performance. To manage its sales Situation and marketing pipeline, U.S. SMS&P Microsoft’s Small and Mid-market uses a complex system of databases, Solutions & Partners (SMS&P) group CRM solutions, and lead routing is a sales, marketing and partner tools to monitor a lead from management organization within beginning to end. Microsoft North America (MSNA) which helps Microsoft, its customers, One challenge U.S. SMS&P faced and industry partners realize the involved the tracking and significant opportunity for growth in management of its lead data across the small and midmarket business multiple databases and business segments. Within SMS&P, Sales and processes. With complex marketing Marketing operations focus on and sales processes, numerous managing the marketing and sales databases with parent-child execution through process, systems, relationships, and a variety of manual and tools. processing steps, generating a holistic view of the sales and As Heather Whitman, U.S. SMS&P’s marketing pipeline became quite a Marketing and Program challenge. The group’s lead Manager, describes it, “My group’s management required multiple priority is focusing on the customer handoffs between systems and experience and really making that organizations, including telesales experience everything it should be. operations, field marketing and sales, We look at the scalability of our Microsoft partners, and product processes and tools, the ability to segments. This created an train our individuals, our business environment for managing intelligence, and our partners’ data and processes. solutions to better know our customers and what their needs are.” Developing a comprehensive picture of its lead pipeline was no small task. A critical component of the Sales and “If you could imagine a dozen Marketing Operations Team’s databases and another dozen responsibilities is lead manual processes that are required supervision of the group’s to convert a marketing lead to a marketing and sales opportunities, customer sales engagement,” you from marketing and initial begin to understand the scope of the identification through the sales challenge, says Kevin Nohl, Business process to eventual sale or close. Manager, U.S SMS&P. Lead This information is used by both management data was scattered sales and marketing stakeholders to across a number of disparate reports, plan campaigns, pursue each managed by different groups. opportunities, and evaluate
Situation Microsoft’s Small and Mid-market Solutions & Partners (SMS&P) group is a sales, marketing and partner management organization within Microsoft North America (MSNA) which helps Microsoft, its customers, and industry partners realize the significant opportunity for growth in the small and midmarket business segments. Within SMS&P, Sales and Marketing operations focus on managing the marketing and sales execution through process, systems, and tools. As Heather Whitman, U.S. SMS&P’s Marketing and Program Manager, describes it, “My group’s priority is focusing on the customer experience and really making that experience everything it should be. We look at the scalability of our processes and tools, the ability to train our individuals, our business intelligence, and our partners’ solutions to better know our customers and what their needs are.” A critical component of the Sales and Marketing Operations Team’s responsibilities is lead supervision of the group’s marketing and sales opportunities, from marketing and initial identification through the sales process to eventual sale or close. This information is used by both sales and marketing stakeholders to plan campaigns, pursue opportunities, and evaluate performance. To manage its sales and marketing pipeline, U.S. SMS&P uses a complex system of databases, CRM solutions, and lead routing tools to monitor a lead from beginning to end. One challenge U.S. SMS&P faced involved the tracking and management of its lead data across multiple databases and business processes. With complex marketing and sales processes, numerous databases with parent-child relationships, and a variety of manual processing steps, generating a holistic view of the sales and marketing pipeline became quite a challenge. The group’s lead management required multiple handoffs between systems and organizations, including telesales operations, field marketing and sales, Microsoft partners, and product segments. This created an environment for managing data and processes. Developing a comprehensive picture of its lead pipeline was no small task. “If you could imagine a dozen databases and another dozen manual processes that are required to convert a marketing lead to a customer sales engagement,” you begin to understand the scope of the challenge, says Kevin Nohl, Business Manager, U.S SMS&P. Lead management data was scattered across a number of disparate reports, each managed by different groups.
MicrosoftSMSP_Visio2010_CS.docx