The tasks of a marketing and sales employee include the identification of potential customers and the classification of their value. Microsoft summarizes this area of responsibility under the term lead management. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Lead Management, so-called “leads” (potential customers) can be recorded in the system. The “Lead” form contains information about the potential customer, i.e. contact information, company information, information about the source of information (e.g. Internet, homepage, trade fair, campaign, etc.), as well as criteria by which the value of the contact/company as a potential customer can be measured, such as the budget. In addition, the form contains an overview of all interactions between employees and the potential customer. Within the lead form, every employee can see which employee contacted this potential customer with which medium (e.g. telephone, e-mail) for what reason (e.g. to inform about products) with which content (e.g. brochure).
This so-called “interaction area” of the form also contains notes that can be created by employees and can contain, for example, information about the preferences of the potential customer. In addition, posts created by customers or employees on social networks can be documented in this area of the form. In addition, the “Lead” form contains information about stakeholders, as well as competitors who are also courting the favor of this contact/company. Furthermore, Dynamics CRM Lead Management offers the possibility to define qualification rules. These determine whether a lead should be classified as “hot”, “warm” or “cold”, as well as whether certain actions must be taken by the employees. For example, the “hot” status, which indicates that the lead’s needs and budget match the products and prices offered by the companies, could signal to the agent that they are making an offer to the contact. These recommendations for action are displayed at the top of the form. Finally, there is a tab in the upper area of the form, which shows the qualification process with the individual process steps. A flag symbol indicates which process step has been reached. This serves as an orientation for the employee regarding the steps that need to be taken next.
Qualification in Dynamics CRM Lead Management
The qualification process consists of four process steps: “Qualify”, “Develop”, “Propose” and “close”. In the first step of the process, the information about the potential customer, as well as criteria that play a role in his qualification, are documented. In the next step of the process, additional information, such as information on relevant competitors or stakeholders, is entered. In order to determine whether the customer is interested in buying a product, an offer is made to the customer in a further step. The lead’s reaction to the offer decides the last step of the process. Here the qualification process is closed and you now have the option to qualify, disqualify or delete the contact, although the latter is not recommended, as the data on the lead will then be lost. If you are convinced that the potential customer is interested in the products or services of the organization, it is important to qualify him. Qualifying the lead as part of Dynamics CRM Lead Management automatically opens the “Opportunity” form and creates the “Contact” and “Account” entities. Whether this sales opportunity leads to the purchase of products is decided in a further validation process.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Lead Management can convert emails to leads, which automatically transfers the contact information contained in the email (such as contact information) to the lead form. This saves you the tedious typing of contact information. In summary, all of the above features help to make the qualification process more efficient by providing the employee with all the information necessary for qualification in a user-friendly overview. Qualification rules, the process tab and the possibility to convert e-mails into leads serve as further useful aids for the employee.
Increase the productivity of your marketing and sales staff with the high-performance CRM system from Microsoft. Find out here how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can not only help you identify potential customers, but also make business processes more efficient, make better use of sales opportunities, and derive marketable strategies.
