CRM: when it's all about the relationship…
(Part 2 of 2)
Following our
discussion in part 1 regarding companies that use CRM (Customer
Relationship Management) software to log sales-related activity and
pursue a commercial focus, we'll now come on to a different type of
Microsoft CRM user: the ones for
whom the word "customer" in the abbreviation might be
unnecessary.
For them, CRM is all about keeping up
relationships…
Not every organisation that installs CRM software needs it to
maintain contact with a conventional customer base. There are
plenty of cases where the relationship is just as important as a
commercial one, yet the word 'customer' could hardly be
applied.
We could be talking about universities and their relationships
with students. We could be talking about libraries and their users,
doctors and their patients, even police forces and their contact
with a demanding public.
Let's take the example of universities to expand on the layers
of relationship management that may be required. There could be
different groups of relationships: undergraduates, postgraduates,
visitors, sponsors. There could be different classes of user:
administrative, educational, security, pastoral. All these entities
need to mesh together in a coherent software hub for co-ordinating
communications and tracking relationships according to the purposes
defined.
Of course, many of these types of organisation will have custom
software written for their purposes, but it serves to illustrate a
point. There are plenty of organisations that use Microsoft
CRM
These are the organisations for whom the term 'xRM' could have
been invented. This acronym is meant to stand for 'anything
relationship management'.
They're not necessarily in the non-profit sector. Many
businesses, even those with strongly commercial goals, have
determined that the way forward is through market share and
carefully managed brand presence.
And that's as important an application for CRM software as
traditional sales account management. A sophisticated CRM
system such as Microsoft Dynamics bends naturally towards any
organisational goal that can be achieved through managing those
important relationships for your team.
Chorus is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and supplies
Dynamics CRM, together with migration, training and support, to
businesses in the South West of England and in Wales. Call the CRM
team on 01275 398900 to learn more.
