Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing

Small and midsize businesses have more power than ever to grow their customer base. The cheaper costs and higher availability of digital marketing tools give SMBs a plethora of options for attracting customers. The problem is that there are almost too many options. The social media platforms, the website builders, the ever-changing marketing trends and technology—it’s just too much for a smaller marketing department to take on.

Microsoft Dynamics 365, recognizing the stress of SMBs, is set to release a new marketing service targeted for smaller companies later this Spring and has already pushed out their public preview. In this post, we explain how Microsoft’s upcoming CRM improvements meet the marketing challenges of modest-sized companies.

Automation and Usability

Many manufacturers and distributors are under the impression that automated software features are for large businesses that process mass amounts of lead and customer data. However, smaller companies not only have more access to marketing automation than ever but also need it just as much, if not more, than their giant competitors. An SMB might not be dealing with as much information, but it doesn’t have a sizable marketing department, meaning there is no time to waste on rote tasks. A CRM system can speed up marketing tasks, particularly by automating repetitive procedures. On top of that, a user-friendly system enables speedy user adoption and functionality.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing is a marketing-automation application with easy-to-use features. It works seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, streamlining sales and marketing processes. Several tasks, from lead nurturing to campaign tracking, are automated to free up more time for your marketing team to focus on value-added operations. As a Microsoft product, the marketing application includes a familiar interface and works with common tools such as Office 365 and Excel. This familiarity allows users to quickly adopt CRM tools into their daily operations.

Insight into Leads and Marketing Performance

When it comes to marketing insight, SMBs tend to lag behind bigger enterprises. Several small businesses can’t even identify which marketing efforts are generating the most high-quality leads. This is where marketing analytics comes into play. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing will transform sales and marketing data into integral knowledge that enables companies of any size to boost sales. Equipped with configurable dashboards, the CRM system enables users to easily track campaign performance and identify top lead sources.

In addition, Microsoft’s Power BI tools utilize data from your CRM to form infographics that provide your marketing team with insight into their marketing audience, lead pipeline and potential sales opportunities. With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of LinkedIn, users can quickly target LinkedIn audiences and import leads generated in LinkedIn into their CRM instance. Both sales and marketing can enjoy a comprehensive view of the latest lead and customer data to connect processes and optimize strategies.

Content Creation

Another area of marketing in which SMBs fall short is content generation, particularly email marketing. With Microsoft Dynamics 365’s superior insights, businesses of any size can know which marketing materials are driving sales. Furthermore, the CRM platform makes creating content easier than ever with drag-and-drop features to build multichannel, automated campaigns. Users can easily personalize each contact’s journey with targeted content. For email and online content, marketers can take advantage of customizable templates for emails and landing pages to increase your brand awareness. Microsoft Dynamics 365 simplifies content creation, opening the door for any small company to grow their customer base.

Wrap Up

The upcoming Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing application empowers small to midsize manufacturers and distributors to go toe-to-toe with businesses of any size. Its simplified, intuitive tools are created with SMBs in mind to optimize their marketing strategies. As a certified Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner, Datix is ready to help your business gain all the benefits of the forthcoming CRM solution. We can even connect the CRM platform with Epicor ERP using our integration solution, Unity. With an ERP-CRM integration, businesses can enjoy even greater insight and efficiency by connecting back- and front-office data.

Find out what makes us the premier CRM experts for manufacturers and distributors. Contact Datix’s experienced enterprise software consultants today!

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