Append field information, not overwrite

[Kathi_Gosche]

Currently when a list is uploaded to Marketo, the fields are overwritten by the uploaded data. 

Example: I talk with the same lead at two events. Notes taken from the second conversation overwrites those taken during the first conversation on list import. That's valuable information that I don't want to loose and seems like functionality that should already be included within Marketo. 

This would make Marketo much more valuable and life so much simpler.

[Anonymous]

I'd tweak this to ask that it be configurable - on certain fields it would be nice to have append when you need historical narrative.

(Trade off might be the activity history though)

[Anonymous]

Hi Kathi, It is possible to append fields, but you have to have a process in place in order to do so. No, you can't upload from a list directly into the final desination field as it will most definitely overwrite the current data. But let's say you had 2 fields instead.

Last Data |  Historical Data

When you import a piece of data you want history on, if you import it instead into a field, let's call it "Last Data"

then write a campaign, when (trigger) Data Value Changes, Last Data, (in the flow), Change Data Value, field Historical Data, data value:  {{lead.Last Data}} | {{lead.Historical Data}}

By using two lead tokens you can effectively combine data together into a single field. It will first look at what is the historical data, then it will add Last & History together to produce a newly concatenated final field value, the new History.


Ok, so not specifically your request, but a way to do something with a little logic.

[Kathi_Gosche]

Thanks so much for the suggestion Adam! I will give it a try. 

[Kathi_Gosche]

I have successfully appended my data field based off the above suggestion. Thank you. Now I'm having the issue that if the field I want to append the new data to happens to be empty for a specific lead, the new data does not append. 

Here's the set-up:

Data loaded to Person Notes
My custom field called "marketing notes" is empty
Trigger campaign has a change data value step in the flow like this: 
    Smart List: Fills out form
    Flow:  Change data value, Attribute: Marketing notes, New Value: {{lead.Person Notes}} | {{Marketing Notes}}

Value returned in the Marketing Notes fiels is " | "

What is causing this? Is there something I need to add to the flow to account for a blank field? Seems to work fine if the field already has data. 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Anonymous]

You are missing the token type declaration. Like {{lead.Person Notes}}, all tokens start with a type. Lead, My, System, Company, Trigger, Member. One of these is required for a token to work. 


{{lead.Person Notes}} | {{lead.Marketing Notes}}

[Kathi_Gosche]

I got it to work by putting a minute delay between each of my campaign steps. I think because each of the campaign steps had the same trigger, the data was being appended before the data was populated in the first place. 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Anonymous]

@Adam Waterson -
I use Marketo with SalesForce.  In SF there is a field called "Lead Description" that we post pertinent information about the campaign that generated the lead.  For Marketo-driven campaigns, this field is automatically generated in my SmartList/Flow steps with a Change Data Value of the Lead Description field with something like:  "{{Lead.Updated At}}-L.CORTEZ: Downloaded St. Luke's Case Study (see Campaign History for details and copy of case study) which highlights Account and Clearance.  Please call to discuss current needs. (FB)"  

I use the date token at the beginning so we know right when the lead was generated, which I recently discovered and I love.  

However, if a lead turns around a few days/weeks later and responds to another marketing effort of ours, that Lead Description is being replaced and the only way I can get that original data back is to go into Marketo, find the record, pull up their activity history and cut-n-paste the 'old value' and combine it with the new.  I reached out to Mkto support to see if there was a way to combine old with new automatically and they said no.  But hten I saw your post above from 1/30/2013.  Is it possible to insert additional tokens that would preserve any previously-entered notes into that field when a Flow Step is what's driving the entry? 

[Anonymous]

Lynette-
This method will infact work. You however need a 2nd field.  Have all of your raw data go into one field, let's call it {{lead.Update info}}  .. So have your marketo campaign write to this 2nd field instead of {{lead.Update at}}.... Then everytime {{lead.Update info}} has a data value change, write it to the master field by using Change Data Value (Update at) = {{lead.Update info}}, {{lead.Update at}}

Make sense?