ClickDimensions vs Dynamics 365 Marketing: Top 9 FAQs

There are two main marketing automation solutions aimed for Dynamics 365 customers: ClickDimensions and Dynamics 365 Marketing.

At Encore we sell both solutions, and we advise each of our customers as to which is best for them.

For an overview, start with this quick comparison table. Or you can jump to the full FAQ below.

 

What Is the Main Difference between D365 Marketing and ClickDimensions?

The main difference is that D365 Marketing is a bigger solution than ClickDimensions, requiring a larger investment, and capable of much deeper customization and configuration for your business needs.

In general, ClickDimensions is better for smaller marketing departments, in simpler companies. ClickDimensions works best without substantial customization.

On the other hand, D365 Marketing tends to be better for larger marketing departments, in companies with more complex offerings and sales cycles.

Dynamics 365 works best when you collaborate with an experienced Dynamics 365 Marketing Partner to tailor the solution to your specific business needs and processes.

For a more general introduction to this kind of software, you may want to read our Intro to Marketing Automation.

What Is the Difference in Pricing Between D365 Marketing and ClickDimensions?

D365 Marketing starts at $1,500/tenant/month USD ($1,920 CAD), whereas ClickDimensions starts at $499/month USD. However, those prices can move up or down depending on your details.

ClickDimensions has 3 main license options: Basic ($499/month USD), Business ($699/month USD), and Premier ($1,299/month USD). Note that you must pay for your license for a full year up front.

The major differentiator between Basic, Business, and Premier ClickDimensions license types for most clients is the amount of email sends allowed, with Basic starting at 50,000 sends per year. See ClickDimensions pricing info for details.

For Dynamics 365 Marketing, if you already have 10 or more users in another D365 application like D365 Sales or Finance & Operations, you can get a discounted license — called an “attach” license — for half the price: $750/tenant/month USD ($960 CAD). In our experience, most customers considering D365 Marketing meet that condition. See Microsoft’s D365 Marketing price info for details.

There may be additional costs for D365 Marketing, depending on your number of contacts, etc. Note that every person you include in any email send gets counted as a marketing contact for this purpose.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions More Able to Be Customized?

Dynamics 365 Marketing is much more flexible for both configuration and customization.

Configuration: With the help of a Dynamics 365 Marketing Partner, you can configure settings such as fiscal years, goals, event teams, document templates, privacy banners, email deduplication, lead matching strategies, and so much more.

Customizations: Regarding customizations, the sky is truly the limit with Dynamics 365 Marketing. You can customize marketing calendars, reporting views, marketing lists, fields for leads, and more.

Dynamics 365 Marketing can also be integrated with Content Management Systems (CMS) including Adobe Marketing Cloud or web portals including Dynamics 365 Portals.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Better for Audience Segmentation?

D365 Marketing has more advanced segmentation capabilities. If your company has complex offerings, sales cycles, or customer profiles, you may find this essential to scaling up your sales and revenue.

For instance, Dynamics 365 Marketing lets you create compound audiences. This means you can build a marketing list based on multiple types of criteria:

• demographic (based on a contact’s details)
• firmographic (based on an account’s details, like their industry)
• behavioral (based on behaviours like email opens or website visits)

This lets you reach a very precise audience.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Better for Event Management?

Dynamics 365 Marketing offers a more complete event management solution than ClickDimensions. The event management capabilities for in-person, online, or hybrid events are feature-rich and can easily compete with a stand-alone event management solution.

D365 Marketing offers direct integration for Microsoft Teams live events and Teams meetings. And aside from event registration management, D365 also offers event logistics management for sponsorships, vendors, speakers, hotel room allocations, and room reservations for staff, speakers, and guests.

However, ClickDimensions does offer useful event records and connectors for certain 3rd-party event applications like GoToWebinar. A Teams connector for ClickDimensions is also available.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Better for Social Media?

Both offer broad social media functionality, but D365 Marketing has a stronger LinkedIn integration.

Both D365 Marketing and ClickDimensions allow you to author, schedule, post messages to your organization’s social media accounts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. They both also allow you to track clicks to your website from social media.

D365 Marketing’s native integration with LinkedIn lets you include LinkedIn campaigns in your Customer Journey, have matched audiences on LinkedIn based on Dynamics 365 Marketing segments, and create leads based on a LinkedIn Lead Gen form submissions.

If you are selling products to another business or if your target demographic is business professionals, this LinkedIn integration may be a pull toward D365 Marketing.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Better for Email?

Overall, ClickDimensions offers more functionality and greater user-friendliness for email. So if email is the most important channel in your marketing strategy, ClickDimensions may be a solid choice, even if you are in a larger and more complex company.

In both platforms, you can automate complex, multi-step marketing email campaigns with conditional, branching logic. In ClickDimensions, these are “Campaign Automations.” In D365 Marketing, they are part of “Customer Journeys.”

However, in ClickDimensions, marketers can create one-off, ad hoc email sends more quickly and easily. In D365 Marketing, sending a simple bulk email still involves creation of a “Customer Journey” that consists of one step.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Better for Business Intelligence?

D365 Marketing has great built-in analytics tools, and it works very well with Power BI. However, ClickDimensions does offer an easier integration with Google Analytics.

D365 Marketing offers built-in dashboards and analytics for all features: event management, lead generation, email marketing insights, customer journey insights, lead scoring, and more.

The ClickDimensions analytics platform is Sweetspot, which they acquired in 2019.

Is D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Easier to Set Up and Use?

If you are planning to make little to no customizations, the ClickDimensions solution is much easier to set up than D365 Marketing. ClickDimensions is as close to plug-and-play as possible for a marketing automation solution.

Both solutions require that you install applications in your D365 environment. Both require configuration to connect D365 to your website domains and social media accounts. Overall, though, ClickDimensions setup is simpler.

We at Encore had a recent experience with a client where implementing ClickDimensions was phase 2 of their digital transformation project, after going live with Dynamics 365 Sales. From the beginning to the end of the project, it took about 6 weeks to get them fully operational with ClickDimensions.

Read our general advice about CRM implementation.

Does D365 Marketing or ClickDimensions Have Better Training Resources?

Both have training resources available, but overall, ClickDimensions is better supported with step-by-step documentation and training content.

For ClickDimensions, beginners can focus on the ClickDimensions 101 courses to ramp up quickly, then advance to 201 courses for a deeper dive.

For Dynamics 365 Marketing, Microsoft Learn offers learning paths and modules for Dynamics 365 Marketing basics, like setup, configuration, and working with core features. However, you should also make sure your Dynamics 365 Marketing Partner offers the training you will need to leverage the full power of your solution.

Find the Right Marketing Automation Solution for Your Business

Is ClickDimensions or D365 Marketing best for you? That depends on how your business needs and strategy fit together with particulars of each product.

We have clients across North America using each of these products — as well as almost every other Dynamics ERP and CRM solution.

To speak with our experts about the best technology strategy for your business, please contact us with the form below.

* Please note that all pricing is subject to change without notice. Always contact Encore for the most current product pricing.