Dynamics CRM 2011 – Quick Campaigns, Rapid Results

Louise Alderton, 20 November 2010

A couple of months back I wrote a post on Using Quick Campaigns in Dynamics CRM 4.0. In keeping with my theme of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 discovery I thought I would re-evaluate this tool in to see what exciting new things have been brought to the table. Let’s take a look…

Firstly, just to re-cap a Quick Campaign is an instant marketing effort consisting of a single activity to a target marketing list or ad hoc group that you choose. For example you might do an email blast to a group of existing customers letting them know there is a new version out for a product they have previously brought from you, or you might create a phone call campaign to all key contacts within a certain area to let them know that you will be visiting their town and would like to catch up with them face to face.

The first step in creating a quick campaign is to select your victims…I mean target group J. In the example below I am working with a predefined marketing list. Now in CRM 2011, once you have selected who will be included in your campaign you can create a quick campaign by clicking the icon right on the ribbon.

As with Dynamics CRM 4.0, CRM 2011 simplifies the process of creating a Quick Campaign by providing a Wizard to guide you through.

From here you pretty much just follow the instructions. Compulsory fields include naming the Quick Campaign, selecting the activity type and choosing who the activity is assigned to. Some handy new features here in CRM 2011 are the ability to create a custom activity, for example a text message or a tweet, a function that was not previously available or easy to do. You also have the ability to assign an activity to a team rather than just an individual user. Having these extended options gives more functionality to your CRM system, you can work the way that is best for your business instead of being limited by out-of-the-box features.

One significant improvement with Quick Campaigns in CRM 2011 is that you can now use Email Templates.

This is a very helpful feature allowing you to prepare the template in advance and conduct appropriate testing to ensure that the email is sent out just the way you want it. It also means you can keep email communications consistent and well presented, ensuring you stay top of mind with your recipients.

Once a Quick Campaign is underway or completed there are some great features you can use such as Export to Excel or Run a Report giving you insight into your campaigns performance and allowing you to drill down on your data.

To sum up – Quick Campaigns are a handy feature in Dynamics CRM and now even better with CRM 2011 to get results fast!

Next week – Campaigns in Dynamics CRM 2011.