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Megan_Reed1
Megan_Reed1
Level 4
October 9, 2015
Question

Microsoft Dynamics + Marketo Integration

  • October 9, 2015
  • 2 replies
  • 4663 views

We currently use Marketo with a non-out-of-the-box CRM and have been struggling with integrations, reporting, campaigns, etc. Everything seems 100x harder without SDFC and unfortunately it doesn't look like we're looking to move to SDFC anytime soon. We are however considering Microsoft Dynamics.

I've been scouring the community to determine the pros and cons of a Microsoft Dynamics and Marketo integration, but most of the discussions are from 2013/2014. I did find this great article by Shad Khan - Re: Migrating to Dynamics? Key Learnings from a Marketo Enterprise Customer but am looking for more.

My sense is that Microsoft Dynamics would be an upgrade from where we are today, but we'd still hit reporting and campaign limitations that SDFC would not have.

To the Microsoft Dynamics community, please share your experience with the Marketo integration - pros and cons.

Thank you in advance!

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    2 replies

    A
    Anonymous
    February 23, 2016

    Hello Megan - just found this thread and wondering if you have moved any closer to integrating Marketo with Dynamics?

    I would suggest that there are some key differences to be aware of in a Marketo/DCRM environment compared with what you may have seen in a Marketo/SFDC environment. When it comes to keeping records synchronized when updates happen from either side you will see no critical differences. The one caveat on that is if you are in an environment where you have 150K records or more sync'd. In those cases I have seen examples where large batch updates from either side are not always successfully executed and there is (currently) no error reporting should the sync fail.

    A key difference to note is that the actual Marketo flow step options when connected with DCRM are limited to a SINGLE function - Sync with Microsoft. You do not have the ability (as you do in an instance associated with SFDC) to change record owner, add to a campaign, change campaign member status, add a task assigned to a SFDC user, etc. You can only introduce a Marketo lead over to DCRM. And once that sync is done, the records will stay linked. If you want to use Marketo to change the owner of a record in Dynamics you need to build a work around infrastructure to update a custom filed sync'd between Marketo and Dynamics that would then trigger a Dynamics based custom workflow to update the record owner in Dynamics.

    Happy to share more with you if you are still considering Dynamics - lots to share!

    Paul

    Megan_Reed1
    Megan_Reed1Author
    Level 4
    February 26, 2016

    Paul - Thank you so much for sharing your insights. My company has decided to move forward with a Salesforce integration. Now it's just a question of how to start that process!

      Grégoire_Miche2
      Grégoire_Miche2
      Level 10
      February 23, 2016

      Hi Megan

      My experience after about 40 Marketo projects: without a sync to your CRM, you are missing 40% of the value and return on investment of your Marketo project:

      • Time wasted to extract data from one system and import it in another
      • Lack of responsiveness in the lead management process, which leads to additional time to handle MQL / SQL
      • discrepancies in data that is updated on both ends, so none of the users will get the most recent updates in time
      • no closed loop infirmation (from CRM to Marketo) that prevents advanced analytics to work

      So if you have the possibility to fix it, do it

      -Greg

      Megan_Reed1
      Megan_Reed1Author
      Level 4
      February 26, 2016

      Thank you so much for your input. We are going to fix it by investing in Salesforce. Now it's just a matter of getting started with the integration. Are there any resources you would suggest besides the Product Docs info in Marketo to get going?

      Grégoire_Miche2
      Grégoire_Miche2
      Level 10
      February 26, 2016

      Hi Megan,

      On both MS Dynamics and Salesforce, the installation is very straightforward and easy.

      Then, on best practices re. Lead Management or campaign sync, this community has a lot of content that you can leverage. Just search on these key words.

      -Greg

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