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Microsoft CRM Deployment

CRM Queues

Leverage a Queue with Workflow & JavaScript

February 25, 2011, by Bill Bonofiglo, Dynamics MCT

Abstract

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Set up a CRM Queue to field incoming emails linked to a Marketing Campaign container. Users Accept these emails removing them from the Queue.

If a new Customer is detected, Workflow creates a new Lead, creates/closes a Campaign Response, emails the Customer and magically resolves the unresolved red email address to the created Lead. The goal is to convert the Lead to a Customer and capture all communication into the Lead container.

If an existing Customer is detected, the email resolves to the existing CRM record without creating a Lead. Workflow creates/closes a Campaign Response and emails the Customer.

If the Customer record being dealt with is a Lead the User simply assigns the Lead to themselves. If the Lead has been orphaned and has been either Qualified or Disqualified, the User reactivates the Lead via the Actions menu first (good example of this).

Finally, if the Queue email has resolved to a current Customer such as a Contact, the User would open the Contact record and quickly review the History.

After the User has replied, they delete the Queue email from the "In Progress" Queue. This only removes the email from the Queue marking completion. Customer interaction from this point forward uses the created and existing CRM Lead and Contact containers.

You are Kidding Me, Right?

No. I have a working demo. However, before we get technical, let's be practical. Let's look at the big picture of CRM here. Think of the flow of work.

Differentiating, or segmenting, incoming Queue emails as a new Customer, or existing Customer, is very valuable. An existing Customer could have history; therefore, more intelligence to act on. This is a competitive edge compared to a new Customer.

A new Customer email only provides the intelligence in that first email. Could be a little. Could be a lot. Another important difference is the new Customer doesn't have an existing container in CRM to link Activities to, for example. The flat Lead record is a good choice for this.

The Lead container also gives us the ideal platform to work the Customer through a sales process.

Unresolved Red Email Address

They are the key to this Workflow. The other component is JavaScript on the OnLoad event of the Lead. More on that later.

Orphaned, or unresolved email addresses, happen in a CRM deployment. Nonetheless, we can manage them and they are valuable. We need containers and CRM provides them. When a user Replies to an orphaned record without a container, there are now two orphaned records. Then what, three if they email back? You get the point.

Look at the two images below. Notice anything?

The red address in the "From" field is an email string, without spaces and the "@" sign. The other blue one is a display string! Notice the Contact icon on the blue one. CRM has resolved Billy Goat's incoming Queue email to his Customer record. The other record is not recognized. These key differences, combined with some Workflow magic, give us the tools we need to act.

Requirements for this Customization

We need:

One sending/receiving email Queue.
A simple Marketing Campaign container.
One Workflow based on the Email create event.
OPTIONAL: Custom JavaScript for the Lead OnLoad event.

Workflow

The CRM Workflow code is not that complicated. However, the code uses a CRM Ninja trick or two. Let's review some scenarios. Note I am using a very clean deployment so we can better understand what is happening. We will start by looking at the Activities bucket in the Workplace.

Billy Goat and a potential new Customer emailed the Queue. Notice the Contact icon and the red email address.

Workflow will now process the request and email them back. Now look.

Workflow has Replied and every email sent in is resolved! In fact, both of the new Customers email address are resolved to a new Lead Container. Note the emails for Billy Goat don't have the Regarding set. They don't need to. They are in the Contact container.

The Bigger Xrm Picture

Let's zoom out. Four emails have gone in/out of the Queue. However, all of them are resolved. We are managing the new Customer emails and eliminating unresolved emails addresses. This is very valuable for many reasons, but one reason stands out.

If you can manage and eliminate unresolved email addresses from new Customers with techniques like this, you just won half the battle. The only other primary source of our red friends is from duplicate records. Using Advanced Find could really assist in finding and fixing them!

That's a big return on this strategy. Have new Customers records in containers and linked and another weapon against duplicates.

JavaScript

Remember the CRM Ninja trick I said we get back to later? Here it is. Notice the email address. Customers, in the real world, do send emails from work, for example. These strings often contain the persons real name separated by a period. Let's harvest this intelligence.

Look at the record once opened.

We have successfully harvested the Customers first and last name from the email address! We have turned them to proper case to boot. This Ninja trick works for first.middle.last@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx as well.

This is a valuable CRM record all from a Customer sending an email to a Queue.

Let's look at the same Leads History. It's all there.

Customer Emails the Queue Twice

Let's go one more step and simulate "Users Name" sending in a second email into the Queue. Again, everything is resolved.

Now let's look at the History again. Everything is there including two closed Campaign Responses for marketing metrics. Sweet!

CRM Value Proposition

Unresolved email addresses in Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be used to differentiate incoming email requests so we respond/react differently for different demographics. They can also be managed.

Using techniques like this article demonstrates, we can manage emails that are new to the CRM database and manage duplicate records as well.

Who can Benefit

Any Company using Microsoft Dynamics CRM that uses Microsoft CRM Queues will find this very valuable.

How to Get This Solution

This solution is part of our Microsoft CRM Consulting Services. To learn more about how this solution can be deployed for your company, please contact Bill today using the Contact web page (top right tab).

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