Are you a business looking to generate new leads, manage a customer database to engage with your prospects, and support your customer with their queries?
Then you must surely have gone on a whirlwind search to finding the best Customer Relationship Management software for your business. I understand choosing the right CRM can get tricky. Because there are hundreds of CRM software solutions available in the market and you need only one that deem fit for your business. And that’s why I am here to help you with that today.
- If you are someone who is trying to understand what Dynamics 365 is all about, this blog is for you.
- If you are someone who is evaluating Dynamics 365 for your business, this blog is for you.
- If you are someone who wants a comparison of Dynamics 365 with Salesforce and other companies who are leading in the CRM segment, this blog is for you.
When I say this blog is for you, it is because, we have got everything you need right from building the awareness around the need for having a CRM to considering what license works best for your business.
So, let’s get started from the ground rules of Dynamics 365.
Table of Contents
What is Dynamics 365?
Launched in 2016, Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers an integrated solution for business of all kinds. Perhaps, Microsoft is one the first Tech companies to offer an integrated solution that combines CRM and ERP.
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 used for?
Dynamics 365 is used to bring business units together by connecting people and data across applications. It is widely popular for its user-friendly interface as most of the businesses are familiar with Office 365 which makes navigation easy for the first time users.
In addition to making smarter decisions with built-in AI, Dynamics 365 can easily help you integrate with plethora of applications without having to change the course of your business direction.
How does Microsoft Dynamics 365 work?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 brings all the customer data and sales information together into a single system making it a single source of truth. By doing that, it gives users a complete picture of their customer journey lifecycle that can help them reach out on mediums that works best for their customers and close deals faster.
Dynamics 365 automates the most critical and time-consuming activities across business functions allowing businesses to operate effectively and more efficiently.
Related Blog: How Microsoft Dynamics 365 can improve your business Growth in 2021?
Dynamics 365 versions
From the humble beginnings of offering a basic contact management solution to keeping a track of prospects and existing customers with a functionality to run email campaigns way back in 2003. Microsoft has launched its first ever CRM called Microsoft CRM 1.0.
Ever since the launch, for the past 17 years, Microsoft has been relentlessly working towards providing a more personalized and targeted experience to small, medium and enterprise businesses. In October, 2016 Microsoft rebranded its CRM software as Dynamics 365. Combining both the Microsoft business products (CRM & ERP)
Within Dynamics 365, Microsoft has allowed customers to choose which module they’d prefer based on their business requirements. The two of the modules cover – CRM and ERP services.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement
- Dynamics 365 for Sales
- Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
- Dynamics 365 for Marketing
- Dynamics 365 for Field Service
- Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
While Dynamics 365 CE covers the CRM applications,
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Dynamics 365 Business Central are fulfilling the ERP needs of the customer.
Dynamics 365 Pricing:
Dynamics 365 Sales Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Sales | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Sales Professional | $65 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Sales Enterprise | $95 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Sales Premium | $135 per user/month | $135 per user/month |
| Microsoft Relationship Sales | $162 per user/month | $162 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Service Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Service | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Customer Service Professional | $50 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Customer Service Enterprise | $95 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Field Service | $95 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Remote Assist | $65 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Marketing Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Marketing | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Marketing | $1500 per user/month | $750 per user/month |
| Customer Insights | $1500 per user/month | $1000 per user/month |
| Customer Voice | $100 per user/month | $100 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Finance Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Finance | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Finance | $180 per user/month | $30 per user/month |
| Business Central Essentials | $70 per user/month | $70 per user/month |
| Business Central Premium | $100 per user/month | $100 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Operations Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Operations | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Supply Chain Management | $180 per user/month | $30 per user/month |
| Project Operations | $120 per user/month | $30 per user/month |
| Business Central Essentials | $70 per user/month | $70 per user/month |
| Business Central Premium | $100 per user/month | $100 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Retail (Commerce) Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Commerce | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Commerce | $180 per user/month | $30 per user/month |
| Fraud Protection | $1000 per user/month | $1000 per user/month |
| Customer Insights | $1500 per user/month | $1000 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Human Resources (Talent) Pricing
| Dynamics 365 Human Resources | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| Human Resources | $120 per user/month | $30 per user/month |
| Guides | $65 per user/month | $65 per user/month |
| Customer Voice | $100 per user/month | $100 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 SMB Pricing
| Dynamics 365 SMB | Dynamics 365 (First timers) | Returning Dynamics 365 users |
| BC Essentials | $70 per user/month | $70 per user/month |
| Business Central Premium | $100 per user/month | $100 per user/month |
| Customer Service Professional | $50 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
| Sales Professional | $65 per user/month | $20 per user/month |
Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide (June 2021) – Download PDF
Dynamics 365 Licensing (Team Users & Full Users)
In almost every organization, we have two types of users who are on the tool working most of their time in generating reports, data sheets and other insight driven information. While some of the users don’t necessarily have a need to work on the tool as much as the former user does. It can be a simple task such as entering time sheets or updating records.
For users, who will have limited exposure to the full functionality of the Dynamics 365, a team user license is ideal instead of having a full user license which is comparatively expensive.
What are Dynamics 365 capabilities?
To make better and informed decisions, Microsoft has bundled CRM and ERP capabilities into one power packed solution in the name of Dynamics 365. It has all the features and capabilities in seamless functioning of a business unit.
Here are some of the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Dynamics 365 for Marketing
Dynamics 365 for Marketing allows you to quickly automate and run campaigns at lightning speed. It helps you build stronger relationships and also improve the overall productivity and performance of the business.
Some of the capabilities of D365 Marketing that keeps competitors at the edge of their seats are,
- Multi-Channel Campaigns
- Lead Management
- Event Management
- Templates
- Marketing Insights
Dynamics 365 for Sales
Dynamics 365 Sales brings digital intelligence into every business. From tracking sales opportunities to providing insights, Dynamics 365 sales plays a pivotal role in building exceptional experiences by driving more qualified leads.
Pro Tip: Here’s what VP of Dynamics 365 in his own words about the power of D365 Sales when integrated with LinkedIn Sales.
“When you integrate LinkedIn Sales Insights with Dynamics 365 Sales you can automatically import the latest company profile data, such as size and growth of specific departments and job titles, from LinkedIn Sales Insights into a matched account in Dynamics 365, to help keep your data up to date,” said Alam, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Dynamics 365 during the April Wave 1 release updates.
- Actionable Insights
- Relationship Management
- Sales Productivity
- Sales Performance
Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
Dynamics 365 Customer Service empowers your customer service teams to respond quickly to customer requests and guide agents using agent-facing bots to surface relevant information and provide recommendations.
- Omni-channel engagement
- Unified Knowledge
Dynamics 365 for Field Service
Dynamics 365 Field Service time and again exceeds the customer satisfaction levels with intelligent scheduling, native mobile support and remote asset monitoring to help you accomplish tasks faster than estimated time.
From accurate billing to SLA management, you can build service agreements and manage them all from within the application.
- Service Agreements
- Inventory Management
Dynamics 365 for Retail (Commerce)
From giving customers the convenience and flexibility through its Omni-channel experience, Dynamics 365 for Retail (Commerce) is helping businesses understand the growing customer needs to engage.
- Unified Commerce
- Intelligent operations
- Customer Engagement
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
Get the most out of billable resources using a unified scheduling engine with real-time resource visibility using Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (Project Operations).
Some of the capabilities of Dynamics 365 PSA include,
-
- Project Planning
- Team Collaboration
- Opportunity Management
Dynamics 365 for Human Resources
Dynamics 365 for Human Resources is a comprehensive set of HR applications with Office and LinkedIn integration. It helps you hire the right talent by streamlining process using automated interview scheduling.
- Hiring the right talent
- HR Administration
Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce Comparison
In a highly competitive market, holding a major chunk of the user base consistently for years is no mean thing and Salesforce was able to do that effortlessly for quite some time now. While they continue to dominate the CRM segment, there’s also a lot of discussions around what the future has in store for the CRM giant? Because, Dynamics 365 is pacing up with functionalities that businesses of today are in need of. It’s deep integration capabilities and familiar interface is becoming the guiding light for businesses of all sizes. Not just that, Dynamics 365 offers advanced BI capabilities that can propel any business forward clearly becoming a direct choice for businesses to choose Dynamics 365 over Salesforce for their CRM needs.
While Salesforce is fully cloud-based, Dynamics 365 still having its traces on premise. Having a clear advantage of being able to support businesses that are on premise.
As we drill down into more advantages, the simple interface, seamless integration with other Microsoft suite of products is a clear competitive advantage for Dynamics 365 while Salesforce’s wide range of applications and plugins makes a better cut.
Dynamics 365 CRM for Small Business
There’s a common misconception to many of the early stage and small businesses is that, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is too big for business of their size and it is cost intensive. But if you look at the close proximity businesses today have with the technology, it is all because of cloud-technology. It has made life easy for businesses of all sizes.
Using Microsoft Dynamics 365, you can now have the privilege to choose applications on a subscription model. Which means, it requires no server setups, no dedicated systems or no infrastructure required to get your operations on the flow. Because, the cloud subscription comes all included. So, less hassle to your business which can translate to more productivity.
Dynamics CRM for Mid-level companies
Is Microsoft best fit for SMBs?
Well, to answer that, Microsoft caters to businesses of all sizes. As you know organization size often has a heavy influence on the technology requirements and the financial decisions in a company. While small businesses find a challenge in going with the right CRM for their business, mid-level companies or SMBs are relatively in a better position to afford Dynamics 365 for increased ROI.
Here are some of the reasons why businesses of all sizes should consider choosing Dynamics 365 for their CRM or ERP needs.
- Flexible Licensing Options
- Easy Integrations
- 24*7 Data Access (Anywhere & Anytime)
So, if you are looking at what Microsoft has for SMBs, it has designed a Business Edition for SMBs to address their key challenges.
What does it have?
- Inventory Management
- Financial Management
- Project Management
- Customer Service
- Sales & Support
Being a cloud-solution, any small and medium businesses (SMBs) can easily benefit and grow in size and number.
Dynamics 365 for Enterprises
Enterprise companies with over 250+ employee count are more likely to invest on technology to position themselves ahead of their competition. Because, the management clearly understands the need to have a robust security along with a process that can help them do their job better. With rising employee count, an enterprise resource planning software is essential for a seamless operational experience.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM services are meant to solve the challenges businesses of all kinds experience. It enables business productivity and help in accelerating digital transformation to meet customer growing needs.
Dynamics 365 for Healthcare
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Healthcare offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for the healthcare industry. Previously, healthcare consultations are more of in-person but with the on-going pandemic, the need for having a virtual consultation has become a major differentiator which has forced the industry to go digital. And that’s exactly where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Healthcare is making a significant difference is meeting the healthcare requirements on-the-go.
From virtual consultations to keeping track of patient information and data, healthcare industry is experiencing a super surge in admissions and discharge due to the on-going pandemic. So, with handling so much of volume at hand, health care professionals and organizations can leverage the full functionalities of Dynamics 365.
A recent survey has revealed that 93% of patients need timely access to their medical history. 71 % of patients have indicated that they expect healthcare specialists to provide care through a mutually-agreed digital channel of communication about all the information on decisions about the treatment.
Here’s what Dynamics 365 Healthcare is packed with
- Care Management
- Home Health
- Patient Access
- Patient Outreach
- Patient Service Centre
- Health Assistant
Related Blog: Top 5 Reasons to Use Microsoft Dynamics for Healthcare
Dynamics 365 for Manufacturing
Being a process-heavy industry, manufacturing industry is bound to experience huge volumes of data that can add significant value to business if only the information was put to good use. Thanks to the rising customer expectations and the need for digital transformation, the industry has seen a massive improvement in terms of their technological investments.
A report by IDC predicts that by 2020, 60% of all manufacturing supply chains will have benefited from digital transformation.
For over 2 decades, Microsoft has been at the forefront of operational management across the manufacturing companies. In fact, Manufacturing industry contributes to one of the highest share in the business verticals among the Dynamics users.
Let us know take a look at how Dynamics 365 for Manufacturing is helping businesses at large.
- Streamline Asset Management
- Digitalize Operations
- Improve Customer Experiences
- Increase On-Field Productivity
Related Blog: How to transform your Manufacturing Business with Microsoft Dynamics 365?
Dynamics 365 for Retail
Deliver safe and personalize shopping experiences across physical and digital channels using Dynamics 365 Retail – An Omni-channel solution with Point of Sale, Store and merchandise management capabilities that bring more dimensions to any retail business.
With Dynamics 365 Retail, you can leverage both CRM and ERP solutions as it allows retailers to have a complete view of business that includes, order history, customer data, pricing and a lot more all from a centralized system.
Here’s what retailers experience while using Dynamics 365 Retail
- Unified E-commerce
- Inventory Management (More feasible)
- Business Optimization based on Insights
- Create exceptional shopping experiences
Related Blog: Why Choose Dynamics 365 for Retail Business? – Reasons and Benefits
Dynamics 365 for Nonprofit
Microsoft is providing an out-of-the-box solution for Non-profit called Dynamics 365 Non-profit Accelerator. It is at the forefront of retail innovation by easily connecting and unifying customer-centric retail experiences with intelligent, adaptive business solutions.
Some of the pre-built features that Microsoft offers to the Non-profit users are.
- Pre-built dashboards
- Workflows
- Sample apps
- Templates
- Customer engagement
- Content management
- Data connectors
- Donor Profile
Dynamics 365 for Education
Schools can gain insights into student data with the help of Dynamics 365 integrated solutions, that allows them to help improve the learning standards of their students.
Here are some of the solutions Dynamics 365 has for education.
- Personalized student profiles
- Student Portal
- Cases, requests and ticketing
- Knowledge base for efficient service
Learn more about Dynamics 365 for Education
What’s new in Dynamics 365?
Last year has been quite a challenging year for all of us with the sudden emergence of the pandemic which affected businesses across all the industries. But, on the brighter side of it, it has forced businesses to go digital and there’s no better time than now to build digital capabilities to stay afloat.
Microsoft, in its pursuit of becoming an undisputed leader in the CRM segment, has come up with wave 1 release updates for the year, 2021. So, let’s quickly check out what’s new in Dynamics 365.
Connected Customer Experiences
Dynamics 365 is committed to deliver personalization at scale. From data insights to understanding customer preferences better, Dynamics 365 helps you find new ways to engage and delight customers with more of a human and empathetic approach.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing
Improved changes in customer journey orchestration brings customer experience and marketing automation together to engage customers in real-time across all the functions such as sales, commerce and service.
- Enhanced Integration with Teams bring new webinar capabilities within Microsoft Teams.
- Redesigned Email Editor helps business create impactful and personalized content powdered by AI.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
In order to guide sellers to close deals faster, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales has seen some major improvements to bring in productivity within the sales team in an organization during the Dynamics 365 Sales wave 1 release updates of 2021.
- Sellers can now automate time-consuming sales tasks
- Optimized seller workspace
- Embedded Teams chat within Dynamics 365
- Conversational Intelligence to auto extract actionable insights from sales calls.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service
Dynamics 365 Field Service + Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist + Microsoft Teams = Enabling on-field technicians to stay connected for work orders, information in real-time.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce brings Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) onto a single unified retail commerce platform to better understand, engage and serve customers.
Here are some of the new updates from wave 1 release update.
- New AI-powered intelligent shopping features for more personal and relevant shopping experiences.
- Synergize task management between D365 and Microsoft Teams to improve productivity.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
Dynamics 365 Finance has been consistently driving business growth by providing real-time insights, visibility into operations, predictive outcomes and data driven decisions for financial organizations.
Some of the most anticipated features from the recent wave 1 release are.
- Intelligent cash flow forecasting
- Power of AI into finance process (To help you predict company’s cash flow)
- New electronic invoicing service
- Public preview of tax calculation service.
Why choose DemandDynamics?
Whether you intend to integrate new apps with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or an existing stack, DemandDynamics is here to help.
To begin with, our team of experts evaluate your current and future needs to strategically align the Dynamics 365 implementation with your specific business goals and objectives to make sure we leave no coin unturned.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we provide the best Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consulting and Implementation services in the industry to meet your business needs with insights and expertise that increase productivity and drive digital transformation.
Our clients love our unique and scalable Pay-As-You-Use model that offers exclusive benefits when compared to traditional Microsoft engagement models.
Over the years, we have set ourselves ahead of the competition, only because, we are:
Affordable | Flexible | Scalable | Available | Agile
There’s no one-size-fits-for-all in the CRM industry. You can be a business of any size, small, medium or enterprise, we understand the hassle you have been through. Every business that is in dire need of a customized solution is no longer in the offing. It’s here.
FAQ on Dynamics 365
What is the difference between Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365?
Dynamics CRM is now Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) Until 2016, Dynamics CRM and Dynamics AX used to be two different products aimed at solving business problems. But now, after rebranding, Dynamics 365 is offering a suite of business solutions that includes both CRM and ERP solutions.
Who uses Microsoft Dynamics?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a widely popular CRM and ERP solution provider and is used across industries for streamlining business operations for improved return on investments. Some of the industries that use Dynamics 365 are, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Financial services, Retail, education and a more.
How do I access Dynamics CRM?
It depends on where your Dynamics CRM is hosted. If you are on premise, IFD (Internet Facing Deployment) through which you can access your Dynamics CRM.
What is Dynamics CRM Online?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online is a cloud-based business applications platform aimed at solving the business challenges through its customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 free?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is offering a free trail to all the first time users to have a hands-on experience of the product before they make a purchase. It is recommended that you connect with a partner for support while you begin to use the product.
What is included in Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
First things first. Dynamics CRM is now called Microsoft Dynamics 365. Some of the applications of Dynamics CRM are, Sales, Marketing, Field Service, Customer Service, Finance & Operations.
Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 hard to learn?
Not really. You may not want to learn the entire product suite of Dynamics 365 as it covers a wide array of industry wise business problems. The familiarity with Microsoft user interface makes it easier to learn compared to other solution providers.
Is Microsoft Dynamics hard to use?
While the implementation and integrations are to be handled by expert consultants, Dynamics 365 has a user-friendly interface which makes it easy for business users to switch through dashboards and reports in no-time.
How many Microsoft Dynamics customers are there?
Microsoft Dynamics has over 40,000+ customers and counting. It is one of the most sought after for CRM and ERP solution for business of all sizes.
How do I install Microsoft Dynamics 365?
For first time users, you will have to connect with an implementation partner who can get your installation setup done. If you are choosing applications outside of Microsoft suite of products, you can get them integrated to your CRM/ERP for having better insights on your overall business landscape.
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