What is a CRM system? And what does the abbreviation CRM stand for? The abbreviation CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and refers to the concentrated focus of a company on its customers and the organized design of customer relationship processes in a system. In this system, customer relationships are documented and managed individually in order to create a transparent and understandable view of the relationship between the customer and the company. This type of relationship marketing is particularly suitable for long-term customer relationships, in which a large amount of data is generated that transparently reflects the history of the relationship.
When it comes to CRM systems in the corporate environment, the name of a very specific solution often comes up: Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The development of the first version of Microsoft's own CRM system began as early as 2001. Thus, Microsoft CRM 1.2 was ready for the market in 2003 and saw the light of day under the official name Microsoft Business Solutions Customer Relationship Management 1.0. Continuously developed and adapted to the needs, the version Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 from 2007 (codename "Titan") was then able to manage multiple languages, multiple currencies and also multiple clients on one server. In 2011, the UI was adapted to the familiar Office interface, making it easier to use, and users were able to create individual dashboards for the first time.
Since 2016, the CRM solution has been part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 business platform. This platform offers individual apps that are tailored to different areas of the company and can thus be optimally combined as needed and also expanded as the company grows. With the great advantage that everything can be operated within one user-friendly interface. In addition, with AppSource, Microsoft offers an extensive source of add-ons, also from third-party providers, with which the solution can be further individualized.
The goal of a CRM solution is the organized and consistent presentation of the customer relationship. For this purpose, all necessary customer data is stored centrally in the CRM system and can thus be made available to all employees and analyzed appropriately. Particularly in the case of long-term customer relationships, this results in sustainable findings that can be used to further strengthen customer loyalty. Communication with customers can be optimized in a targeted manner against the background of the collected data, facts and figures, and marketing measures can be derived that are tailored to the customer's needs. The data from the CRM system also plays an important role in direct customer dialog by telephone or e-mail. For example, employees can display the necessary customer data, including the customer history, before accepting a call by means of caller ID, and are optimally prepared for a conversation.
Companies that want to manage their customer relationships in an optimized way and understand them better have an advantage with the use of CRM software. From a certain number of customers and thus customer data, the use of a CRM system for organized and optimized collection and management offers a great benefit compared to a simple address management in the form of lists or similar. Even if special insights, e.g. about customer behavior, are to be determined, the collection and analysis of customer data within a CRM solution is very useful. This is because it allows processes in marketing, sales and also service to be planned and executed with precision in relation to customers.
Current CRM systems, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, contain a variety of applications and functions in a common database that can be made transparently available to employees. The platform concept makes it easy to adapt the solution to individual needs. In this way, the growing customer requirements are served in an even more targeted and modern way. At the same time, the company is offered the opportunity to no longer just manage customer data, but to interact with customers in a way that fits and adds value. With Microsoft Dynamics 365, modules such as Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service or Project Operations can be combined according to requirements and thus represent a solution tailored to the company's needs.
TSO-DATA trusts the products of Microsoft and the current CRM solution Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement. The continuous further development and regular adaptation of the solution to modern needs ensures high investment security and optimal functionality. In addition, Microsoft carries the CRM theme into the cloud, but the system can also be operated on local servers or in the data center (on-premises/on-prem).
Early on, companies recorded and collected their customers' data in various ways. However, in the absence of digital media, efficient use of this customer data in the modern sense was only possible with a great deal of effort. In the course of digitalization and increasingly modern hardware and software solutions, systems could be adapted to the needs of companies in an increasingly differentiated manner and thus also used specifically for the area of customer management or customer relationship management.
The goal of any further development is to increase the efficiency and productivity of CRM systems. The ability to optimally interpret insights from existing customer data helps companies to provide comprehensive customer care and quickly deliver the right answers. With the support of artificial intelligence, for example, inquiries on a website can be processed even more easily and quickly, and automated campaigns ensure targeted customer approaches and thus optimized customer loyalty. Mobility plays a major role nowadays and will continue to do so in the future, so the use of CRM systems on various devices such as smartphones, tablets and desktop PCs is one of the prerequisites for modern collaboration in the field of customer relationship management. In addition, data should be available to employees both online and offline so that they can interact with customers in the best possible way in all situations.
Learn about the TOP 10 new features in the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM in our video.
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