Tracking email clicks in Microsoft Outlook

Knowing a prospect has opened, clicked or interacted with an email can mean the difference between winning a deal, or watching it slip through the cracks and go to a competitor.

Marketing automation tools for Dynamics CRM such as ClickDimensions, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing and Marketo can track email events. The problem is, it can be hard for sales reps to navigate these solutions to get quick updates on the level of interaction with their emails. Most reps want to stay right in their email solution (usually Microsoft Outlook) and get real-time updates on what is going on with their emails.

Enter email tracking tools from Kuvana and HubSpot.

Tracking Email in Microsoft Outlook with Kuvana

Kuvana is a “sales acceleration tool” that lives within your Outlook or Gmail and can update your CRM automatically based on the activities in your inbox and outbox. Its versions offer different facets of tracking ability depending on the level you subscribe to. As you can see below, the free version gives you basic Gmail and Outlook integration as well as email open alerts that will notify you when prospects open your email with notifications within your inbox.

Tracking Microsoft CRM and Outlook email clicks with Kuvana

More powerful features are available at higher subscription levels. The Basic subscription allows you to know if someone viewed an attached PDF, what pages they viewed, and how long they viewed them; and the YouTube tracking tells you who watched your video, how much of it they watched, and if there were any repeat views.

The Professional and Marketing subscriptions, have an even wider and deeper set of features, and are summarized in the image above that I grabbed from the Kuvana website. From getting Web Page Alerts to full CRM or Marketing Automation Integration, the Professional and Marketing subscriptions pack big punches in monitoring prospects and their activities with emails you send them.

It’s worth noting that I could not successfully install the Kuvana to Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration during the trial period, and could not quickly find online help. It may work fine, but be sure you fully test it before making a commitment.

Using HubSpot Sales to Track Email Clicks

Email tracking is only a small part of what HubSpot Sales can do.

Similar to Kuvana, HubSpot Sales allows you to perform tracking activities straight from your inbox. Activities such as open and click tracking as well as email scheduling and inbox profiles allow you to gain insights straight from your inbox. Additionally, HubSpot Sales will send you desktop notifications to let you know when a prospect has opened particular documents or emails.

Unlike Kuvana, HubSpot Sales does not offer Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration, nor does it offer the advanced PDF and YouTube tracking available within Kuvana. But if you’re looking for simple click-tracking of your e-mail, it’s hard to beat the HubSpot Sales interface.

Tracking Microsoft Outlook email clicks with HubSpot Sales

HubSpot Sales also enables you to monitor valuable information within the HubSpot application. The HubSpot Activity Stream shows all activity, all opened emails, unopened emails, and clicks. Users can quickly gain insights when checking their Outlook inbox, and dive deeper by viewing activity history in HubSpot.

Microsoft Outlook Email Click Tracking in the HubSpot Sales Activity Stream

What do you think?

Tracking Email Clicks in Microsoft Outlook

Using Kuvana or HubSpot for Sales? Let me know what your experiences have been!