There are more demands on us than ever before. This generation of workers are the generation who have truly defined ‘busy’. But surely, with the technology available to us, we should be able to work more efficiently and smarter, without spreading ourselves even more thinly? However, for businesses which are reliant on winning and securing more customer relationships, and more from those same customers, it’s difficult to see how you can continue to grow and expand without pounding away even harder at the hamster wheel.

With the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, that’s not necessary. A CRM system really is about working smarter, not harder. Let’s take a closer look at why.

Efficiency vs. Workload

Our margins are tighter than ever before, and as such there really isn’t room for inefficiency and wastage. Often we try to combat this by upping the workload and the manual checks, balances and procedures. However, this isn’t helping efficiency at all. It may get the job done, but it’s precarious and labour intensive. There is only so much networking, interacting, and prospecting single individuals can do.

A CRM system, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 turns this on its head. It’s about increasing efficiency whilst reducing workload. This is why:

• Organisation: Up the workload in an attempt to grow and prosper and you’re creating an organisation headache. Somewhere you’ll make a mistake. Microsoft Dynamics 365 connects everyone and every function to be more efficient by effectively taking the role of organiser. On one hand it’s keeping tracking of all customer appointments and profiles, and on the other it’s making them accessible whenever and wherever you need them – via the cloud.
• Preparation: Similarly, rather than wasting time drafting each new client or customer interaction from scratch, Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables you to create bespoke branded templates, in which ever app you need, again wherever you need them. This means home-working is possible, as is creating or accessing a document you need whether that’s in the office, or at a customer’s place of business. It’s also possible to ensure seamless continuity if an employee leaves or is absent.
• Conversion: With omnichannel selling and a customer-led marketplace, it can take more effort to ensure conversion from leads into actual sales. An effective CRM system, like Microsoft Dynamics 365, will ensure consistency across the different channels – carefully delivering the same message and tailoring itself to the specific customer. Whilst an individual may be capable of doing the same, with a lot of effort, for a handful of customers – software can do it for a far greater number, much more efficiently.

The Bad Rap of CRM Systems

Not all CRM systems are the same. They don’t deliver the same results, and unfortunately many create more work rather than reduce it – definitely not fitting the “work smarter, not harder” bill.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a completely different ball game. It uses all of the Microsoft applications you are familiar with, but brings them together in a holistic and bespoke way – one that’s been tailored specifically for your business. Its intuitive meaning you don’t waste time getting everyone benefitting from it. It’s also scalable so as you grow – it does too.

In short, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is about giving your business the competitive advantage it needs by working smarter not harder. Beyond being an exceptional CRM tool, it’s also what you need from your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) approach. It’s about giving you everything you need, at your fingertips, to be more effective and more efficient.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 differs from other CRM and ERP platforms because it’s not just about the snazzy looking software at the front end. It’s about the infrastructure linking every element of a business to be smarter through automation and cohesiveness. By drawing on the reliability of Microsoft Dynamics 365 everything speeds up and delivers greater results than any business can without software on board in such a way, or the wrong software.

What’s great, is that by using the experts Hitachi Solutions you get to create a bespoke CRM and ERP which makes you work smarter not harder.