5 Tips for Migrating to D365 Customer Insights – Journeys

Microsoft’s Outbound Marketing is officially retiring on June 30, 2025, making now the time to shift your marketing efforts to Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys. While converting might seem intimidating, it provides an excellent opportunity to elevate your customer experiences, streamline your processes, and boost your marketing effectiveness. Here are five critical considerations to ensure your migration is seamless and successful. 

1. Give Customers More Control with an Effective Preference Center

Today’s consumers appreciate having clear choices about the communications they receive. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys offers sophisticated Preference Centers to meet these expectations. 

• • Go to Settings → Customer Engagement → Compliance Profiles → Preference Centers to begin setting up. 

• • Design your Preference Center with personalized options for Commercial, Transactional, and Tracking communications. 

• • Clearly define Opt-In and Opt-Out categories to improve targeting and maintain compliance. 

• • Smoothly transition existing Customer Subscription Data to avoid disruptions and sustain trust. 

2. Improve Customer Experience by Using Quiet Times

Quiet Times help you show respect for your customers’ schedules, increasing satisfaction and engagement by automating when messages are sent and ensuring they are delivered appropriately. 

• • Configure Quiet Times in Settings → Customer Engagement → Quiet Times. 

• • Define time frames, such as weekends, evenings, or holidays, when communications should pause. 

• • Choose to apply Quiet Times globally or adjust them according to individual recipients’ local time zones. 

• • Ensure that paused messages are automatically sent when Quiet Times conclude, optimizing message timing. 

3. Simplify Email Creation and Journey Management

A smooth transition means effortlessly moving your existing resources while adopting powerful new features. 

• • Quickly import existing Emails from Outbound Marketing using the Import Templates Tool. 

• • Create and reuse Content Blocks for frequently used elements like Headers, Footers, Disclaimers, and Dynamic Personalized Content. 

• • To build truly dynamic Emails, use the Dynamic Text feature in Email design. Ensure your Dynamic Text matches data from your Journey Trigger or the Audience Attributes when using Segments. This ensures your Emails automatically populate relevant customer data, enhancing personalization and engagement. 

• • Efficiently use Triggers and Segments to respond instantly to customer behaviors and actions. 

4. Effectively Manage Duplicate Email Deliveries

Avoid sending duplicate messages that can overwhelm customers and lead to disengagement. 

• • Enable email deduplication via Settings → Feature Switches → Email Deduplication. 

• • Ensure each unique Email address receives only one copy of your communication, even if multiple contacts share an address. 

• • Continuously monitor and refine deduplication rules to maintain a positive customer experience. 

5. Clearly Understand Segments vs. Triggers

Knowing when to use Segments or Triggers is crucial for maximizing your marketing impact. 

• • Segments organize Contacts into groups based on criteria you defined for recurring Campaigns such as Newsletters. 

• • Triggers are activated by real-time customer actions, like submitting forms, making purchases, or visiting specific pages, enabling immediate and relevant communications. 

• • Strategically blend both approaches to enhance your responsiveness and optimize engagement. 

Migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys is not simply about maintaining the status quo, it is a transformative opportunity to significantly enhance your customer interactions and marketing efficiency. Start planning your transition now, ensuring your team is fully prepared ahead of the deadline.