Managing Events in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys: A Comprehensive Guide

Organizing marketing events is a crucial element in building strong customer relationships. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys offers advanced tools for comprehensive event management, allowing you to manage the entire process, from planning to analysis.

Why should you use event management in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys?

1. Centralization of data and processes

One of the greatest advantages of the Event Management module is the ability to manage all aspects of an event in one place. The system integrates data about participants, speakers, sponsors, and locations with the existing contact and lead database in CRM. This ensures that every interaction with a participant is recorded and available to sales and marketing teams.

2. Marketing process automation

Microsft Customer Insights – Journeys enables the automation of key event-related processes:

• Sending invitations and reminders through personalized customer journeys
• Automatically assigning leads to the appropriate sales representatives
• Segmenting participants based on their behavior and preferences
• Follow-up after the event, taking into account the level of participant engagement

3. Registration portal and participant management

The system offers customizable registration portals that can be adapted to your company’s visual identity. Participants can manage their own registration, select sessions, and even pay for tickets. All this information is automatically transferred to the CRM.

4. Analytics and reporting

After the event, you have access to detailed reports including:

• Registration and attendance rates
• Participant engagement in individual sessions
• Event ROI
• Analysis of participant acquisition sources

5. Scalability

Whether you’re organizing small webinars for 20 people or international conferences with thousands of attendees, the system scales to your needs. You can manage multiple events simultaneously, create event series, and build loyalty programs for regular attendees.

The process of creating a new event - step by step

Step 1: Create a new event record

To start a new event, go to the Events section in the Event Planning area of ​​the Customer Insights – Journeys app. Click the + New event button and select the appropriate event template, or start with a blank form.

In the basic configuration, complete the following:

• Event name – the name of the event visible to participants
• Start date and End date – the start and end dates
• Time zone – the time zone of the event

Step 2: Configure Event Details

In the General tab, complete additional information:

• Event type – event type (conference, webinar, training, etc.)
• Event image – an image representing this event
• Location – the main location (for in-person events)
• Publishing – how you want attendees to register for the event
• Stream this event online – decide whether you want to use Microsoft Teams to stream the event and configure the stream according to your preferences

In the Additional information tab, we complete at least the Description.

Step 3: Schedule and Session Management

Go to the Agenda tab and start building your event program:

1. Click + New Session to add a new session

2. For each session, specify:

• Session name
• Start and end times
• Assigned location (conference room, webinar link)

3. You can create Session Tracks – thematic tracks that group related sessions

4. Additionally, you can provide a detailed description of the session using the fields in the Agenda: Session summary, Session Objectives, Detailed description, and Session Prerequisite

Step 4: Adding speakers and co-organizers

In the Speakers engagements section, add the people who will be speaking at the event:

• If the speaker already exists in CRM as a contact, you can search for and assign them.
• Create new contact records for external speakers.
• Complete the speaker information – this information will be visible in the registration portal.

Similarly, in the Sponsors section, you can add event sponsors, specifying sponsorship levels and information about each.

Step 5: Setting up the registration portal

The registration portal is a key element of the participant’s experience. In the Forms tab:

1. Select a portal template or customize an existing one

2. Personalize the appearance – add a logo, customise colours to match your company’s branding

3. Configure the registration form:

• Select standard fields (first name, surname, email)
• Add custom questions specific to your event
• Specify which fields are required
• Set GDPR consent and other required legal consents

4. Advanced settings:

• Decide whether you want each registered participant to be added as a lead
• Decide whether to enable guest registration for sessions
• Configure the period during which registration is available

Step 6: Managing available spaces and limits

Depending on the type of event, set participation limits:

• Event capacity – total number of places at the event
• Session capacity – limits for individual sessions (especially important for workshops)
• Venue capacity – capacity of physical locations

The system automatically tracks seat usage and can automatically close registration once the limit is reached.

Step 7: Integration with customer journeys

To maximize the platform’s potential, integrate the event with automated communication paths:

1. Create a segment for invited guests

2. Design a customer journey that includes:

• Invitation message
• Reminders before the event (e.g. 7 days, 1 day, 2 hours before)
• Logistical information (directions, agenda)
• Follow-up after the event

3. Use the event registration tile in the journey to automatically respond to the participant’s registration status.

Step 8: Testing and publishing

Before officially publishing the event:

1. Check all settings – review each section of the event form

2. Test the registration portal – perform a test registration, check responsiveness on different devices (you must set the event and any sessions to ‘go live’)

3. Verify the confirmation email – make sure that automatic messages contain all the necessary information

4. Check integrations – if you use payments or integrations with other systems, test them

Step 9: Monitoring the registration campaign

Once the event has started, regularly monitor:

• The number of registrations in real time
• The utilization of capacity limits for individual sessions
• The sources of participant acquisition (campaigns, traffic sources)
• Conversion from various promotional channels

The Customer Insights – Journeys dashboard offers visualizations and KPIs that allow you to track the success of your registration.

Step 10: Check-in and management on the day of the event

For in-person events, use the check-in feature:

• Use the mobile app to scan QR codes from participants’ tickets
• Track attendance in real time
• Print ID badges and materials for participants
• Instantly update participation status in CRM

Summary

The Event Planning module in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys is a comprehensive solution for marketing event organizers. Integration with CRM, communication automation, and advanced analytics ensure that every aspect of the event is under control, and the collected data goes directly to the organization’s sales and marketing processes.

Sources:

• Microsoft Learn: Event planning and management
• Microsoft Learn: Set up an event