Less talk. More awesome. It's time to change the CRM conversation.

We all know the CRM industry has had its share of bluster and puffery. Our customers want something better. They want substance. They want to know that they're talking to a vendor that has their best interests in mind instead of their own top line. What these customers need is less talk and more awesome.

Announcing the launch of an awesome site

So that's what we've done. Just whipped up a little bit of awesomeness at <www.crmawesome.com>. It's pretty awesome.

It's awesome because it's real, and addresses the real issues that CRM decision makers think about when making a CRM buying decision. We've gone head-on to address some of the biggest issues in the CRM world today, and confronted them with a Microsoft point of view (POV), and supported them with customer evidence, analyst quotes and reports, primary and secondary research, and our own executives laying out a vision for the future. As the issues change, we'll change the site. As new issues surface, we'll address those too. Overall, we want to provide our customers value in an advisory capacity.

Helping you compete and win

This resource is aimed at helping you compete out there: dropping some landmines at the feet of our competition in the form of questions every decision maker should be asking their vendors, and providing you with Microsoft’s answers to these same questions.It’s awesome. We’ve included the recently launched CRM TestDrive, which makes all of this awesome-r.

We’ve kicked off the awesome with five important topics:

· The user experience. In the post entitled, “LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT,” we address the fact that your front-line people are your brand, and the user experience that supports their work matters a whole lot. Learn about what drives usability in a CRM solution, and what you can do to drive user adoption, acceptance, and in turn a great customer experience.

· Marketing automation. In “IS YOUR CRM SOLUTION CMO-READY?” we address the challenge that the proliferation of channels, including social and mobile, imposes upon marketing leaders. Learn why the right marketing foundation that supports the entire marketing lifecycle across all channels matters, and what you can do about it.

· Data security and privacy in the cloud. In “TRUST AND THE CLOUD: ARE YOU OPERATING WITHOUT A NET?” we offer direct guidance on the issues that are sometimes easy miss with cloud services that are so readily available. When it comes to CRM in the cloud, learn what you need to know to avoid issues such as data security, privacy, compliance, and data loss.

· Mobile CRM. In “A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MOBILE: PEOPLE FIRST,” we propose that companies don’t need an iPhone app, or a Windows Mobile app. Instead, their people need the information they need, when they need it, wherever they are. Learn some tips and tricks to ensure that your business’ – and your people’s – needs come first.

· Social and CRM. In “SOCIAL IS A CHANNEL, NOT A SILVER BULLET,” we share our view that “social CRM” is really just CRM. Check this topic out to learn best practices from other CRM decision makers and their experiences (and pitfalls) in incorporating social functionality with CRM.

--Kevin