Project Description

Increased effective calls, and improved customer experience with Dynamics 365.

Implementing Dynamics CRM within a Growing Business

Our client are an industry-leading, independent document management company that offer a comprehensive range of document management solutions, tailored to suit their customers’ requirements.

Working closely with the management team, we set out to create a Digital Strategy part of which included the comparisons of available CRMs and the implementation of the most compatible solution. We were thrilled when they chose us to be the partner that delivered this digital strategy and in this case study we will explore the CRM component of their digital transformation journey.

Digital Strategy Creation

Our client had a clear view that to realise those ambitions, they needed to create a digital strategy that aligned with their goals. They also realised that this wasn’t their area of expertise so after an initial conversation decided ThinkShare, with our extensive experience in strategy development were the right partner for the project.

We held a Discovery session with key stakeholders to fully understand the business’s goals and targets, as well as where they felt their technology was holding them back. It was important at these sessions to hear different perspectives and user experiences.

After our Discovery session, our team began work creating a Digital Roadmap, comprised of six key components, for the purpose of this case study we will focus solely on one of those components; CRM implementation.

CRM Software Comparison

The business was utilising a solution known as O’Neil as its ERP system, but unfortunately, the information they needed could not be stored or managed properly within the solution.

We embarked on the process of comparing industry-leading CRMs to present to the client team. This comparison looked at each of the CRM’s functionality and ability to fit the team’s requirements as well as cost their budget.

The CRMs we looked at for this project were HubSpot, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. The comparison covered vital functionality including:

  • The ability to create and send quotes
  • To host a document library for contracts and sales collateral
  • Email tracking (from Outlook)
  • Sales Pipelines and tracking
  • Task Management
  • Integration capabilities with messaging and social apps
  • Workflows, and more.

This comparison found that Dynamics offered the functionality that they required whilst coming in at a significantly lower cost than its competitors. Salesforce was the most expensive option of the three at roughly three times the monthly cost of Dynamics.* (*For Enterprise level functionality.)

CRM Implementation

At ThinkShare we have developed a tried and tested implementation methodology to ensure successful project outcomes, whilst minimising the disruption of deploying new technology. Our tailored approach follows four key stages:

  • Discovery
  • Design
  • Implementation
  • Support

Discovery

During the Discover Phase of the project, we hosted several workshops with the project’s key stakeholders. Deep diving into the key motivations behind implementing a new CRM and how to align these motivations with Dynamics 365 technical capabilities.

During these sessions, we identified the main information and core functions our client wanted to be contained and managed within the CRM. These included Lead Capture, Lead Creation, Opportunity and Quote.

It also surfaced that they require a place to map out the processes involved with progressing a lead from form submission, or initial contact, to qualified opportunity.

Design

It was noted from the project onset that good customer service is of utmost importance to the client Team.

As such, they decided to dedicate additional time during the design phase to understanding their customer’s key touchpoints. This allowed our team of consultants to thoroughly map out the customer journey and create a CRM Solution that ensures their prospects feel nurtured not only until they complete a sale, but also throughout their future interactions with the business.

The initial project comparison highlighted Dynamics’ ability to integrate with their current systems, so the wireframes we created showcased how we would connect both solutions to get the best from both.

Implementation

Once the design had been approved we moved on to the build and implementation of the solution.

The team focused on ensuring the solution was making the most of Dynamics’ strong out-of-the-box functionality to meet the requirements of lead capture and lead creation. The customer journey mapping ensured we were hosting these capabilities in the correct areas and gathering only relevant data.

Using a mix of native Dynamics functionality and custom flows we were able to build a solution that could even inform our client team members of who was calling and instantaneously pull all the information associated with that record. Allowing for more effective calls, and improved customer experience.

Support

Like with all implementations of major technological change, sensitivity and change management plays a vital role in its success.

Before deployment, this involved training the solutions users on how to make the most out of their new CRM.

Showing them the ease of capturing valuable lead data in easy-to-edit forms, the value of having every touchpoint (emails. calls etc.) captured within the record, meaning no more scrolling through Outlook or previous word documents, and the time-saving benefits of straight forward reporting and AI-driven insights.

Today the solution is now being utilised across the business and has streamlined the way the business handles new leads. With templates on hand, quotes are sent out near instantaneously reducing the time between conversations and actions.
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