MHUG 2023 ConferenceCustomer relationship management, or CRM, platforms help companies and agencies manage all interactions with end-users and clients. While popular cloud CRM platforms were developed for enterprise sales organizations, there is plenty of automation that can benefit government departments and agencies as well.
How can your department’s CRM help leaders and staff do more with less? It’s a question that software leaders and developers hear all the time. With more stakeholders and consumers anticipating that most (if not all) of their interaction with government departments can take place online, you and your team can help automate and streamline those processes by way of your CRM.
Customizing Your CRM
A CRM on its own is essentially an interface, and a blank slate when it’s installed. A flexible CRM should serve as more than an account-level record of an end user’s name, address, phone number, etc. Ideally, it can streamline a variety of processes across your entire organization or office.
Imagine, for example, that a stakeholder submits documentation, makes a payment, or completes some other action online. That action could trigger email notifications to planners, plan reviewers, and so forth. Coding those event triggers upstream in your CRM improves workflows across departments, cuts down on human errors, and greatly reduces processing times for a variety of tasks.
Custom Fields and Metadata
Metadata is a very broad term, and in this case, it applies to the data that define the backbone of your system. Most systems (including ours) are initially installed with the same set of metadata fields, forms, and tables.
However, depending on your individual requirements, custom fields and tables can be automated to run simple tasks, such as calculate fees. Using Microsoft Dynamics, we have the ability to build plug-ins within a very stable and trusted platform to tailor and automate functions at the account or citizen level.
Improve Cross-Departmental Interactions Automatically
Before cloud computing, governments had to spend millions on building software and APIs internally to connect various back ends together. Governments also had to hire internal talent to update and modify those APIs regularly, costing even more in time and resources.
Today, third-party software architects assume those hardware and talent costs. It’s far easier and more cost-effective than ever to increase the functionality of critical systems like your CRM without increasing budgets.
For example, our team is already experienced at leveraging Microsoft Dynamics Advanced to develop queries and data sets to tailor interfaces, views, charts, and dashboards exactly how you need them. Whether you need to build reports, update a record across multiple departments, or more, our FastTrackGov® (FTG) platform enables better cross-functional collaboration without those costly upgrades.
Working with our team gives government officials a “best of both worlds” solution. We have plenty of experience introducing automation and workflow solutions for public and civic institutions, with the knowledge base and technical resources of an enterprise cloud software provider. We can customize a solution that applies to your specific needs, while maintaining and upgrading it over time, ensuring that your data and records remain secure and compliant.
Ready to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a free demo.