Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 includes powerful search features you can use to manage and filter accounts, contacts, and leads. Use these features to set up and share custom searches and lists that your whole team can use. Target your marketing efforts by setting up a list based on criteria you define and printing mailing labels to use for a targeted mailing. While you're at it, print a call-down sheet for your telesales group to use for follow-ups.
You may want to target a campaign at a subset of your accounts, contacts, and leads, such as accounts based in Chicago, or accounts with open opportunities worth more than $1,000. The easiest way to add members to a list in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 is to create an empty list, and then use Advanced Find to add your members.
How to create a marketing list
1.
In the Navigation Pane, click Marketing, and then click Marketing Lists.
2.
On the Actions toolbar, click New.
3.
In the Marketing List form, enter a name for your new list, and in the Member Type box, select Account, Contact, or Lead, and then click Save.
4.
Under Details, click Marketing List Members.
5.
On the Actions toolbar, click Manage Members.
6.
In the Manage Members dialog box, click Use Advanced Find to add members, and then click OK.
7.
On the Find tab, click Select, and then select Address 1: City. Click Enter Value, and type Chicago.
8.
Click Select, and scroll down to the bottom section of the list, under the Related heading. This section shows all the related records.
9.
Under Related, select Opportunities (Potential Customer).
10.
Click Select, and then select Est. Revenue.
11.
Change Equals to Is Greater Than, click Enter Value, and then type 1,000.
12.
Click Find.
13.
Click Add all the members returned by the search to the marketing list, and then click Add to Marketing List.
Create labels for a mailing to your marketing list
You can export any list you’ve created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Microsoft Office Excel as a static worksheet, or as a dynamic PivotTable or worksheet. To make mailing labels, you export a list to Excel, and then merge the Excel data into a label template in Microsoft Office Word. There are two ways you can export lists from Microsoft Dynamics CRM:
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Create a view that includes all the address data and export it as a static worksheet. An exported static worksheet contains all the columns that were visible in the view at the time you exported it.
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Export any view as a dynamic worksheet. When you export to a dynamic worksheet, you can choose the columns you want to export.
How to perform a mail merge using a dynamic worksheet
1.
In your marketing list, on the Actions toolbar, click Export to Excel .
2.
Select Dynamic worksheet, and then click Edit Columns.
3.
Click Add Columns, select the address columns you need for mailing labels, and then click OK, and then click OK again in the Edit Columns dialog box.
4.
In the Export Data to Excel dialog box, click Export.
5.
Click Save, and specify the location and name of the file.
6.
In the Download complete dialog box, click Close.
7.
Open a blank document in Microsoft Word.
8.
On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.
9.
In the Mail Merge task pane, select Labels, and then click Next: Starting document.
10.
Click Label options, specify the label information for the type of labels you want to use, and then click OK.
11.
Click Next: Select recipients.
12.
Under Use an existing list, click Browse.
13.
In the Select Data Source dialog box, locate the file you saved in step 5, and click Open.
14.
In the Data Link Properties dialog box, click OK.
Important
If Microsoft Word displays a message indicating that the table is not in the correct format, click OK to close the message, and then click Cancel to get past the Select Workbook dialog box.
15.
In the Query Refresh dialog box, click Enable automatic refresh, and then click OK in the generic Microsoft Excel dialog box.
16.
In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click OK.
17.
Click Next: Arrange your labels.
18.
Click More items, and insert the address fields from your Excel file in the order they should appear on your labels. When you’ve finished, click Close.
19.
In the document, add line breaks, spaces, punctuation and any other formatting required by your postal service.
20.
In the Mail Merge task pane, under Replicate labels, click Update all labels.
21.
Click Next: Preview your labels.
22.
If you’re satisfied with the format of your labels, click Next: Complete the merge.
23.
Put your label sheets in your printer, and then click Print.
Note
If you want to use this set of mailing labels again, be sure to save the Word file. However, bear in mind that your marketing list may change between now and the next time you want to use these labels.
For effective follow-up, your salespeople need easy access to all the relevant data about each lead. You can create a custom view for them to use, and share it with everyone who will be making follow-up phone calls.
How to create a custom view that shows specific columns
To make it easier for your salespeople to see the most useful information from their list of accounts, contacts, or leads, you can create a custom view that includes specific columns. For example, you may want your salespeople to see the Description and Industry columns for leads.
1.
In the Navigation Pane, click Marketing, and then click Marketing Lists.
2.
Open a marketing list that contains accounts, leads, or contacts.
3.
Under Details, click Marketing List Members.
4.
On the Actions toolbar, click Manage Members.
5.
In the Manage Members dialog box, click Use Advanced Find to evaluate members, and then click OK.
6.
On the Find tab, click Edit Columns.
7.
In the Edit Columns dialog box, under Common Tasks, click Add Columns.
8.
In the Add Columns dialog box, select the columns you want to include in your view, and then click OK.
9.
To adjust the width of each column so that your new columns are visible with less scrolling, select a field, click Change Properties, select the column width, and then click OK. Do this for each field you want to change.
10.
To adjust the order of the columns, select a column and use the green arrows under Common Tasks to move it.
11.
In the Edit Columns dialog box, click OK.
12.
To check that the view shows the information in the way you want it to appear, click Find.
13.
To return to the call list you created, click Back to Query.
14.
Click Save As, specify a name for the view, and then click OK.
How to share the view with your team
Now that you’ve created your view, you can share it with your team.
1.
In the Advanced Find window, click the Saved Views tab, select the view you just created, and then on the More Actions menu, click Sharing.
2.
Click Add User/Team, find the users and teams you want to share the view with, and then click OK twice.
How to find the shared view
After you make the view available to your team, tell them where to find it. You can copy these step-by-step instructions into an e-mail and send them to your team:
1.
Open the <name of your list> marketing list.
2.
Under Details, click Marketing List Members.
3.
On the Actions toolbar, click Manage Members.
4.
In the Manage Members dialog box, click Use Advanced Find to evaluate members, and then click OK.
5.
In the Use Saved View list, click <name of the view you created>.
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Important
Note