Notification for Sync Failures

Notification for Sync Failures

There really should be a way to notify someone if a record sync failed, especially considering Marketo gives up after the first try.

An example of where this is extremely prevalent is for SFDC integration customers who have validation rules setup. Validation rules related to Leads/Contacts are fairly common is SFDC, but they are often setup over time by an admin as they are needed, especially when new custom fields are created. A by-product of this process is that existing database records that were in SFDC don't have values in the required fields, so from the moment a validation rule is setup and going forward, when the record is being edited by a user it won't save unless that required field has a value. Since Marketo needs a SF user login, it is subject to these validation rules.

The example above may want to be documented in the SFDC installation/integration guides as well, since validation rules are not necessarily part of permissions and can apply to an admin user. We had no way of knowing, and luckily we caught this before we launched our first nurture campaign... otherwise thousands of records wouldn't have synced anything. *gulp*

I should add that a sync failed notification would be useful in more cases than the specific example above... API limits for example. I'm sure there are other examples that cause a sync failure.

64 Comments
Liliana_Cheng1
Level 4

Thanks Rachel!

We do not sync the entire database over, but I have a smart list with a similar set up that serves the purpose. I was looking for a way to be alerted rather than having to refresh the smart list periodically.

Rachel_Egan
Level 7

I definitely agree that it's frustrating. I will let you know if I hear of a better solution.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hello, this is Derek from the Marketo PM team.  Marketo has record-level notifications for CRM sync events already.  Can you tell me whether the existing functionality is able to help you, or are there other operations that you are looking for?

Thanks,

-Derek

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hello Rachel, this is Derek from the Marketo PM team.

Record-level CRM sync failures are reported via system notifications in Marketo already.  Can you tell me whether your team is currently using that functionality, or are there other situations that the current level of notifications does not report that you are looking for?

-Derek

Rachel_Egan
Level 7

Hey Derek - I see that I can subscribe to those errors via email, but is there a way to just get them in my notifications section without receiving an email about it?

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Rachel,

Yes - in fact the Notifications area is the first place where CRM sync-related messages would appear.  From there, you are then able to subscribe to particular notification types if you so choose.  If you don't subscribe to these message via email, you will still see them in the Notifications area.

Hope this helps,

-Derek

Rachel_Egan
Level 7

Are these notifications for failed sync, or are they system errors? I'm looking specifically for a report/smart list for people who failed to sync to SFDC for issues like invalid state or no company name.

Here's a screen shot from a recent smart campaign's results section.

Screen Shot 2016-10-26 at 10.28.40 AM.png

Edward_Masson
Level 10

You will need to click in one of those failures to see if it's a common error happening or random due to user error in smart campaign building.

Rachel_Egan
Level 7

Yeah, I know why they are all failing and am working on a fix, however I'd love to be able to see a full list of people who failed recently so that I can fix them. That will help trouble shoot these problems moving forward.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Rachel,

Got it.  Can you tell me the general way that you're going about troubleshooting right now?

-Derek