Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog: Web Sales with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace- Case Studies

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Источник: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/crm/archive/...rketplace.aspx
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PowerObjects

PowerObjects is a Microsoft partner with deep expertise in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Although the company focuses on providing consulting and implementation services, its add-on solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM remain attractive to customers and partners alike. When Microsoft launched the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, PowerObjects was quick to recognize the opportunity. After making its add-ons available on the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, PowerObjects now receives around four to six trial subscriptions per day, of which 3 percent convert to sales and even large-scale deployments of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Through the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, the company aims to drive recurring revenue of U.S.$50,000 per month and has made an effort to do so without having to build a new sales channel or changing its business model as a value added reseller.


What we have found with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace is that even our small $1 to $2 sales can lead to 100-seat to 1,000-seat deployments of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.Jim Sheehan,
COO and Partner, PowerObjects
Business Opportunity

With a team of 70, PowerObjects focuses solely on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As a Microsoft partner, PowerObjects has a gold competency in Customer Relationship Management in the Microsoft Partner Network and achieved 2011 Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics for its year-over-year revenue growth with the solution.

Although PowerObjects is a value-added-reseller (VAR) and drives revenue primarily though consulting and deployment services, the company also develops a range of add-on solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM that help meet specific customer needs. When Microsoft launched the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, an online lead generation tool that helps partners showcase and sell their best add-ons for Microsoft Dynamics, PowerObjects saw it as a perfect opportunity to market its solutions directly to customers.

“Customers and partners alike were always approaching us to use our add-ons, but as a VAR, we didn’t have the resources or sales channel needed to effectively deliver,” explains Jim Sheehan, COO and Partner at PowerObjects. “After the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace launched, however, we had a solution. It provided a place we could market our add-ons. And, we didn’t have to build out a sales channel, which let us continue to focus the efforts of our team on our consulting and implementation services.”



Online Strategy

To get the most out of the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, PowerObjects chose to offer a free, 30-day trial for its add-ons. Potential customers can register for the trial by clicking a button that appears in the listing for each solution. After they click, they can download the add-on and install it themselves.

To maximize conversions of the leads generated though the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, PowerObjects added a subscription reminder to the trial versions. When using the add-on, an initial pop-up window prompts customers, asking if they would like to continue with the 30-day trial or subscribe to the full solution.

Driving conversion to the full solution, PowerObjects also priced its solutions competitively at only U.S.$1 to $2 per user per month. And whether customers try the trial or subscribe, the add-ons send information back to PowerObjects’s own Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution, where staff track and analyze leads and sales for future sales and marketing efforts. And to support customers of its add-ons, PowerObjects has also set up a LinkedIn group.

“Customers who are buying add-ons online have a certain expectation: They don’t want to talk to a salesperson and they want to be able to click to try the solution, install it themselves, and then, if they like it, click again to buy it,” says Sheehan. “With the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, we were able to provide that experience.”

Benefits

By providing its add-ons on the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, PowerObjects now receives four to six trial subscriptions per day, of which 3 percent convert to sales. Although this may seem like a small number, it fits well into PowerObjects business model. Says Sheehan, “As a VAR, we’re really looking to provide consulting and implementation services. What we have found with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace is that even our small $1 to $2 sales can lead to 100-seat to 1,000-seat deployments of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.”

Sheehan goes on to note that the company is seeing exponential growth in the sales of its add-ons through the marketplace, however, and expects the add-ons themselves to become a healthy stream of recurring revenue. He says, “Our plan is to control 10,000 seats of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and earn $5 in revenue per seat per month through our Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace listings, and we’re on track to get there in the next year.” This comes to a total of U.S.$50,000 in monthly, recurring revenue.

About PowerObjects
Founded in 1993 as a two-person development and consulting firm, PowerObjects has since grown into a multimillion-dollar product and service company specializing in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Headquartered in Minneapolis, PowerObjects has satellite offices in Dallas and St. Louis.

Today, PowerObjects has more than 70 employees and is one of the largest Microsoft partners that focuses exclusively on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Attributed to its success, PowerObjects focuses on educating and listening to its clients. From this success, the company established itself as a member of the 2011 Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics.

Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace Listing: dynamics.pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-US/PartnerDetails.aspx?PartnerId=4296455411

About the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace
The Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace is an online service designed to help customers find trusted Microsoft Dynamics experts, applications, and services that enhance and easily integrate with Microsoft Dynamics solutions.

Powered by the Microsoft Pinpoint platform, the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace provides greater visibility to Microsoft partners. With the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, customers can search partners, applications, and services by product, business issue, or location. With listings to serve customers both locally and worldwide, finding the right Microsoft Dynamics expert, application, or service is easier than ever.

For More Information
To learn more about the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, visit: dynamics.pinpoint.microsoft.com/GetListed





Источник: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/crm/archive/...rketplace.aspx