Please help: Product Docs doesn't answer my question

[Anonymous]

Hello and thank you in advance for your time!

My colleague and I have been using Marketo for 3-6 months, but only for email blasts, because we cannot figure out how to build more sophisticated automation with the resources we've been given. We've done the Learning Lab, read the Product Docs, and even scoured Josh Hill's Marketo Rockstar Guide. We cannot figure it out.

Would you please explain how to create the following:

1) Send an email to XXXX leads

2) If email is opened, but no link clicked, send a new email

3) If email is opened and the link is clicked, send a follow up email

4) If email is unopened, resend email in X days with new subject line

I feel like if we can get this up and running, we can do anything! But right now - we just can't grasp smart campaigns, batch, trigger... what we've attempted hasn't worked. Please help ... in plain English! 😃

Thanks again!

-Amanda

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Amanda,

The doc does not cover Marketo campaign architecture. And it takes time and experience to be at ease with this exercise.

Consider triggers as a monitoring device that waits for a specific event to happen and, when it happens, to triggers (hence the name) a flow of successive actions for the lead for which the event happens. You can consider that a trigger is a real time reaction to the event. On the opposite, a batch campaign is a flow of actions that is executed for a whole set of leads at the same time, and which starts when YOU (the user) decides.

In your case, as often in Marketo, there are more than one way to do what you want, which makes it difficult. Here is one

1. In any case you need a batch that selects the XXX leads and sends the first email. That's one smart campaign or event a email program type.
2. As you do not know when the leads will open that 1st email, the only solution for the second item is to wait for this  "open" event to happen and send the email #2, but only if the click does not happen. That's difficult, since you do not know either how long you should wait for the click to happen after the email was opened... So one solution here is to create a second batch that selects all leads who opened the first email (email opened filter) and did not click (not email was clicked filter) in a period such as the day before. but in any case, you cannot do it real time since you do not know how much time you should wait for the click not to happen.
3. for the 3rd bullet point, you just have to monitor for the click to happen. If the email was clicked, it means that it was opened, so no need to wait for the sequence of events, only the second one is enough. So you will use and "clicks link in email" trigger and send the follow-up email
4. for the 4th item, you can run a batch after X days, targeting anyone who was sent the email but did not open it.

Once this is in place, you can start to manage some additional subtleties. For instance, the fact that an email can be clicked while it has not been opened first. This is due to the mechanisms that are used to detect opens (not very reliable by design, many undetected opens) and clicks (much more reliable by design). This gives you a second reason for not monitoring the opens in point 3/. It also means that in point 4/ you should target anyone who was sent the email and did not open it and did not click it. and it also means that whatever you do, in item 2/ Marketo and you will miss some open.

-Greg

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this clear explanation, Greg! I found it to be VERY helpful! 😃 I didn't understand that each campaign would have to be nested as a program as separate campaigns. I thought the entire workflow would be done in one flow with multiple steps and triggers. Thanks again!

[Grégoire_Miche2]

You just checked the first important milestone on your journey towards Marketo program design wizardry

-Greg

[Anonymous]

I've only been using it for 2 months; but with trial and error I could figure out how to do similar type of automation. According to your scenario, you need to create 3 different emails under one program. Pick the Engagement Program Type, or Web Content - depending on your type, if it is something ongoing and you want your new members added to the list receive this email. Use Email Send Program if it's one time thing. For ongoing, create these smart campaigns for your actions:

For #1:  Create New Smart Campaign > Smart List > Filters > Member of list/program (whatever is the list you are sending your email to) > Flow > Send Email > Select your email #1 > Schedule

For #2: Create New Smart Campaign >Smart List > Trigger - Email Opened> Select your email #1>Filter - Link is not clicked in email - Add constrain - Link - Select the link>Flow>Send Email> Select email #2>Schedule

... continue with #3 and #4 using a similar logic.

If you use Email Send, Create New Program Email Program and schedule your #1 email within. Pick your list under "Audience"; Pick you email #1 under "Email", Schedule and Approve. Under the same program, create Smart campaigns #2, #3 and #4 according to the logic above.

Hope this helps.

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Anastasia,

Your solution on point #2 has a flaw: whatever time you wait afterwards, there is always a risk that the email is clicked after the end of you wait period (for instance, I open the email and mark it as unread in my mail box, to be able to remember it later. Then I come back the 36 hours later after, and click it...).

-Greg

[Anonymous]

Yes, there would need to be a time frame indicated like - for the past 5 days. I agree that there is some risk here and it is a more difficult one.  If the email got opened and link was not clicked that means that the message was not strong enough or they are not the right target.. I wouldn't send them another email. A/B testing of the message should help determine what message would work better.

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi again Anastasia,

In fact, for this point #2, there is no 100% bullet proof solution Whatever the delay you set, there is always a risk that someone waits event longer before clicking. And then after a certain delay, will sending an email to follow-up on a open make sense. I tend to think that email open even can be totally meaningless. We may register an "email open" activity jus because the lead is scrolling through his emails and not even looking at them. So I would avoid triggering any significant flow on a simple email open event.

-Greg

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your help! It means a LOT! 😃 I didn't understand that each campaign would have to be nested as a program as separate campaigns. I thought the entire workflow would be done in one flow with multiple steps and triggers. Thanks again!