By now, is an established successor to Dynamics CRM Online. For $115/user/month, companies get Sales, Customer Service, Project Service Automation, and Field Service. The application that often gets missed in this package is Dynamics 365 for Marketing – an application that costs $1,500 per month if purchased alone. With Dynamics 365 for Marketing, Microsoft has built a robust marketing automation application that shares data with other Customer Engagement applications including Sales, making it easier than ever to bridge the gap between your sales and marketing teams.
Why is this noteworthy? , organizations leave up to 10% of yearly revenue on the table when marketing and sales teams aren’t aligned. The disconnect between sales and marketing teams within an organization is typically blamed on communication. With Sales and marketing teams working in different systems with siloed data, it is easy to lose track of what other teams are doing. The successful handoff of a lead relies on both teams to communicate with each other effectively – which, let’s be honest, rarely happens. Implementing a system that sales and marketing teams can use together in sync, will not only improve communication, but also drive more sales.
Shared Data
Sharing data between sales and marketing should be a top priority for any organization. This can be done by using pre-built integrations between various marketing and CRM systems, but typically these integrations are limited in scope and rely on the system development teams to continuously support them. Custom integrations can also be built which widen the scope, but typically cost more up front and need regular support and development.
Dynamics 365 removes the need for these integration options. Because all data is stored in a single database, records in the Sales application are the same records in the Marketing application. When a marketing representative updates a lead with information gathered during the marketing process, a sales representative sees it without leaving the Sales application. Sharing data ensures sales and marketing teams are on the same page.
While data in Dynamics 365 is shared, the reporting metrics that both teams use don’t need to be. Unique, interactive reporting dashboards can be created in both the Sales and Marketing applications to track metrics at the team and individual level. Sales reps can also view marketing calendars to track ongoing campaigns and gain insight into campaign timelines and upcoming activities.
Create a better marketing to sales handoff
The prospect hand off between marketing and sales is key to increasing revenue. A recent showed that 57% of organizations reported that less than 85% of leads delivered by marketing are followed up by sales. It’s clear that organizations need a defined hand off process that is as automated as possible. Dynamics 365 for Marketing handles this with customizable lead scoring models that give marketers and salespeople insight into the details of where a lead is at in the sales process.
As the lead is nurtured by campaigns in Dynamics 365 for Marketing, the lead scoring model watches closely. When a lead reaches the threshold determined by your lead scoring model, the marketing lead will automatically qualify and be sent to a salesperson to review. If the salesperson reviews the lead and determines it is truly qualified, they can accept the hand off. Automatic notifications for lead qualification can also be setup through dashboards or tasks within Dynamics 365. Additional custom workflows can be built using Microsoft Flow to further automate this process and supply more notifications such as via email.
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By Syvantis Technologies, Inc.
