It’s official: Outbound marketing is on its way out of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys. If you’re still using Outbound marketing (OBM), we’ve got some info for you on making the switch to Real-time journeys (RT-J).
Q: So, this is really happening, huh?
A: It’s a big change, but don’t panic. Outbound marketing isn’t going anywhere until June 30, 2025. So, while now’s the time to begin the transition to Real-time journeys, you have some time to plan things out. From The Rapid Transition Guide to Real-time Journeys to our Knowledge Hub and more, we’re here to help!
Q: Can I still use the Outbound marketing work area after June 30, 2025?
A: After June 30, 2025, the Outbound marketing moduel will be removed for good, but moving to RT-J today has tons of benefits—enhanced native analytics, trigger-based journeys, better personalization, and channel optimization, just to name a few. We’re here to ensure this is as easy as possible for you.
Q: How long will the 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. Our guide for moving to Real-time journeys considers 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 RTJ cost more $$$?
A: Transitioning to Real-time journeys doesn’t require additional software investment, but it can help increase return on your marketing efforts. Features like triggers allow you to action on behaviors happening beyond email and your website, extending throughout your marketing ecosystem. Combine this with the right strategy and process, RT-J can help you get the right message to the right customer at the right time. (Bonus: The new license also allows you to install unlimited environments.)
Q: What will happen to my custom fields/existing configuration?
A: Real-time journeys tables, columns, forms, and views are different than Outbound marketing, so configuration to things like email and form tables in OBM will need to be replicated for RT-J. (No changes will be made to tables like leads, contacts and accounts.) Our recommendation: Start by documenting your changes, analyzing them against RT-J, and applying your changes before OBM is removed.
Q: What will happen to my emails, forms, etc.?
A: While the work area is being removed from the UI, the tables aren’t going anywhere. (Same goes for data—more on that below.) That said, assets like emails and forms will become unusable; you can get ahead of this by migrating applicable templates from OBM to RT-J before the switch. (Tip: Email templates can be migrated using the recently released import wizard.)
Q: What about my engagement data?
A: Your historical engagement data isn’t going anywhere, with Real-time reports updated to reference OBM data. More to come from Microsoft on this, but in the meantime: To view both Outbound + Real-time engagement data in aggregate, we recommend Microsoft Fabric to retrieve RT-J data combined with Blob storage for OBM/historical engagement.
Q: Will I be able to keep my subscription lists?
A: Consent management works differently in RT-J (more on that here), including a new consent center. The good news: Subscription lists can be converted into new RT-J Consent Center records that are connected to topics. More importantly, this is the perfect time to review consent practices for your organization. We can walk you through the new consent model—from compliance profiles to topics and everything in between.
Q: Will I be able to use the same features in RT-J?
A: You can expect to see most of the core features of Outbound marketing available in Real-time journeys, including several enhancements. (On December 2, 2024, features such as LinkedIn Lead Generation and social posting were officially removed. If these features are important for your organization, contact us to learn more about leveraging Customer Insights – Data to minimize disruption.)
Q: How can C+D help?
A: No matter where you are in the transition from Outbound marketing to Real-time journeys, we’ve got you covered. Start here:
The Rapid Transition Guide to Real-time Journeys: Choose from several modules to create a custom transition guide focused on the RT-J features of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys that matter most.
Knowledge Hub (coming soon): Full of self-paced courses, learning toolkits and more, the Knowledge Hub is your one-stop shop for all things Dynamics 365 CE. Subscribe today for more info on training and community support specific to the transition from Outbound marketing to Real-time journeys.
While Microsoft’s official announcement of Outbound marketing’s end date may be worrisome, we’re here to ensure you have the resources, information and support you need. Get started on your success plan by contacting Coffee + Dunn today.