Now Reading: Dynamics CRM Online – Best choice for a Growing SMB?
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Dynamics CRM Online – Best choice for a Growing SMB?
“It’s way more powerful than we need, we just want something basic”. As a Microsoft Partner who services the Small and Midsized Business (SMB) customer, and offers CRM, you have no doubt heard this refrain. Is it true? Is Dynamics CRM Online simply “too big” for the average SMB customer? The answer, like so many answers, is: it depends.
CRM is a Powerful Monster
Okay Mr. SMB Customer, you got me, Dynamics CRM Online is indeed quite capable of serving the largest enterprises you can name. In fact, Dynamics CRM Online is the CRM equivalent to a 12 cylinder Aston Martin Vanquish. By the way, Aston Martin is a Dynamics CRM customer, so there’s that. With it’s out of the box capabilities, third-party extensions, customization and extended capabilities, CRM can solve problems a SMB customer will never encounter. So why then, would a SMB even consider an Aston Martin for their daily driver? I can actually answer that, and I think I backed myself into a corner here, so I better answer it pretty damn quick.
“Speak softly, and carry a Big Stick” – Teddy Roosevelt
Power is not the problem. In a car showroom you will never overhear anyone say “This is nice, but do you have something with less horsepower?”. You will never have a requirement to reach 60 miles per hour in less than 4 seconds, but your confidence level is much higher, just knowing you could. The biggest advantage to having more power than you could ever use, is the certainty of having all the power you could ever need. The SMB concern is really two things then: a) can I afford the Aston Martin?, and b) can I keep from launching it into a tree?
“Just like a SMB to bring a Knife to a Gunfight”
In the operation of your SMB you will struggle daily with competition; it is an annoyance of the Free-Enterprise system. Many of your SMB competitors will be using some SMB focused CRM tools; appropriately sized for SMB in a nice little 4-cylinder configuration. Aren’t they cute? Imagine then, that you roll up next to them in an Aston Martin; let the pants-pissing begin! While your competition is squeezing their little CRM for all its got, you are blowing past them, and you haven’t even hit 3rd gear.
“Screw Fair!” – Gerald Mordue circa 1985
I come from a line of Entrepreneur/Salesmen; my father and grandfather where both business owners who did the selling. When I first started my career in sales, it was working for my Dad. I remember working on a deal where I was locked in a battle with a competitor. I saw an iffy angle I could take to get the deal, and asked my Dad if he thought it was fair, he shouted “Screw Fair!”. I took that to mean, that if there was any way that I could create a competitive advantage, I should go for it. Seems obvious in retrospect; successful business is a result of creating “unfair” advantages. Like pulling up in an Aston Martin, when everybody else is in Civics.
If you didn’t come to Dance, then get off the Floor
If you have read this far down, then you obviously are thinking about CRM. Adjusting my tea leaves, I can also see that you are either experiencing growth, or expecting to soon… or at least hoping to someday. If this is not the case, then I must ask “Why are you here?” Stagnant companies with flat trajectories have no need for CRM, they can die all by themselves. So if you are thinking about CRM for growth, why wouldn’t you start with a CRM you could never outgrow? Starting with a SMB level CRM tells me that your confidence in your growth plan is not very high. Worse yet, if you actually succeed in hitting your growth goals, that will all stall one day, while you stop everything to migrate to a proper CRM platform. Best to start with the end in mind.
How to not kill yourself the first time you drive an Aston Martin
This is actually pretty simple, just switch off 6 of those cylinders until you learn how to drive it. It’ll still be plenty peppy, but won’t send you off an overpass when you reach for your coffee. This is the essence of RapidStart CRM, we take CRM and turn it into something you can use immediately. As you gain comfort, and your team has adopted CRM, you start switching on cylinders at your own pace.
If you are a customer, please reach out to one of our global Partners to learn more about starting small with power. If you are a Partner, why haven’t you signed up already?
Notice-This post contained an overdose of machismo, to recover quickly, go immediately to your car and listen to 15 minutes of a Michael Bolton CD, you’ll be fine.
The post Dynamics CRM Online – Best choice for a Growing SMB? first appeared on Steve Mordue MVP.
