5 new Dynamics 365 Marketing features you may not have heard of

Dynamics 365 Marketing is Microsoft’s premiere digital marketing application built directly into the Dynamics 365 ecosystem. For those of you using Dynamics 365 Marketing already, you may see changes here and there as Microsoft pushes out new releases as part of Dynamics 365 2020 Release Wave 2. Some of these features are not very visible and require additional steps to enable. We’ve put together a list of 5 new features in Dynamics 365 Marketing that can immediately impact your marketing operations and make life easier for your marketing team.

Unsure of what version of Dynamics 365 Marketing you are on? Check out Microsoft’s step-by-step instructions for finding it.

Natural language segment queries

Segments are Dynamics 365 Marketing’s answer to marketing lists. Much like the Advanced Find tool in Dynamics 365, Segments allow users to create queries from data attributes or marketing behavior data. Traditionally this has been done by manually creating rows in the query to look for the attributes or behavior types.

With natural language segment queries, users can type in simple words to specify the attributes and logic for the segment. An example of this would be to type “people who have a birthday this month and work in finance related industries.” Dynamics 365 will then attempt to build the query for you to adjust as necessary.

To start using natural language queries, a Dynamics 365 Marketing administrator will need to enable the tool in advanced settings. Navigate to Marketing Settings, Feature Switches, and toggle “Segmentation Natural Language Queries” to On.

Using Dynamics 365 Marketing forms for event registrations

Among the long list of capabilities, Dynamics 365 Marketing includes a robust event management system to manage both online and in-person events. In a recent update, Dynamics 365 Marketing forms became available to register event attendees. When enabled, users can create event registration forms using the drag and drop designer and tie them to existing events in Dynamics 365 Marketing. To add a marketing form to an event, navigate to the Website and form tab of the event record and toggle “Use marketing form for registration” to Yes.

Much like the natural language query feature, a Dynamics 365 Marketing administrator will need to enable the tool in advanced settings. Navigate to Marketing Settings, Feature Switches, and toggle the “Event registration forms” to On.

Accessibility checker in marketing emails

The accessibility checker feature for marketing emails helps users ensure that email content is easy for people of all abilities to read. Like the check for errors button, the accessibility checker runs email content through a checklist to verify that it fits all Microsoft Accessibility Standards. If an issue is found, a notification provides the user with guidance on how to resolve it.

A Dynamics 365 Marketing administrator will need to enable the tool in advanced settings. Navigate to Marketing Settings, Feature Switches, and toggle “Accessibility Checker” to On.

Prepare campaign analytics reports with Power BI

While Dynamics 365 Marketing includes a wide selection of built-in analytical charts for campaign performance, you can extend their visual representation and create customized reporting dashboards using Power BI. Microsoft now provides Dynamics 365 Marketing endpoints to connect to Power BI as well as dashboard templates to be used or customized further. Once created, marketing analytics dashboards can be used to influence future campaigns and report to management.

To get started connecting Dynamics 365 Marketing with Power BI, see Microsoft’s documentation here. It’s important to note that this feature is still in public preview meaning that the feature is not yet complete, and support is not provided at this point.

Add Outlook calendar invites for Microsoft Teams webinar hosts

Microsoft Teams is now a supported webinar provider in Dynamics 365 Marketing. When enabled, online event records in Dynamics 365 Marketing can automatically create Microsoft Teams Meetings or Live Events. Online events often have more than one speaker and include a producer that manages the broadcast behind the scenes.

Thanks to integration between Microsoft Teams and Outlook, an event manager can add speakers or producers to the event record in Dynamics 365 Marketing and have them automatically receive a calendar invite for the event on their Outlook Calendar. This calendar invite includes a direct link to join the live event making sure all staff join on time.