First, let’s agree that some feedback from the sales team is necessary and they have to enter that information into some system. Whether that is Microsoft CRM, an internally developed tool or by typing an email to update everyone, some updates are necessary. The sales staff is constantly meeting with clients and prospects so they need to be the liaison to the customer. The issue we constantly see is that most of the updates are responses to ad hoc requests and “important updates for management”. How many times do you burden your sales staff with preparing a special report for an upcoming meeting? How many times do you ask for the same pipeline report in a different format to meet management’s most recent request? Whether you want to admit it or not, these efforts are turning your sales staff into data entry clerks. The same can be said for the myriad of emails that are sent between sales, marketing, executives, sales engineers and other contributors to the sales process.

So how do reduce that administrative burden?  The answer is by comparing CRM software solutions and finding a solution that meets your requirements.  We at, Logan Consulting, believe Microsoft CRM is great solution for reducing the administrative burden on the sales team.  First of all, Microsoft CRM provides a common database for accounts, contacts, opportunities and other important sales and marketing information. People often dismiss this as a “glorified contact management system”, but it is one of the biggest time savers that drives efficiency within an organization. The sales team at most companies wastes too much time looking for information, entering redundant information in systems and responding to emails with the latest contact information for a key client.

The second part of the answer is integration between Microsoft CRM and Outlook. As a principal at Logan Consulting, a Microsoft parnter located in Chicago, Illnois, and a heavy sales user of Microsoft CRM user I can speak firsthand of the time savings from the integrated environment.  I spend my entire day and only use Outlook and Microsoft CRM is essentially CRM for Outlook.  Regardless of whether I am working in or out of the office and connected or not connected I can use Outlook as a CRM tool. Other systems claim to have an “Outlook plug-in”, but it is not true integration. I can access my entire Microsoft CRM environment from within Outlook. Furthermore, there is no exporting and importing of information, it is true integration. Allowing users to engage with a single application that they are probably already familiar with is a huge time saver.

I know this may seem like a basic topic for an application that has been around for over six years, but hopefully everyone is finally beginning to realize that Microsoft CRM will reduce the administrative burden on your sales staff and this is a key consideration when choosing CRM software.

By Logan Consulting – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Don’t Let Your Sales People Be Data Entry Clerks Just Because You Want Information – use Microsoft CRM is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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 Benefits for Company and Management

Above and beyond the product’s features and benefits, companies can take advantage of a well-designed CRM software deployment for:

• Quicker response for new leads, call scheduling, appointments and forecasting
• Automation of repeatable tasks, such as assignment of leads based on specific criteria, for improved productivity
• Better managed sales opportunities for increased revenue
• Improved sales effectiveness through best practices and standardized processes

 In addition to the company-wide benefits described above, the management team will be able to:

• Use real-time data to make better business decisions
• Produce more accurate sales forecasts by time period
• Use standardized processes and templates for improved training
• Help foster better communications between and among sales team members

 Confusion over the “Big Boys”

When searching for the CRM solution that best fits your organization, you may become frustrated when evaluating which product best addresses your requirements. The two leading CRM vendors are Microsoft and Salesforce.com.  To help
prospective buyers determine the difference in the offerings, Microsoft upped the ante by posting an open letter to Salesforce.com customers. The letter posed the the following questions and comments:

In this economy, how can you justify paying two to three times more than you need to for an enterprise CRM system?*

• Microsoft provides a financially backed 99.9 percent uptime commitment for every Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customer; why does Salesforce.com only provide you with “commercially reasonable efforts” to keep your business running?
• Having access to the most up-to-date information is critical to your business; why doesn’t Salesforce.com provide real-time access to data and dashboards, refreshed whenever you need it like Microsoft does?
• Microsoft works great with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office; why does Salesforce.com want you to start from scratch when it comes to productivity tools for your people?
• Microsoft provides the flexibility for your CRM system to work with other systems, whether they run in the cloud or on-premises; why does Salesforce.com lock you into one way of doing things?

 * Comparison based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online v. Salesforce.com Enterprise Edition

 Choosing the Right Partner

 Make no mistake:  the CRM solutions available now offer tremendous benefits to organizations, particularly in the sales, marketing, and customer service areas. One of the most important elements when performing a CRM system search
is identifying and articulating your organization’s key requirements so you can ultimately make an educated decision.

 Partnering with an experienced, proven CRM provider will ensure a smart implementation designed for your specific needs. BroadPoint Technologies is the largest Microsoft Dynamics partner in the mid-Atlantic.  Contact us at (301) 634-2478 or skane@broadpoint.net to discuss your CRM requirements and schedule a complimentary consultation.

by BroadPoint Technologies, Virginia Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Dynamics CRM Fits the Bill for Productivity, Security, and Reliability is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Nucleus Research is a third-party research firm dedicated to providing quality IT research and expert service consulting. Nucleus Research recently released its CRM Technology Matrix, based on research conducted during the third and fourth quarter of 2011. This matrix contains a thorough collection of information, first comparing the features and usability of several CRM applications, and then discussing several important developments in the CRM software market during the time this research was conducted.

Pictured below is a diagram that plots the differences in usability and functionality between several CRM applications. You’ll notice right away that Microsoft Dynamics CRM is peaking above the rest, especially when usability is considered.

If we dig a little deeper into this published matrix, we start to see why CRM Online 2011 is peaking above. Nucleus Research lists the following as specific reasons why Microsoft CRM Online 2011 is considered a leader in the CRM application market:

• Integration with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook
• Powerful personalization and customization capabilities
• Recent improvements in social media integration, including activity feeds and micro-blogging
• Microsoft’s online application marketplace
• Role-based views

Since Nucleus Research doesn’t draw any concrete conclusion as to the “best” CRM application available, you will need to evaluate the options and pick the right fit for your business. That being said, if you consider usability and functionality to be of the utmost importance to your business, then CRM Online 2011 is definitely looking good. If you do decide to make the leap with CRM Online 2011, the CRM Success Portal for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a great place to “get your hands dirty”, as it’s full of helpful videos and tutorials regarding CRM Online 2011.

xRM.com is a Microsoft Partner with competencies in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Hosting.

Third-Party ResearchReveals That Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2011 Continues to Emerge as a Leader in the CRM Software Field is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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 How Do They Stack Up?

In order to get a clear picture of how these products (and companies)  stack up against each other, we need to make an apples-to-apples comparison.  By using the same criteria  as a basis for comparison, we can see how the products measure up.  Some of the most important factors to consider when reviewing these (or any other CRM solution) are:

• Ease of use
• Total costs (upfront AND recurring)
• Deployment options (cloud-based, on-premise or  both?)
• Accessibility (Microsoft Outlook, browser,  smartphone, tablet, etc.)
• User interface familiarity

 We’ve Done the Work for You

BroadPoint Technologies recently presented a webinar where we reviewed both of these great products and presented the business case for Microsoft  Dynamics CRM 2011.  The webinar, entitled  “Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Salesforce:  Tale of the Tape” discussed the pros and cons of the products and gave  you evaluation criteria to keep in mind when evaluating these two  solutions.  The webinar recording  is now available on the  BroadPoint web site for viewing on-demand.

 
Contact BroadPoint, the largest Dynamics CRM reseller in the mid-Atlantic, at (301) 634-2404 or skane@broadpoint.net for more  information on Dynamics CRM 2011 and how we can save you $150 per user if you  make the switch now!

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 vs. Salesforce.com: Let the Punches Fly is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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1. Deployed a Project Management solution within Microsoft Dynamics CRM for an IT Service Provider who needed a more consolidated view of active projects and project task deliverables.

o Provided a consolidated view of all projects, project tasks, resources time and expense

o Significantly reduced the administrative effort to create new projects through the implementation of project templates – while maintaining consistency around different project types.

o Provided the ability for bulk Time Entry and Dashboards for visibility into project budget vs. time spent, resource utilization, and project task assignment.

2. Implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM for an Insurance Agency looking to better manage their client relationships and streamline agency operations regarding policies, commission schedules, and customer service.

o Migrated data from their existing agency management system and had all users on Microsoft Dynamics CRM in less than a few days.

o Simplified the incoming and outgoing commission reconciliation process and saved the agency 24 administrative hours in the first month.

o Deployed Reports that measure key metrics around client stewardship, producer sales activity and commission tracking.

3. Implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM for a leading Chemical Manufacturer looking to better manage their distributor relationships, sales activities, and information visibility.

o Provided a consolidated system of all distributor and end user customer information

o Provided a mechanism to track sales activity and competitive product information to identify up-sell / cross-sell opportunities into their customer base.

o Integrated Microsoft Dynamics CRM with their ERP / Order Processing System using Scribe Software for real time data integration.

We’ve helped hundreds of businesses streamline their business operations, boost people productivity, and achieve great business visibility with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Feel free to contact AbleBridge if you have any questions or want to learn more about how we can help your organization realize the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

by AbleBridge, Massachusetts Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

3 Ways AbleBridge Helped Customers Realize the Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Mass e-mail tools – Both CRM Online 2011 and Salesforce.com support mass e-mailing, although they do function a little differently. CRM Online 2011 utilizes the client-side application, Microsoft Office Outlook, to send e-mails. Salesforce.com utilizes their server-side application, sending e-mails from the Salesforce.com cloud. Salesforce.com also limits you to 1,000 mass e-mails per day, with no limit placed by CRM Online 2011.

The Ribbon – If you’ve used a new Microsoft Office product such as Microsoft Office Word 2010 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, you’ve definitely seen “The Ribbon” before. It’s the bar at the top of your screen decorated with several buttons such as New, Edit, and Print that dynamically update based on your working space or selection. The ribbon is included in several Microsoft Office products, including CRM Online 2011. Including the ribbon in Microsoft products fosters a sense of familiarity between applications and eases user adoption during new deployments. Salesforce.com does not feature any sort of unified user interface option such as the Ribbon, but if you aren’t using any other Microsoft products, this may not be important to you.

The Cloud – There’s no mistaking it, software is increasingly departing from the desktops of users and moving toward cloud-based models. Salesforce.com is one of the main innovators of cloud-based models or Software as a Service (SaaS). They were founded in 1999 and have been working under a “No-Software” mindset ever since. Microsoft brought their Dynamics CRM offering to the cloud in 2005, although they managed to catch up remarkably fast, having experience with the cloud in other Microsoft products stretching as far back as 1997.

Windows Live ID security – Windows Live ID is a single sign on web service that allows users to sign in to multiple products using a singular account tied to an e-mail address. Users can sign in to CRM Online 2011, Microsoft Lync, Office 365, Hotmail, and several other products using one account with one password. Salesforce.com does not support sign-in with Windows Live ID, you will need to utilize an extra account to log in to their services if you are already using Windows Live ID with another product.

Browser Support – Salesforce.com supports recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. CRM Online 2011’s web client is currently only supported under recent versions of Internet Explorer (due to the use of the “behavior” attribute that is not present in other browsers), although it runs inside of Chrome or Firefox through the use of an Internet Explorer tab plug-in.

Support – Both CRM Online 2011 and Salesforce.com are heavily supported products, backed by their creators with phone and web portal offerings. The difference lies in the level of access offered to their customers based on pricing. If you want access to 24/7 toll-free phone support, you will have to pay an additional licensing fee when using Salesforce.com, otherwise you are limited to online case submission using a web portal. Microsoft offers online case submission in addition to 24/7 toll-free phone support to all of their CRM Online 2011 subscribers, at no extra cost.

Sales force automation – To be fair to Salesforce.com, sales automation is one of the categories in which that they really stand out.  It’s easy to use and the majority of the product is built with sales automation in mind. CRM Online 2011 does feature full sales automation, although it needs to be configured through the use of workflows. Standing in Microsoft’s favor, the workflow automation in CRM Online 2011 is not limited to sales; workflow automation can be applied to all branches of the product, including service and Marketing Automation for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Offline Access – Stuck on a long voyage, be it via wing or wheel, but still cranking out CRM tasks? Both CRM Online 2011 and Salesforce.com are capable of offline access. CRM Online 2011’s basic pricing includes this at no extra cost, while you will not be able to work offline using the basic Salesforce.com pricing.

Duplicate Detection – Salesforce.com offers duplicate detection based on plain-text record names. CRM Online 2011 allows for configuration of a multitude of different duplication detection conditions, even letting you match duplicates based on any field value, instead of just record names.

Pricing – Conventional wisdom tells us that we get what we pay for—right? Wrong. It’s clear after looking at the feature comparisons above that both competitors really do bring a lot to the table, but the difference is in pricing. Most of the advanced features that are offered by Salesforce.com do not come included in the basic pricing, and will require an additional subscription fee. These same features are included with CRM Online 2011, at no extra cost. CRM Online 2011, at most, will run you 44$ per user per month. Salesforce.com Professional edition will run you more, at a minimum of 65$ per user per month. Looking to match the feature set that CRM Online 2011 includes? You’re looking at either their Enterprise edition, which weighs in at 125$ per user per month, or their Unlimited Edition, which weighs in at a hefty 250$ per user per month. Not only does Microsoft match its competitor point for point, but it does it all at a lower rate with no extra fees.

While both competitors are walking away a little bruised, the showdown did seem a little one-sided. Regardless, you should still evaluate all of the feature differences and pricing points before making an important decision such as which CRM offering to deploy.

xRM.com is an expert in CRM Application Hosting and CRM Business Consulting. Interested in SaaS but not sure if it’s inclusive enough for your business? Take a look at our Software plus Services offering. Not sure if the cloud is right for you? xRM.com believes in The Power of Choice for Microsoft CRM.

by xRM, Nevada Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

CRM Showdown, Round 2! Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2011 Vs. Salesforce.com is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Prior to switching to Microsoft Dynamics CRM online, Magma had been using disparate ERP and CRM systems, ERP from SAP and CRM from Salesforce.com. These two solutions did not integrate with one another easily causing a number of issues for the organization. These included:

• Difficulties accessing information – according to Vicki Flores, Vice President of Information Services at Magma Design Automation, “managers, sales account executives and R&D team members needed to see what customers’ and prospects’ concerns are, where leads come from, and how the sales department moves them through the purchasing cycle.” But, with the disjointed system, this could not be done without manual workarounds.
• Inefficient search and workflow capabilities – this system also made it impossible for employees to share reports with one another. Without easy access to current information, managers found it difficult to effectively plan and control business activities. Also, searching the systems was a laborious process, Flores states, “if you edited your search criteria you had to start over. It could take up to 15 minutes to perform a detailed search. “
• Increasing expense and needless software functionality – Over time, Magma Design Automation became dissatisfied with Salesforce.com. Due in large part to the fact that managers felt the yearly price increases for this service were not commensurate with the software enhancements. Furthermore, they felt that some of the new features Salesforce.com introduced were irrelevant to their business.

 Because of these issues, Magma Design Automation decided it was time to search for another CRM solution. After an exhaustive search, the company decided that Microsoft Dynamics CRM online would be the best option to fit its needs. The key drivers behind this decision included:

• System integration – Microsoft Dynamics CRM online integrates with the other key technology that the company uses including SAP, Microsoft Outlook, Molten (the company’s external website and customer portal) and ExactTarget.
• Simplified workflows –The company was able to replace the many thousands of custom scripts programmers had written to force its disparate systems to work together with approximately 30 customer relationship management entries and 250 workflows for important, frequent tasks.
• Substantial savings –Microsoft Dynamics CRM online needs little administrator support, integrates with existing systems, is easy to work with and comes with comparatively low licensing fees.
• Faster customer service response time –Magma’s customer portal now integrates with Microsoft Dynamics CRM giving customers more direct ways to communicate with the company and easily take care of simple issues on their own.
• Increased sales and marketing efficiency –Microsoft Dynamics CRM online integrates with both Microsoft Outlook and Exact target, providing Magma with a 360° view of each customer’s activity.
• Improved decision-making and planning – Microsoft Dynamics CRM online allows you to refine queries until you see exactly what you’re looking for, save queries as views, and make decisions based on real-time results.

 If Magma Design Automation’s situation sounds familiar and you’d like to learn how your company can improve its efficiency and productivity with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, please contact us.  We’d love to help!

By: Laura Heinbockel Intelligent Technologies, Inc., a Greensboro, NC Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Case in Point: Reduce Spending and Increase Efficiency with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Enjoyment aside, how can consumers choose which CRM solution is right for them? Let’s take a look at some of the differences between the two products and then you can decide which product is right for you. Keep in mind, this is only round one of the CRM showdown, and each provider will get a second round to really square off.

Power of choice – Microsoft’s CRM offering supports all deployment models, on-premise Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, CRM Online (hosted by Microsoft), shared or dedicated servers, and hybrids, and you can switch models when you need to. Salesforce.com is only available in one model, hosted by Salesforce.com.

Dashboards – CRM Online 2011 dashboards feature several graphs, charts, reports, and lists that update dynamically in real-time, while Salesforce.com only offers reports and lists. Salesforce.com dashboards also do not update dynamically the same way CRM Online 2011 dashboards do. You are given a limited amount of refreshes in a time span depending on the edition you subscribe to, and these refreshes still experience a waiting period of 30-60 minutes.

Security –While I mentioned earlier that the showdown between CRM Online 2011 and Salesforce.com has been entertaining to watch, a not-so-funny story broke a few years ago by the Washington Post. Hackers successfully broke into Saleforce.com’s hosted system database and retrieved customer records which were subsequently used for spamming and phishing attacks (read the full story at The Washington Post, “Should email addresses be considered private data?”). Microsoft has been active in pre-emptively securing their CRM Online 2011 databases, keeping them safe from rogue hackers since launching their cloud based model.

Databases – Speaking of databases, CRM Online 2011 features dedicated databases for subscribers. In the very unlikely event that a hacker does break into a company’s CRM Online 2011 organization, they will only have broken into that company’s database. Salesforce.com does not offer dedicated databases.

Data Storage – CRM Online 2011 subscribers receive 5GB of storage. Salesforce.com users receive at max, 1GB of storage per user. That’s right, despite the three times price disparity between their “Professional Edition”, and their “Unlimited Edition”, users do not experience any increase in data storage without paying an additional fee on top of their subscription fee.

Service level agreement (SLA) – CRM Online 2011 is financially backed by an SLA of 99.9% uptime for all customers. Salesforce.com does not offer any kind of SLA, although they do offer a Salesforce.com system status webpage that allows you to view the availability of all current services.

Microsoft Office Outlook integration – Microsoft is still the only CRM provider that can offer native Outlook plug-in integration; the CRM Online 2011 plug-in runs entirely contained in Microsoft Outlook. Salesforce.com functions as a limited plugin with a limited feature set and requires that you load an extra application, no matter what. In fact, Salesforce.com has repealed some of the features available in the past with their Outlook plugin; you can no longer manage Opportunities or Leads inside of Outlook using their plugin.

Microsoft SharePoint integration – CRM Online 2011 features robust SharePoint integration. If you are a SharePoint subscriber, you can connect your document repository to CRM Online 2011, and upload or view documents directly in CRM Online 2011. This integration is a two-way street, allowing SharePoint users to upload documents to SharePoint which will subsequently appear in the CRM Online 2011 system. Salesforce.com does not currently offer any form of SharePoint integration.

Microsoft Office Excel integration – CRM Online 2011 users familiar with Excel’s powerful bulk-editing capabilities will benefit productively from the easy moving of records between the two programs. CRM Online 2011 data can be exported to Excel, where users can manipulate it and then import it again. New data can also be generated in an Excel spreadsheet, for example a list of leads from a trade show, and then imported to create new records automatically in CRM Online. Salesforce.com does not currently offer any form of Excel integration.

Microsoft Lync integration – Lync is the latest massive update to Microsoft’s wildly successful voice-over-IP (VOIP), conferencing, and messaging client, Microsoft Office Communicator. If you are a Lync subscriber, Contacts and Users in CRM Online 2011 that subscribe to Lync will show presence icons, indicating their availability for communication or conferencing. Salesforce.com does not offer any form of Microsoft Lync integration.

After round 1, things are quickly looking bleak for Salesforce.com. Will they be able to step back into the ring and knock CRM Online 2011 out? Find out in round 2!

xRM.com provides Customer Relationship Management Consulting for Microsoft CRM in addition to Partner Hosted Application Hosting. Learn more about Microsoft CRM Online or What We Do at xRM.com.

by xRM, California Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

CRM Showdown, Round 1! Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2011 Vs. Salesforce.com is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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1-Salesforce.com does not offer an on premises option.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers multiple deployment options.

2-Salesforce.com charges a monthly fee for offline access.  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Outlook client provides full access to all data elements, workflows, and other entities, so users can be as productive when offline as they are when online.

3-Salesforce.com has no duplicate record detection.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM supports duplicate detection out of the box, and enhanced functionality is coming with the Q4 2011 Service Update.

4-Users cannot access Global Search in Salesforce.com without enabling Chatter.  Akvelon offers global search (including documents) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online at a price of $6/user/ month, and it deploys in less than two minutes.

5-Outlook attachments aren’t captured in Salesforce.com.  This is standard functionality with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Outlook.

6-Salesforce.com doesn’t allow multiple profiles.  Users must create profiles for every situation.  In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, this is standard functionality. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows users to have multiple roles.

7-Salesforce.com for Outlook doesn’t allow users to create multiple day events.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Outlook support a common productivity scenario like multiple day events.

Disclaimer:  As a user of Microsoft Dynamics CRM I can attest to the accuracy of most of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM information above insofar as the functionality that I use.  But I have not independently verified the veracity of the Salesforce.com information.  Still, if you’re evaluating both CRM systems, these are some good points on which to focus.

By Justin Languirand, Altico Advisors Microsoft CRM partner serving Massachusetts (MA)

Salesforce.com Versus Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Top 7 Tidbits is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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At AbleBridge, especially since the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, we look at them as two different deployment options – host it yourself (on-premise) or have Microsoft host is for you (online); we don’t look at them as two different products.  However, several points can be made for either argument. 

Gartner’s cautionary items under Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online are valid but will most likely be addressed in subsequent releases since Microsoft is clearly leading with “The Cloud” deployment model.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is white hot right now and we believe the best is yet to come. 

The fact that Landslide, FrontRange (Goldmine) and Maximizer have been dropped from the Magic Quadrant was a little surprising but it’s a sign that even once popular, mainstream CRM systems are becoming less competitive in this CRM market.  Landslide evangelizes that its core focus is SFA so I’m sure this wasn’t well received by them.  And Goldmine and Maximizer have been listed ever since we can remember. 

Here are links to Microsoft’s Press Release and Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation

by AbleBridge, Massachusetts Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation – Microsoft a Leader and Visionary is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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