The benefits of a customer portal integration with Dynamics GP include delivering one of the best possible customer experiences. Most B2B websites deliver straightforward information, but an integrated portal raises the bar to make delivering information a competitive activity. Portals make customers feel as though the information is provided as an exclusive benefit. Customers get the information that is most important to them in a highly accessible format. The American Marketing Association, or AMA, found that 55 percent of respondents preferred a customer portal for support services and information over other customer service options. B2B customers who initiate Live Chat on a portal placed orders three times more often than other customers. [1] Improve Customer Engagement with an Integrated Portal B2B decision-makers can improve customer engagement with an integrated portal. integration is the key to building a responsive portal system for customers. People simply like them better than standard interfaces because they demonstrate that companies care about their business. Customers can use their portals even when they don't have an internet connection. The benefits of portals for increasing customer engagement include: Faster Ordering and Tracking Customers can place orders on their portals without needing to make multiple entries. The portal remembers buying history and can duplicate a previous order or parts of it instantly. All relevant information is stored including multiple shipping addresses and preferred shipping methods. Customers can also check the status of their orders without remembering tracking numbers. Document Management When companies need documentation for extending credit or meeting engineering specifications, these can be requested and sent through the secure portal system. Meeting Customer Expectations The Microsoft 2016 Global State of Customer Service Report revealed that 90 percent of customers expect a self-service customer portal. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations helps to foster brand loyalty and deliver raw data in customized ways to suit the needs of each customer. Companies can provide an "Amazon" kind of experience that includes lists of previous orders, delivery schedules, prices, breakdowns by shipments to delivery addresses and product recommendations based on previous orders. Better Segmentation B2B buyers can be very different and need different content strategies. For example, buyers for small companies might make quick, impulse buys while committee buyers need to get approvals from different decision-makers and create a purchase order. Segmentation allows companies to deliver more responsive marketing based on information from multiple integrated sources including social media and buyer profiles. Streamlining the Ordering Process Portals can be designed to engage buyers with custom branding, company logos and complementary color schemes. The effort can give B2B companies an exclusive "in" with their buyers, but it's the streamlining of the ordering process that will keep buyers loyal. The portal system allows buyers to engage with a given company on their own schedules. Support services Customers can find personalized support services such as CPQ, or configure price quote, software that enables them to request self-service quotes. Companies can also offer a variety of customer service options such as FAQs, Live Chat and AI-powered chatbot technology. These options not only delight customers but also reduce costs and traffic in call centers. Automate and Improve Business Processes Through integration Companies can automate and improve business processes through integration, and all these innovations can connect directly to the portal system for instant updates and real-time information. The benefits of integration include both operational and customer service benefits such as the following: Security-enhanced access for customers and sales staff to share information Reductions in customer service issues Greater accuracy in order fulfillment Personalized marketing that delivers the right message at the right time Easier ordering to increase conversion rates Streamlined approval processes for special requests and getting customer decision-maker approvals Empowering employees to request time off, schedule vacation time and make changes to their records Building dashboards for B2B stakeholders and staff to streamline management operations Eliminating multiple reporting systems by building a centralized database in the cloud Dynamic Point and SharePoint Technologies An experienced developer can use the Business Portal for Dynamics GP and Windows SharePoint Service to build a customer or stakeholder portal to save time and money. [2] Dynamic Point uses SharePoint because the portal already has most of the features incorporated into the technology, which further reduces costs. [4] For a custom integration, all that's needed is to integrate any siloed systems and business applications and to ensure that the architectural design of the API layer supports a robust integration. Clarity, a Dynamics Certified Partner, has ready-made connectors for both eConnect and Web services integrations with GP. Choose Your Developer Based on Simple Cost-Value Propositions Cost-value analyses have long been used in business planning, and they work well when choosing a developer for your integration project. It's best to choose an experienced developer in building B2B platforms and customer portals. Clarity has an enviable reputation for building high-profile platforms and customer portals for both business and e-health portals. The company understands the security issues and collaborates with your staff to train them in ecommerce best practices. Clarity also has its own connectors for GP out-of-the-box, coding resources, collaborative relationships with software developers and collaborative skills to deliver your project on time and within budget. References: [1] Technologyadvice.com: The CX Factor: Customer Experience in B2B Web Portals https://technologyadvice.com/blog/sales/customer-experience-b2b-web-portals/ [2] Nextdyn.com: Microsoft Dynamics GP http://www.nextdyn.com/business_portal.htm