What is XRM in ms crm?

xRM is not a product; it is a strategic approach to building a unified system that connects all aspects of a business together.

Software developers and business analysts commonly define xRM in one of two ways. In the first definition, the "x" in xRM refers to extended relationship management, which represents the extension of CRM platforms far beyond customer relationship management. In the second definition, the "x" is an algebraic variable that can represent almost any relationship that a business needs to manage. In both definitions, expanding the functionality of the CRM platform is the key. An xRM solution can manage more than relationships with customers; it can manage suppliers, employees, partners, assets, knowledge bases, and just about anything else a company might wish to manage in a relational database.

Key Technologies of xRM

xRM depends on extensibility of the CRM platform on which it is built. Microsoft Dynamics® CRM currently provides the most powerful xRM platform available because of the Microsoft® .NET Framework that underlies it. Companies can typically achieve 80% of their business requirements using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The .Net Framework, meanwhile, provides a common architecture that software developers can use to build custom line-of-business (LOB) applications that supply the remaining 20% of a company’s requirements quickly and economically.

Advantages of xRM

Deploying an xRM solution on the foundation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides several crucial advantages.

Enhanced automation – xRM solutions automate many critical or monotonous tasks that employees would otherwise have to complete manually.

Quicker deployments – Software plug-ins expand the functionality of the core Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, so developers do not have to build LOB software from scratch.

Security – Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides robust security features, including security roles for users and objects that limit access to sensitive data, SSL connections for data transfer, and more.

Stability – Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the stability of an enterprise-level CRM system on which developers can build LOB applications.

Integration – xRM solutions can connect existing systems to CRM, freeing data trapped in outdated systems. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also provides native integration with Microsoft SharePoint® and Microsoft Office® applications including Outlook®, Excel®, and Word.

Powerful native features – xRM solutions built on the foundation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM provide powerful workflows, reporting, data modeling, and web services.

Usability – The user interface of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is immediately familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft Office applications.

Scalability – xRM solutions can scale to match the needs of any organization, regardless of size.

What is Microsoft Dynamics CRM ?

Microsoft's fully integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, helps organisations attract, keep and develop profitable and engaged relationships from a single operating platform.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management software package developed by Microsoft. Out of the box, the product focuses mainly on Sales, Marketing, and Service (help desk) sectors, but Microsoft has been marketing Dynamics CRM as an XRM platform and has been encouraging partners to use its proprietary (.NET based) framework to customize it. It is part of the Microsoft Dynamicsfamily of business applications.

Dynamics CRM is a server-client application, which, like MicrosoftSharePoint, is primarily an IIS-based web application which also supports extensive web services interfaces. Clients access Dynamics CRM either by using a Browser or by a thick client plug-in to Microsoft Outlook. Besides Internet Explorer the Chrome and Firefox browsers are fully supported since Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup .

Why Microsoft Dynamics CRM?

One of the leading products in the CRM space that delivers the value talked about previously is Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is unique in the CRM marketplace and is leading the way in innovation and usability across the globe. The Dynamics CRM platform offers companies a unique set of productivity tools across sales, marketing, and customer service. Microsoft CRM is differentiated from competitors by its ability to extend and scale across multiple business units, giving companies the ability to leverage their Microsoft CRM investment without the need for additional software.

The Power of Choice

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers organizations the power of choice in deployment. Dynamics CRM supports on-premise, in-the-cloud and partner-hosted deployment options. All the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are available regardless of whether you use on-premises installation or use CRM in the cloud with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, thus giving you the power of choice. Microsoft is a leader in cloud-based services, with data centers across the world, it supports a robust physical network and attains strict data security.

Intuitive and Intelligent

Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s intuitive user interface ranks amongst the highest in user adoption. Its ability to connect with other Microsoft tools, such as Microsoft Outlook, is unmatched in the market. And Dynamics CRM is much more than a data entry system. It’s intelligent, informative, and drives a streamlined approach to managing customers and key relationships. It’s a valuable tool that not only equips teams to be more productive and educated with the work they do, but also gain deeper insights into the entire customer relationship across multiple business units.

What can CRM do?

Salesforce automation

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM salesforce automation suite effectively and accurately manages your sales process. The process-driven user interface simplifies the lead qualification process and helps drive successful conversion of leads to customer accounts. The opportunity management area contains a built-in process header that can be used to manage opportunities through various sales stages and steps.

What does this mean to companies using Microsoft CRM? It presents sales teams with the accuracy and consistency required to effectively drive opportunities through the sales process faster and better. Lastly, Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps customer focus on key accounts and close opportunities faster.

Marketing automation

Microsoft Dynamics CRM marketing automation offers the ability for customers to effectively manage campaigns, including all applicable planning tasks as well as the ability to distribute planning tasks and manage budgets. It also has a robust marketing list creator, giving the power to drill down and segment very specific customers and contacts.

Case management and customer service automation

Customer service automation in Microsoft CRM offers a full suite tools to help companies manage the support and retention phase of the customer lifecycle. The process-driven user interface helps streamline the case resolutions process. Similar to the opportunity and lead process user interface, the customer service user interface can be tailored to work the way you do.

Microsoft CRM also helps companies manage their SLA and contracts. The user-friendly form also displays all previous interactions with the customer and will display related cases based on specific attributes.

For example, if my company fixes computers and a customer calls in and needs help troubleshooting their computer, based on the attributes I select like, troubleshoot, make and model of computer, and type of question. I can trigger Microsoft Dynamics CRM to search the database and pull in cases that match the attributes selected which helps employees be more educated and able to respond to customer inquiries faster.

Extending CRM: XRM

The fourth module of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is huge! The ability to extend Microsoft CRM to help manage other areas of the business that don’t typically fall within the realms of sales, marketing and customer service. The powerful and extremely flexible platform can easily be configured and customized to help facilitate other processes within your organization.

For example, let’s say you’re a Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer and you need a solution to manage projects. Or perhaps your organization needs a solution help manage travel requests. Microsoft CRM can help automate and/or manage any area of your business, without necessarily needing custom development to get you started. (Note! Always consult with you Microsoft CRM Consultant before building anything.)

In summary, the rapid growth and adoption of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is testament to the investments Microsoft has made in delivering a world-class CRM solution that real people can use to streamline their businesses and be more productive.

So what makes Microsoft CRM stand out from its competition? Think of this: No two companies are the same in terms of how they operate. Customers need a solution that can easily be molded to fit their unique processes. Sometimes a best-of-breed solution is not the right fit, and oftentimes these solutions are not easy to configure and end up costing more in the long run. Microsoft CRM is easy to use, integrates to Microsoft products you already own, is flexible, and provides a rapid development environment. Microsoft is innovative, intuitive, and helps drives success across your organization to meet your desired business outcomes.

To know the history of crm , check from here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Dynamics_CRM

Difference between Prospects , Leads , suspects and opportunity

Many times we are hearing the words like prospects , leads , opportunity , potential customer in daily life . just i got some difference while googling  , those are :

Suspects

A suspect is anyone who is in your database. He might or might not be interested your product. He need not even be a buyer but someone who can influence potential buyers. He may not meet your qualification criteria such as geography, vertical and company size.

Characteristics of a suspect could be:

• Has visited your website at least once.
• Has retweeted one or more of your tweets.
• Follows your Company Page on LinkedIn.
• Has commented on one of your blogposts.

Prospects

Prospect looks for information to solve a problem. They will part with their personal details, fill a form to download one of your whitepapers. A prospect may very well be a researcher. To weed them out it is a good idea to put in a form field which asks for the prospect’s motive with “Just researching” as one of the options.

Characteristics of a prospect could be:

• Has downloaded a whitepaper/research report.
• Has subscribed to one of your product/technical blogs.
• Clicked on your PPC ad and the ensuing landing page.

Leads

Leads are those prospects that fit your qualifying criteria. Your marketing and sales should have predefined the qualifying criteria such as geography, vertical, company size along with favorable action.

For instance a lead can be anyone from the US/Europe in the technology industry with over 250 employees and has attended your webinar. The teleprospecting team can step in at this stage to ascertain the qualification criteria, budget and authority.

Characteristics of a lead could include:

• Has registered and attended one or more of your webinars.
• Has opened and clicked on at least one of your emails.
• Has visited your website multiple times in the last one month and has visited the “Pricing”/”About Us” page.
• Has achieved a lead score of X.

Opportunity

An opportunity is a warm lead that meets a threshold score. The opportunity has an identified need, is interested in your product and has the required budget and authority. Such opportunities are handled by sales.

Characteristics of an opportunity include:

• Has viewed product videos.
• Has asked for a strategic consultation with one of your in-house experts.
• Has asked for a demo.

Treat Them Differently

Don’t mix suspects, prospects, leads and opportunities up and miff them. Know who they are. Tell them apart. Give each one targeted messages and mediums. Use this table to map your comm unication.

Type of Customer	Aim	Content Type
Suspect	Impress	Infographics, blog, social media, PR
Prospect	Educate	Whitepapers, checklist, technical blog, PPC
Lead	Engage	Email, newsletter, webinars, teleprospecting
Opportunity	Persuade	Demo, ROI calculator, customer testimonial

Why we need CRM ?

Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps companies build and maintain relationships with their customers. Cap Gemini and International Data Corporation conducted a study in 1999 which showed that CRM applications were gaining popularity with companies throughout Europe and the United States. Fifteen years later it has since become one of the most effective customer service tools any company can use.

Why has CRM software become so important?

Advantages of CRM Software

Every business owner knows they need to make customer service one of their top priorities. Unfortunately, they often don’t have the time and energy needed to address all customer concerns.  CRM software makes it much easier to engage with customers and address their needs in a timelier manner. Here are some of the reasons SMEs use it.

Customer Responsiveness

Customer engagement is a critical if you want to retain your customers. Your customers need to be able to raise any concerns with you as they arise. In turn, you need to assure your customers that you will resolve their concerns. One study found that 41% of customers expect businesses to respond to their emails within six hours. You need to develop a customer response plan to meet their expectations.

CRM software makes it easier to communicate with your customers through email, your website and various social media channels. You can also integrate your communication tools together and allows you to respond to customers in one place.

Cost Savings

Companies have traditionally used mail or call centers to respond to customer complaints. This takes a lot of overhead because companies need to pay for the facilities, employee wages and training costs. Jason Barrett, director of monetization of Grapple, presented research showing CRM software can help companies reduce expenses while implementing a customer service plan.

Central Customer Database

You can use CRM software to store information on all of your customers. Here are some types of information that you can track:

• Customer appointments
• Customer responses and feedback during meetings
• Outstanding requests that need to be addressed

Large companies are often overwhelmed with their customers’ needs and can have a difficult time keeping track of them. CRM software will make the job much easier.

Team Focused Customer Service

Many businesses have a department dedicated specifically to customer service. However, numerous studies have shown that companies can improve customer satisfaction when all employees are dedicated to it. Ed Horrell, author of The Kindness Revolution: The Company-wide Culture Shift That Inspires Phenomenal Customer Service, said that many companies are still having a difficult time gettting all employees involved. CRM tools make it easier for them to collaborate to address customer requests.

CRM software helps all of your employees track important data needed to provide a better experience for their customers. You can also share feedback with your employees on what steps needed to be taken and what changes need to be implemented.  This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and holds them accountable.

Identifying Marketing Opportunities

Companies are always looking out for new markets for their products and services. You can review data on previous customers to determine what customers need your products and services. Experts from Salesfusion and Advantage have found that companies can reach potential customers much more efficiently when they integrate their CRM software with a marketing management application.

Leverage CRM Software

Improving customer satisfaction should always be a top priority. CRM software can make it a lot easier to build relationships with your customers.

Other Things can also useful are :

• It’s a place to store all of your clients’ information in one place, that’s easy to update and share with the whole team. The best systems also save any updates immediately.
• Every member of your team will be able to see the exact point when your business last communicated with a client, and what the nature of that communication was. Do they need an immediate follow-up call? Does the relationship need a little rekindling?
• CRMs can give you instant metrics on various aspects of your business automatically. Some programmes can even generate reports for you. If you have a complete and detailed CRM then you’ll be able to us this data to forecast and plan for the future.
• You will be able to see the complete history of your company’s interaction with a client. Perhaps this can be a guide to how to approach future customers, or give you a run-down of where things went wrong if interaction was unsuccessful.
• A good CRM will also be integrated with your calendars and diaries, relating important events or tasks with the relevant client. It can also suggest suitable times to contact customer and set reminders.

What is CRM ?

An acronym for Customer Relationship Management, CRM is a term originally defined and designed to improve customer service. Today it almost relates to an entire business strategy. So while the term refers to a systematic approach to handling customer relationships, it also includes a holistic approach to business strategy.

Customer refers to an entity that acquires or consumes goods or services from a desired firm (through the process of purchasing or renting) for a mutually decided price. The customer has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers.

Relationship in business refers to a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties. It involves interactions with customers or prospects to better understand their requirements and to build an expectation through different channels of communication. The more one interacts, the more chances to build a strong business relationship on the basis of proper understanding of customers.

Management refers to the managing of customer interactions. This does not merely mean customer support, but in its true sense aims at mobilizing the entire organization towards management of all interactions with the customers, thus creating a customer-centric thinking and acting.