Working with Campaigns can seem like a daunting task to some people; however makes working with Marketing Lists and Campaigns very easy to work with.
The first step to getting a Campaign started is to create the Marketing List. You can search for members of the Marketing List based on any field within that entity, such as Accounts that have the City field equal to Fargo, or where Annual Revenue is greater than 500,000. I recommend running through the query in an Advanced Find window to perfect the list before putting in a Marketing List. If you’re unfamiliar with the Advanced Find feature, please see my previous blog regarding Advanced Find.
Some people prefer to create new Marketing Lists to go with each Campaign to verify that the records are up to date. However, in Dynamics CRM 2011, you can also create a Dynamic Marketing List, which will update the Marketing List automatically based on your search criteria. So if you have a Dynamic Marketing List where City equals Fargo, as Accounts are added and removed from the system, and as the addresses are updated, the Marketing List is then updated as well.
Once you have created a Static Marketing List, you can update the List by adding and removing users as needed. If you do not want anyone to modify the List, you can also lock the Marketing List so that no members can be added or removed from it.
Now that you have created a Marketing List with people you want to send marketing materials to, it’s time to create the Campaign. When you care the Campaign, you are able to track the following information:
- Name
- Campaign Code
- This is automatically created when you save the Campaign
- Status Reason
- This keeps track of where the Campaign is at in the process
- The options are: Proposed, Ready to Launch, Launched, Completed, Canceled and Suspended
- Currency
- It will default to your base currency; however, you can change this
- Price List
- If you are using the Product Catalog, you can associate a special Price List with the Campaign and then any Opportunities created from this Campaign will have the special Price List
- Expected Response
- Proposed Begin and End Dates
- Actual Begin and End Dates
Once you have entered all this information, you can create any Planning Activities, such as a reminder to book a banquet hall or order brochures.
You can then create the Campaign Activities, which are the actual communications that occur between you and your customer. The most common channels are Email, Email via Mail Merge, Phone Call and Appointment. You can also do a Letter or Fax, as well as both of these as a Mail Merge. In case you are unfamiliar with what Mail Merge it, it is the production of multiple documents from a single template. Many times this is more personal than sending an email as you can add the name and address fields to a Mail Merge.
After you have sent out the Campaign Activities, you can keep track of the Campaign Responses, which is how to keep track of how many people expressed interest in your product. You can also run the Campaign Performance Report for easy viewing of Campaign Responses as well as cost of the campaign compared to potential sales and completed sales.
If you’d like to learn more about how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can simplify your marketing campaigns, at 800-277-5561 or email sales@dfcconsultants.com .
For information online, download the white paper released by the CRM Software Blog, “24 Wildly Creative Ways Companies Use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Drive Revenue and Serve Customers” that discusses how Dynamics CRM can improve your business. They also have a quick online quote tool for Dynamics CRM pricing customized to your business’ needs.
Since 1989, DFC Consultants has been providing accounting software solutions, training and support in our offices in Fargo, Bismarck, and Dickinson, North Dakota. Our passion is to assist clients in meeting their goals with professional services and powerful business solutions.
By Andrea Lange, CRM Applications Consultant at DFC Consultants,
