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iStart: What has been Microsoft’s approach to developing its CRM application?
Bill Paterson: What we’ve done with Microsoft CRM is to approach CRM with an entirely different design philosophy, where we think about the final user first – and then work back from there. What we’re seeing from many of the current market offerings is that they develop their CRM application without factoring in the final link in the chain – making the end user experience as easy and familiar to them as they can.
iStart: So how does Microsoft factor in the end user?
Paterson: Essentially our goal has been for users to seamlessly be using the CRM system, without actually changing the way they work at all. With Microsoft CRM we’re not asking the user to learn a whole new system. Our core value proposition is that the CRM solution is tightly integrated within Microsoft Outlook, and also other office applications like Excel, Word and Internet Explorer. An historical issue for CRM users is that people had to stop what they were doing in order to access their CRM application. For example, perhaps they were working in Outlook and had to tab out of that and into a CRM application and perhaps enter some information to keep the CRM system up to date. But with Microsoft CRM they don’t have to. Because it is integrated with the Microsoft Office suite, if they send an email to a client, for example, that email is recorded in Microsoft CRM automatically.
iStart: The benefits of that approach seem pretty obvious, but why do you think more businesses have not embraced CRM?
Paterson: The answer is because CRM has been difficult to do and that’s where we’re making a difference. If you look at Microsoft’s track record, it’s been about introducing simplicity where things have been complex in the past. So our solutions are intuitive. With Microsoft CRM we looked at how people actually use technology and then concentrated on making it easier and more intuitive. They’re just using the Office tools that they use everyday anyway, but at the same time with Microsoft CRM, they’re also keeping their CRM solution up to date. That’s the level of ease of use that has always been the goal for us.
iStart: What are the potential usage scenarios of Microsoft CRM? Being more specific, where do you see it positively impacting an organisation’s bottom line?
Paterson: It’s interesting that much of what you read and hear gives the impression that CRM is primarily a customer services tool. But what we’ve found is that where it makes a very significant difference is in the sales and marketing area. Certainly that has been our experience with the 4000 global implementations we have done so far. And the business case is pretty clear. If you can sell more effectively, and manage your sales channel more effectively, then business improves as a result. One of the outstanding benefits of Microsoft CRM, particularly for those businesses that have never used a CRM solution before, is that it removes information silos.
All the customer information is consolidated and this is hugely beneficial for an executive management team wanting to drive efficiency into their operations. We’ve found the two key wins for New Zealand users of Microsoft CRM on the sales side, have been having a centralised database and good pipeline management. From a sales management perspective, being able to see all the interactions with the customer from everybody else on the team is a major benefit.
iStart: Given that 85% of companies don’t have any CRM solution at all, could it still be that a lot of organisations still don’t understand the potential benefits?
Paterson: Yes, it’s actually very interesting when I talk to potential customers, and they tell me ‘I don’t want a CRM system, what I really want is a system that will help me manage my opportunities, help me manage my sales and inventory so I can tell my engineering department what we need to be manufacturing and get my forecasting more accurate’ and so on. They don’t see this as ‘CRM’. But Microsoft CRM assists in all these areas – not just customer relationships – by also improving overall business efficiency and delivering company-wide knowledge to their fingertips.
For more information
Microsoft CRM
Anne Frith
09 362 5865
askdynnz@microsoft.com |
October 2005
By David McNickel
Free Whitepapers on CRM
from Microsoft
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