Item: Microsoft Dynamics 365
Rating: 6
Author: Patrick Stephens

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I was asked to address the growing separation of marketing and sales at a local school (so, in this sense, sales will be considered Admissions). I needed to do several things 1) turn focus towards the completion of the job (leaving the small, menial tasks to the machine), 2) coordinate a way for both marketing and admissions to work together, knowing how well the other department is doing without interference, and 3) ensure quality standards were met when employee retention was a major issue. Microsoft Dynamics was used briefly through a sister account to observe how new employees would take to it, as well as see how currently long-time employees would take to it (reverting to old ways or moving towards the product).

Pros and Cons

Data unification - "one stop shop"
Adaptable pay structure, with customization options

Not new user friendly, nearly impossible to train someone new in it without them losing interest

Return on Investment

If you know your stuff, this product does just fine. They are always adapting (aren't they all, always?), so expect it to grow and for you to grow with it.
Don't expect new employees, or places with high turnover, to ease into this product quickly, or even on a moderate time table.

Alternatives Considered

HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM and Brightpearl

Microsoft Dynamics was part of a system overhaul for a local school, and we looked at many products. If we had used it for a company with low turnover, then it might have been more feasible. They needed something a new person could learn quickly, someone who might also be learning marketing terms at the same time - especially if there is nobody to train the individual now expected to know the system. Similar issues occurred with all of these programs (we called it being too big for their britches), and one of the bigger things we liked was that it is more compatible with MS Office products in both technical and visual appeal. If you have a steady employees who use a CRM consistently, low turnover, and those who are very familiar with Office products, Dynamics would be the smartest option for you. Unfortunately, this was just not true for the school environment.

Other Software Used

HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, iContact Pro Select

Likelihood to Recommend

All told, if it hadn't been for the fact that we were testing it with both employees who knew CRM lingo and those who were new, we wouldn't have found such an issue. The program itself can be very useful for people who already manage CRMs, who know how to use them, who know how to run and manage employees on them, namely because of the "one-stop-shop" concept in data visibility. When it came down to it though, if you have high-turnover, then this product will devolve into only being used for it's base components. Down the middle, we found that the people who'd been in marketing for 4-5 years fell into the product easily because of the way it was written. Everyone before that, with novice experience, thought it was written like a textbook for a graduate class - little to no leeway if you don't happen to know one specific term.

Dynamics - Perfect for a Seasoned Team with Low Turnover

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly Microsoft Dynamics CRM)