Organizations that target consumers (B2C) have successfully leveraged email and social media to market their products and services for years. However, organizations that target other businesses (B2B) have been slow to adopt social marketing in a meaningful way, even though social marketing has proven effective in the B2B marketplace (). Research shows that businesses that adopt effective social strategies have a marked increase in leads and, by extension, revenue.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help. Here are seven email and social media tools Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers B2B organizations to help them create more effective sales and marketing campaigns.
#1: Email Templates
offer professional email designs and can be populated with CRM data, such as name, address, and product details. Users can create multiple messages for marketing campaigns, and these emails can be accessed using a Web or Outlook client.
Once the email template is created, access it from Outlook:
Templates can also be accessed from a browser:
To populate a template with CRM data, navigate to Main Menu > Settings > Templates > Email Templates:
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is able to track when the email is sent, but it cannot track when the email is opened or links inside are clicked. For those capabilities, we recommend using a product like ClickDimensions.
#2: Insights
. Insights augments your CRM contact information with additional data and deep insights about your contact’s organization, letting you find more leads and retain existing clients. Connect Insights with your existing LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other social channels directly from within CRM.
#3: ClickDimensions
Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes with a full-featured marketing automation tools already embedded in it: ClickDimensions.
lets users send both personalized and bulk HTML emails and then track email sends, opens, clicks, and bounces. ClickDimensions also supports creating web forms, landing pages, and surveys using drag-and-drop tools. Access to ClickDimensions is provided through the CRM interface, and all the data is stored in your CRM database, unlike other marketing automation solutions that can integrate with your CRM.
Following are some of the capabilities ClickDimensions brings to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
#4: ClickDimensions Quick Send
The is used to send a single email to Contact or Lead records. Each contact or lead record has a Quick Send button. Click the button, fill out the fields, and hit Send. You will be able to know when the email was opened, how often, and when links were clicked. Set up a workflow and you will be notified when any of these events occur.
#5: ClickDimensions InboxCast Email
lets you send an email without having to design a template. Click on the InboxCast button and a new Outlook email form opens. Type your personalized message and hit Send. Now your message will appear like a regular email and will include all the ClickDimensions tracking and reporting features.
#6: ClickDimensions Profile
The ClickDimensions Profile tool displays interactions people on your contact and lead records have had with your organization through email, landing pages, and web sites, all from within the CRM record. You can even integrate the contact’s social information (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) into the ClickDimensions profile and include them as part of your CRM records.
#7: Microsoft Social Engagement
tracks conversations your CRM contacts are having on the web, including social media, blogs, and networking websites. The tool is free for users who have purchased ten or more licenses of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional.
Microsoft Social Engagement uses charts and graphs to see who is mentioning your organization, what they said, and whether the comments were positive or negative.
Drill down to see where the conversations are occurring and what they are:
Then, using Dynamics CRM, you can take action, including:
- Assign someone to follow up on the conversation
- Create a history of social conversations so you can provide better service
- Identify and connect with influential users
- Continue to receive alerts so you are always aware of new conversations and mentions
Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers B2B organizations access to powerful tools that can help you use email and social media to reach out and engage with prospects, leads, and clients more effectively.
Want to learn more about these tools and how to use them? Watch our webcast, .
