[Applies to: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0]

Managing Campaign Activities and Planning Tasks

Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, you can create and track the various planning tasks Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online tasks associated with specific campaigns. and campaign activities Activities associated with specific campaigns, such as letters, faxes, or phone calls. Campaign activities include campaign-specific information, and must be distributed to create the individual activities for users to perform. that you have to complete for your marketing campaign A marketing program that uses many communication vehicles to accomplish a specific result. For example, using advertisements and direct mail to increase market share, introduce new products, or retain customers. to be successful.

Examples of planning tasks and campaign activities

For a new product launch campaign, examples of planning tasks might include "Identify collateral pieces to be created" and "Review advertising copy."

Campaign activities form the central part of your campaign, and can include a range of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online activities, such as phone calls, letters via mail merge, or an e-mail blast.

Including campaign-specific information in campaign activities

You can specify the campaign activity's priority and the amount of budget your organization wants to allocate to the activity. For example, if you have created a letter activity, the budget might include the cost of paper, printing, envelopes, and postage.

This information can help you determine the overall value of your campaign. When the activity has been completed, you can update the campaign activity record with the actual costs, which can help guide you in planning future campaign activities.

Distributing campaign activities

After you have created a campaign activity, you can distribute To create campaign activities for each account, contact, or lead in a marketing list associated with a campaign, and then to assign the activities to the specified owners, or to perform the activities automatically (such as sending e-mail messages). it if you have a marketing list A list of accounts, contacts, or leads that matches a specific set of criteria. associated with the campaign. Each person in your organization to whom the activity was assigned can then complete the activity.

For example, if you want your sales staff to personally contact each of their customers on the marketing list and invite them to your opening night, you can create a phone call campaign activity and distribute it. When you distribute an activity, you can designate who should complete the activity. For e-mail activities, you can also choose to send the e-mail messages automatically.

Note

Fax, letter, and e-mail campaign activities that take advantage of the mail merge feature can be completed only by using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for Outlook.

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