Microsoft's dose of customer focus
ZDNet | at | by Mike
With most small and midsize businesses already firmly in its camp when they outfit or update their office networks, Microsoft should find that its foray into the field of customer relationship management will be happily embraced by smaller businesses for its cozy familiarity. With its new CRM suite, Microsoft offers smaller businesses what they want--sales-force automation, customer service and marketing tools--but without the worries of handling a complex set of CRM tasks that they don't yet need to take on or aren't able to manage.
Gartner believes that Microsoft's CRM software will appeal to smaller businesses because it will be affordable, easy to use and fully integrated with other Microsoft suites (such as Office and Exchange). It will be sold and supported by an experienced marketer (Microsoft's Great Plains unit) that boasts expertise in the CRM field and that already has a potent sales and distribution channel in place. Its basic functions are more than enough to meet the customer acquisition needs of most smaller businesses.