Chapter 2. The Dynamics CRM Application Structure

In the previous chapter, we described how to get a Dynamics CRM Online environment up and running, configure your Outlook to integrate with this environment, and add an Office 365 E3 Trial. With this environment available now, we can start to look at some of the components of this system. We will investigate the modules that are, as default, a part of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and the features of each of these modules.

This chapter is structured around four main categories. They are:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is Microsoft's platform for Customer Relationship Management. This system allows a company to manage interactions with current and future potential customers. Usually, a CRM system is part of a bigger picture, involving customer service, customer experience, customer retention, and other aspects. The CRM platform fits into this puzzle as the software platform that provides a company with the necessary tools to perform all of these tasks.

A robust CRM system allows for both reactive and proactive actions from various staff using it. While most of the service aspects are primarily reactive, through extensive analysis and solid business processes, proactive actions can be taken to increase sales, customer retention, and quality of service, and also to create more robust marketing campaigns.

A CRM system provides a 360-degree view of a customer, with all historical interactions, purchase history, contact preferences, and survey responses, along with additional-related data as needed. This data collected by the system can be further analyzed to determine best strategies for increasing customer satisfaction and providing better quality services.

From a proactive point of view, analyzing the aforementioned customer data allows us to identify new opportunities and to prevent potential future issues.