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Cloud Adoption in CRM Outpaces All Other Application Categories

According to this Gartner Report, software as a service (SaaS) drives customer relationship management (CRM) market growth despite leaner budgets, while the competitive environment intensifies. Worldwide SaaS revenue within the enterprise application software market reached $9.2 billion in 2010, up 15.7 percent from 2009 revenue of $7.9 billion, according to Gartner, Inc.

The market is projected for stronger growth in 2011 with worldwide SaaS revenue totaling $10.7 billion, a 16.2 percent increase from 2010 revenue.

Putting your Microsoft Dynamics CRM "in the cloud" may just be the answer for your business. Download this PDF

to learn more about adopting the cloud with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Are you efficient?

Efficiency. Seems simple enough right? If you look up the definition you may get 3 different explanations:

1. The state or quality of being efficient.

2. Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.

3. Effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in energy, time, and money.)

The ratio of the useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy supplied to it.

Does it still seem simple enough?

Perhaps not, but it is a word that we hear every day in our businesses and impress upon our employees that they need to be efficient.

How do you know if you are efficient within your company?

If you think you are efficient because your revenue is good, you may be mistaken. It's definitely a benefit if you have good revenue, but you may still have inefficiencies which are hindering an even larger revenue potential.

If you are struggling to hit your revenue goals, then this is a telltale sign that you can be more efficient in your operations.

As a business operates we need to look at our efficiencies on a daily basis to measure our successes.

Take some time to review your current software, reports, processes, cross-department communications and workflows to see if they still make sense in your business. You may quickly find out where you can redefine your business to become more efficient.

For more information on how RB Data Services can make your organization more efficient, contact us today at
858-541-1820 or at info@rbdata.com.

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011 Released for On-Premise and Hosted Deployments

The recent release of Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011 for On-Premise installations complements the latest version of the online customer relationship management (CRM) version as a powerful successor in the Microsoft Dynamics® CRM platform. The new versions have been designed together to provide a seamless experience for users regardless of how it is deployed.

With new software releases there are always two questions that can cause concern within an organization: 1. “How will I be able to grow with this platform?” and 2. “How easily will the end users adapt to the new interface?” Here are the answers to help alleviate those concerns:

1. Scalability is always a concern and this version delivers the ability to have up to 150,000 concurrent users on a single instance while still delivering response times of less than a second. This just goes to show just how well designed this solution is!

2. Ease of use is achieved through a familiar Microsoft Outlook like interface, guided dialog, and point and click configuration through the web interface. End users can easily customize dashboards and personalize the interface to provide the information that is relevant to the decisions they need to make.

Read the full press release from Microsoft for more information on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Contact us today at 888-685-6370 (toll free) or at info@rbdata.com to discuss how we can design a solution around this powerful new platform that will help your business experience the Power of Productivity.

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM

If you or your management team are evaluating the investment in a customer relationship management solution (CRM), here are 10 good reasons to look at Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

10. Affordability: Not only do you get competitive pricing for both on-demand and on-premise deployments, Microsoft provides several CRM Accelerators that are available to customers at no additional charge.

9. Industry Leadership: See Analyst Reports and Awards on why Microsoft Dynamics CRM is one of the top CRM solutions.

8. Great Fit: Because Microsoft Dynamics CRM is based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA), it easily integrates into your existing systems using industry-standard Web services. Its exceptional customization feature also simplifies adapting it to your processes, models, and technology infrastructure. Learn more about the technology.

7. Operational Insight: The reporting engine generates compelling data reports within Microsoft CRM to help you make informed business decisions. Get deeper insights by integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Business Intelligence products for performance management, scorecards, data mining, and OLAP reporting.

For reasons #6 through #1, which includes Rapid Innovation, High User Adoption Rates, Unmatched Value and more, check out the rest at

http://crm.dynamics.com/en-us/whycrm.aspx.

Then contact us at RB Data Services at 858-541-1820. We can help you make a well informed decision for your company's needs.

Microsoft CRM For Non Profits

As a nonprofit, you're tasked with tracking a lot of information relating to donors, constituents, members and more. Automate the time consuming processing with a customer relationship management (CRM) solution from Microsoft. The promotional price, if you're eligible, for this version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for non-profits is $9.99/user/month as opposed to the standard pricing of $44/user/month.

You can now get more done in a cost effective manner with ready to use tools in addition to tools that you can customize for your business needs. Microsoft Dynamics CRM gives you the tools for:

· Donation and pledge management
· Member and constituent management
· Volunteer tracking
· Campaign management
· Case management
· Event management
· Tailored dashboards and reports

"Nonprofits and NGOs are always challenged with doing more with less," said Sarah Barnhart, senior program manager of community affairs at Microsoft. "We see technology as being a key enabler of helping nonprofits to reduce administration and focus their resources on where they can have the biggest impact. Microsoft Dynamics CRM for nonprofits and NGOs includes customized features that simplify administration and management for organizations of every size."

Download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM brochure for non-profits. Designed to support your cause with affordable, versatile constituent management.

Contact us today at info@rbdata.com or 858-541-1820 to see if your non-profit organization is eligible for this great offer and to learn how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can take your organization to a whole new level.

The Economics Of The Cloud

Computing is undergoing a seismic shift from client/server to the cloud, a shift similar in importance and impact to the transition from mainframe to client/server. Speculation abounds on how this new era will evolve in the coming years, and IT leaders have a critical need for a clear vision of where the industry is heading. We believe the best way to form this vision is to understand the underlying economics driving the long-term trend. In this paper, we will assess the economics of the cloud by using in-depth modeling. We then use this framework to better understand the long-term IT landscape. To view the report visit click here.

Microsoft CRM 2011 Global Launch Event

Attend this FREE global virtual launch event and watch Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduce Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on January 20, 2011. Learn how it is designed to help you boost sales, improve marketing, enrich customer service interactions, and accelerate line of business application development through xRM.

Hear keynote presentations by Kirill Tatarinov (Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions), Michael Park (Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions), and Brad Wilson (General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM).

In addition, you'll be able to:

Get a sneak peek view through engaging demos.
Hear success stories from real customers who put Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to work for them.
Choose from several different tracks especially designed to suit your business, industry or IT needs.
Chat live with Microsoft experts and other customers in real time during the event.

Join us on January 20th at 9 a.m. PST and watch from the comfort of your home or office! Register now.

5 Questions You Must Ask Your Customers That Will Save You Money

Most business owners steer away from asking their customers what they really think about their products or services for fear that they may find fault. This is a "bury your head in the sand" mentality that limits your potential and your opportunities to stay ahead of your competition.

How do I know this? Because I have worked with dozens of small businesses, and most of them have never asked their customers what they think. When I work with businesses, one of the first things I do is call some of their customers because if the product or service is not up to scratch, bringing in more customers will do more damage than good.

So here's my top five questions and why you need to ask these.

1. How did you hear about us?

It is important to understand what marketing channels are working for you. If the majority of your new customers are coming from word of mouth referrals, create opportunities for more referrals. Don't spend your hard-earned cash on advertising to people who don't know and love you.

2. What was your main reason for choosing us?

I am constantly reminded that price is not the main reason people choose to do business with you. Consistently across the 70 industry sectors I have surveyed, trust that you can provide the right product or service is the No. 1 reason. But there are others and you need to know the reasons why customers choose you, because this is essential to your communication with existing and potential customers.

3. What is one thing we do really well for you?

This question gives you clues about why you are better than your competitors–and this creates opportunity to exploit your strong points in your marketing. Customers will tell you why you are better than the guy down the road. Your job is to make sure that you keep delivering well on your strengths.

4. Is there anything we could we do better?

This is the number one reason why business owners don't do customer surveys, yet this is vital information that you need to know. You need to know where the gaps are so you can plug them. Don't allow your weaknesses to be your competitors' advantage.

5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to refer a friend or colleague to us, where 1 is not likely at all and 10 is extremely likely?

Those of you who are familiar with net promoter score will know that a customer who scores 9 or 10 is a strong referral source. You also want to ask them why they have given you this score so that you can understand what is important to your best customers and be sure that you continue to meet their expectations.

So there you have it. With the answers to these questions, you can create marketing plans that have a balance of strategies for attracting new customers as well as retaining existing ones. You will know what areas you need to work on and what you need to constantly keep on top of to avoid losing customers.

As I mentioned before, I have conducted dozens of surveys for my customers, and it has been very rare that a customer's customer does not want to participate. Any feedback about your business is great. It is not about you but what you can do for your customers to have a sustainable business.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Named a Leader in Customer Service

Microsoft Dynamics CRM continues to demonstrate its stronger presence as a go-to solution for prospects looking for a solid customer service application.

The following is an excerpt from the Microsoft News Center press release:

REDMOND, Wash. – April 15, 2010 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant of the 2010 Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers. In this research report, Gartner Inc. looks primarily at the first layer: CRM business applications for customer service interactions.

Microsoft today is also introducing the Customer Care Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The new accelerator helps customer care and contact center organizations provide a consistent customer service experience by combining data elements from disparate applications such as mainframes, databases or Web sites for display in a single user interface. The quick ease of access to information helps agents provide efficient service, which in turn helps improve overall customer satisfaction; and, as a corollary benefit can help to preserve or increase profit margins. The core business scenarios supported by the Customer Care Accelerator include the following:

- Integrated desktop enables the aggregation of information from diverse business applications into an integrated agent desktop, providing users with a 360-degree view of customer interactions. Customer service representatives have fast access to business-critical information to serve customers quickly and efficiently, which helps increase satisfaction and loyalty.

- Desktop automation workflows minimize human error and streamline business processes, eliminating the need for contact center agents to re-enter the same data in multiple applications and helping to ensure a consistent customer service experience.

- Computer telephony integration (CTI) is simplified for supplying caller screen pop-up information to agents. CTI makes it possible for the telephony system to connect to the CRM business application and give agents detailed customer information to help them better serve their customer.

- Activity reporting gives contact center managers the ability to quickly access agent desktop transaction reporting, identify process bottlenecks, streamline processes and automate routine tasks to improve overall call center efficiencies.

Top Five Reasons Salespeople Fail

Having a quality sales force in place is essential to the success of most businesses. Why do some salespeople succeed and others fail? Here is a list of the top five reasons some salespeople fail.

1. Most salespeople spend too much of their time selling with prospects who will not buy. It is important to prospect efficiently and effectively.

2. They don't have a consistent sales process. Do you treat each sale differently? It is important to have a sales process that you use with all your prospects and customers. Use a sales process that has the highest probability of producing high closing rates on all your prospects. This way your results won't be hit or miss.

3. Many salespeople don't spend enough time building trust. Prospects want to purchase something from someone they can trust and respect. Build a trusting relationship with your prospect from the beginning.

4. Most salespeople close at the end of their sales process. Top salespeople start closing at the beginning of their sales cycle and continue to close throughout the process.

5. Most sales people do presentations about their product and company rather than determining the real need of their prospect. This will make your prospect feel neglected.