Dynamics Sports SIG, Led By Pro Baseball Team, Seeks to Maximize Effectiveness of Microsoft Dynamics CRM

The Toledo Mud Hens, a professional minor league baseball team, is in the midst of massively streamlining its own operations by integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM software with its accounting, ticketing, food and beverage and other customer-focused systems. Yet the organization wants to share its experience with other sports teams, so its assistant general manager, Scott Jeffer, is chairing a new Sports Special Interest Group [SIG], with a little help from Microsoft and the independent CRM User Group [CRMUG]. 

"The reason for this group is that sports teams, on the technical side, are kind of old school," says Jeffer, who's been with the Mud Hens for 16 seasons. "There are a lot of teams with the same problems, whether they're NFL, majors or minors: tickets [sales] are separate from merchandising, separate from accounting, food and beverage and email fan clubs. A sports team could literally have six different spots where the same customer could be listed - and they have so many different ways to have interactions with customers. That's what has spearheaded this whole thing."

The goal for Jeffer - and for CRMUG, which sponsors the group - is to provide an open forum where teams and vendors can discuss strategies and best practices for integrating disparate systems in an effort to bring about some much-needed synergies in sports organizations. The Sports SIG is not limited to discussions around CRM, says Jeffer. Topics will also include related Microsoft business platforms like Dynamics GP, AX and NAV and their integration capabilities to revenue-generating systems like ticket sales, merchandising sales, food & beverage sales and email newsletter services.

"Lots of teams are considering different programs and different systems like ticketing, so we ...