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2 min read

4 timely tips to track your notes and activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you use activities to keep track of all your customer communications.

For example, you can take notes, send email, make phone calls, set up appointments, and assign yourself tasks as you work a sale or resolve a service case. These actions are all considered types of activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Most people in sales or service add notes and CRM activities to customer records several times each day.

So how do you make sure you capture your notes and activities in the best way possible?

Here are 4 tips to help you enter notes and activities correctly:

  1. Add an activity for every customer interaction. Make sure a customer’s record includes an activity for every communication you have with them. You and other people on your team can scroll through the activities on the customer’s record to find out the history, so you aren’t blindsided as you’re working a deal or resolving a service case.

            

2. Use the right activity type for the action. It may be tempting to enter a new note that says, “Sent an email to confirm pricing,” or “Called to discuss their service case.” However, you should add an email or phone call activity to track those types of actions, and use notes for more general text.

3. Add activities for yourself, too. You can keep track of your own assignments, events, and notes without associating these activities with a customer record. Use the Create command, which is available on the nav bar from anywhere in the system. Find your own activities in the list by sorting on the Regarding column, which will be blank to let you know that the activity isn’t associated with a customer record.

          

4. Keep in mind that activities “roll up” under their associated records. Let’s say you want to remind yourself to follow up with Chris Preston, a contact who’s associated with the account, Imported Sports. You’ll need to add the task activity to the contact record for Chris (not for the account, Imported Sports).

That way, your task will “roll up” under the account automatically, and you and the people on your team will see the task when they’re looking at the contact, and when they’re looking at the account for Imported Sports.

More resources for CRM training

Looking for more self-paced training for Microsoft Dynamics CRM? Check out the CRM Basics eBook for a quick run-down of essentials for new users. 

Or, if you’re responsible for training in your organization, you can use an editable Word version of the eBook as your starting point, and customize it to create your own instructor-led training. The Training and Adoption Kit also includes other great content that you can customize to fit your needs.

Adapted from eBook: CRM Basics

Shelly Haverkamp
Senior Content Developer / User BFF