A small business competitive advantage has always been the ability to react and respond far faster to business conditions than a larger organization. Some consumers actually prefer to deal with a small business because they have a perception of a more personalized "better" service than from a larger company.

They are in some cases, prepared to pay a premium for that service. One reason for this is that in a smaller business, the decision makers are closer to the customers and have a more direct link to the trading pulse.

For short term decision making, this "intuitive" feel for what is actually happening gave managers and owners the ability to make decisions such as dropping a stock item, identifying a buying trend long before their counterparts in big business or simply physically being there to give a customer a refund if they have an issue. Many providers of customer relationship software, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, have recognized that there is a market for this solution across the spectrum of businesses.

As technology has taken hold and information is flying around faster and faster, larger businesses have been able to respond to market conditions much more rapidly and this small business "competitive advantage" has been eroded over time. Using technology, big business has been able to develop and deploy Customer Relationship Software solutions at a huge cost, way beyond the means of small to medium sized companies.

Traditional reporting methods always had a major fault - they were out of date by the time they got into the hands of whoever needed the information. They look back at what has happened but they do not give you "what is happening now" information.

Customers increasingly expect that their suppliers will know who they are and what their needs are, while those staff in customer facing roles will want to know what a customer is talking about when they call to say "We didn't get our delivery yesterday as promised!" At this moment it is not only the customer that is demanding a better service, it is the poor customer representative wishing they could deal with the customers issue and have the information to make a good decision.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM takes the view that a good decision in this context means one that the customer likes and brings them back again!

If a customer service representative who has never had contact with the customer before can say something like "We dispatched it to you as promised with FedEx but we'll chase them up and call you back right away." Does that not go a long way to mollifying an otherwise irate customer? What does that do for your business relationship with that customer?

Consider which business you as a customer would be happier with; a company that resolves your issues with a "We'll get back to you when we know what's happened" after you call to find out why your delivery didn't turn up or one that contacts you beforehand to say "We did send this out to you yesterday but we are calling you to say it will be late because our delivery truck was struck in traffic, it is on the way though and we're sorry for the inconvenience."

This is what a Microsoft Dynamics software solution can deliver - the ability to be forward thinking, to be proactive and not reactive to customer situations so your customers see and feel they are getting a good, if not exceptional service.

A customer perception of a business is largely based on how well they believe they are taken care of after they purchase your product or service. With a Microsoft CRM software solution there is an opportunity to enhance your business image and reputation in the minds of prospects and consumers by ensuring that everyone in your business is in a position to deal with customer issues promptly, effectively and knowledgeably whether they are initial enquiry, pre-sale, delivery, or post-sale issues.

As the market for Customer Relationship Software solutions has developed, scaled down versions of enterprise class CRM solutions have been developed specifically to meet small and mid-range business' needs and their check books. Implementing a Microsoft CRM solution in a small or medium sized business empowers them to recover the competitive advantage differential they have by natural reference to their size and proximity to their customer base. Out goes the rolodex and in comes the networked PC, and now a customer can be tracked from being a prospect, through to becoming a qualified sales opportunity to order and from there on as a valued business customer. At the same time everyone within that business can access the information when they need it (usually when the customer is on the phone), whatever they are doing, sales, dispatch, customer service or management, and wherever they are, at Head Office or on the road with a cell phone and laptop.