Customer relationship Management: War cause among Microsoft and Salesforce

CRM or customer relationship management is instrumental for any company to keep their clientele satisfied and thus make business. Whether we make an account in bank or buy a cooking utensil, customer relationship executives are always there to sort out our problems. But have we ever imagined the expanse of CRM line-up and how crucial it is for software giants. Recent news about Microsoft and Salesforce has insisted me to think about it deeply.

The customer relationship management software makes a huge market among the firms selling either products or services. Every firm requires CRM programs and it is an integral part of a firm’s business expansion. A good CRM policy not only satisfies existing customer, but also brings hope to make new customers.

Microsoft Corporation, of late, has modified its pricing strategy for CRM software to entice more customers. This recent aggressive move in prices by Microsoft is solely meant to weaken its rival; Salesforce Inc.

Presently Microsoft fetches an amount of $ 9.3 billion in the market of customer relationship management software. The company ranks fourth in this market and is trying desperately to boost it profile. To fulfill this objective, Microsoft has lowered the price of its CRM software to seize greater market share than before. Similar tools for CRM are provided by enterprises like Oracle Corp, Saleaforce, SAP AG etc. The new pricing policy of Microsoft has made its product cheaper compared to the products offered by rest. This is a sure leverage for Microsoft’s business as it hoes to fair well in this market.

The response of Salesforce chief marketing officer, over the new pricing strategy of Microsoft’s customer relationship management software is extremely sarcastic. He has referred to the unsatisfactory performance of Microsoft’s Mp3 players, and expects the same to happen for CRM as well.

In response to this mocking comment by Saleforce, Microsoft has illustrated the price-to-value of its new product named Dynamics CRM. Internet-based software, Dynamics CRM, is set to be marketed in 40 countries and it comes in 41 different languages. The singularity of the product lies in its flexibility in customization and configuration. Microsoft is hoping this feature of flexibility to be the driving force for grabbing a high market share in CRM software.

Time will speak the truth as firms begin to deploy Dynamics CRM for their customer relationship management.