Picture this: You’re running a business and want to reach your customers right when they’re ready to engage, not a minute too soon or too late. That’s where Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys steps in.
This helps you craft experiences that make your customers feel seen and valued. In today’s world, where everyone’s inbox is overflowing and attention spans are short, that’s no small feat.
So, grab a coffee, and let’s explore how this tool might be the game-changer your business needs.
The Evolution of Dynamics 365 Marketing
Remember when marketing automation was mainly about scheduling emails and hoping for the best? Microsoft’s journey in this space has come a long way since then.
On September 1, 2023, Microsoft took a bold step by rebranding Dynamics 365 for Marketing to Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys. This name change represented a complete shift in how we approach customer engagement.
The old version leaned heavily on pre-set schedules—think “send this email next Tuesday at 9 a.m.” Now, it’s all about reacting in the moment.
Here’s what changed:
- Merging of Two Powerful Apps: The new platform combines two previously separate applications—Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (now called Customer Insights – Data) and Dynamics 365 Marketing (now called Customer Insights – Journeys).
- Real-Time Marketing Took Center Stage: The focus shifted from traditional outbound campaigns to responsive, trigger-based engagement. Did a customer just abandon their cart? Trigger a friendly nudge. Did someone sign up for your webinar? Send a personalized welcome. Businesses need agility to keep up with fast-moving customers.
- AI Capabilities Got Better: Copilot integration brought intelligent assistance to marketing tasks.
- The Audience Expanded: Now, everyone (not just marketing pros) can create impressive customer journeys.
Microsoft is all-in on real-time marketing now. The platform focuses on responding to customers when they’re actually engaging with your brand.
New to the platform or want to get better at this? Check out this guide for transitioning from outbound to real-time marketing.
What Is Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys?
So, what exactly is Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys?
At its core, it’s a tool that helps you map out and automate every step of a customer’s journey with your business.
Think of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys as your personal customer engagement assistant. It helps you connect with your audience at the right time, with the right message, through the right channel, without requiring a team of technical experts.
It’s part of the Dynamics 365 family, which means it integrates well with other Microsoft tools.
The platform works with data from your Dataverse environment. When you combine it with Customer Insights – Data (Microsoft’s customer data platform), you can pull in external data sources too.
Understanding which types of data work best through your CDP helps create that complete “single source of truth” marketers dream about.
And don’t worry if you’re not a marketing specialist—the intuitive interface and AI assistance make it accessible for business users across your organization.
With the new version, you can build complete customer experiences that guide people through every interaction with your brand.
For example, when someone visits your pricing page, send them a helpful comparison guide. If a customer hasn’t engaged in 30 days, trigger a “we miss you” campaign with a special offer.
You’ll work with two main types of customer journeys here:
- Trigger-Based Journeys: These start when a customer takes a specific action, like downloading a whitepaper, abandoning their cart, or clicking a particular link.
- Segment-Based Journeys: These target specific groups of customers, like recent purchasers, newsletter subscribers, or customers in certain geographic areas.
Whether you’re a mid-size company or a large enterprise, Customer Insights – Journeys scales to meet your growing needs.
And it works just as well as a standalone solution or integrated with other Dynamics 365 tools. How’s that for flexibility?
Benefits of Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys
Okay, let’s get to the good stuff: why should you care? Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys can seriously level up your marketing game.
Here’s how:
1. Get to Know Your Customers (Really Know Them)
Ever wish you could see the complete picture of each customer?
With Customer Insights – Journeys, you can bring together all those scattered data points—purchases, website visits, support interactions—into one unified profile.
No more awkward moments where your email campaign doesn’t recognize what a customer just bought from you.
2. Strike While the Iron Is Hot
Why wait to engage customers when they’re actively showing interest?
Trigger-based journeys let you respond immediately when someone downloads your whitepaper, visits your pricing page, or opens your email.
3. Make Every Message Personal (Without Staying Up All Night)
Remember how much time you used to spend creating different versions of your marketing messages?
AI-powered personalization does the heavy lifting for you, tailoring content based on individual preferences and behaviors.
Your customers feel understood, and you get your evenings back.
4. Keep Marketing and Sales in Perfect Sync
Customer actions can automatically trigger sales activities, keeping your teams perfectly aligned throughout the entire process.
When someone hits a key milestone in their journey, like viewing your pricing page three times or downloading multiple resources, you can automatically create tasks for sales reps or update lead priorities.
This ensures marketing and sales stay in lockstep, with both teams responding to the same customer signals at the right time.
5. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Let’s face it—creating marketing campaigns can be time-consuming.
With AI assistance for content creation and journey design, you’ll accomplish more in less time.
You can email in seconds rather than hours, or get intelligent suggestions for your next best action.
6. Make Decisions Based on Data, Not Hunches
Stop guessing what works! Robust analytics show you which campaigns drive results and which need tweaking.
Use these insights to continuously improve your approach and demonstrate marketing’s impact on the bottom line.
Key Features of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys is packed with features that make marketing feel less like a chore.
Here’s a rundown in a handy table:
| Feature | What It Does |
| Dynamic Segments | Automatically adds contacts to groups based on rules you set. Real-time updates show sample members and track who join or leave. |
| Multi-Entity Marketing | Send different emails to contacts, leads, and accounts without making separate lists. Uses info like age, company size, and past behavior. |
| Intuitive Design Tools | Drag-and-drop builder for emails and journeys. Add text, images, and videos with blocks. Use personal touches like [FIRST NAME]. Create branches, tests, and custom audiences. |
| Content Protection | Keeps your live campaigns safe from accidental changes. Lets you make copies to edit without breaking active emails or journeys. |
| Built-in and Custom Templates | Comes with email templates you can use right away. Create your own custom templates and lock them to keep your brand consistent. |
| Simple Journey Creation | Build customer journeys from scratch or let Copilot help. Two types: trigger-based (starts when someone does something) and segment-based (targets specific groups). |
| A/B Testing | Test two versions of emails, texts, or push messages. Pick what to measure (opens, clicks), choose how many people to test, then send the winner to everyone else. |
| Goal Tracking | Set goals for your journeys using built-in options or create your own. Track things like “increase newsletter clicks by 5%” and see detailed results. |
| Performance Reports | Shows how well your campaigns work with easy-to-read charts. See delivery rates, opens, clicks, and problems. Export reports to Excel. |
| Sales-Marketing Alignment | Automatically triggers sales activities when customers take specific actions. Keeps marketing and sales teams working together by passing qualified leads and insights in real-time. |
| AI Assistant (Copilot) | Helps write content, find the right audience, and build journeys using simple language. Gives suggestions to make your campaigns better. |
| Multi-Channel Messaging | Send messages across email, text, push notifications, and other channels. Respond instantly to customers’ actions and send the right message at the right time. |
These features, supported by AI and natural language input, ensure marketers can craft engaging, personalized campaigns efficiently.
In a recent PartnerTalks session, Coffee + Dunn’s Director of Marketing Services, Susana Ramos, shares exciting platform updates and explains why success requires more than just technology.
Watch the conversation to get insights straight from our Microsoft-certified experts.
Use Cases of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys for Different Industries
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys offers versatile capabilities that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of various industries.
Let’s explore how different sectors can leverage this platform:
- Retail: Retail businesses can use Customer Insights—Journeys to create personalized shopping experiences based on customer preferences and purchase history. According to recent market research, online grocery shopping has increased by 56% since 2022. Retailers need sophisticated tools to meet changing consumer expectations. Fashion retailers can send targeted promotions for seasonal collections to customers who have previously purchased similar items, increasing conversion rates and customer loyalty.
- Manufacturing: The platform helps nurture B2B relationships throughout lengthy sales cycles in the manufacturing sector. Companies can create targeted content journeys that educate prospects about complex products, schedule demonstrations, and provide technical information to decision-makers at the right time in their buying journey.
- Financial Services: Banks and financial institutions can use Customer Insights – Journeys to deliver personalized financial advice and product recommendations based on customer life events and financial goals. For instance, they can create journeys that guide first-time homebuyers through the mortgage process with educational content and timely offers.
- Healthcare: Healthcare providers can improve patient engagement by sending appointment reminders, preventive care information, and wellness tips based on patient demographics and medical history. This helps improve patient outcomes while strengthening the provider-patient relationship.
- Education: Educational institutions can use the platform to engage with prospective students, share relevant program information based on their interests, and streamline the application process. After enrollment, they can create journeys that help students navigate campus resources and academic milestones.
- Professional Services: Consulting firms and other professional service providers can leverage Customer Insights – Journeys to establish thought leadership by sharing industry insights and expertise with targeted segments. They can nurture relationships with prospects through personalized content journeys demonstrating their specialized knowledge.
- Technology: Software companies and technology providers can use the platform to guide users through product adoption with onboarding sequences, feature announcements, and usage tips based on their interaction with the product. This helps increase user engagement and reduce churn.
Let’s turn the art of the possible into reality.
At Coffee + Dunn, we help you build connected customer experiences by aligning your strategy, technology, and operations. As a two-time Microsoft Partner of the Year and finalist, we directly influence the product roadmap to ensure you receive future-proof solutions.
Speak with our team about how we can make business better together.
Best Practices for Using Customer Insights – Journeys
Ready to maximize your success with Customer Insights – Journeys?
Let’s walk through proven strategies that will help you get the most from your investment:
- Start with Clear Goals (Not Just Features): Before creating your first journey, ask yourself: What are we trying to achieve? Increased sales? Better retention? More qualified leads? Define specific, measurable objectives that align with your business goals. For example, “increase lead conversion by 20%” gives you a clear target to work toward.
- Put Your Customer at the Center of Every Journey: Consider your customer’s needs and pain points at each stage. What questions do they have? What might cause friction? Map your journeys to address these points proactively. Remember: a journey that makes sense to your marketing team might not reflect how customers actually experience your brand.
- Clean Your Data (Yes, Really): You’ve heard “garbage in, garbage out,” right? Before launching campaigns, take time to ensure your customer data is accurate and well-organized. Set up regular data quality checks and cleaning processes.
- Start Simple, Then Build Complexity: Don’t try to create the perfect multi-channel, 20-step journey right away. Begin with straightforward flows (like a welcome series or abandoned cart reminder) and expand as you gain confidence. You’ll learn valuable lessons from these simpler journeys that will inform your more complex strategies.
- Test, Measure, Improve, Repeat: Never launch and forget! Set up A/B tests to compare different approaches, analyze results regularly, and apply what you learn to future campaigns. For example, test different subject lines, content formats, or journey timing to see what resonates best with your audience.
- Align Marketing and Sales Teams: Schedule regular meetings between marketing and sales to review leads, discuss feedback, and align on qualification criteria. When these teams work together effectively, lead quality improves and conversion rates increase.
- Keep Learning and Adapting: The platform is constantly updating with new features and capabilities. Set aside time to explore updates, attend webinars, and experiment with new functionality. What worked last year might not be the best approach today. Focus on avoiding journey disruption when implementing new features.
What’s one practice from this list you could implement this week? Even small improvements can lead to significant gains over time.
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Even the best tools come with challenges. Let’s tackle some common roadblocks you might encounter with Customer Insights – Journeys and practical ways to overcome them:
1. “Our Data Is All Over the Place”
Challenge: Customer data scattered across multiple systems makes it difficult to create unified profiles.
Solution:
- Start by mapping your key data sources and understanding how they relate
- Use Microsoft Fabric’s integration capabilities to connect your most critical systems first
- Consider a phased approach—don’t try to integrate everything at once
- Set up regular data synchronization to keep information current
2. “Our Team Is Resistant to Change”
Challenge: Team members are hesitant to embrace new tools and ways of working.
Solution:
- Involve team members early in the implementation process
- Provide role-specific training focused on day-to-day tasks
- Create internal champions who can support their peers
- Celebrate and share success stories to build enthusiasm
Know how to quickly troubleshoot common Dynamics 365 error messages to reduce frustration. Invest in comprehensive training beyond just “how to click buttons” – focus on building real confidence with the platform.
Remember, changing habits takes time. Be patient and supportive through the learning curve.
3. “We’re Struggling to Move From Batch to Real-Time”
Challenge: Shifting mindset and processes from scheduled campaigns to trigger-based engagement.
Solution:
- Identify high-value customer moments that would benefit from an immediate response
- Create a simple trigger-based journey (like abandoned cart or form submission follow-up) as your first project
- Run parallel campaigns during the transition to maintain continuity
- Document and share early wins to build enthusiasm
4. “We Can’t Create Enough Content”
Challenge: Personalized journeys require more content than traditional campaigns.
Solution:
- Use Copilot to generate first drafts and variations
- Create a modular content approach with reusable blocks
- Repurpose existing content for different segments and channels
- Start with a few high-priority segments rather than trying to personalize for everyone
Pro Tip: Focus on quality content that impacts your bottom line rather than producing high volumes of low-value content.
5. “We’re Not Sure If It’s Working”
Challenge: Difficulty measuring the impact of marketing initiatives.
Solution:
- Set clear KPIs before launching campaigns
- Use attribution models to track the customer journey
- Compare performance against benchmarks and historical data
- Schedule regular reviews to analyze results and make adjustments
What challenges are you facing in your customer engagement efforts? Chances are, there’s a way to address them within the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Before we wrap up, let’s answer some curiosities about Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys:
How Does Customer Insights – Journeys Integrate with Other Microsoft Products?
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys connects seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem. It integrates natively with Dynamics 365 Sales for smooth lead handoff, Power BI for custom analytics, and Microsoft Teams for collaboration.
The platform also works with Microsoft Dataverse to provide a unified data foundation across all your applications.
What Kind of Marketing Automation Capabilities Does It Offer?
The platform automates multi-step customer journeys, personalized content delivery, and lead management processes. You can set up trigger-based communications, optimize send times automatically, and use AI to generate content drafts.
These capabilities save time while creating more relevant customer experiences.
Is Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys Suitable for B2B Companies?
Yes. Customer Insights – Journeys excels at B2B marketing with robust marketing support. It handles complex sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders and provides sophisticated lead scoring based on engagement and firmographic data.
Microsoft’s recognition as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for B2B Marketing Automation confirms its strength in this area.
Time to Take Action
Building connected experiences that truly resonate with customers requires more than just technology—it demands strategy, expertise, and a holistic approach.
Coffee + Dunn specializes in helping organizations maximize Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys with a proven Plan > Build > Run methodology.
Our team of 100% Microsoft-certified consultants has helped clients across industries transform their customer engagement and drive real business growth.
Ready to transform your customer engagement strategy?
Coffee + Dunn’s expertise as a two-time Microsoft Partner of the Year and finalist can help you align strategy, technology, and operations to create meaningful customer connections.
Get in touch with our team today to start your journey.