Business Practitioner Exam Guide

Tyron_Pretorius

I want to start by saying that it has been a long time since I've taken the practitioner exam (MCE back in the day) and while this is true I believe that the guide I have here, the practice tests, and the resources I share are still relevant for today's exam. If you see anything that needs to be updated or you think there is some new information I should include then please let me know in the comments 🙂

There are 2 Business Practitioner exams: the Professional exam and the Expert exam.

The Practitioner Professional exam is the replacement for the old Certified Associate exam. While I took the Certified Associate exam back in June 2019, I have not taken the new Business Practitioner Professional exam.

However, looking at the Practitioner Professional exam guide and some sample test questions, the exam looks to be a straightforward exam assessing the basics of marketing operations and Marketo that anyone who has been using Marketo for a few months should be able to answer.

Hence, I will spend this blog focusing on how to prepare for the Business Practitioner Expert exam since it is much harder to prepare for.

N.B. It is NOT required to pass the Practitioner Professional exam before the Practitioner Expert exam.

Once you are kicking back with your Practitioner Expert certification and you have kicked ass for a few years challenge yourself to take the Certified Architect exam.

Practitioner Expert Exam Introduction

The new Practitioner Expert exam replaces the old Certified Expert exam and while I have not taken this new exam yet the exam topics are similar and I believe all the resources I will share here are still relevant.

At the risk of sounding like one of your old teachers here are 2 important things to remember from the high school days when taking the exam:

Read the question twice
Do not spend too long on questions you do not know. Come back to these questions after doing the rest of the exam because the other questions on the exam might give you clues to the answers to these questions.

Don’t be nervous, YOU GOT THIS!!!

Also note that if you are already practitioner expert certified then you can take a free, on-demand renewal exam to extend your certification for another 2 years.

Practitioner Expert Study Guide

The Practitioner Expert exam is designed to test how well you know the ins and outs of the Marketo platform, covering features spanning campaigns, programs, the people database, and integrations (CRMs and webinar partners).

Anyone who has used Marketo for a while should be comfortable with most of the topics listed in the “Exam Objectives and Scope” section of the Practitioner Expert exam guide but below I have listed a few topics that I think most people might need to brush up on :

Given a scenario, identify the best fit for using workspaces and partitions
- Understanding Workspaces and Person Partitions
Identify CRM platforms with native Marketo synchronization
- Marketo Supported CRM Integrations
Interpret the relationship between programs, channels, tags, and period cost
- Create a Program Channel
- Advanced Program Reporting Overview
Identify and apply the appropriate use of program member custom fields
- Program Member Custom Fields
Implement the appropriate interesting moments
- Using Interesting Moments
Identify a few key pieces of Marketo’s data retention policy as it relates to smart lists
- Marketo Activities Data Retention Policy
Given a scenario, be able to investigate and assign the appropriate acquisition program
- Understanding Attribution
- Setting Acquisition Best Practices

Here are some other resources that I used when studying for the old Certified Expert exam in April 2020:

Tyron’s Marketo Certified Expert study document with notes and links to cover the exam topic list
The Certification Study Group Discussions user group
A more detailed and specific “To-Know” list for the old Certified Expert exam
Certified Expert Study Guide by Solomon Solution
- You will need to complete a form-fill to get emailed a link to the guide

Here are two other study guides written by other champions:

Champion Tips for Taking Your Marketo Engage Certification Exam by Amy Goldfine
What's new with the Marketo Certified Expert exam? by Veronica Lazar

Practice Exams

There is nothing better to prepare for the Practitioner Expert exam than the practice exam provided by Marketo themselves. Even though the old Certified Expert exam has been phased out I would still recommend taking the practice exam for this too because the questions will be similar and will still unveil any areas you need to brush up on:

Retired Business Practitioner Expert practice exam from Marketo with 50 sample questions
Retired Certified Expert practice exam

Here are also links to free practice exams from 3rd parties that I found online when studying for the Certified Expert exam in April 2020. Again, while this exam has been phased out and the practice questions are not from Marketo themselves I still think they are worth doing.

Practitioner Expert Exam FAQs

What are the requirements to become a Practitioner Expert?

There are no prerequisites in order to become a Practitioner Expert, although it is recommended that you have at least 18 months of experience using Marketo before taking the exam.

Before deciding whether you want to make the commitment to study for this exam you should take the free Practitioner Expert readiness survey. This is a short survey (they give you 30 minutes to complete the questions but it won’t take you that long) which will ask you a series of 40 questions related to your experience using Marketo.

If you answer “yes” to most of these questions then you can consider yourself experienced enough to take the exam.

This readiness survey will also do a test of your internet connection and browser beforehand to make sure you have all the necessary requirements for taking the actual test.

How long does the Practitioner Expert Certification last?

The Practitioner Expert certification is valid for two years from the date you pass the certification exam or take the renewal exam.

How long is the Practitioner Expert exam?

The Practitioner Expert exam is 110 minutes long consisting of 50 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 32 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

The renewal exam is 80 mins long consisting of 40 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 30 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

How many questions are on the Practitioner Expert exam?

There are 50 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions on the Practitioner Expert Exam where 32 correct answers are needed to pass the exam and you have 110 minutes to do so.

There are 40 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions on the renewal exam where 30 correct answers are needed to pass the exam and you have 80 minutes to do so.

Is the Practitioner Expert exam online?

Yes, the Practitioner Expert exam is an online proctored exam consisting of 50 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 32 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

The renewal exam is an on-demand, online exam that is not proctored. It consists of 40 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 30 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

How much does the Practitioner Expert exam cost?

The Practitioner Expert exam costs $225 in the US and $150 in India.

The renewal exam is free.

How many Practitioner Experts are there?

As of December 2019, there were 3,234 Practitioner Experts.

How much do Practitioner Experts make?

The salary of a Practitioner Expert is $90k on average according to data from Talent.com.

How do I prepare for the Practitioner Expert exam?

At a minimum, you should prepare for the Practitioner Expert exam by looking at the product documentation for each of the topics listed in the exam guide and then taking the practice exam offered by Marketo.

Practitioner Professional Exam FAQs

What are the requirements to become a Practitioner Professional?

There are no prerequisites in order to become a Practitioner Professional, although it is recommended that you have at least 3 months or 200 hours of experience using Marketo before taking the exam.

How long does the Practitioner Professional Certification last?

The Practitioner Professional certification is valid indefinitely.

How long is the Practitioner Professional exam?

The Practitioner Professional exam is 110 minutes long consisting of 55 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 36 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

How many questions are on the Practitioner Professional exam?

There are 55 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions on the Practitioner Professional exam where 36 correct answers are needed to pass the exam and you have 110 minutes to do so.

Is the Practitioner Professional exam online?

Yes, the Practitioner Professional exam is an online proctored exam consisting of 55 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions where 36 correct answers are needed to pass the exam.

How much does the Practitioner Professional exam cost?

The Practitioner Professional exam costs $125 in the US and $95 in India.

How do I prepare for the Practitioner Professional exam?

At a minimum, you should prepare for the Practitioner Professional exam by looking at the product documentation for each of the topics listed in the exam guide and then taking the sample questions offered by Marketo.