Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 configures quickly to streamline the organisation of your data by working the way that your business does.
Anything Relationship Management
With Microsoft Dynamics CRM you aren't restricted to only managing companies, people and sales.
Anything Relationship Management means you can use Microsoft Dynamics to track any type of entity, relationship and process that you work with. That can include property, events, equipment, projects, members – the possibilities are endless.
Customised Activities
Dynamics CRM 2011 includes plenty of activity types including calls, emails, tasks & campaigns.
However, it's always helpful to use activities that are specific to your business. In contrast to earlier CRM versions the new 2011 edition enables you to create as many custom activities as you need to keep every entry relevant.
Potential new activity types could include enquiries, holidays, twitter updates and other social media communications for fully personalised tracking and reporting.
Further reading:
Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM to track custom activities
EXAMPLE: Tracking enquiries as custom activities in Microsoft CRM
Round-Robin Activity Scheduling for Marketing Campaigns
Sub-grid forms
A criticism of earlier Dynamics CRM editions was the number of windows that needed to be opened just to complete everyday database tasks. Now, in Dynamics CRM 2011 sub-grids forms embed multiple pages associated a contact, lead, company or other entity in a single screen.
By using CRM 2011 sub grids users can expand and collapse grid components to make quick assessments and make changes from one page without the need to duplicate searches to find information or browse between different windows.
In the example below we've embedded an entity of charter requests within the account entity which means that charter data can be viewed from the account. As a result there's no need to search accounts and charters separately.
Because Dynamics CRM 2011 supports role based profiles each of these grid components can be switched on or off by the administrator in line with individual job roles.
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Group CRM lists with the same flexibility that you sort Outlook emails. Rollup, group and sort activities by type, priority, due date and other criteria.
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Connecting Records
By using the Dynamics CRM 2011 connections functionality you're able to create links between all the entities that you work with.
By giving you the full picture you'll be able to clearly understand the structure of each relationship to easily identify every party and entity involved.
Many CRM solutions enable links between contacts, companies and sales opportunities but with Microsoft Dynamics CRM you have the extra flexibility to also connect leads, projects, events and any of the other entities that are unique to your business.
Activity Grouping
In Dynamics CRM 2011 you can group and sort activities with the same flexibility in which you already use to manage Outlook emails.
Use the Outlook interface to sort by due date and group each activity by account for a clear overview of what needs to be completed.
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Group CRM lists with the same flexibility that you sort Outlook emails. Rollup, group & sort activities by type, priority, due date and other criteria.
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Document Management
By integrating your SharePoint site with CRM you'll be able to dynamically link documents to share and edit them with other team members.
Instead of just passively attaching PDFs and other documents in CRM, Dynamics 2011 shares them in SharePoint folders and locations where other users can more easily collaborate, edit and add more documents.
As a result you can take advantage of Sharepoint's specialist document management features to improve file sharing by utilising simultaneous editing, checking in/out and many more functions to control and share document access.
Read more about the other ways that Dynamics CRM 2011 leverages your investment in other Microsoft technology.
