harder to get the attention of our target recipient.

Firstly, the baseline numbers that I assert are as follows for open rates

• Net new list – acquired and emailed for the first time – 4-8% open, 10-20% bounce
• House list – has received emails in the past and not bounced nor have they unsubscribed – 7-15%

The numbers will increase or decrease based on subject line, the tool being used, content, time of day, day of week…etc.

The open rates of campaigns will be lower than you expect…but there are things we can do to improve our chances of getting someone’s attention.

1. Using subject swaps – this is one of the older retail email marketing tricks of the trade.  You take an email – and pre-set 3-5 variations of the email (variance in subject line only) and schedule 1 email on one day/time, and then each subsequent email goes out to the group who didn’t open the last.  You vary times/days and make minor tweaks to the subject line.  This is easily accomplished, without the need to know CRM workflow, in solutions like SalesFUSION using a drip designer.  The results?  You can set your watch to doubling the open rate.
2. Personalized subject lines – not well received in retail/consumer emails but tends to be OK in b2b.  I have experimented with this and see an average increase of 1-3% in open rates.
3. Trigger-based emails - These are emails that trigger to an individual within a certain time period after an activity has occurred.  Examples are:  Lead fills out form – auto-enroll in multi-step email campaign; Lead visits website, enroll in multi-step email campaign.  Triggers work and have extremely high open rates at 30-45%.  Trigger emails are also known as nurture-based emails and are one of the main drivers for b2b marketers to invest in marketing automation solutions like SalesFUSION.  Some vendors that live inside of Dynamics will require advanced knowledge of workflow for this so be cautious as 90% of marketers have no skills or interest in learning Dynamics Workflow!
4. Content linking – Once someone has an interaction or opens or clicks on a certain type of content – string together a sequence of emails that offer complementary content to the last piece of content accessed.
5. A/B Testing – as marketers, we should always be testing and measuring.  Using A/B testing on subject lines is a great way to increase overall open rates.  Test a sample of between 500-1000 before sending a blast and use the subject that had a higher open rate.
6. Sales-person based campaigns – SalesFUSION, with its integration to Dynamics, can auto-personalized emails so that they appear to be coming from the sales rep who owns the lead or contact in CRM.  Seeing the email coming from a person rather than an alias will increase open rates.

In short, anybody with rudimentary blasting skills can pepper a database with sales messaging but that will likely not be enough in an age where the average business professional receives 1000 marketing messages per day.  If you want to get someone’s attention, the six tips listed above are a great start.

by SalesFUSION, ISV Partner

The Challenge of Open Rates in b2b Email Marketing is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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We have guided our clients through a high number of Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementations and in doing so, have discovered certain little things lacking in Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s standard functionality that in every implementation we have to customize or modify.   To avoid these frustrations, greater streamline the implementation process, and save our client’s money, we’ve created the CRM Starter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Here are just a few examples of the features of The TM Group’s CRM Starter:

• Standardized Customer Views: Most of our clients need or want to customize the view for their account and contact information in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. We have built this right into the CRM Starter so that no matter where the client does the look up, inside or outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the same format is available, making queries quick and easy.
• Opportunity Revenue Estimates: When your sales team adds an opportunity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM at a certain % to close in the sales cycle, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will now automatically calculate the weighted percentage of revenue you’re estimated to receive from that opportunity. This feature of the CRM Starter lets you know where you’re at in the sales pipeline in relation to how much you will probably be closing at any given time.
• Less Data Entry: Entering new accounts and/or contacts into Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be a tedious task. Our Zip Code enhancement of the CRM Starter makes this just a little easier. When you put in the zip code for a new contact, the city and state are automatically populated.
• Import Verification: When users are importing information, this feature of the CRM Starter verifies the accuracy of the data, helping reduce entry error and save time from dealing with inaccuracies in the software.

We have found that the CRM Starter for Microsoft Dynamics is a huge value-add to our clients. By implementing the CRM Starter up-front, our CRM consulting team can also better focus on our clients’ business processes and spend less time on fixing things that we have had to modify or customize repeatedly in previous implementations. It has helped us deepen our experience as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM consulting partner, and in-turn provided many helpful benefits back to our clients.

 The CRM Starter from The TM Group is continuously improving. We continue to discover new enhancements as we go and add them to the CRM Starter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This tool saves clients a lot of time and money with a low cost of $25/user with $2,500 maximum cost.

 By The TM Group, Michigan  Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM Partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, GP, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics SL and SharePoint

How to Minimize Little Irritants During Your CRM Implementation – the CRM Starter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Makes a BIG Difference is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Good customer service is an integral part of any business and is the cornerstone of keeping your customers happy and most importantly, retaining them. Improving customer service should not be that difficult given well designed internal processes and the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is vital that you provide excellent customer service to ensure customers and referral sources for life. This is a critical element in the evolution given it is 6 to 7 times more costly to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one.

The description below explains the life cycle of a case within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, from the initiating activity to the case resolution.

• When a customer initiates contact with your organization, it is saved as a communication activity, such as an e-mail message, phone call, or letter. These activities are either created automatically, such as an incoming e-mail message, or manually, such as a letter received.
• The activity is then sent to a queue to wait for someone to take ownership of the activity.  Alternatively, workflows could be developed to automatically acknowledge the customer communication and route the service
  request to the appropriate individual or department in your organization.
• The new owner converts the activity to a case and starts working to resolve the customer’s issue. The customer
  service representative (CSR) can link the case to an existing account or contract and view historical information about the account or contact. If there is a contract, the case can be linked to a specific contract line that allows the allotment to be added to the billable total time. As the CSR researches the issue, the CSR can link to a relevant Knowledgebase article and forward to the customer as appropriate.
• Further contact with the customer and activities performed to close the case are also saved.
• When the case is resolved, it is removed from the queue automaticallly. The closed acivities, including the case resolution, can be viewed in the history of the account or contact. Customer Care dashboards and reports can give management insight into this important department of the company.

If your organization is located in the Arizona or New Mexico area, contact Sherwood Systems for assistance in determining if a technology solution can help your organization better serve your business needs. (877) 943-9696

By Sherwood Systems – Arizona MicrosoftDynamics CRM Partner

The Flow of Case Management in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Every organization is different; however, lead growth, account acquisition and retention, salesperson productivity, and quota attainment are key growth metrics that can be applied to most sales organizations. It’s the ones that measure against these metrics that create the culture of a world-class sales organization.

Top 5 Sales Strategies for 2012

1) Increase your sales pipeline with qualified opportunities

2) Increase your net new customer adds

3) Cross sell and upsell into your existing customer base

4) Increase salesperson productivity

5) Establish infrastructure and a consistent sales cadence

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 helps create operational alignment of people, process and technology. Here are some ways you can accelerate your momentum in achieving your sales strategies for 2012.

Lead Management
Align the lead management module with your business definition of a qualified lead. This way only qualified leads are converted to sales opportunities. The lines between the definitions of a Lead vs. an Opportunity are often blurred and can be a common point of confusion. Create and reinforce consistency in your sales methodology across Leads and Opportunities – they are different.

Opportunity Management
Segment your pipeline between new and existing customers by tracking this attribute on each new opportunity. It’s a simple thing to do and will help you measure the ratio of ‘farmed’ vs. ‘hunted’ business. A growing organization will have a sales organization focused on net new customer adds.

Account Management
Create visibility into the products and services associated with your existing customers. Oftentimes we integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with an organization’s accounting system for this type of visibility. Cross-selling and up-selling into your existing customer base creates value for your customers and creates revenue opportunities often missed.

Salesperson Productivity
Reducing administrative tasks for a salesperson keeps them focused on selling. Administrative tasks are necessary for pipeline visibility and activity management but make sure it’s easy for them. We use workflows to automate administrative tasks, dashboards and reports for visibility and simple configurations to reinforce the organizations sales methodology. Reducing the number of clicks and eliminating the guesswork around sales process management creates a more productive sales force.

Dashboards and Reports
The enhanced dashboard capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 make reporting against your key metrics very easy. Also utilizing the goal management module in conjunction with dashboard charts give you visibility into how you are doing against goals at every level of the organization. Managing sales pipeline does not need to be difficult and the simpler the better.

AbleBridge has helped many sales organizations marry process with technology using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. We’re passionate about helping organizations simplify their sales operations and giving them the visibility they need to become top performing sales organizations.

Feel free to contact AbleBridge to learn more or request additional information.

Top 5 Sales Strategies for 2012. Accelerate Your Momentum with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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• The Social Customer- You first need to know your social customer and what they’re looking for in a social business relationship. Social customers consume information in a different way. They expect you to be present and active when they need you. They also expect you to listen and engage with them online if they reach out to you. Social customers are savvier than customers you’ve worked with previously. They know how to find the information they need and ultimately know what they’re looking for. So in a nutshell, you need to be ready for when the social customer comes to you. At this time, if you’ve done things right, that social customer turns into a valuable and loyal asset to your customer base.
• The Social Employee- Similar to your social customers, social employees expect social media interaction in the workplace as it’s a more effective way to do business. They get to the information they need to do their job right and have access to the right resources at any given time. It’s important to understand this type of employee and appreciate them for the productivity they offer your company. Instead of viewing social media as a time waster or hitch in your company, it’s time to embrace its collaboration and sales generating powers. Don’t push these social employees away, pick their brain and learn from the work habits they bring to your organization.

If you haven’t taken the shift to social CRM, there’s a good chance you will be soon. If you have any questions about making this change at your organization, don’t hesitate to contact us at Sikich.

By Jim Drumm with Sikich, Chicago IL Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner serving IL and MO

Social Collaboration Tool Adoption for Your Business is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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So what are your next steps? How can you “de-code” your software to work the way you need it to? Some companies take two approaches that can actually result in disaster. Let’s take a look:

1. Manipulate the actual software: Manipulating or trying to “de-code” your software to work the way you want it to can cost big bucks and may not be the most effective way to gain the control and insight you need to maintain your business. If you have to tweak your software to meet your basic requirements, then it’s only going to get more complicated when advanced needs show up due to company growth and/or market changes.
2. Manipulate your employees: If your software can’t adapt, then company employees adapt to the software as much as possible. This approach backfires more times than not. If you run your business according to what your software can handle, then you’re not focusing on the main purpose of your company. It’s nearly impossible to respond to customer demands or market trends if you’re stuck cross-checking data or working with inaccurate information.

If you’re not interested in experiencing potential disasters as a result of software or employee manipulation, then it may be time to consider Microsoft Dynamics CRM. There isn’t a need to de-code anything because it’s plain as day for all users. It’s connected to Microsoft Outlook, an application you and your team probably use all day, every day and it provides a deep level of insight in easy-to-read charts and graphs.

By Julie Fuller with Cargas Systems, Pennsylvania Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

How “De-Coding” Your CRM Software Can Result in Costly Manipulation is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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