Append field information, not overwrite

Append field information, not overwrite

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.
9 Comments
Anonymous
Not applicable
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
Not applicable
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
Level 4
Thanks so much for the suggestion Adam! I will give it a try. 
Kathi_Gosche
Level 4
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
Not applicable
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
Level 4
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
Not applicable
@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
Not applicable
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?
kh-lschutte
Community Manager
Status changed to: Already have it