Microsoft positioned as a leader

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By Fredrick Obura

Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) has been positioned ias a leaders by Gartner Inc, in a search report that looks at contact centre desktop software for customer service and supports that is best suited for different economic situations.

CRM is an information industry term for methodologies, software or Internet capabilities that help different organisations manage customer relationships in a more organised way.

"As a result of economic slowdown, business managers are focusing on the central role of customer service to simultaneously lower costs and build customer loyalty," said Michael Maoz, analyst, Gartner Inc.

The loss of a profitable customer or would be profitable customer is expensive and preventable. The contact center, which integrates and synchronises post-sales customer interactions, is the most critical flash point for the customer relationship.

Customer relations

Many organisations turn to CRM software to help them manage their customer relationships. CRM technology is offered on-premise, on-demand or through Software as a service depending on the vendor.

For instance, an enterprise might build a database about its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements and know what other products a customer had purchased.

There are several different approaches to CRM, with different software packages focusing on different aspects. The mobile CRM and the open source CRM software model have become popular.

"Business leaders are being challenged to drive higher customer satisfaction and retention, while their budgets are under pressure," said Mr Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.