Case Studies

As a small business growing rapidly within the Healthcare market we needed a solution to manage our customer data. After researching a number of CRM programs that there are out in the market we decided to purchase Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

At first we struggled to use the reporting functions, workflows and also import our data from our other system. We found Solutions Shared via LinkedIn and they were very quick to react and develop a solution to help us solve these problems.

Solutions Shared have created over 25 on demand reports for us which allow us to analyse our customers' activity and spend information by customer group etc. They have also created a number of workflows for us which help notify members of staff by emails when certain aspects of CRM are updated or changed. Some of these workflows also create other bits of data which is vital for our reporting but is not pulled from our other system.

Solutions Shared have also developed six dashboards for us which allow us to see a 360-degree view of our company's sales performance at a glance.

Because our data is pulled from another system we had a problem with the data not always being up to date. Solutions Shared created a piece of software which keeps all of the records in CRM updated as per our other system! This means that all of our reporting is accurate.

Now we have a team of field sales reps, Telephone Account Managers and customer service staff all working off of this one system! As we grow Solutions Shared are helping us develop the tools we need to manage both our customers and our staff!

A CRM system, in fact any system, should, no needs, to improve efficiency within your organisation. Of course this has been the promise of IT salesmen for years but we all know the reality – the computer system so often slows down productivity and the myth of the paperless office is, on the whole, still that – a myth.

Most of all it has to be user friendly and, as far as possible do the work for you whilst still allowing users to have control, to be able to do things outside of the usual workflow.

Then because it’s where you keep all of your information it’s got to be instantly searchable, easy to find the data you need.

So let me tell you a bit about our experience with our implementation of Dynamics 365, in what is probably one of the most traditional, old fashioned industry’s you can find. An industry where the quill pen is still a tool of the trade, where top hats and horses are common, cheques still the most common form of payment and Victoriana is something to be proud of. The funeral industry.

That’s probably a bit unfair as my business is at the opposite end of the spectrum, serving the generation who are doing to funerals what they did to weddings. Moving away from tradition by holding a celebration of life where, when and how they want, whilst we carry out an unattended cremation.

The biggest part of our business is our pre-planning department. People choosing this type of service for themselves and paying for it in advance. We generate thousands of leads a month via TV advertising, which drives customers to our website or call-centre. All of these leads are entered into Dynamics 365, either directly from the form on the website or by the team in the call centre. Then, through an integration with ClickDimensions, they instantly receive an email thanking them for their enquiry and providing information.

Another integration produces a personalised letter, sends it to be printed and inserted into an information pack. Then our outbound call team are prompted to follow up the enquiry after a set number of days, notes are recorded, tasks set and reminders issued. When a lead converts the data is there along with the source of the lead and details of every interaction we’ve had with that customer.

Another part of our business deals with funerals needed now. Whilst our business model is simple we have multiple channels that we operate across. Some of our clients come to us direct – a typical B2C route, and we look after every stage of the process. But we also have partners that we work for as a white label supplier, trade customers where we only do the cremation, and the crematorium itself with traditional funerals from local undertakers and mourners.

All is run through our use of Dynamics 365 ...

• Every stage of our process

• Every phone call

• Every document

• Every action

is recorded in Dynamics 365.

Out of the box Dynamics 365 is a really powerful piece of software, but like a powerful horse, to really get the most from it, it has to be tamed, trained to operate as you want it too. Only then will you get the very best from it.

We used John and the team at Solution Shared to do this for us and as our business has grown and evolved so has our customisation needs within Dynamics 365. Being a fast growing business has meant frequent changes, alterations to workflows, forms and templates.

And as we’ve grown with Dynamics 365, so Dynamics 365 has evolved as well. The new user interface is a great improvement on the previous version, integration with other products and services is improving every day, more and more plugins become available.

But it would be unfair of me to tell you it’s all been plain sailing. Afterall it’s a very complicated and comprehensive piece of software. And that’s where John’s expertise really comes to the fore. His understanding of the system is incredible and when there is an issue, usually caused by Microsoft to be fair, he and his team jump straight on it and to be honest, that’s why it’s really important to use a firm that not just knows your system and the Dynamics 365 system but also how to write the code needed to bring it all together.

For us, that firm is Solution Shared.

Our business was quickly expanding and it was obvious that we needed a CRM system to enable us to grow without compromising on our high standards.

We took advice and recommendations from other CRM users and decided to look at both ACT! and Dynamics CRM.

ACT! seemed to be a fairly good system, but for us it was the functionality and compatibility with outlook / excel etc, along with Solutions Shared’s demo that made it clear that Dynamics CRM was the right choice for us.

Once we had made the decision to use Dynamics CRM, and in particular to instruct Solutions Shared to install and tailor Dynamics CRM, the hard work / headaches were a thing of the past.

With Solutions Shared at the helm our Dynamics CRM system, was quickly up and running. We had no interruptions to our normal working life while installation took place and Solutions Shared delivered an extremely professional service, with exceptional attention to detail.

The system was customised to our specific needs and Solutions Shared were very patient and nothing was too much trouble.

As we use the system in more and more depth and require further tweaks and additions Solutions Shared are there with solutions and assistance through the monthly CRM support package. Solutions Shared is second to none!

The benefits of Dynamics CRM to us are:

• Easy management of customer details – having all our contacts linked to accounts makes for quick searching.

• Being able to track and follow an incoming lead to a proposal and then final acceptance.

• Tracking and managing all activities associated with leads, proposal and ongoing work means we never forget what needs to be done to meet customer expectations. In our case, allowing all the team to see the current client projects in progress; if one of us is out of the office the other members can always deal with incoming queries professionally.

• The flexibility of the system is fantastic; with Solutions Shared’s support we have been able to customise any part of the CRM process to fit our business.

• An added extra we have taken is the KPI workbook; this a great business tool which harvests data from CRM to give us weekly statistics on new leads, conversions rates etc which we can use to measure the performance of the business.

• Overall, we are able to manage and organise our clients and their work more efficiently.