Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 in Service Businesses

Service businesses are much more sensitive to?results generated?by good customer care, and that’s where Microsoft Dynamics 365 comes in, enabling those relationships?between your client and your company?to deliver valuable business experiences.

But, as?incredible as it may seem, some managers are unaware that Microsoft has a solution that integrates CRM and ERP and is customization ready,?in addition to connecting to?its other tools so?often seen?in?a?corporate environment.

In this post, we’ll uncover?the reasons for investing in Dynamics 365 and how its features and customizations can bring significant?improvements?to service providers.

Why is Dynamics 365 a good ERP and CRM solution?

First of all, Dynamics 365, in its basic functions, allows service processes to be optimized for needs like planning, execution, monitoring and analysis, all on?a single platform.

So, it?s possible to have an overview of all the costs and revenues of services?provided, as well as an individual analysis of each area and the professional involved.?With?this data,?you can?increase the profitability and productivity of the processes,?as improvements are proposed.

A law firm can manage processes of?both?companies and individuals with the same system, focusing their human and physical resources?on?each contract according to their needs, whether long- or short-term.

Deadlines, documentation?submission, meetings and other relevant events for service?are?managed in Dynamics 365, which?can also?give indications if costs -?such as staff?travel?-?exceed?the initial value set for the item, for example.

These interactions will be even more efficient when managed by Microsoft’s own tools, such as?the?suite?of?Office?products, Outlook, and others. But Dynamics also supports integration?with other systems,?which is not to say you can?t choose it?for projects that need?no?integration.

What are the strategic advantages?

In terms of its application?as?a?CRM, Dynamics?provides?planning?service orders, allocation and?activation of required resources,?as well as?financial performance?analysis.?By way of illustration:

Service contract customization

Each customer can be registered in the Microsoft system with their customized contractual needs and conditions with a Service Level?Agreement (SLA), specifying?the levels of service to be provided.

This document is common for IT service providers and?consultancies, but?can also be incorporated into accounting offices and?outsourced HR?management, among others. Thus, deadlines for resolutions, costs, elements allocated?to specific?projects and other agreed items can be managed in a systematic way.

Resource management and finance

Human and structural resources are business costs that need to be allocated efficiently to?give the client?the results?expected?with the highest profit margin possible.

Therefore, when sending an accounting consultant for an external audit in a customer’s branch, the company must manage the costs of travel, hours worked, equipment and other resources used in the service.

This individual?efficiency?monitoring should?be aggregated to others and fed?into?a?business financial analysis system, allowing the manager to track?their?expenses and revenues in a unified and simple way.

Sales Force Automation and Customer Relationship

Dynamics 365 also has several solutions for?automating?sales and marketing, with the possibility of targeting customers and leads for creating customized campaigns, for example.

This is possible because the system allows?you to create?complete reports with?lots of?filters so that the data?on the show?is?as?strategic and applicable?as?possible,?so you can?optimize your?strategy.

In the?area of?sales and relationships,?reports?behave the same way?in real time. By defining metrics?of?success?for the company, industry, or employee,?you can?measure performance and?suggest?corrective measures much more quickly.

Control and historical reporting for the entire sales and service cycle

For service providers, renewing?a customer?contract?over and over again?is one of their main?goals. In addition to reducing business costs, it?s also a way of generating new business.

So, having?historical control?of all?the?relationships and negotiations is critical and the data generated in these interactions can contribute to personalizing?services and care for?every?client.

In addition, separating?the cycle?into?stages allows the?various actions?to be analyzed individually to identify critical points, for example.

Features for service companies

Dynamics 365 has?a number of?features?that are important for managing?service delivery, such as the Sales module, aimed at managing?negotiations,?which?is supported by sales insights and?provides you with?control of the?sales?pipeline.

Customer Service allows?for uniform?customer base?management?across?all?the company?s interaction channels;?in a personalized way, of course. Field Service, as the name suggests,?primarily manages?actions in the field, such as?hours worked by consultants and resources allocated to projects.

Project Service Automation?allows for?remote management of all?the?projects in progress, as well as?for?consulting?billing details and customer histories, and finally Finance and Operations, which brings together?ERP functionality?stored in the cloud.

Why should?service providers choose the Microsoft solution?

It?s these functionalities,?together with the?strength and authority of the largest technology company that made?AlfaPeople?specialize in Microsoft solutions. The technological refinement of its platform, its focus on user experience and, above all, its high?potential?for?customization ensure that?different?types of businesses can all?benefit from using?Dynamics 365.

Dynamics 365 also has a great?level of?usability and ease?with?user engagement,?as?everyone is already familiar with Microsoft tools for?both?home and corporate use.

Its flexibility in?terms?of?adapting to?different types of businesses?can also be?seen how the?company?evolves in?size. Dynamics 365 is strategic at any point in a company’s growth, and when adopted?early on, it has the advantage of?keeping?an increasingly?high-value?track record of?customers and the business in general.

Dynamics 365 is a platform that certainly?sets?one service provider?apart?from the others; in?addition to?bringing intelligence and optimization?to?your business?processes, it also allows?your?company to control its costs and make better decisions.

Would you like to know how this system can improve your business performance and relationship management with your customers?even more??Get in touch with?AlfaPeople?and learn how.