Synchronizing Microsoft Dynamics Data to Act-On Contacts

For seamless data synchronization between Microsoft Dynamics and Act-On Contacts, establish a mapping of your data fields and configure the synchronization settings to ensure real-time data updates. If you are using Marketing Lists, click here.

First, ensure MS Dynamics is connected to Act-On.

Map Act-On Standard Fields

Act-On uses standard fields for efficient marketing automation tasks such as sending emails and SMS, as well as incorporating personalization in messages. To ensure optimal results in segmentation, and other data-related activities are achieved you will want to employ these correctly.

1. Using your Administrator account, sign in to Act-On.
2. Go to Settings > Data Management > Contact Mapping tab.
3. In Map CRM Fields to Act-On Standard Fields, MS Dynamics fields for Lead & Contact are on the left, and the Act-On field is on the right:

4. The most commonly used fields have already been mapped. Review these to ensure accuracy.
5. Delete any fields you don’t want to include in your Act-On Contacts by hovering over the field and clicking on the trash icon to the right.
6. To include more Act-On Standard fields, scroll to the bottom of the mapped fields.
   • Find the first available Select Destination field on the right, and choose the extra field from the dropdown.
   • Pick the corresponding MS Dynamics fields from the left columns.
   • You must map the MS Dynamics contact email field to the Act-On Contacts E-mail address field.
   • If you want Act-On score to sync to MS Dynamics, select the Act-On Primary Score from the Act-On fields, and map to whatever field you've set up in Dynamics for lead score.  Hover over the row to select the score sheet.
   • For extra data in Act-On Contacts without a MS Dynamics equivalent, select the field on the right but leave it unmapped on the left. You don't have to map all Act-On Contacts fields to MS Dynamics.
     Related CRM Objects such as Account (which connects Contacts to Company Name), Owner (which connects Leads & Contacts to Sales Owners), and Opportunities will be linked automatically. You do not need to map the Account ID, Owner ID, or other joined fields. In addition, all CRM contacts will get the External ID and Type (Contact vs. Lead) automatically.
7. Click Save in the top banner.

Create & Map Custom Fields

If you need to add fields that are not available in the Act-On Standard fields drop-down, run through the following:

1. Scroll down to the Act-On Custom Fields section
2. In the Destination Field box enter a field name. This could be:
   • Standard MS Dynamics fields
   • Custom fields that you have created in MS Dynamics
   • Custom fields that you will use in Act-On only and not sync to MS Dynamics
   • Fields that come from another data source
3. If you have a corresponding MS Dynamics field for Leads or Contacts, select it from the left column. If not, just leave the columns on Select Source.
4. Lastly, select the appropriate Data Type for the field. The Data Type drop-down will let you pick from Boolean, Date, Datetime, Text, Number, Score, Email, or Multi-Text.  If you've already mapped the field to a MS Dynamics field, the datatype will populate automatically.
5. Click Save in the top banner.

To view a sample of records in a MS Dynamics field, in the CRM Entities tab, click the record count bubble next to the entity you want:
x

Be sure to add any Custom Fields that are currently used to calculate scores or used in personalization in any existing templates or emails.

Set a Push Policy

The default policy enables a two-way sync between Act-On and MS Dynamics. If there's a change in MS Dynamics data, it is reflected in Act-On during the next sync. Conversely, changes in Act-On get pushed to MS Dynamics. Act-On contact data may change through user edits, List Maintenance, Automated Program updates, or Form submissions overwriting data in a field.

If you wish to change the default push policy or select individual fields that should not push updates to MS Dynamics, run through the following:

1. Go to Settings > Data Management > Contact Mapping.
2. In the CRM Data Sync Setting box, Click Edit.
3. In Default sync setting, select to allow or not allow Act-On to push data to MS Dynamics & click Save:

4. To change the push policy for an individual field, scroll down to Map CRM Fields to Act-On Standard Fields, and toggle the Allow Push option & click Save in the top banner. In the example below, Score and Email can be pushed to MS Dynamics, but Company can not:

5. Once you’ve mapped your fields, click Save in the top banner.

Schedule Syncs Between Act-On & MS Dynamics

Setting this up will establish a sync schedule to maintain up-to-date data.

1. Go to Settings > Data Management > Sync Schedule.
2. Under the Synchronization Schedule, schedule your recurring sync with MS Dynamics. Automatic is recommended.
3. Click Save in the top banner.
4. Click Sync Now to populate your Act-On Contacts list:

The sync schedule you set determines how frequently Act-On updates contact data from MS Dynamics and sends scores and opt-out information to  MS Dynamics. Other mapped data changes on contacts are immediately pushed by Act-On as they happen, independent of this schedule.

Act-On won't delete contacts in MS Dynamics, and it only adds new contacts to MS Dynamics if explicitly designated through the Push to CRM setting in Forms or a Create in CRM step in Automated Programs. Contacts deleted in MS Dynamics will be removed in Act-On during the next sync.

Review your Act-On Contact list

You should now see custom segments in Act-On, including one for All Act-On Contacts along with segments for the following depending on your MS Dynamics entities:

• All Act-On Contacts
• All MS Dynamics Leads
• All MS Dynamics Contacts

To review these, go to Contacts > All Contacts.

See Find a Segment - Act-On Contacts for more information.

Next Steps

Congratulations! Your data is synchronized between MS Dynamics and Act-On Contacts.

Now that you have completed the integration, install the Act-On package to access your Act-On data in MS Dynamics.