Dynamics 365 users know it’s no secret that Real-time marketing (RTM) is where you can find the latest and greatest features Dynamics 365 Marketing has to offer. Ready to join the cool kids and make the switch? Start with these FAQs we’ve heard from clients just like you.
Q: What’s so great about Real-time, anyway?
A: Glad you asked. You’ll still see a lot of the same great features you experience in Outbound marketing today, along with several enhancements that enable the shift to a fully modern approach to marketing, allowing you meet each customer where they are in the way that’s most impactful to them. A few notables:
- Trigger-based journeys to send messages aligned with customers’ signature moments
- Advanced audience targeting, adding direct communication to leads without associating them to contacts
- Advanced personalization options, including conditional content and quick and easy addition of dynamic content from a variety of sources
- Frequency capping to better prevent consumer fatigue and maintain engagement
- Built-in communications such as text messages and push notifications to send messages through the channel of each customer’s choice
- Enhanced exit criteria with journeys to ensure customers only receive communications when it’s relevant to them
Q: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Can’t I just go without moving to Real-time marketing?
A: Technically, yes, but…while Outbound marketing is still supported, the newest and more optimized features are only found in RTM. In December 2022, Microsoft announced all future investments for Dynamics 365 Marketing will be rolled out to the Real-time marketing work area, and it shows: With greater scalability, enhanced AI/Copilot experiences and improved segment, form, and journey builders, for most clients the move is a no-brainer.
Q: How long will this transition take?
A: Depending on the number of assets that need to be migrated, the progress of your current journeys and those that need to be recreated, a full transition can typically take 2-4 months. Coffee + Dunn has helped clients develop transition plans that consider any seasonality, upcoming events or campaigns that may affect the team’s bandwidth, along with a roadmap for making the move with minimal disruption.
Q: Will the move to Real-time marketing cost more $$$?
A: Transitioning to RTM doesn’t require additional license investment, but it can help increase return on your marketing efforts. New features like triggers can allow you to take action on behaviors happening beyond email and your website, extending throughout your marketing ecosystem. Combine this with the right strategy and process, Real-time marketing can help you get the right message to the right customer at the right time.
Q: Is this transition going to shut my marketing operation down?
A: With the right plan, you can mitigate disruption to your marketing activities. This is where a hybrid approach can be helpful. You can continue to utilize Outbound marketing as you do today while a migration strategy is developed. Part of the right strategy includes a cutover date in which all new campaigns be created in Real-time marketing. For campaigns currently in progress, we recommend a plan for when those can be stopped within Outbound and turned on within Real-time.
Q: What are the risks associated with not moving now?
A: Right now, Microsoft is focused on making the transition as smooth as possible as the two areas become closer to feature parity, but ultimately, delaying a move to Real-time marketing will result in missing out on new features and capabilities, as well as falling behind competitors who have made the switch.
What’d we miss? For additional information or to begin the move to Real-time marketing, contact Coffee + Dunn today.