Nonprofit Centralizes Data Management through Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

June 21, 2022 Ken Jacobsen

Nonprofit Centralizes Data Management through Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

The Client
A non-profit health care association based in the Midwest that specializes in patient advocacy, particularly for those experiencing economic hardship or other life circumstances that prevent them from accessing basic health services. Its mission as a non-profit is to improve the quality, affordability and value of health care for families in the region and help communities establish community health centers through customized training and staffing resources. 

 

The Challenge
For a business to be successful and make effective decisions, data visibility is essential. One way to go about this is to make data available to everyone, a process known as data democratization. Through democratization, users — regardless of their specialty —not only have the ability to gather data but to interpret it as well.

To achieve it, however, data must be centralized. But that was the central problem for our client — their data was all over the place. The client had a tremendous volume of data, but it was all stored in disconnected, disparate systems, which were siloed off from one another. These included online registration and portal systems, contact information kept in employees’ Microsoft Outlook applications and Access databases. The fact that there was no hierarchical structure to their data made effective management and decision-making next to impossible.  

In addition to seeking a solution that would put all their data into a central warehouse, the client also wanted a solution that would help them manage their events. A substantial portion of the non-profit’s funding derives from fundraisers, conferences and seminars held throughout the year. Each requires a great deal of planning and coordination. Thus, the client sought a solution that would help to better organize these gatherings as well as other initiatives, such as for peer group calls and grant programs. 

 

The Solution
Given our client’s needs, The TM Group recommended  Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Marketing. Part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM family of applications, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service helps to streamline customer interactions so that they’re all kept in one convenient, centralized place. The Customer Service application also helps users to visualize data and identify trends as well as manage and keep track of events.

Much like the Customer Service application, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing — which is also a CRM product —  is replete with features that improve business performance. But we recommended Marketing specifically for how it deals with data, helping users to personalize data and collect it. Additionally, the Marketing application assists with event planning by providing the flexibility to bring in data from other systems with minimal coding. It makes event promotion simpler through the email marketing feature that the application includes.

We also strongly suggested Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice. Customer Voice is a tool that a wide variety of patient or customer-centric businesses use to gain instantaneous insights about their customers’ experience through questionnaires, surveys and polls. If our client wanted to get participants’ opinions about events they intended, Customer Voice makes survey development simple.

Finally, better grant management was another priority for our client. The TM Group development team built a custom application for grant management in Dynamics 365 PowerApps, which is a suite of apps that allows any business to connect their data to their underlying data platform. The custom app for grant management would allow the client to report on details inside the grant, what the grant provided in terms of funding and what those funds would go toward.

 

The Results

The client agreed with all of our suggestions and we went forward with the implementations shortly thereafter. With the respective Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions now in place, the client is now in a better place — as is its data. With Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Marketing, the client has been able to replace old data silos with individual Microsoft Outlooks, multiple custom Access databases and online portal systems. This has helped eliminate redundant data entry between systems and made reporting as well as information management easier and more streamlined across the entirety of the non-profit. 

Additionally, Dynamics 365 Marketing has been a huge help with event planning by enabling the client to send off notification emails to the relevant stakeholders all at once. The application has also assisted with team meetings, webinars, virtual conferences and in-person events. 

Troubleshooting and problem resolution has gotten better through Microsoft solutions as well. Prior to the implementation, the client had no system for technical support requests. But now they’re using CRM Cases to not just assign requests but track them so they can identify how close problems are to a resolution. 

Whether you’re looking to make smarter business decisions, do more with your data or do a little bit of everything better when it comes to management, The TM Group can help. For more information on any of the solutions mentioned here, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing, please contact us today. 

 

Leave a Reply