Businesses use various strategies to collect contact details on their websites capture forms. But how is this collected in their CRM? One way might be to manually transfer the details from one system to another or implement a custom workflow to process them automatically. Both methods require time and resources.
This process has been made easier if you are using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. The built-in forms that can be embedded have always been an option. However, you may want to continue with your existing forms, whether for integration needs or for handling complex business logic. In the 2024 Release Wave 1 rollout update, Customer Insights overcomes this challenge. You can now capture responses from existing forms and the submission sent into the Dataverse. This supports the business strategy to centralise data and maximise visibility.
How do capture forms work?
The new Customer Insights capture form feature mimics the submission of a traditional form. By selecting ‘Form Capture’ in the Publish Options, marketers will be able to copy code that will need to be embedded in the relevant web pages.
This Javascript code will then need to be configured and mapped correctly, so Dynamics understands which form field correlates with the correct entity field in Dataverse. Further information on these steps can be found on Microsoft Learn Documentation.
Any external form with HTML editing options can be integrated, including popular CMS systems such as WordPress.
When you have correctly configured and tested the form, submissions can be viewed in the same way as a traditional Customer Insights form. Navigate to the your form in Customer Insights and select the ‘Submissions‘ tab.
Marketers can see each field, such as name, address and telephone number.
How could Capture Forms be used?
Those who want to keep their existing website forms and still capture important submission information into Dynamics will see the value in this feature. Capture forms are primarily used to track, analyse and centralise data for commercial purposes. Real-world examples could be a lead generation form for a sales callback. Another example could be newsletter signups. This wouldn’t be recommended for forms such as account creations and login forms, which capture sensitive data such as login credentials including passwords.
Further Considerations
People familiar with the Outbound Marketing module may be aware of a previous capture form implementation. Until the recent Release Wave, no comparable solution was available for Real-Time Journeys. It’s important to point out that while the outcomes are the same, the implementation process is very different. Outbound Marketing, we admit, is easier to setup. The Marketer embeds the code into the web page on a validated domain, and then Dynamics runs a process to search for page forms that can be mapped with an interface.
While this process is easier, the developer-handled implementation method may offer further flexibility and troubleshooting options. Perhaps Microsoft will look at ways to make the Real-time Journeys form capture simpler in a future Release Wave. Microsoft has also explained that if the form can be recreated using the Customer Insights form editor, they would recommend exploring this first.
Customer Insights offers form flexibility
Tools that support data centralisation and prevent information fragmentation offer significant business value. Form Capture is no different. By integrating external forms, you can segment, profile, and market to leads and contacts while maintaining the complex logic and design of existing web forms. If you need help configuring your Customer Insights forms, our consultancy team is available to support your objectives.
