Sign in
Microsoft.com
 
Microsoft
 
 
 

locked
Use Appointment activity to track past face to face interactions with customers? RRS feed

 > 

  • Question

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    Many interactions with customers and prospects occur at conferences when they visit our exhibit booth. We create notes in a document based on those often random interactions, and now we want to move those notes and link them to their "owners" in the CRM. I'm trying to figure out the best way to record these notes. We need something to be reportable, so a Note won't work. Is an Appointment (marked complete) the most appropriate option?

    I read in many places that creating an appointment for, say, a contact IN the CRM and then entering notes within the body is a safe way to record feedback and impressions from face to face conversations. I'm just so nervous that somehow that appointment will get pushed out to the contact in question and one of our customers will have access to potentially embarrassing information. 

    Is there no better way to capture face to face conversations? Like, the personal version of a Phone Call activity?

    Tuesday, July 22, 2014 9:49 PM

Answers

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    So Appointments would be safe, especially if you import them from a spreadsheet.  Then you can set the status in advance to completed so it won't be active.

    Alternately, you could create a custom activity entity type of "Event Interaction" or the like.  By doing this, you can segregate out event notes from actual appointments when you do reporting if needed.  It might also help you do things like help demonstrate where your business is coming from.

    [EDIT] One thing that just occurred to me, you could make a Campaign for each event and then use the Campaign Response for each person talked to.  That might also work, especially if you want to have better reporting on lead/sales sources.

    The postings on this site are solely my own and do not represent or constitute Hitachi Solutions' positions, views, strategies or opinions.

    • Edited by Wayne Walton Tuesday, July 22, 2014 10:58 PM more info
    • Marked as answer by Kelly Delaney Tuesday, August 5, 2014 4:46 PM
    Tuesday, July 22, 2014 10:53 PM

All replies

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    So Appointments would be safe, especially if you import them from a spreadsheet.  Then you can set the status in advance to completed so it won't be active.

    Alternately, you could create a custom activity entity type of "Event Interaction" or the like.  By doing this, you can segregate out event notes from actual appointments when you do reporting if needed.  It might also help you do things like help demonstrate where your business is coming from.

    [EDIT] One thing that just occurred to me, you could make a Campaign for each event and then use the Campaign Response for each person talked to.  That might also work, especially if you want to have better reporting on lead/sales sources.

    The postings on this site are solely my own and do not represent or constitute Hitachi Solutions' positions, views, strategies or opinions.

    • Edited by Wayne Walton Tuesday, July 22, 2014 10:58 PM more info
    • Marked as answer by Kelly Delaney Tuesday, August 5, 2014 4:46 PM
    Tuesday, July 22, 2014 10:53 PM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Thanks Wayne! That was really helpful!
    Tuesday, July 22, 2014 11:58 PM