In our recent Amaxra webinar, noted Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM MVP (Most Valued Professional) Rick McCutcheon discussed how customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can deliver practical benefits to businesses. However, successfully leveraging the power of CRM requires a sensible and holistic deployment plan.
During Rick’s 20+ years in the CRM industry, he’s seen radical innovations and unprecedented growth in the market. Key CRM market statistics from a recent Gartner report cited by Rick in the webinar:
- Companies are shifting their marketing budget priorities to digital initiatives
- In 2013, the worldwide CRM market grew to $20.4 billion, up 13.7% from a year earlier
- The total addressable CRM market will be worth over $36 billion by the end of 2017
“For many companies,” Rick said “having a CRM platform is simply a cost of doing business and an essential part of day-to-day operations.” The good news for companies is that they can expect a solid return on investment for a CRM solution such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. In his analysis, Rick noted that on average companies using CRM were paid back $8.71 for every dollar they spent.
In the webinar, Rick outlined three steps critical to CRM success:
- How to design organization-specific CRM processes
- What customizations you can do to make CRM better (e.g. “gamification”)
- Why broad user adoption is crucial to taking full advantage of your investment