How to Leverage Managed Execution Services for Marketing Technology in Microsoft Dynamics

Are marketers using Microsoft Dynamics effectively? While it is an ideal platform for utilizing marketing automation to execute marketing initiatives, customers often fail to realize the full potential of the solution employed for them – leaving a gap between the implementation and ROI phases. Marketers regularly utilize marketing technology (MarTech) to deploy campaigns and access metrics, but that only scratches the surface in terms of capabilities. Enter managed execution services (MES), which allow marketers to take control of their marketing strategy and invest more in outside experts to drive results.

Historically speaking, managed execution services have revolved around the premise that a marketing software provider could offer a skillset that a customer didn’t have and execute various campaign elements for less money than a new hire. The customer would tell their MarTech provider what they wanted to achieve, and the provider would make it happen. But that process only resolved surface-level problems. It was solely reactive and relied on the Dynamics user’s ability to verbalize their marketing process, determine platform action items and to output the desired data – a difficult feat if the customer isn’t well-versed in both marketing strategy and Dynamics 365 technology.

By taking a step back and looking at MES more holistically, Dynamics users are able to couple their extensive platform knowledge with the expertise of a MarTech support team to achieve specific marketing goals. There are a few ways this can be accomplished: through advisory, preventative, personalized learning and traditional execution services.

Advisory Services

Advisory services provide best-practice consulting to a specific customer on how to execute a certain task within the MarTech platform. The actions based on advisory consultations are still managed within the platform by the customer. Think of advisory services through the lens of building a new home. The Dynamics user is the home buyer. They know what they want in the design of their new home, but might not know the best way to accomplish the task. The advisory services team is the architect, taking the customer’s ideas and translating it onto paper, making best-practice recommendations on foundation, building materials and design. Advisory services are especially valuable for teams that don’t have the bandwidth or expertise to utilize the solution to meet their specific problems.

Preventative Services