Marketing-Cloud-Consultant Questions and Answers

One of the considerations for upgrading Marketing Cloud Connect to Multi-Org is that once an account is upgraded to Multi-Org, it cannot be turned off. This means that the account will permanently have separate integrations for each business unit and Salesforce org, and some features may not work as expected in Multi-Org mode. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_multi_org_account_considerations.htm &type=5

To send SMS messages to contacts located in the United States using a Salesforce entry event in a journey, NTO should format the phone field in Salesforce as +l[phonenumber], where +1 is the country code for the United States and [phonenumber] is the 10-digit phone number without any spaces or dashes. This format ensures that Marketing Cloud can correctly identify and validate the mobile numbers for SMS sending. Normalizing phone numbers in journey settings only applies to mobile numbers stored in MobileConnect or MobilePush demographics tables, not to mobile numbers from Salesforce entry events. Selecting ‘US’ as the sending country in SMS activity only affects how opt-out keywords are processed, not how mobile numbers are validated. Configuring the phone field in Salesforce as US locale only affects how phone numbers are displayed in Salesforce, not how they are formatted for Marketing Cloud. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_rn_june_2020_moc_normalize_phone_number_journey_setting.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_moc_country_code_processing_for_opt_out_keywords.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=admin_phoneformat.htm &type=5

To evaluate if a customer has made a purchase after entering the journey, a Data Relationship or Data Designer is needed to relate the master data extension and the purchase data extension. Then, a Decision Split activity can use Entry Data or Contact Data to check the purchase status. Automation Studio activities are not needed for this process. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_data_relationships.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_data_designer.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_decision_split.htm &type=5

A filtered keyword list is a list of words or phrases that trigger an automated response when a subscriber replies with them to an email. For example, if “take me off your list” or “opt out” are added to a filtered keyword list with an unsubscribe action, any subscriber who replies with those phrases will be automatically unsubscribed from future emails. This can help NTO handle manual unsubscribe requests more efficiently and avoid sending unwanted emails to their customers. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_reply_mail_management.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_a_filtered_keyword_list.htm &type=5

To send an email with personalized fields from multiple data extensions without coding experience, Northern Trail Outfitters should combine the data outside of Marketing Cloud and upload it into a sendable data extension. This will allow them to have all the required fields for personalization in one data source and avoid using complex scripting or queries to join and filter data from multiple data extensions.

Establishing data relationships and creating data filters would not help with personalization, as they are used for segmentation purposes. Creating SQL query activities would require coding skills and experience with SQL syntax. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_send_email_using_a_data_extension.htm &type=5

Supporting inbound messages in each country would require additional long code implementation for MobileConnect. A long code is a standard phone number that can send and receive SMS messages. Each country has its own regulations and requirements for long codes, so a single long code cannot be used for all markets. The other functionalities do not tie to additional long code implementation. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_moc_long_codes.htm &type=5

Using an import activity to import a file from the SFTP can be used to maintain an auto-suppression list. An import activity allows users to import data from a file on the Marketing Cloud FTP into a data extension or list. An auto-suppression list is a type of exclusion list that prevents subscribers from receiving certain types of messages based on criteria such as email address, subscriber key, or domain. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_import_file_activity.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_auto_suppression_lists.htm &type=5

To send notifications to customers when their orders are ready for in-store pickup via SMS or email depending on their communications preference, Northern Trail Outfitters should use a Journey Builder multi-step journey with an API entry event and a decision split. A Journey Builder multi-step journey allows marketers to create personalized customer experiences across different channels and platforms. An API entry event allows marketers to inject contacts into a journey based on real-time events or data from external systems, such as order status updates. A decision split allows marketers to route contacts to different paths or activities based on their attributes or behaviors, such as communications preference. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_journey_builder.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_api_event.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_decision_split.htm &type=5

Creating and enabling a BLOCKOUT window in MobileConnect can be used to prevent SMS messages from being sent during certain hours of the day. A BLOCKOUT window is a time period during which no messages are sent or received by MobileConnect, regardless of when they were scheduled or triggered. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_moc_blockout_window.htm &type=5

Two actions that would successfully write send time variables to their Send Log are:

• Match an AMPscript variable name to a Send Log field. This action will allow the customer to write the value of an AMPscript variable to a corresponding field in the Send Log data extension. For example, if the customer has a Send Log field named ProductName and an AMPscript variable named @ProductName, then the value of @ProductName will be written to the ProductName field in the Send Log.
• Use the WriteToLog() AMPscript function in the content. This action will allow the customer to write one or more values to a specified field in the Send Log data extension using an AMPscript function. For example, if the customer wants to write the value of @ProductName and @ProductPrice to the ProductInfo field in the Send Log, they can use WriteToLog(“ProductInfo”,@ProductName,@ProductPrice) in their content.

Ensuring the send log is linked in an attribute group is not necessary for writing send time variables to their Send Log, as it is only used for creating relationships between data sources in Contact Builder. Enabling send logging to a data extension during send process is not an action that would write send time variables to their Send Log, as it is only a setting that enables or disables send logging for a specific email send. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_a_sendlog_data_extension.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_write_to_the_send_log.htm &type=5

Synchronized data extensions are data extensions that are automatically populated with data from Sales Cloud objects using Marketing Cloud Connect. They can be configured with filters to limit the records that are imported based on criteria such as field values or record types. By using synchronized data extensions with a filter on the consent checkbox field, NTO can import their Sales Cloud data into Marketing Cloud and leverage it within Journey Builder. Synchronized data extensions can be refreshed as frequently as every 15 minutes, which meets the requirement of having no more than 30 minutes delay. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_data_integration_synchronized_data_sources.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_implement_synchronized_data_sources_best_practices.htm &type=5

To ensure there’s a limit to the number of times a particular image asset can be chosen for a customer, Northern Trail Outfitters should set fatigue rules for the product asset classes. Fatigue rules are settings that allow marketers to control how often an asset can be selected for a customer within a specified time period. For example, a fatigue rule can prevent an asset from being selected more than once in 14 days. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_ceb_einstein_content_selection_fatigue_rules.htm &type=5

Using RMM personalization strings to render the email reply body can be used to include the body of marketing email replies captured by Reply Mail Management (RMM) within auto-forwarded messages to their Customer Success team. RMM personalization strings are variables that can be inserted into auto-forwarded messages to display information from the original reply message, such as subject line, sender address, or reply body. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_reply_mail_management_personalization_strings.htm &type=5

Advertising Studio is a tool that allows marketers to create and manage advertising campaigns across various channels, such as display, social, and search. It can also leverage Marketing Cloud data and segments to target or suppress audiences based on their engagement behavior. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_advertising_studio_overview.htm &type=5

To use a custom sending domain and maintain deliverability for Cloud Kicks, Northern Trail Outfitters should use a Sender Authentication Package (SAP) for Cloud Kicks. A SAP is a tool that allows marketers to authenticate their emails with their own domain name and branding elements, such as links and images. A SAP also helps improve deliverability by increasing sender reputation and avoiding spam filters.

A new SAP for NTO is not needed, as they already have one for their existing brand. A private domain is not recommended for Cloud Kicks, as it does not provide full authentication or branding benefits as a SAP does. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_sender_authentication_package.htm &type=5

To export a data file to its SFTP containing all subscribers who did not receive their intended email in the last 24 hours, Northern Trail Outfitters should use a Data Extract Activity in their automation. A Data Extract Activity is an activity that allows marketers to extract data from Marketing Cloud and place it in a file on an Enhanced FTP location or an external SFTP location. The Data Extract Activity can use different extract types, such as Tracking Extract or Data Extension Extract, to export different types of data. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_data_extract_activity.htm &type=5

Using personalization strings created by selecting the data extension can be used to include the warehouse ID in their tracking parameters so that the third-party system can identify the subscriber. Personalization strings are placeholders that can be inserted into emails or landing pages to display information from data extensions or lists, such as subscriber attributes or custom fields. Personalization strings can also be used as tracking parameters in links or image tags. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView? id=sf.mc_es_create_personalization_strings_by_selecting_a_data_extension.htm&type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_tracking_parameters_for_links_and_image_tags.htm &type=5

GTL (Guide Template Language) is a scripting language that allows parsing and displaying JSON or XML data within an email. GTL can be used to make API calls to external services, such as the Sunny Sky API, and display the response within the email. For example, NTO can use the HTTPGet() AMPscript function to retrieve the weather information from the Sunny Sky API as a JSON object, and then use the TreatAsContent() AMPscript function to parse and display the JSON object using GTL tags and variables. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_guide_template_language.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_httpget_ampscript_function.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_treatascontent_ampscript_function.htm &type=5

Two options that could be recommended for localizing email content to speak to subscribers in their own language are:

• Leverage AMPscript within an email template to lookup subscriber language and personalize the email based on the value. AMPscript is a scripting language that allows marketers to perform complex tasks within messages, such as looking up data from data extensions, applying conditional logic, or displaying dynamic content based on subscriber attributes or behaviors.
• Leverage enhanced dynamic content blocks within Content Builder to create language-specific emails. Enhanced dynamic content blocks are blocks that allow marketers to create personalized content based on rules and filters without coding.

Leveraging personalization strings within the email template will not help with localization, as they are used for inserting simple subscriber attributes or system information into messages. Leveraging Content Builder to create email templates for each individual language will not be efficient or scalable, as it will require creating and maintaining multiple templates for each message. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_ampscript_overview.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_ceb_enhanced_dynamic_content_blocks.htm &type=5

To automate a weekly SMS message to contacts who have a birthday that week, the Refresh Mobile Filtered List activity can be used to update the filtered list based on the birth date criteria. The Outbound Send activity can then be used to send the SMS message to the contacts in the filtered list. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_moc_refresh_mobile_filtered_list.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_moc_outbound_send.htm &type=5

This setting allows the consultant to verify the sender's identity and configure the incoming email settings. Reference: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=mc_es_sap_overview.htm &type=5

To redirect its emails to Marketing Cloud servers for processing, Northern Trail Outfitters should use a Sender Authentication Package. A Sender Authentication Package is a feature that allows marketers to authenticate their email sends with their own domain and branding, instead of using Marketing Cloud’s default domain and branding. This will improve email deliverability and reputation, as well as provide more control over email settings and preferences. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_sender_authentication_package.htm &type=5

Transactional email send with the event notification service response can be used to send password reset emails and get real-time feedback on the delivery status. If the email is not sent, an API call can be triggered to send an SMS message instead. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_event_notification_service.htm &type=5 https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.noversion.mc-apis.meta/mc- apis/messageDefinitionSends.htm

To send a special discount offer to engaged customers on their email list, Northern Trail Outfitters should resolve how to determine engagement prior to generating the audience. Engagement is a measure of how customers interact with emails, such as opens, clicks, or conversions. Different criteria and thresholds can be used to define engagement, such as recency, frequency, or duration of interactions. Determining engagement will help Northern Trail Outfitters segment their audience and target their offer more effectively.

What the offer will be, when to send the email, and who the offer come from are important factors for designing and delivering the email, but they are not relevant for generating the audience based on engagement. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_engagement_split.htm &type=5

The API user created in Marketing Cloud for Marketing Cloud Connect should have the API User checkbox selected and the Administrator & Marketing Cloud Administrator roles applied. This ensures that the user has access to all features and functions in Marketing Cloud and can perform API calls between Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_create_a_marketing_cloud_api_user.htm &type=5

To send an auto-reply message using a pre-defined HTML email when subscribers reply to an email, Northern Trail Outfitters should create a triggered send and from a sender profile properties page, enable ‘Custom Reply Mail Management Settings’, ‘Use Auto Reply’ and ‘Reply using triggered send’ options, then select the triggered send email. This will allow them to use a custom HTML email as an auto-reply message instead of a plain text message. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_reply_mail_management.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_a_triggered_email_message.htm &type=5

To configure a sending domain in Marketing Cloud, the customer needs to delegate a subdomain to Marketing Cloud and modify their DNS entries to point to Marketing Cloud’s servers. These questions will help determine if the customer has the authority and ability to do so. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_sender_authentication_package.htm &type=5

To send a welcome email to contacts when a contact record is added as a campaign member to a ‘Loyalty Member’ campaign in Sales Cloud, Northern Trail Outfitters should create a journey with a Salesforce Data entry source and an email activity. A Salesforce Data entry source allows marketers to inject contacts into a journey based on changes or events in Sales Cloud objects, such as campaign members. An email activity allows marketers to send an email message to contacts in a journey. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_salesforce_data_event.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_email.htm &type=5

To create a task on Contact and Lead records for follow up when someone has not opened five emails in a row, a scheduled automation can be used to run a SQL query activity that selects the subscribers who meet this criteria from the _Open data view and inserts them into a data extension. The data extension can then be used as an entry source for a journey that has a task activity to create the task in Sales Cloud. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_data_view_open.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_task_activity.htm &type=5

To send emails to loyalty members based on recent activity, a contact data entry source can be used to segment the data based on attributes and filters configured in Contact Builder. This allows for more flexibility and scalability than using a data extension entry source with an applied filter. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_entry_sources.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_attribute_groups.htm &type=5

To send an email to customers who need to reset their password on their website, Northern Trail Outfitters should use Transactional Messaging API. Transactional Messaging API is a tool that allows marketers to send transactional emails with high priority and reliability. The emails are sent as quickly as possible and can be personalized with dynamic content. The web server can receive a notification when the email is sent by using callbacks or tracking events. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_rn_transactional_messaging_api.htm &type=5

To move subscribers who have a status of ‘Held’ back to ‘Active’, NTO should extract those subscribers using a tracking extract or a data extract activity in automation studio, then import those subscribers as ‘Active’ using an import activity or file transfer activity in automation studio or an import wizard in email studio. This process will overwrite their status in all subscribers list and allow them to receive emails again. Contact Builder cannot mass update subscriber status in all subscribers list. Subscribers with a status of ‘Held’ cannot be re-enabled by contacting support unless there is a technical issue on Marketing Cloud’s side that caused them to be held incorrectly. A SQL query cannot change subscriber status in all subscribers list directly. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_held_status.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_import_subscribers.htm &type=5

Three questions that are relevant to determining a solution for automating a process of importing data from a data warehouse into Marketing Cloud are:

• Is the data file a delta or a historical file? This question will help determine how to handle existing records and avoid duplication or overwrite. A delta file contains only new or updated records, while a historical file contains all records regardless of changes.
• Will the data file be placed on the SFTP at the same time daily? This question will help determine how to schedule an automation or trigger an event based on file drop. If the data file is placed on the SFTP at different times, then a File Drop Automation may be more suitable than a Scheduled Automation.
• Does someone need to be notified if an error happens on import? This question will help determine how to handle errors and exceptions during import. If someone needs to be notified, then an email notification activity or a verification activity may be added to the automation.

Whether the data extension has a data relationship or not is not relevant to determining a solution for importing data, as it is only used for creating relationships between data extensions in Email Studio. Whether the file has more than 5,000 rows or not is not relevant to determining a solution for importing data, as it does not affect how data is imported or processed. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_file_drop_automation_studio_triggers.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_import_file_activity.htm &type=5

An auto-suppression list is a list of subscribers who should not receive any commercial emails from a sender. It can be applied to all sends or specific sends based on sender profile or delivery profile. It is useful for complying with legal or contractual obligations to avoid sending to certain email addresses. References: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_auto_suppression_lists.htm &type=5

To provide near real-time data in a 30-day welcome journey, Northern Trail Outfitters should use contact data using synchronized data sources. This will allow them to access the most up-to-date data from their CRM system in decision splits and other journey activities. Journey data is static and based on the entry source data extension, which may not reflect recent changes in CRM. Contact data mapped through profile attributes or imported from CRM reports may not be as timely or accurate as synchronized data sources. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_synchronized_data_sources.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_jb_decision_split.htm &type=5

To send an email confirming opt-in when someone signs up for their emails via a form on their website, a triggered send data extension can be used to capture the form data and deploy the email. The triggered send data extension can be linked to a triggered send definition that contains the email creative and settings. The developer can use the SOAP or REST API to trigger the email from the website form, and the marketing team can change the email creative without involving the developer. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_triggered_sends.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_triggered_send_data_extension.htm &type=5

How to determine engagement should be resolved prior to generating the audience for sending a special discount offer to engaged customers on their email list. Engagement is a measure of how subscribers interact with emails, such as opening, clicking, or converting. Different criteria can be used to define engagement, such as frequency, recency, duration, or channel preference. Determining engagement can help segment the audience and target the most relevant customers for the offer. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_engagement_split.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_engagement_metrics.htm &type=5

To pull data from the SendLog for troubleshooting based on email address without coding experience, Northern Trail Outfitters should filter data using a Filter Activity on SendLog Data Extension. A Filter Activity is an activity that allows marketers to create filtered data extensions based on criteria and conditions without coding. A SendLog Data Extension is a custom data extension that captures send-time values for each subscriber in an email send. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_filter_activity.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_a_sendlog_data_extension.htm &type=5

The LookupRows AMPscript function returns a rowset from a data extension that matches the specified criteria. It can be used to retrieve multiple rows of data from a data extension based on one or more column values. For example, NTO can use the LookupRows function to retrieve all rows from the second data extension that have the same session ID as the subscriber in the sendable data extension, and then loop through the rowset to display the product data for each abandoned cart item in the email. References: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.noversion.mc-programmatic- content.meta/mc-programmatic-content/lookuprows.htm

A File Drop Automation with a Verification Activity can be used to fulfill the requirement of sending an email to all contacts who have signed up for its newsletter, but have not joined its loyalty program. A File Drop Automation can be used to trigger an automation when a file is uploaded to the Marketing Cloud FTP. A Verification Activity can be used to check the number of records in the file and stop the automation if the file is empty. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_define_a_triggered_automation.htm &type=5 https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_as_verification_activity.htm &type=5

• How many API calls are expected to be made at peak hourly rate? This question will help determine if they have enough API limits and bandwidth for importing large volumes of data via REST API into Marketing Cloud. The REST API has limits on how many requests can be made per hour per account based on license type and edition.
• Why do they require 10 years’ historical data in Marketing Cloud? This question will help determine if they have a valid business case and use case for importing large volumes of historical data into Marketing Cloud. Depending on their marketing objectives and strategies, they may not need 10 years’ historical data in Marketing Cloud, which could reduce their storage needs and costs.

What time of day are the API calls made is not relevant to determining a solution for importing large volumes of data via REST API into Marketing Cloud, as it does not affect how data is imported or processed. Whether someone needs to be notified if an error happens on import is not relevant to determining a solution for importing large volumes of data via REST API into Marketing Cloud, as it does not affect how data is imported or processed. References: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_overview_large_data_extensions.htm &type=5 https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.noversion.mc-apis.meta/mc-apis/using_the_rest_api.htm