How to create a form in Dynamics 365 Marketing: A step-by-step guide

In today’s competitive digital landscape, effective customer engagement and lead generation are crucial. Forms play a significant role in capturing customer data, making it essential for businesses to use sophisticated tools like marketing forms in Dynamics 365.

Whether you're aiming to collect customer details for newsletters, event registrations, or service inquiries, marketing forms in Dynamics 365 streamline the process. This guide walks you through creating a form that integrates smoothly into your marketing strategy, ensuring you capture the right data at the right time.

Step 2: Choose a form type

When creating a new form, you'll be prompted to select a type. Marketing forms in Dynamics 365 offer different form types, such as:

Landing Pages: Ideal for capturing leads on a standalone page.

Subscription Center: Useful for managing email subscription preferences.

Event Registration: For collecting participant data for webinars or in-person events.

Select the form type that best fits your needs.

Step 3: Define the purpose of your form

A critical part of creating effective marketing forms in Dynamics 365 is defining its purpose. Think about what information you need to collect from your audience. For example, if you are running a lead generation campaign, focus on basic contact details such as name, email, and company.

Alternatively, if you are creating an event registration form, you may need fields for job titles, industry, or specific event-related questions.

Clearly defining your form's purpose will make the next steps, such as adding fields and designing the form, more focused and effective.

Step 4: Customize form fields

Now that you've selected a form type, it’s time to add the fields. Marketing forms in Dynamics 365 allow you to add a variety of fields depending on your goals:

Text fields for collecting basic information (e.g., Name, Email).

Dropdown menus for multiple-choice questions (e.g., Industry, Interests).

Radio buttons for single-choice selections (e.g., Yes/No questions).

Check boxes for multiple selections (e.g., Subscription options).

Each field can be customized to make it required, optional, or dependent on previous answers. For instance, if someone selects "Yes" to a certain question, you can reveal additional fields that only apply in that context. This level of flexibility ensures that marketing forms in Dynamics 365 capture the right data without overwhelming the user.

Step 5: Design and layout

The design of your form plays a significant role in user engagement. Dynamics 365 offers a simple drag-and-drop editor for laying out your fields, text boxes, and buttons. Make sure the design is intuitive and aligns with your brand’s look and feel. A few design tips for your marketing forms in Dynamics 365:

Keep it simple: Avoid overcrowding the form with too many fields.

Use clear, concise instructions: Make sure users know what information they need to provide.

Incorporate your brand: Customize colours, fonts, and imagery to match your company’s visual identity.

The goal is to create a form that is both functional and visually appealing.

Step 6: Add marketing lists and consent

An important aspect of marketing forms in Dynamics 365 is compliance with data privacy regulations. You can easily add consent checkboxes to your form to ensure users agree to your terms and privacy policies. This is especially crucial if you are operating in regions governed by laws such as GDPR or CCPA.

Additionally, you can link the form to specific marketing lists. For example, if someone completes the form, they can automatically be added to a segmented list based on their preferences or responses. This feature makes it easier to tailor follow-up campaigns, ensuring that leads from marketing forms in Dynamics 365 receive personalized content.

Step 7: Preview and test

Before publishing your form, take the time to preview and test it. Dynamics 365 offers a preview mode where you can see how the form will look on various devices (desktop, tablet, mobile). This is critical because many users may be accessing your form from their smartphones.

Run several tests, filling out the form as if you were a user. Ensure all fields work properly, the design is responsive, and the consent mechanisms function as expected.

Step 8: Embed or publish the form

Once you’re satisfied with your form, it’s time to publish it. Marketing forms in Dynamics 365 give you multiple publishing options:

Embed on a website: Copy the generated HTML or JavaScript code and embed it into your website’s pages.

Use as a landing page: Publish the form directly as a standalone page within Dynamics 365.

Integrate with email campaigns: Embed the form in your Dynamics 365 email campaigns for seamless lead capture.

This flexibility ensures that your marketing forms in Dynamics 365 can be used across multiple channels, enhancing their visibility and effectiveness.