Enhance Existing Teller Applications with Up-Sell and Referral Integration from Microsoft Dynamics CRM

    Below is a 2-minute demonstration of how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be integrated with a teller system.  The scenario shows how a teller can receive next-best-product and eligible promotions directly in their teller system during a client transaction.  The data is being driven into the teller system from Microsoft Dynamics CRM built with Customer Effective: Banking.  For the teller, it's a seamless and familiar experience using the same teller system they have always used.  Once a teller gets the marketing messages delivered, they can create a referral in their teller system that gets passed to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  

Good Mobile CRM Programs Start with Strategy - Not Technology

 

Mobile CRM is one of the hottest topics in the CRM world today.  The convergence of increased mobile computing power, cloud storage and BYOD policies have made mobility a “must-have” requirement of most CRM projects.   The amount of mobile CRM solutions and tools in the marketplace has confused and muddied this topic for CRM administrators and project sponsors. 

Our advice to those looking at Mobile CRM: don’t confuse tools with solutions.  We have seen too often where people fall for a shiny new mobility tool, only to realize afterwards that it didn’t aid in adoption, or increase productivity or meet any other strategic objective.  So before you embark on a Mobile CRM Program, start with asking, “Why are we doing this?  How will this initiative fit into the strategic objective of our CRM program?”  Below are some of the ways we have seen mobile strategy combine successfully with implementation principles and technology.  These are the ‘why’ of your mobile program.

Increase overall CRM adoption. User Adoption is one of the most important metrics we use to understand the initial success level of CRM projects.  Removing adoption obstacles to remote workers can have a huge effect on user adoption.  By giving uses only the data they need when they are mobile will encourage use without having to resort to carrot and stick tactics.  For example, giving a sales executive real time account data right before she walks into a meeting.  Or being able to respond to an unexpected customer inquiry during the meetings.  Or having a pre-filled call report queued up after the meeting.  These are the kind of value added features that can make mobile users want to use CRM.

Increase data quality in the field.  Data quality is one of the biggest struggles we see when we begin any CRM program.  Some data quality issues can be addressed through DQM services like Trillium, and some can be tackled with CRM technology tools and best practices.  Data input, however, contains a daily human processes that can be harder to understand. 

One of our early use cases for mobile CRM was a project focused on retail auditing.  We needed to be able to audit merchandising efforts in real time in retail location across the country.  The auditors had previously recorded their onsite visits with clipboards and carbon paper forms.  One of the copies was supposed to make it back to the auditors home at night where they would login to their system and manually transfer their notes and scribbles into the system.  Clearly, not the best way to ensure data input quality.  With our mobile CRM framework, we were able to design and deploy a new process that allowed auditors to enter data on their tablets of choice and have the data instantly available in CRM.  The auditors did not have (or need or want) full mobile CRM.  They were given easy access to just their audits.

Increase productivity.  A recently published Nucleus Research report  found that adding mobile device access to CRM made sales people 14.6% more productive.  The study found that social elements, such as activity feeds which automatically push notifications, can increase productivity by 26.4%.  Tools that make collaboration easy and real time will increase throughput of projects and sales cycles.

Users demand it. The same Nucleus report found that 67% of mobile CRM users access their CRM system with an iPhone.  This is not endorsement of how great the iPhone is for enterprise; this is a result of enterprise users demanding to use their own devices in their business life.  There is a reasonable expectation that the same devices we use for our personal lives will work with our work lives.

It’s not just your internal users that are demanding mobile solutions.  A recent appcentral study found that 40% of respondents said that not employees are being provided access to in house apps. 

Another one of our early mobile CRM solution successes was to build a Customer Portal App that allowed our client’s customers to access CRM and market data from their iPads.  The solution was aimed at an external group that was going to use CRM and external data to engage easily with our client.  We employed the location features of the mobile device.  All of this satisfied the overall business strategy of better customer engagement.

Please feel free to check out our recent webinar recording: CRM Mobility Uncovered

Top 4 Recent Microsoft Videos Worth Viewing

Visually Understand Where Microsoft is Now and Will Be Soon

It would seem that Microsoft has started providing a lot more interesting videos to share. From their corporate YouTube channel (youtube.com/Microsoft) to videos specific to our favorite application, Microsoft Dynamics CRM (youtube.com/msdyncomm).

So many if fact that you may have missed a few really good ones. Unfortunately, this list does not include any Harlem Shakes or long basketball trick shots. This list is just a handful of recent videos from Microsoft that I thought were of interest and worth viewing.

1. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile – Since this list has an emphasis toward Microsoft Dynamics CRM, this first video is on mobility and CRM.  The video walks through the power of getting business done across devices. It highlights examples of working in the field, remotely, wherever you happen to be, and having access to the same information you are used to while “in the office”.
  

 

2. Microsoft’s Future Vision: Live, Work, Play – This video is interesting to me – and simply fun to watch. It is on Microsoft’s vision of the near future. It highlights how technology can enhance the way we live, work, play.

 

 

3. CSX Transportation and Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Question: How does a company founded in 1827 survive in today’s economy? Answer: Innovate (and Microsoft CRM helps play a vital role). And it is nice to see a Customer Effective client featured in a Microsoft produced video testimonial.  

 

4. Reignite Your Passion – Unlock Your Potential with Microsoft Dynamics - This video provides an example of the new ways to think about how we view “work”. It highlights the use of Microsoft Dynamics and the Surface tablet – and no formal desk and no formal tie

   

There certainly were more videos I could have included. As a matter of fact, there are many good videos just on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To learn more about how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help your organization, please contact us.

Using a Lookup Entity in CRM 2011 to handle default values and field lengths on a form

Business Problem:

A recent client of ours had extremely complex rules regarding creating new records. When the lookup was used the form needed to auto fill and limit the number of characters that can be entered. We could have accomplished this via JavaScript, but it soon became apparent that it would become unmanageable quickly. It would also be a management nightmare if the business rules changed tomorrow.

Solution:

Customer Effective, Inc. created a lookup entity that stored the lookup value, default values and length restrictions for fields. User selects a lookup value, the on-change event calls JavaScript which loops thru the lookup entity and set default values and control field lengths on the form.

Here are the pieces you need to build in order to replicate this functionality.

1.) Create a new lookup entity. We called it “Processors”. There are two main sections in this lookup entity. The first part we called “Field Lengths.” The following section called “Default Values” (See screenshots below) shows samples of the default values that to be set on the form.

This section allows an administrator to limit the length of fields on a form. When creating the length fields in the lookup entity make the attribute names the same as the attribute on the other entity. This makes writing the JavaScript to loop thru the form and setting the attribute length easier.

(Field Lengths)

Sample default values are listed below. Each processor lookup option could have had different default values. When creating these attributes we also made the attribute name the same but added “_def” to the attribute.

(Default Values)

2.) Create an entity that will use the new lookup to store the actual selected values based on the lookup value selected. This example entity called “Host Parameters.” A user selects a processor and the form status are “create” state we loop up thru the lookup entity to set field lengths and set the default values using JavaScript.

Click on Create Host Parameter

Select a Processor and see default fields get populated automatically based on the lookup entity.

Field lengths are now restricted based on the lookup entity.

3.) Create a new JavaScript web resource that calls the lookup entity. The JavaScript needs to retrieve the field lengths and default values from selected lookup value. Use JavaScript to set the field lengths and default values on the form.

If this is something your organization could leverage, feel free to reach out to Customer Effective at info@customereffective.com

Customer Effective Delivers Microsoft Dynamics CRM Success for U.S. Xpress Enterprises

Customer Effective is proud to announce the release of our latest Customer Success Story U.S. Xpress Enterprises. 

U.S. Xpress Enterprises is a leading trucking company in the United States and has been able to recover as much as $350,000 in lost-opportinuty costs and reduce IT costs thanks to Microsoft Dynamics CRM all while improving sales productivity, enhancing business insight and augmenting customer service. 

"Now, with one source for comapny information, our management and support teams can operate as one, improving our execution and responsiveness to our customer needs and improving those relationships overall." - Todd Davis, Senior Director of Pricing and Marketing Services, U.S. Xpress, Inc. 

You can read the entire success story by clicking on the link below:

U.S. Xpress Enterprises Success Story

 

 

SAIA Announces Selection of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Implementation Partner, Customer Effective

Saia, Inc. announced today that they have chosen Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to enhance the company's sales and marketing efforts. Saia, is a less-than-truckload provider of regional, interregional and guaranteed services covering 34 states and is one of the first LTL carriers to utilize this software. 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM was chosen as a result of its robust capabilities and ease of integration and interface with other Microsoft products. 

“Through the CRM software, we will be able to maintain a 360 degree view of every customer interaction we have,” stated Saia Vice President of Marketing and Customer Service Sally Buchholz. “We can easily and effectively manage all facets of every shipper account.”

You can read the entire Press Release here: http://www.customereffective.com/news-and-events/news/saia-chooses-microsoft-dynamics-crm-software

Berkshire Partners Talks about their CRM Journey with Customer Effective

Eric Souza, Director of IT for Berkshire Partners participated in a live webinar with Brad Koontz of Customer Effective. The topic was CRM for Private Equity and Souza described their CRM journey and what made them successful.

Berkshire was founded in 1984, and has invested in over 100 companies with more than $20 billion of acquisition value. Their investors include many of the world’s largest endowments, foundations, pension funds and insurance companies. Berkshire Fund VIII is a $4.5 billion fund that was raised in 2011.

Sabert Corporation uses Scribe to integrate SAP ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Customer Effective customer, Sabert Corporation, is using the Scribe Data Integration Platform to connect its SAP ERP system and Microsoft CRM. Sabert is a leader in the food packing industry  and has been increasing sales productivity dramatically over the last three years with Microsoft CRM and is now seeing increased efficiency in its reporting as a result of the integration. 

Every day, Sabert pushes all of the customer data from SAP to CRM using Scribe. Sabert’s 70 field sales representatives report that they are saving hours a night per person on clerical tasks now that they can get the information they need — such as order status reports — from CRM through Outlook on their laptops.

Mike Freeman, Director of Information Technology at Sabert knew they needed a partner like Customer Effective to make their CRM project a success; "When we were evaluating CRM solution providers for sales force automation, Microsoft CRM had what we needed: a native Outlook interface, which our field sales already used on their laptops, and the ability to work offline. We knew there would be heavy integration requirements, and we didn’t want to add staff, so we turned to a trusted partner and integration platform."

Read the entire news article on Sabert's success on our Customer Effective News page

Customer Service takes off for Signature Flight Support with the help of Microsoft CRM

Customer Effective is proud to release a new Customer Success Story highlighting Signature Flight Support, a BBA Aviation plc company.

Signature Flight Support is the world’s largest FBO with more than 100 facilities around the world. They offer a wide variety of services from fueling and ground handling for the aircraft, to arranging hotels and other amenities for the private jet crews and passengers. As a personal concierge for thousands of crew members and passengers traveling around the globe, Signature Flight Support takes its brand reputation very seriously. In order to help ensure that every flight crew member and passenger are completely satisfied with their service, Signature implemented Microsoft Dyanmics CRM and integrated their proprietary state of the art point-of-sale system, Signature SIGnet™. 

Prior to their CRM implementation, Signature’s customer information technology was limited in the ability to efficiently share information throughout their FBO network. Since Signature is part of BBA Aviation which owns multiple aviation companies, several of their customers overlap. Thanks to Microsoft CRM, they are now able to use the data they collect to create compelling sales programs across sister companies and provide superior customer service.

To learn more about Signature Flight Support's success with Microsoft CRM, visit our Customer Success Page

Golden Key gives Microsoft CRM an A+ in Managing its Student Relationships

Keeping track of the membership and needs of an educational honor society with over 2 million members, representing more than 190 countries is a daunting task. But, as the world's largest academic honor society that is just part of what of Golden Key International Honour Society has to manage. 

In order to help manage their large number of members and their 5,000 student volunteers, Golden Key enlisted Customer Effective to help them implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The CRM system enables Golden Key to fulfill its mission of helping their members realize their potential through advancement of academics, leadership and service.

With 400 chapters in colleges and universities around the world, membership is based solely on academic performance and is only open to those who have been invited. Students must be in the top 15 percent of their class and must be a sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student.

Golden Key now uses CRM as a tool that allows students to apply for scholarships and awards, learn more about campus events, register for events and more. It also greatly expedites their spring and fall membership campaigns which target more than 600,000 students all over the world, and helps them keep track of alumni, faculty members, university officials and leading businesses that support Golden Key. 

To read more about Golden Key International Honour Society's success with Microsoft CRM, please visit our Customer Success Page