Marketing is one of the three main areas of Microsoft® Dynamics CRM. The Marketing area, or module as it is frequently called, enables you to centralize your marketing operations and access your data in the same application that you use for your sales and service operations. In addition to centralizing marketing data and operations, the Marketing module also enables you to utilize marketing automation and campaign management to boost your bottom line. The extensibility of Dynamics CRM provides the added benefit of allowing you to incorporate various third-party marketing solutions, such as Constant Contact, to enhance your marketing capabilities.
Marketing Module Introduction – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Video
The video below, provided by Microsoft Partner xRM.com, gives you an introduction to the Marketing module within Dynamics CRM. It provides salient information for Dynamics CRM beginners navigating through the Marketing module. The video describes, in greater detail, the differences and uses for Quick Campaigns, Campaigns, Marketing Lists, and how to create Activities within each of those entities.
Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Marketing
The marketing capabilities of Dynamics CRM provide solid tools for attracting new customers, retaining the ones you have, and growing your business. Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help improve efficiency through powerful collaboration and workflow tools. To increase the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns, knowing what is working allows you to invest your time wisely. The main tools with which Dynamics CRM users can improve their marketing efforts are marketing automation, campaign management, and analytics.
Bill Patterson, Microsoft Dynamics CRM program management architect, explains the benefit of marketing automation. “In today’s economic climate, [businesses] want to get back to growth mode. Automation is about productivity savings. Growth is about the new generation. Marketing is nexus of that.” The Marketing module helps your marketing team to assign, schedule, and track marketing campaign activities and measure campaign performance. The reporting and analysis tools in Dynamics CRM allow you to gain a deeper understanding of what your customers are saying. It provides the critical insight you need to provide efficient customer engagement and react quickly to changes in the marketplace.
Because of the extensibility of Dynamics CRM, frequently referred to as xRM, you can also use it as a platform onto which you can integrate powerful third-party solutions. A topical example of this type of extensibility is the xRM Constant Contact Integration tool from xRM.com, which allows you to manage your marketing lists within CRM, sync them with your Constant Contact account, and import the campaign metrics back into CRM, enhancing the marketing automation power of CRM.
Not content to sit on its laurels, Microsoft acquired MarketingPilot in an effort to further improve the marketing automation capabilities of Dynamics CRM and provide more powerful marketing management, media planning, and analytical tools. Microsoft has been somewhat vague to date regarding the exact features and pricing of MarketingPilot. We expect the company to release further details in July of 2013 about pricing, features, and more specific information concerning how MarketingPilot will be integrated into Dynamics CRM.
Components of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Marketing
The Dynamics CRM Marketing module is composed of three main entities called Marketing Lists, Campaigns, and Quick Campaigns. Other useful entities you will access throughout your marketing efforts include Leads, Accounts, Contacts, and Sales Literature. Using the Marketing module, you can qualify leads, track campaign responses and insights, calculate ROI, create activities, and send email blasts to the customers in a particular Marketing List.
It is important to understand that the same Accounts and Contacts are the same throughout the Sales and Service modules. Think of these modules as being different points of view and ways to look at your data. What’s unique about the Marketing module is the use of Marketing Lists, Campaigns, and Quick Campaigns. Marketing Lists are vital to the success of any marketing campaign. A List is a collection of customers grouped by demographics and needs while a Campaign acts as an endeavor to reach out to your customer base.
The essential difference between a Campaign and a Quick Campaign is the number of channels that you use to reach out to your customers; Quick Campaigns are limited to one method of reaching out to customers. An example of a Quick Campaign is an email blast or a series of phone calls to the customer. A full-blown Campaign might be attendance at a trade show where Leads are captured at a punch bowl and those leads are followed up with a series of Activities such as phone calls, email, and perhaps letters and faxes. You can customize your Campaign by type: advertisement, direct marketing, event, promotion offer, etc. Other ways to customize Campaigns include scheduling dates, adding price lists, and recording financials, among others.
For more information about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, visit www.xRM.com.