You are making the jump (again) into the marketing technology world! So, who plays nice with Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Perhaps your first foray into the marketing technology world did not go as planned. Much of the past capability focused around MRM (Marketing Resources Management). However, the need for a digital marketing strategy is more important than ever before and you need the right tools to empower you to reach your digital marketing goals.

The Landscape

The marketing technology landscape can seem a bit overwhelming at first glance due to the sheer amount of options. PowerPack, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Hubspot, Pardot/Exact Target, Marketo, SAS, Eloqua, IMC, Act-on, Salesfusion, InfusionSoft, MailChimp, Click Dimensions, Everstring, Eventbright, OktoPost, Constant Contact, and on and on and on it goes. Over 3,500 different marketing tools are on the market.

Today, we will only worry about marketing automation platforms. The applications must be feature rich and most importantly have an organizational strategy centered on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and bridging the gap between marketing and sales teams.

(Minimum feature function requirements)

The Tiers

Tier 1:

Often this is the tier for organizations dipping their toes in the water for the first time. They need smart, easy to use, sophisticated tools. Typically, these organization have smaller marketing teams or perhaps employees wearing multiple hats. The key differentiator for tier one applications is location. They can boast what the more advanced solutions can't – and that is a native integration. The ability to create email campaigns, landing pages, build customer profiles, lead score, analyze web forensics and analytics all from within Microsoft Dynamics 365. This can be a powerful time saver and is easy to launch within an organization because you are working inside a system you have already mastered. Tier 1 is a great fit for small to mid-sized businesses.

Solutions: PowerPack, ClickDimensions

Tier 2:

This tier is like our first tier in feature functionality. The critical difference is again, location. This tier provides a platform that lives outside of the CRM – a marketing solution built for marketers by marketers. These platforms give the marketing team their own database to massage and nurture leads before passing them along to sales. The third party solutions make it easier to maintain data integrity within the CRM. Only pertinent information on a lead is moved into the CRM database and its Information that marketing and sales agree upon. Best fit for small to midsize businesses executing a high volume of campaigns and dealing with high lead volumes.

Solutions: Act-on and Salesfusion

Tier 3:

This tier represents the behemoth solution. Adobe Marketing Cloud. Adobe has partnered with Microsoft to offer a high-end complete marketing and sales solution. AMC like our other tier two solutions is a standalone platform with its own user interface. The platform provides the ability to integrate into real-time enabling organizations to personalize and engage customers.

Outline of product paring:

Adobe Campaign + Microsoft Dynamics 365 = Campaign Orchestration

Adobe Experience Manager + Microsoft Azure = Web Experience Foundation

Adobe Analytics + Microsoft Power BI = Powerful Data insights

It's important to note that AMC is a solution that encompasses feature functionality outside traditional marketing automation. We will take a deeper dive into Adobe's capabilities in another entry.

This is an enterprise solution.

Solution: Adobe Marketing Cloud

All the tiers offer excellent solutions that pair wonderfully with Microsoft Dynamics 365! Be sure to analyze your organizations' marketing engagement methodology to determine the best fit.

Happy Dynamics 365'ing!