The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM components of Enterprise Edition offer businesses a number of productivity advantages that help sales staff better manage their responsibilities while increasing both the flow of information and its visibility inside the organization. With a strong base as a CRM solution bolstered by extensive customizability and the implementation advantages offered by a qualified partner, Microsoft’s CRM components offer advantages both general and specific to companies in a number of different fields.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 includes the following CRM components:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing

Recent research from Microsoft, originally from the organization’s “2016 State of Global Customer Service Report,” and shared in a Dynamics Blog post, details common issues related to sales data and customer service. In many instances, Dynamics 365’s CRM components can mitigate these causes of concern and in some cases eliminate them. A powerful CRM platform doesn’t only address concerns directly related to sales; it also provides data and insight to staff who work in support roles, like customer service staff.

Problem: Repetition and repeated provision of customer information Of the customers surveyed in the Microsoft Report, 16 percent said they believe a company not having their information ready to access during a customer service interaction is the most frustrating problem they’ve encountered. This is a significant segment of all customers, and the issue they describe as especially infuriating is one that the right CRM solution can solve. Businesses have the capability to easily resolve this issue and create benefits for customer service employees, sales staff and customers.

Consider the related statistic cited by the Microsoft Dynamics blog: In all, 72 percent of customers think customer service agents should have their contact info, purchase history and other relevant data available at the start of the call. With an effective CRM solution, organizations can ensure all relevant dimensions of customer data are recorded as the discussions and transactions happen. They can then share that data across the company for a number of different purposes – including assisting customer service staff and providing better experiences to clients. This advantage provides payoffs going forward for all involved departments, spurring sales, facilitating more efficient customer service and maintaining accurate records for future analysis.

Problem: Agents don’t have the knowledge or expertise to resolve issues The most frustrating problem faced by 28 percent of clients using a business’s customer service apparatus is the staff’s inability to resolve issues without delays or escalation to a higher-level employee. Microsoft noted the customer experience will become the most important brand differentiator by 2020 on its page detailing the customer service capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service. That means other considerations, like price and product specifications, will remain relevant but no longer serve as the key element for the majority of customers.

For many clients, a poor experience can easily stem from a situation where an agent can’t resolve a manageable problem during a single interaction or when fixing a seemingly simple issue requires long stretches of time and levels of escalation. Giving staff the information, responsibility and decision-making power they need to resolve most issues during the first conversation is a critical element of an effective commitment to customer service.

Microsoft Dynamics 365’s CRM components helps in this effort by providing effective knowledge based capabilities and information-sharing, so agents can get access to the data they need to both inform customers and confidently make decisions that lead to mutually agreeable resolutions. The unified experience offered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes staff more useful in their roles, meaning a higher level of customer service is offered and both the business and its clients reap the benefits.