“Marketing Budgets in 2010: Effectiveness, Measurement, and Allocation,” a joint research study with Econsultancy and ExactTarget, surveyed over 1,000 marketers to discover where companies are focusing their marketing spend efforts and how they will allocate their budgets across channels in 2010.

Here is ExactTarget’s free brief of the report. 

I love this new digital marketing spend report by ExactTarget – because it validates what we’ve been experiencing in our recent marketing efforts.  And more important, as a leading Microsoft Dynamics CRM provider, we know online marketing is a really hot topic with our clients and prospects.    Case in point – The TM Group is sponsoring Vision 2010, a free, educational Microsoft Dynamics conference taking place on March 23^rd in Troy, Michigan.  Only two weeks out and we have over 200 attendees signed up – our CRM track and digital marketing sessions are especially popular!    

ExactTarget, as the leading add-on eMarketing solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, is presenting during the Vision 2010 CRM track.  The ExactTarget solution integrates seamlessly with Dynamics CRM and includes tools to create, deliver, and track compelling digital communications that leverage Lead, Contact, and Account data.  Users can create dynamic, timely content for subscribers and deliver messages on behalf of Microsoft Dynamic CRM Leads, Contacts, and/or Account Owners to achieve true one-to-one relationship marketing.

Vision 2010 is The TM Group’s 12th annual Microsoft Dynamics conference which is free of charge to our guests.  Every year we are committed to spending the time, energy and resources it takes to help people get together in person for learning (we bring Microsoft product experts in to team up with our consultants), networking with their peers (our clients share their stories and advice), and gaining insight about the latest technological developments in our industry and best business practices (we bring in special speakers from our strategic business partners).    

Here is a description of the ExactTarget eMarketing session at Vision 2010, as well as the other Microsoft Dynamics CRM sessions:

The TM Group Vision 2010: Microsoft Dynamics CRM Track

CRM eMarketing & Social Media, by ExactTarget                                                                                        

In this session we will learn how to boost your marketing in 2010 using eMarketing and Social Media. ExactTarget will share an information-packed session that will provide valuable tips and techniques to help you achieve your 2010 digital marketing goals!  Learn how to improve your marketing campaigns with increased subscriber focus and get helpful tips on boosting relevancy of message content.  See how ExactTarget’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you manage and automate a wide variety of marketing campaigns that leverage information about your leads, contacts, and accounts.

You’ll also learn how to effectively manage your social networking strategy with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Social Networking Accelerator.   According to a March 2009 study by Nielson, social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity, ahead of personal email.  In addition, time spent on social networking sites is growing 3x faster than the overall internet rate, now accounting for almost 10% of all internet time. While these statistics point out that business can no longer afford to ignore Social Networking, it must be done in a closely planned and monitored manner in order to be effective.  Microsoft’s recently released Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides an outstanding toolset for effectively managing and tracking organizational social networking activities.

CRM Future Directions: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 5 Sneak Peak, by Microsoft Corporation                   

In this session, learn about the next release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM “V.Next.” Investments for this next release fall into three broad categories: (1) Deliver a new level of user productivity and collaboration capabilities, (2) Continued enrichment of the core CRM capabilities, and (3) Provide a best-of-breed business solution platform.  There is an exhaustive list of investments in Microsoft Dynamics CRM “V.Next” which ranges from small “tweaks” and enhancements to broad new feature areas. The following sections provide a summary of some of the investments across the three categories.

Deliver a new level of user productivity and collaboration capabilities

• Increase accessibility through the Microsoft Office “ribbon” interface:
• Improve productivity through a streamlined user interface:
• Drive user adoption through personalization:
• Facilitate collaboration with SharePoint® integration:
• Enrich business insight through improved business intelligence:

Deliver continued enrichment of the core CRM Capabilities

• Contact and Account Management:
• Team-Based Collaboration:
• Call Center and Unified Communications Support:
• Extended Sales Territory Management:
• Knowledge Management:

Provide a Best-of-Breed Business Solution Platform

• Solution Management:
• Secure Code on the Server:
• Integration and connectivity:
• Service-Oriented Architecture:
• Native Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) connectivity:
• Scalable, Federated security:
• Extended Event Pipeline:

CRM Tips & Tricks, by TM Group Dynamics CRM Consultants                                                    

There are many features and functions of Dynamics CRM that most users don’t utilize because they don’t know about them.  Learn some techniques to get more out of Advanced Find, the Outlook Client, integration to Word and using Workflow. The inclusion of the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) in the 4.0 release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes it easier than ever to create powerful automated business processes throughout and beyond your CRM implementation. This was one of the most popular sessions last year. Don’t miss it!

CRM Mobile, by TenDigits                                                                                                                 

In this CRM Mobility session you will learn more about enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of your CRM solution.  There is more involved with CRM Mobility success than simply gaining access to CRM data from a mobile SmartPhone. Organizations with field staff face unique challenges in ensuring CRM is available, used effectively and securely, and is kept up-to-date with timely and critical customer information. Learn how to address these challenges with effective and comprehensive CRM mobility, to enhance productivity, sales or service effectiveness, and to increase CRM user adoption. MobileAccess from TenDigits Software is the only mobility offering to attain the “Certified for Microsoft Dynamics CRM” designation.  During this session, we’ll illustrate how organizations are better meeting their business and CRM objectives through a live demonstration highlighting “A Day in the Life of a Field Representative”.

XRM: Extending/Leveraging CRM, GP & SharePoint, by the TM Group CRM Consultants   

Learn how you can use XRM to rapidly create and deploy a wide variety of custom line of business applications, each uniquely designed to fit any part of your business, all from a single platform. With the XRM business application platform, experience how quickly data schemas can be modeled, business processes can be automated, and comprehensive changes can be made without IT release cycles.  Optimize productivity, reduce costs, and increase business agility across your business and IT organizations.  Also, integrate your Microsoft Dynamics CRM application with Microsoft Dynamics GP and other data sources to provide powerful insight to your users.  This session includes topics such as importing data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM from the web, importing customer lists, and linking the application to line-of-business applications.

This technical session will explain how combining Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) can provide a powerful solution for both structured and unstructured data. We’ll explore the options available for integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM to SharePoint and vice versa, from dashboards, CRM Web parts, extranet capability for CRM contacts, and role-based workspaces, all of which help drive enhanced business performance and user productivity.

CRM Reporting & Dashboards, by the TM Group Dynamics CRM Consultants                                       

Increase the insights your users gain from business data by providing them with interactive and compelling reports using Microsoft SQL Server Report Server.  In this session you will learn which options are available for analytics within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0; how to present reports to users where and when they need it; how to make reports more relevant to individuals and how to increase business performance with your business data. We’ll discuss options for deployment and configuration of your SQL Server Reporting Services server and take general questions on how to gain insight from your Microsoft Dynamics CRM data using reports, cubes and performance management tools.

New “Do or Die” Reality of Digital Marketing, By Melih Oztalay, SmartFinds Internet Marketing 

The Internet has a parade of technologies that are released to the market very quickly.  Some of these technologies require early adoption while others fall into short term hype cycles, but continue to stay with us.  Internet marketing continues to change for both on-website work and off-website activity.  Separating these disciplines is important to using the Internet as a business marketing tool.  Internet marketing relative to Search Engine rankings, the use of Local Business Listings and Mobile marketing are converging that require foresight looking into 2012. 

Take a fresh perspective on these five topics:

1.  Cross the Chasm

2.  Hype Cycles related to Social Media

3.  Local Business Listings

4.  Mobile Industry

5.  Internet Marketing

For more information about Vision 2010, our Microsoft Dynamics conference, please visit the Vision 2010 homepage.  You can contact me at andreed@tmgroupinc.com  or phone 888-482-2864. 

By Andree Dolan, Marketing Manager of The TM Group, a Michigan partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, and  Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Marketing Spend Continues To Shift Toward Digital Channels – Track It With Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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We expect over 250 clients and guests to join us at Vision 2010 for a day filled with five educational tracks – Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Advanced IT, and Executive –   and over 25 breakout sessions spotlighting new product releases, tips and tricks for users, even a leadership skills workshop.

This year, launching Vision has been made much easier bcause of ExactTarget – one of The TM Group’s strategic ISV partners for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.    I have saved tons of time and effort in communicating with our clients and prospects through email campaigns using ExactTarget integrated to our CRM system.  It’s been great! No importing lists, no looking up separate reports to see who has opened our emails and downloaded our conference agenda – and best, all this critical marketing  information is automatically tracked in my leads, contacts and campaign in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

ExactTarget will be presenting at one of our CRM sessions and I asked them to share some useful advice to marketers like me who want to do a better job with online marketing in 2010.  Perfect timing, because my year is off and running and I can use all the help I can get!

Check out the insightful ExactTarget article and whitepaper link below:

Need a few New Year’s resolutions to jump-start your marketing in 2010?

At ExactTarget we are always looking for new ways to help our customers improve their online marketing programs.  This year, we thought we’d start the year off as most people do, with a set of New Year’s Resolutions.  These 5 Resolutions can help keep your marketing program fit and in shape!

ExactTarget’s new whitepaper, Five Resolutions Every Marketer Must Make in 2010, outlines the plan simply and succinctly:

1. Be helpful, not just social.
2. Engage your subscribers.
3. Treat subscribers like friends.
4. Design for your subscribers.
5. Get back to basics.

Build richer subscriber data through the integration of Email and CRM

The Five Resolutions Every Marketer Must Make in 2010 whitepaper emphasizes the importance of understanding, engaging and educating your subscribers. The more you know about your customers and prospects, the more effectively you can communicate with them.

ExactTarget’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you manage and automate a wide variety of marketing campaigns that leverage information about your leads, contacts and accounts. The integration between ExactTarget and Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you:

• Automate.  Use Email Marketing Automation capabilities and templates to create date and event-based scenarios that execute automatically.
• Extend. Extend personalized, relevant, one-to-one communications from email to the web with ExactTarget’s Landing Page functionality.
• Personalize.  Reinforce subscriber relationships with personalized emails on behalf of your Lead, Contact, and Account owners.
• Analyze. Use real-time tracking results to send follow-up messages to an engaged group of subscribers.

ExactTarget and The TM Group partnership

We’re proud to partner with The TM Group to deliver this integrated offering. To learn more about the integration of ExactTarget for Microsoft Dynamics CRM you will want to read the ExactTarget and Microsoft Dynamics data sheet, please email andreed@tmgroupinc.com to request a copy.   The TM Group is a great resource for helping you understand how to leverage ExactTarget in your specific Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment. 

(We wish you successful marketing in 2010 and look forward to participating in The TM Group Vision 2010 event on March 23^rd!  – Karen Gragg, Marketing Programs Manager, ExactTarget)

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Thanks, Karen!  I’ll be sharing more insight and news from our Vision 2010 strategic sponsors – all designed to help organizations looking for new CRM and ERP solutions to make their businesses be more profitable and their personal lives easier and more productive.  For more information about Vision 2010, the TM Group’s 12^th Annual Microsoft Dynamics Conference taking place March 23^rd at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy, Michigan, visit or Vision homepage at http://www.tmgroupinc.com/2010VisionInvite.asp

By Andree Dolan, Marketing Manager of The TM Group, Leading Michigan Partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

5 Resolutions Every Marketer Must Make – Tips From Vision 2010, A Microsoft Dynamics Conference is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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