Microsoft.CRM.3.2006

How CRM Fits in the Market

Microsoft has come to the CRM market seemingly a little late but with a system built on a platform called .NET. With CRM, you work in networked mode or in offline mode. Networked mode does not require a direct con¬nection to your office file server. In fact, with .NET technology, networked actually means connected to the server through the Internet. Offline mode also takes great advantage of the Internet but enables you to work while disconnected by using a tool that Outlook users will find familiar.

The software itself is aimed at small businesses with a basic infrastructure, medium-sized companies, or departments of large enterprises. Typically, if you have more than ten users, and like the look and feel of Outlook, you’re a prime candidate for success with CRM. If you have fewer than ten users, you may want to look at Microsoft Business Contact Manager, which is a free add¬on to Outlook 2003 for small businesses.

How This Book Is Organized

Some people just have a knack for organization. Our office manager is highly organized, although her desk looks like a tornado swept through it. However, she assures us that she knows exactly where everything should be (and we take no responsibility for her actions if you touch anything). Anyway, we digress. Organization — without it, this book would be a jumbled mess. To cure that, we’ve organized the book into six parts, each with at least two chapters. Again, the book can be read from cover to cover (who has that kind of time?) or you can refer to it section by section. Each part (and chapter) can definitely stand on its own, but we recommend that you at least skim through the basics and the table of contents before getting started.

Part I: Microsoft CRM Basics

Just the facts! Part I gives you an overview of what Microsoft CRM is all about and provides a tour of the main windows. We also show you how to use Microsoft CRM offline.

Part II: Setting the Settings

In Part II, we begin with a discussion of how to personalize your workplace and the software. The workplace is command central in Microsoft CRM. From the workplace, you can access the day-to-day stuff, such as your calendar, assigned activities, and service scheduling. You can also set up business units, security, sales processes, and business rules. Workflow, just so you know, is managed not directly from CRM but from a separate program. Getting to that program and using it is discussed in Chapter 8. The knowledge base, discussed in Chapter 9, collects information for everyone in your orga¬nization needing to support staff or clients.

Part III: Managing Sales

In Part III, we explain how to create accounts and contacts in your database and how to locate existing records with Version 3’s rebuilt-from-the-ground-up search features. We also show you how to create and manage activities as well as leads, opportunities, and territories. You find how-to information on notes, attachments, and all things e-mail. Then we get into the nitty-gritty and discuss some of the408 more complex functions of Microsoft CRM, such as the prod¬uct catalog, quotes, orders, and invoices (some of which require integration with an accounting system). In addition, we talk about sales literature and how to track competitors.

Part IV: Making the Most of Marketing

Microsoft CRM Version 3 explodes with all kinds of capability in the market¬ing arena. Combining the new Advanced Find function with Quick Campaigns and a sophisticated Campaign Management system, Microsoft CRM enables you to do more than just send out e-mails and letters. You’ll be able to follow the progress of the campaign, create and delegate tasks, keep track of actual costs compared to the campaign budget, and easily catalog and maintain the responses.
Part V: Taking Care of Your Customers

Customer service is a big issue, no matter how big your company. In this part, we show you how to track and manage customer service issues using cases and the special Service Calendar. We talk about workflow and your business processes and how Microsoft CRM can easily handle incoming ser¬vice calls and e-mail and their responses using queues. We discuss contracts and tiered levels of customer service and how to organize this division to handle service issues efficiently and quickly.
Part VI: The Part of Tens

As new as Microsoft CRM is, third-party developers have brought many com¬plementary products to the market. We discuss the best and most useful we’ve found. And, just in case you still need assistance, we also discuss ten ways to get help.
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