Can Marketo Segment Leads and Contacts Based on a Single Salesforce Custom Object Linked to Both?

[jfbaro]

Hello everyone!

I need some guidance on how to best model our segmentation requirements in Marketo without creating extra objects or adding custom fields to Lead and Contact objects in Salesforce. Here's our scenario:

1. Salesforce Custom Object:

   • We have a custom object in Salesforce called Customer_Interaction.
   • This object has two foreign keys: one linking it to a Lead (LeadID) and one to a Contact (ContactID)
   • A Customer_Interaction record can be linked to either a Lead or a Contact, but not both simultaneously.
   • This object contains specific information about interactions, such as:
     • The product of interest.
     • The channel used (e.g., Chat).
     • The date and time of the interaction.

2. Requirements:

   • We want to segment Leads and Contacts in Marketo based on their interactions, which are recorded in the Customer_Interaction object.
   • We need to create Smart Lists that can filter Leads or Contacts interested in a single product or multiple products.
   • The custom object (Customer_Interaction) contains relevant interaction information that should be usable for segmentation in Marketo.

3. Constraints:

   • We do not want to create additional objects in Salesforce just to support Marketo.
   • Ideally, we want to avoid modifying the Lead and Contact objects (e.g., adding custom fields specifically for Marketo).
   • A Lead or Contact can have zero or multiple Customer_Interaction records related to them.

Question:

• Can Marketo directly handle segmentation based on a single Salesforce custom object that links to both Leads and Contacts?
• Is it possible to achieve the required segmentation without resorting to workarounds or adding technical debt in Salesforce or Marketo?
• If there are limitations, what is the best practice to model this scenario in Marketo?
  
  

I appreciate any insights or recommendations you can provide. Thank you!

[SanfordWhiteman]

Why (please be specific) do you need to use a formal Marketo Segmentation for this, as opposed to Smart List filters?

[NicoQTrade]

Hi Sanford, 

I am working with Jean on this project and he is having issues accessing, so I am posting his reply on his behalf.
"We prefer using Smart Lists for their flexibility. Our challenge is linking Customer_Interaction to both Contact and Lead so we can filter records using fields from both the core objects and the Customer_Interaction object. It's important to note that a Lead or Contact can have many Customer_Interaction records, making it a one-to-many relationship with both.
Thanks for your help!"