{"id":8884,"date":"2019-04-22T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/?p=8884"},"modified":"2019-04-23T08:26:04","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T08:26:04","slug":"5-steps-to-move-to-a-cloud-crm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/cross-industry\/2019\/04\/22\/5-steps-to-move-to-a-cloud-crm\/","title":{"rendered":"5 steps to move to a cloud CRM"},"content":{"rendered":"
Customers these days have access to more choice, information, and products than ever before. On top of this, they have more devices to access everything on, and more channels to engage businesses on. Because of this, customers don\u2019t have the time or patience for poor experiences.<\/p>\n
This is where customer relationship management (CRM) comes in. It\u2019s long been at the heart of organisations\u2019 customer strategies, and now it\u2019s just as critical in creating compelling and personalised customer experiences. These days, not only do you need a modern CRM system, but also complete customer engagement solution. One that empowers employees with the data and the acumen to provide the best service and experiences to your customers and nurture these important relationships.<\/p>\n
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Customers hold the power in business relationships. Therefore, moving to a cloud business application that includes CRM is a significant step in nurturing these relationships. It unlocks your ability to consistently deliver relevant and personal experiences to every customer<\/p>\n
\u201cIf customers don\u2019t get the experience they expect, they\u2019ll take their business elsewhere. This means businesses must be focused on customer expectations. And if they can deliver these differentiated experiences, it positively impacts your top-line revenue,\u201d said Kate Leggett, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research on a recent Microsoft webinar. \u201cCustomers stay with a more engaged company longer. They will buy more from you, increasing their lifetime value, and they will serve as an advocate for your company.\u201d<\/p>\n
To meet your customers\u2019 needs and expectations, you must equip your employees with the technology to access important data and insights.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs they move to the cloud, companies can leverage cloud technologies and deliver these differentiated experiences. Cloud CRM deployments give you faster time to value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kate Leggett, VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research on a Microsoft webinar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A 2018 commissioned Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact\u2122study<\/a> of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service found that contact centre staff are up to 15 percent more efficient, with better tools and access to rich customer data and insight. This means they can better optimise customer experiences \u2013 a value add of $5.8 million to an organisation over three years.<\/p>\n
The study also found that employees feel more empowered to do their best work, are more likely to stay, and have higher satisfaction. Also, IT departments are more agile and able to roll out innovation faster.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gain business buy-in to ensure success<\/h2>\n
Like any other important change initiative, you\u2019ll need a clear process in place that engages all relevant stakeholders and addresses their specific needs. You\u2019ll need strong sponsorship and communications.<\/p>\n
Based on experience of hundreds of projects, Microsoft has honed a best practice approach that ensures your evaluation process and subsequent migration are comprehensive yet efficient. The alignment between the business leaders and IT throughout the journey is critical, as is early buy-in.<\/p>\n
\u201cShiny software and slick demonstrations alone don\u2019t get a project signed off at the board and they don\u2019t drive business change. It pays dividends to get the right people around the table at the outset, to agree on the key measures, steps and timings for a successful evaluation\u201d says Mark Abery, Technical Solutions Professional for Dynamics 365 at Microsoft.<\/p>\n
Both the Microsoft Dynamics 365 team and its cloud migration partners can work with your business to ensure that you\u2019ve not missed any important steps and are able to reach a decision with confidence in 4-8 weeks.<\/p>\n
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3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember your value<\/h2>\n
While your cloud CRM success plan is in motion, remember to keep business value at the heart of what you do.<\/p>\n
Moving to a cloud CRM solution such as Dynamics 365<\/a> will save your business the cost of providing on-premises infrastructure and software. It will also make your organisation more competitive in a fast-moving and consumer-centric market.<\/p>\n
Moving to the cloud offers you access to the newest functionality without the disruption or cost of upgrading on-premises applications. It also ensures your business stays up-to-date with the latest security and compliance regulations. This frees up your IT staff to focus on innovation instead of maintenance.<\/p>\n
All of this means you can focus on the important things in your business\u2014your customers. Plus, you get additional capabilities online that aren\u2019t available on-premises\u2014capabilities that make your workforce more productive and effective in sales and customer service.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost organisations focus on understanding the Total Cost of Ownership difference with Online. What we really need to do is ensure we expand the conversation beyond TCO and also consider the value of the additional capabilities which are online-only or online first. In addition, we should also consider the value of the increased agility online provides \u2013 delivering faster time to value. By doing this we can make a much more compelling case to move. Our business value methods help articulate this case for change,\u201d says Robert Smith, Director, Business Value Management.<\/p>\n
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4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Migration made simple<\/h2>\n
At Microsoft, we want to see you succeed. This is why we offer best practices, tools, and resources via our FastTrack service<\/a>. The Dynamics CRM On Premises migration service<\/a> is designed to make it easy for you and your business to move your Dynamics CRM 2011\/13\/15 on-premises solution to Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Apps. You get guidance and customised support from the FastTrack team as you migrate.<\/p>\n
Nick Latocha, Head of Data and Insights at Travel Counsellors<\/a> used the FastTrack service to move his company\u2019s CRM system to the cloud and take advantage of AI and cloud technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process was seamless. The FastTrack team worked with us and our partner to build a custom migration plan to ensure our data moved over as easily as possible with as little downtime as possible,” he says. “We were even able to migrate earlier than planned, and with our custom migration, we didn\u2019t hit any issues at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having the support of the FastTrack team in the migration means you can focus on driving user adoption and achieving your intended business outcomes.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Futureproof your business<\/h2>\n
Our research has found that 81 percent of executives believe AI will be integral to their business in two years. 31 percent of enterprises say AI is on the agenda for the next 12 months.<\/p>\n