10 steps to get started with marketing

The ten items in this article cover the basics for getting started working with the marketing features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. For a complete list, visit the Resource Center by clicking Resource Center on the left navigation pane in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. For more information, see Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Help.

Key steps

1. Understand the difference between campaigns and quick campaigns

   A quick campaign creates a single activity for distribution to accounts, contacts, leads, or a marketing list. Campaigns support end-to-end marketing programs that have multiple activities. More information: Difference between campaigns and quick campaigns

2. Understand how marketing lists work

   In Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, marketing lists are groups of accounts, contacts, or leads related to accounts. Examples of leads that are related to an account might be individuals who purchase products or services for their own use, or employees of an account. A marketing list can only contain one record type. More information: Creating and Managing Marketing Lists

   You can use a marketing list to send a quick campaign. Or, you can add multiple marketing lists to a campaign.

3. Create and save personal views

   From any list of records, you can click Advanced Find and modify the query that created that view. You can then save it with another name. The next time you use that list of records, in the <record type> drop-down box, under My Views, select the saved view.

   Personal views cannot be saved as the default view.

4. Use mail merge with marketing lists

   You can do mail merges on records that are in a marketing list. The steps for doing this are outlined in Leverage marketing lists across your team.

5. Customize the marketing list members view

   In Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, most views (the lists of records that are displayed) can be customized by a system administrator using the Customization feature. Marketing list members views, though, cannot be customized using that feature. Instead, customize these views using one of the following methods:

   • If you aren't a system administrator, you can create a custom view for yourself using the steps outlined in the article Leverage marketing lists across your team. See the section "Refine your marketing list."
   • If you have System Administrator or System Customizer permissions, see the blog post Customize Marketing List (List Member View) for a workaround to creating this view for your organization.
6. Assign and share records

   What Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customer information you can work with is determined by permissions and ownership. If more than one person needs to work with a record, it can be shared or assigned. When you share a record with another user, you give that user specific permissions for that record, but you retain the ownership. However, when you assign a record to another user, you are making that user the owner of the record.

   • More information: Share or Assign Records
7. Track campaigns with default marketing reports

   By default, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online includes the following reports that assist you in monitoring and analyzing marketing activities:

   • Campaign Activity Status, Use this report to track a campaign. The report displays a summary for one campaign.
   • Campaign Comparison. Use this report to identify your most and least successful campaigns.
   • Campaign Performance. Use this report to track the progress and status of your campaigns.
8. Send an e-mail to a customer or another person in your organization
   • For information about sending an e-mail message to a customer, see Create and send an email activity in the Web application.
   • To send an e-mail to the owner of a record, under Information, click Preferences. Click the name of the Owner. In the Owner record, on the User tab, in the Collaborate group, click Send Direct E-mail.
   • If you have Office Communicator 2007 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for Outlook installed, you may see the presence jewel. You can click the jewel and send instant messages or e-mail.
9. Let your customers unsubscribe from marketing communications

   You can enable customers to unsubscribe from e-mail marketing communications your organization sends them.

   More information: Set System-Wide Marketing Options

   Note that you cannot add unsubscribe functionality to direct e-mail or e-mail templates.

10. Understand campaign templates

    A campaign is a one-time creation, but a template can be reused and applied to many new campaigns.

    If you run similar marketing campaigns frequently, your may create a library of campaign templates. Exactly like the campaigns they are based on, campaign templates include all the information, tasks, activities, and other settings that you must have to run a successful campaign. Therefore, you don't need to recreate a new campaign that is similar to the last from scratch.

Related Links

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