Why Microsoft Dynamics CRM beats Salesforce.com for Outlook to CRM integration – Reason # 5, Different Interfaces for Different Situations
In the first installment we discussed why it is so important for your CRM system to not only be integrated with Outlook but to be WELL integrated with Outlook. We also learned that I use both the client and the Salesforce.com client on a daily basis which puts me in a fairly unique position to be able to compare the effectiveness of each. Which brings us to…
Reason # 5 – Different Interfaces for Different Situations
If I want to sync an Outlook email to Salesforce.com, I hit the ‘Send and Add’ button or the ‘Add Email’ button on the Salesforce.com button bar in Outlook. When I do, I get a dialogue box that I can use to indicate to whom, to what, and how the email should be associated in Salesforce.com
If I want to sync an Outlook Appointment, Contact, or Task to Salesforce.com, I hit the ‘Mark for Sync’ button and then the ‘Change Associations’ button. When I do, I get a dialogue box that has a different interface with different tabs and fields to do the same job.
If I am associating one of these items from within the Salesforce.com application (not from Outlook), I get yet another interface. Why the different interfaces when ultimately I am trying to do the same thing; associate an email, appointment, contact, or task with another Salesforce.com record? In my experience, it only confuses the user (me).
Contrast this to which presents you with the same interface when associating any Outlook item to a record in Dynamics CRM. It is also the same interface that is used when you associate those items from within the Dynamics CRM record. By keeping the interface consistent throughout the application, users know what to expect and user compliance is improved.
By NexusTek –
