Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Running a successful sales and marketing organization demands a concert of successful operations running in parallel: generate demand with inbound marketing, automate lead nurturing, scoring, and qualification, analytics and reporting, and of course close deals with the support of marketing working with sales. To some companies this might sound like a daunting task, especially to those just getting started with inbound marketing and online lead generation.

You might think you need different systems for different tasks: a CMS for your website, marketing software to generate leads, marketing automation for lead nurturing, custom reports and dashboards to glue it all together, and somehow piece all of it together with Dynamics CRM. Then of course you can't start any of this without a solid strategy. Where to begin?

You can have it all in one place!

With the recent release of HubSpot3, small and medium enterprises can enjoy vast benefits by consolidating all their marketing technology in one central system, which is then tightly integrated with Dynamics CRM.

Implementing Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation with Dynamics CRM

It takes time, dedication, and resources, but a properly implemented inbound marketing strategy with CRM integration pays off. Businesses report lower operating costs, higher lead generation rates at a lower cost per lead, and improved close rates with email automation. Below is a rough game plan to consider when planning a shift to inbound marketing. Each step in the process is available by using a single solution, HubSpot, integrated with Dynamics CRM.

1. Optimize your website to get found with SEO tools.
2. Integrate your existing website with HubSpot or build a new inbound marketing website on the HubSpot CMS.
3. Define your buyer personas. Who will be reading your content and making the decision to buy from your company? Your content should speak directly to these people and address the problems they face in their jobs and their industries. The better you know about your target personas, the better you can identify quality leads in the funnel and send them to sales.
4. Create valuable, remarkable content that your customers and prospects will love and share with others.
5. Synchronize your Dynamics CRM leads and contacts with HubSpot, including persona and profile data.
6. Segment your marketing database with smart lists for email campaigns and personalized content.
7. Build landing pages and lead forms to generate leads from your PPC campaigns, email blasts, and website calls-to-action while they are researching your company and competitors. Don't forget to embed inbound marketing in your outbound efforts as well.
8. Write lead nurturing campaigns that move prospects through the funnel, driving them back to landing pages to learn more. 
9. Build workflows to score your leads and qualify them for the sales team. 
10. Nurture prospects and existing customers from CRM data to strengthen your relationship and keep your business front-of-mind.

With HubSpot and Dynamics CRM working together, your sales and marketing team have access to the data they need, in the systems where they work. HubSpot receives important customer and prospect data managed by your sales and customer service teams, while Dynamics CRM receives web analytics, social data, and form conversions, helping reps follow up with their valuable leads at the right time.