CRM Tips: Marketing Lists – Static vs Dynamic

A recent question I got asked from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer was about the differences between a Static Marketing List and a Dynamic Marketing List. The user had created a Static marketing list and had been constantly adding to the list whenever they had a new CRM contact that qualified for the marketing list.

Dynamic marketing lists was able to save him time and ensured that everyone that should be on the list was on the list.

A Static marketing list is a snapshot in time. You add the contacts you want in that marketing list depending on certain criteria…and that was it. If a new contact is added to the CRM database you can manually add them to the marketing list, or if the marketing list is no longer relevant to a contact you can manually remove them.

Dynamic marketing lists removes the manual element. You can create a query (e.g. all customers where their country equals Ireland). This means that any contacts with “Country = Ireland” will be added to the list. As you add new contacts to the CRM database, they will automatically be added to the marketing list if they live in Ireland. If a contact moves and the Country field in the contact card is updated, then they will be automatically removed from the marketing list.

Below is the screen used to create new Marketing lists, I have highlighted the option where you decide if it is a Static or Dynamics list:

Once created the user can add members, or create a query (in the case of a Dynamic list) by selecting “Manage members”. Below is a query that will automatically add any contacts in the database that have their Country set to Ireland:

This is a great tool to let Dynamics CRM manage your marketing lists rather than having the manual process and ensures all contacts that should be receiving marketing information are on the list.

As always, get in touch if you would like any more information about Dynamics CRM.

 

by Richard Dunlop