This blog has been adapted from an extract of the ClickDimensions whitepaper “Dynamics 365 and MarTech: expanding the traditional role of CRM admins.
”Research has found that typically, CMOs allocate 29% of their budget to marketing technology (MarTech). With technology taking up nearly one third of the total marketing budget in many organisations, MarTech is the largest area of investment in marketing resources and programs. Marketing automation is often at heart of these investments. It’s also a common add-on technology to Microsoft Dynamics. This presents a wealth of opportunities for CRM administrators to add value – not just to the marketing team – but to the entire organisation. It also enables businesses to get more out of Dynamics 365 and increase user adoption as the system’s functionality becomes more relevant to a broader range of roles. Before moving forward in your technology discussions with marketing, it’s important to weigh up a few technical and purchasing considerations related to CRM and marketing technology.
CRM should be placed at the core of MarTech decisions
CRM is a core solution for any business, so it’s important that all other technologies work with it in harmony – including MarTech. Every other tool or system you use is secondary to your CRM. They should complement it, not collide with it, in terms of both features and compatibility. Every technology implemented at your company should be added only after discussions have taken place that ensure, above all, the new system will integrate with the CRM platform you use. True integration means it fits in as a new gear within your current infrastructure. Working separately from CRM shouldn’t be considered good enough. Having separate systems is inefficient because teams will constantly have to switch from one to the other. But, more than that, it means that your company’s data and information will be fragmented. This leads to greater inefficiencies and blind spots, greatly impacting your ability to see the whole picture and properly optimise solutions.
Systems should offer complete reporting
Your marketing automation tool is no different or less strategic than your financial tracking and reporting tools. People across the business are relying on it to execute and make business decisions. When your marketing team has a solution that can’t produce full-fledged and complete reports -whether because of poor integration or technical limitations – the entire company suffers. This is why true integration and proper setup remain difficult but necessary challenges to overcome.
Full integration between CRM and MarTech is a necessity
There is a difference between a fully native, embedded solution and one that works with Dynamics 365. The Dynamics ecosystem is not one to get into lightly, although we all know many vendors do. Your team needs a solution that is truly integrated, not one that syncs with Dynamics. Trying to sync or connect a third-party system that doesn’t fully integrate will significantly impact the cost to support and maintain the solution. Not to mention the tasks of managing upgrades and complex solution files to ensure they stay in sync at all times.
Uniting CRM and MarTech with ClickDimensions
Want to be a hero? Make upgrades and integrations something you and your marketing team never have to worry about. At 848, we are proud to be partnered with ClickDimensions, a leading cloud marketing solution that runs natively in Microsoft Dynamics. ClickDimensions brings together digital marketing applications and intuitive automation within your CRM to drive engagement, foster growth and break down information silos. Our team of Dynamics 365 specialists can help you get the most out of your CRM and marketing automation platform. To learn more get in touch today.
Want to learning more about CRM and MarTech? Get in touch with our team of specialists today