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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Archived) / Marketing Automation f...
Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Archived)

Marketing Automation for Microsoft NAV

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Posted on by BN09 110

I would like to hear from anyone who has integrated marketing automation with Microsoft NAV. What did you do? How did you do it?

NAV's built-in marketing functionality is very limited (as I understand it). It enables users to segment and to manage contacts at the opportunity stage. When it comes to executing campaigns (email/direct mail/events/webinars/etc) there is no functionality. Furthermore, it doesn't appear there is any 3rd party marketing automation solution for NAV. I have used ClickDimensions with Microsoft CRM however that is CRM - not NAV.

At this stage, I am guessing people use a 3rd party marketing automation platform like HubSpot, Marketo or something else and simply feed leads into NAV for opportunity tracking.

In my marketing experience, sales people like to see on-going marketing activity related to contacts which then begs the question... how do you get real-time marketing data from a 3rd party solution into NAV? For example website visits, asset downloads, online requests, etc.

I'd like to hear from others who have faced this issue and what you did about it?

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  • Verified answer
    Alexander Ermakov Profile Picture
    Alexander Ermakov 28,096 on at

    There is still some limited functionality, related to conducting campaigns. Have you checked this Walkthrough: Conducting a Sales Campaign? msdn.microsoft.com/.../hh174278(v=nav.90).aspx

    If this would not be enough, what would you miss? Can you provide more details on the marketing process you are trying to implement?

  • Suggested answer
    Miguel Llorca Gómez Profile Picture
    Miguel Llorca Gómez 7,019 User Group Leader on at

    Hi Brian,

    I think that on that scenario, you might move to a newer NAV version (2017) which has a better integration with CRM (not the Dynamics Connector creepy thing). You'll find some good marketing automation tools that fits on this. In my company we are using Markitude :-)

    Hope this helps.

    BR,

  • BN09 Profile Picture
    BN09 110 on at

    Alexander, thanks for the link. I found it very helpful in the sense that I better understand how NAV has been designed to handle campaigns.  NAV comes no where close to handling marketing campaigns like a true marketing automation platform would. For example, something as simple as tracking email stats (opens, clicks, etc) can't be done because there is no email engine. My view of the lack of marketing capabilities within NAV is being confirmed. Hence, I am looking for a solution to deliver industry standard marketing automation (prospect tracking, email, event tracking, landing pages, gated assets, etc) that will work in conjunction with NAV. Similar to what ClickDimensions has done with CRM.

    Can someone tell me if there is integration between Microsoft NAV and CRM from a sales and marketing perspective? For example, can Microsoft CRM be used as a marketing platform (leveraging ClickDimensions) and have leads and opportunities tracked in NAV?

  • Verified answer
    Alexander Ermakov Profile Picture
    Alexander Ermakov 28,096 on at

    Brian,

    Still, I would disagree it is so dramatically bad as you described. E.g., in NAV2017 there is email engine and a functionality of logging of interactions with customers. Check this: msdn.microsoft.com/.../hh165136(v=nav.90).aspx , it can among other things record the fact of sending e-mails to your contacts from the contact card by clicking the icon to the right of the E-Mail field or even fact of calling your contacts, if you have a TAPI-compliant telephone and the right installation.

    I would agree that of course NAV as such is not aimed for full power CRM processes. However at least to some extent can be utilized for some simple processes. Sometimes also it is better to perform light customization of NAV rather than dive into an intense integration with a heavy 3rd party solution. It all depends on your processes and requirements.

    You can also use Microsoft CRM and its built-in integration with NAV (msdn.microsoft.com/.../dn951570(v=nav.90).aspx), in NAV 2017 version it became more or less usable out-of-the-box. Also, integration with Office 365 provides extended collaboration and marketing possibilities.

  • BN09 Profile Picture
    BN09 110 on at

    Alexander,

    Thanks for the feedback. It is helpful. I am quite familiar with CRM however I know very little about how it integrates with NAV, The link you provided is very useful.

    I reviewed the link you provided that outlined what interactions are logged with customer records. Most, if not all, interactions are related to the sales process versus marketing. In other words, it is a one-to-one interaction versus a one-to-many as is the case in marketing.

    I will look more closely at the features of NAV 2017.

    Brian

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