How to study ...
There are a variety of ways to prepare for Microsoft Certifications such as the MB-220 Microsoft D365 for Marketing exam. These include formal training provided by Microsoft Learning Partners, group study and self-learning. The approach each of us take will depend on our own personal situation.
I don’t have a lot of free cash to pay for formal training, and I find it difficult to allocate large blocks of free time to anything outside of work and my family. So, my approach is almost always to pursue self-study although wherever possible. And I would always join a study group if there were one that happened to be running for my topic of interest.
I tend to look out for anything being run by Julian Sharp. Julian is a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) and MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer). And he regularly runs study groups on subjects across the Business Applications and Power Platform areas. These groups are exceptionally valuable for anyone hoping to pass those types of certifications.
There was unfortunately no study group running while I was preparing for the MB-220 Microsoft D365 for Marketing exam. So I knew I would have to find my own resources, and get on with the self-study. I have provided links to some of the resources I used to pass the exam below.
What to study ...
The MB-220 is a ‘Functional Consultant’ exam. It is intended to test an in depth level of knowledge of the processes around Dynamics 365 for Marketing and how they might be implemented within the product. The skills measured in the exam are as follows;
- Configure marketing applications (20-25%)
- Manage segments and lists (10-15%)
- Create and manage marketing forms and pages (10-15%)
- Manage leads, contacts, and accounts (5-10%)
- Create and manage marketing emails (5-10%)
- Manage customer journeys (10-15%)
- Manage events and webinars (10-15%)
- Configure Dynamics 365 Customer Voice (10-15%)
My first step whenever studying for a Microsoft Certification is typically to log onto the Microsoft Learn website. Once there, I browse to the certification or exam and download the ‘exam skills outline‘. This gives further detail on the elements that will be tested during the exam.
As there are a lot of features covered in the MB-220 skills outline, I knew I had to be very thorough during my study. This would mean ensuring that wherever additional resources were signposted, I should definitely make sure to use them. Additionally hands on practice would be essential. Therefore, I made sure that I had access to a trial environment with all of the relevant features necessary to complete the study.
Microsoft Learn ...
Microsoft Learn is the key resource for learning material to anyone hoping to study for Microsoft certifications. To use Microsoft Learn, it is helpful to have first set up a ‘learning profile’ . The Microsoft Certification ID (MCID) associated with your learning profile will be needed once you decide to schedule your exam. Additionally, your learning profile will help you keep track of what you have studied. It will also enable you to participate in challenges, and provides other motivational features.
Once you’ve set up your learning profile you can browse certifications to find information relating to the MB-220 Microsoft D365 for Marketing exam. This will include the skills outline and the Learning Paths you will need to complete to cover all of the relevant features. For the MB-220 those are;
- Set up Dynamics 365 Marketing and configure advanced settings
- Work with core features in Dynamics 365 Marketing
- Manage events in Dynamics 365 Marketing
- Analyze in sights in Dynamics 365 Marketing
As with all learning materials on the Microsoft Learn website, I would recommend always following the links out to Microsoft documentation wherever provided. I would also recommend allowing more time than is estimated on each Learning Path and Module. It always takes me exponentially longer to work through the resources than is estimated.
Other learning material ...
Neil Parkhurst’s blog is one of my ‘go to’ resources when preparing for any Microsoft certification, especially around Customer Engagement. Neil doesn’t have a revision guide specifically for the current MB-220. However, he does have one for the MB2-719 which was the previous exam code. This contains many of the relevant concepts. Additionally, Neil’s blog contains some great information around D365 Marketing generally.
Additionally there are some ‘on demand’ webinar resources for MB-220 available in the Microsoft Events Catalog. These include series focused on the new MB-220 exam presented by Neil Parkhurst. These resources can be found by clearing any search filters and searching for MB-220. Again, I would recommend setting plenty of time aside to study. As while there are around 10 hours of videos on the MB-220 content, it took me around 2 weeks to work through them.
Taking the exam ...
Information on the exam itself is available on the MB-220 certification page on Microsoft Learn. The exam can also be booked from there. I would advise anyone new to Microsoft certification to check through the Exam Resources section. I would additionally advise checking the information relating to exams and exam question types included on Microsoft Docs.
Once you have taken, and passed, the exam you may also be eligible for the ‘functional associate’ certification. This will require you to have also passed either the MB-200, or the PL-200 which has now replaced it.