My experience has been that prospective clients are always looking for cold hard facts and figures on ROI (Return on Investment) and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). That’s why I love this recent press release from Microsoft. In addition to reducing cost by 75%, by switching from Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Smead also improved user adoption, employee collaboration, and business intelligence.
You can read more about Smead, a privately held, 100 percent woman-owned company known for its high-quality, environmentally responsible home and office systems, at .
In fact, in one month since switching CRM systems, Smead experienced a 75% reduction in its annual subscription cost and a 20% increase in user adoption. User adoption has always been a key selling point for Dynamics CRM given that Dynamics CRM has the same familiar look and feel as Outlook, which is arguably the most widely used e-mail, contact management, and calendar system on the market.
What did the folks at Smead have to say? “Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is the best CRM solution in the cloud for us,” said Daniel Hart, systems development manager at Smead. “In addition to offering a seamless experience across our systems, features such as customizable dashboards give our managers insight into accounts, sales, and opportunities, which helps them make more-informed decisions.”
And given the intense competition between Salesforce.com and , it’s no wonder that Microsoft is gloating a bit. “Customers like Smead are switching from Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM to increase productivity, collaboration, and user adoption while reducing costs,” said Brad Wilson, general manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Product Management Group. “We are committed to offering a familiar and flexible cloud solution that fits our customers’ needs.”
Smead further acknowledged the benefits of interoperability and the reduced learning curve due to role-tailored design and the personalized user experience, among other things.
You can also read about the upcoming release of also known as CRM 5.0, on the Altico Advisors Web site.
By Jim Hickey, Vice President,
