Are you using Dynamics 365 Marketing or Dynamics 365 Customer Insights? Or are you considering their implementation?
If so, an important update awaits your attention. Microsoft is on the going to rename and bundle these two potent tools into a unified product, soon to be unveiled as Dynamics 365 Customer Insights starting September 1, 2023. This new unified customer data platform that enables you to ingest, unify, enrich, segment, activate, and visualise customer data from any source. That, in turn streamlines and centralises everything, making it easier for you to access the features you need for personalised customer experiences and journey orchestration effectively across all channels and applications.
Want to know more? Let us explain what the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is, why Microsoft is undertaking this move, how it will affect you as a customer, and how you can leverage the new Customer Insights to achieve your marketing goals.
What is the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights?
The new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights brings together the functionalities of the existing Dynamics 365 Marketing—now rebranded as Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys and the existing Dynamics 365 Customer Insights—now Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data. This unified offering still goes by the same name, Customer Insights, but it’s expanded to give you a seamless experience, combining customer insights and real-time journey orchestration. With this change, you will get a unified and powerful customer data platform that helps you collect, unify, and analyse customer data from various sources for a holistic view of your customers.
With the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, you can:
- Ingest and unify customer data from any source, such as CRM, ERP, web, social media, IoT devices, etc., using pre-built connectors or custom APIs. You can also map and match customer records across different sources using AI-powered identity resolution.
- Enrich and segment customer data using AI and machine learning. You can augment your customer profiles with third-party data from Microsoft Graph or other providers. You can also create dynamic segments based on attributes, behaviours, or predictive scores.
- Activate and orchestrate customer data across channels and applications. You can export your customer segments to any destination, such as email marketing, advertising platforms, social media, etc., using pre-built connectors or custom APIs. You can also create personalised customer journeys across all touchpoints and channels using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys (formerly Dynamics 365 Marketing).
- Visualise and analyse customer data using Power BI. You can create interactive dashboards and reports to monitor your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as customer lifetime value (CLV), churn rate, retention rate, etc. You can also explore your customer data using natural language queries or AI-powered insights.
Why is Microsoft bundling Marketing and Customer Insights together?
The bundling of Marketing and Customer Insights is part of Microsoft’s vision to make your experience even more valuable and personalised. By bringing together a unified customer profile with real-time journey management, it is providing you with a single, affordable solution. This helps you create personalised experiences for your customers at every interaction point, while simplifying the licensing process as your business grows.
By combining the two applications into one product offering, the tech giant aims to:
- Simplify the licensing and pricing model for its customers
Instead of purchasing two separate applications with different pricing models, you can now purchase one combined offering with a simple pricing model based on the number of profiles and accounts that you need to manage your customer data and insights.
- Provide a seamless user experience and integration for marketers
You can now avoid having to switch between two different applications with different user interfaces and functionalities. With all the features and capabilities of both applications within one unified user interface, you’re certainly going to have a seamless and efficient workflow.
- Enable marketers to create personalised customer journeys across all touchpoints and channels
Rather than relying on siloed or fragmented customer data from different sources, you can now leverage a holistic and unified view of your customers. That goes a long way into creating responsive and connected customer journeys across all touchpoints and channels.
How is the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights licensed?
The new Customer Insights follows a prepaid capacity model, pooling capacity at the tenant level. There are two capacity units: People Interacted for Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys and People Unified for Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data. While People Interacted is equivalent to Marketable Contacts in the Marketing module, People Unified is equivalent to Profile metre in the Customer Insights module.
According to Microsoft, the new pricing for Customer Insights the UK is £1,397.30 per tenant per month for new customers and £821.90 per tenant per month for the qualifying customers. That means, the existing Marketing or Customer Insights customers will enjoy reduced licensing cost when they migrate to the new unified solution. Want to find out more? Talk to our experts.
With the new pricing model, you will be getting the combined functionality of both Marketing and Customer Insights in a single, unified solution for the price of one albeit slightly increased. So, do not worry about paying more! And if you’re an existing customer, you can save up to 41% on licensing cost when moving into the new unified Customer Insights.
How will this move impact existing and new customers?
The bundling of Marketing and Customer Insights holds promising prospects for Microsoft customers, influencing various aspects based on their existing usage and requirements.
Here are some possible scenarios:
- If you’re currently using either the standalone Marketing or Customer Insights, or both, you can renew your existing licence for one contract cycle prior to transitioning into the new Customer Insights. This renewal option will be available till 1 September 2024, with a final contract maturity date that can’t exceed 1 September 2027. After which, you’ll need to transition to the new combined Customer Insights.
- If you are a new customer who does not use either of the applications, you will be better off purchasing the new combined offering. That’s because from 1 September 2023, only the new Customer Insights combined offering will be available for new customers.
What’s next?
Microsoft will continue investing in new features to empower you with stronger insights-based marketing to ensure you have one of the most integrated customer data platforms and marketing automation solutions at your fingertips. As such, transitioning into or purchasing the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights could be one of the best decisions for your organisation.
For more information, feel free to explore the official FAQ section.
Remember, at Dogma, we’re always happy to make your marketing journey as engaging and effective as possible. So, if you want to see how the new Dynamics 365 Customer Insights can help you achieve your marketing goals, you can request a free demo today. We would love to hear from you.
