Central YMCA

End-to-End CRM, MarTech & Lifecycle Platform Transformation

CRM Architecture & Lifecycle Ownership

  • Owned the CRM lifecycle across acquisition, onboarding, engagement, retention and reactivation, ensuring customer journeys were connected across web, CRM, email and reporting systems.

  • Managed the Dynamics 365 data model, lifecycle objects, segmentation logic and customer journey structures underpinning the platform.

  • Established governance standards across CRM usage, permissioning, data quality, lifecycle definitions and campaign execution.
    Translated business requirements into governed CRM and MarTech workflows that supported cleaner handoffs, better visibility and more consistent customer communication.

Marketing Automation, Messaging & Integration

  • Owned lifecycle automation across onboarding, nurture, reactivation and campaign follow-up journeys, connecting website lead capture, CRM records, segmentation rules and email communications.

  • Defined and governed email templates, trigger logic, audience rules and messaging flows within BrotherMailer to support consistent communication across key lifecycle stages.

  • Connected WordPress, Dynamics 365, Zapier and BrotherMailer workflows to improve lead routing, attribution capture, data handoff reliability and follow-up consistency.

  • Used automation to reduce manual handling, improve operational continuity and create clearer accountability between marketing, CRM and customer-facing teams.

  • Established unified campaign and journey dashboards to monitor performance, data flow and customer journey activity.

Attribution, Reporting & Platform Accountability

  • Established attribution dashboards that connected campaign activity, lead journeys and CRM outcomes into clearer lifecycle insight.

  • Defined tracking standards, UTM conventions, funnel metrics and reporting rules across website, CRM, email and analytics platforms.

  • Improved visibility of customer journeys by connecting acquisition sources, CRM records, automated communications and performance reporting.

  • Trained internal teams on CRM usage, lifecycle ownership, data quality and KPI accountability.

  • Helped shift reporting from fragmented activity tracking to a more governed, decision-ready platform model.

Overview

I held end-to-end ownership of Central YMCA’s CRM and digital platform transformation, aligning Dynamics 365, BrotherMailer, WordPress, Zapier, attribution tracking and reporting into a more connected lifecycle operating model. The work went beyond system administration or campaign execution. My responsibility covered platform strategy, CRM data architecture, lifecycle design, automation logic, system handoffs, attribution standards, reporting visibility, governance and ongoing optimisation.

The objective was to replace fragmented processes with a more reliable CRM and MarTech ecosystem, where customer journeys could be captured, routed, segmented, followed up and reported on with greater consistency. This required balancing business continuity, compliance, stakeholder needs and operational delivery across multiple teams and business units.

The outcome was a governed, insight-led platform model that improved automation, reduced manual handling, strengthened attribution visibility and created clearer accountability across the customer lifecycle.

View Platform Case Study
Client

Central YMCA

Project Date

2022 onward

Category

CRM Transformation, Lifecycle Automation & Platform Governance

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Before vs After

Before:

  • Manual onboarding and follow-up processes.
  • Inconsistent customer messaging across lifecycle stages.
  • Fragmented web, CRM and email workflows.
  • Limited visibility across campaign source, customer journey and CRM outcome.
  • Disjointed data, inconsistent segmentation and unclear ownership of reporting standards.

After:

  • Connected CRM and lifecycle operating model.
  • Automated customer journeys across acquisition, onboarding, nurture and reactivation.
  • Improved lead routing, data handoffs and follow-up consistency.
  • Clearer attribution through governed UTM standards and reporting dashboards.
  • More consistent segmentation, campaign visibility and customer journey accountability.
  • Reduced manual handling and stronger platform governance.

Strategic Governance

  • Introduced CRM maturity frameworks and lifecycle definitions to standardise how customer journeys were managed.
  • Created naming conventions, segmentation rules and audience governance standards to improve consistency across campaigns and reporting.
  • Defined UTM standards and funnel KPIs to strengthen attribution quality and performance visibility.
  • Improved data quality and operational accountability across CRM, email, web and reporting workflows.

Impact

  • Supported a 30 percent increase in user retention across key lifecycle journeys.
  • Delivered a 20 percent uplift in conversion across priority customer journeys by improving routing, follow-up consistency and journey visibility.
  • Reduced publishing errors and manual handling by 40 percent through clearer workflows, automation and platform governance.
  • Improved attribution confidence by connecting campaign source data, CRM records, lifecycle activity and reporting dashboards.
  • Strengthened operational resilience by reducing dependency on fragmented manual processes and creating a more governed platform model.

What I Owned

My role covered the operational layer between website, CRM, email automation, attribution and reporting. This included:

  • CRM lifecycle architecture
  • Customer journey mapping
  • Dynamics 365 data structures and segmentation logic
  • Website-to-CRM lead capture workflows
  • Zapier-based automation and system handoffs
  • BrotherMailer trigger logic and messaging governance
  • UTM tracking standards and campaign attribution
  • CRM usage standards and internal team training
  • Reporting visibility and KPI accountability
  • Platform governance across CRM, web and marketing operations

Enterprise MarTech Relevance

Although this project was delivered using Dynamics 365, WordPress, Zapier and BrotherMailer, the operating model reflects the same principles used across enterprise marketing automation platforms such as Adobe Marketo Engage, HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Account Engagement. The work involved lead capture, CRM routing, segmentation, trigger-based communications, lifecycle stages, attribution tracking, reporting governance and customer journey optimisation.

This gives the project direct relevance to wider MarTech environments where the core challenge is not simply operating a tool, but connecting CRM, automation, analytics, consent, reporting and customer experience into one governed platform ecosystem.

A curved monitor displays training data and details of a STOTT PILATES Intensive Mat-Plus course from YMCA, showcasing analytics and course info.
Flowchart illustrating the YMCA Fit Event Nurture program, detailing stages, triggers, and actions for participant engagement.
A Zap workflow in Zapier showing a catch hook triggering actions in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dotdigital for lead management.

Need More Than Campaign Execution?

I help organisations turn disconnected websites, CRM systems, automation tools and reporting dashboards into governed platforms that support clearer journeys, better data and stronger business decisions.

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