Changes to Marketo Salesforce Sync – Questions and Discussion

[Chris_Kuhlman]

So if I understand everything correctly, I need to:

1. Create the 16 new fields
2. Install MSI
3. Uninstall MLM

Will the new MSI package write to these new fields I just created for the future?  So any reports I have pointing to those old fields can be updated to these new ones?

Is the MSI package capable of doing the backfilling or should I let the new fields sit with the old MLM package until its all synced up?

Just out of curiosity, if I were to download and do a clean install of MSI on a new server, what field would it sync Lead Score to? (I mean isn't the new package going to create a custom field for that value anyway?  If the fields are different, how will my MSI know to write to mkto71_Lead_Score and not whatever field may be created by MSI during the install?)

[hena_wells]

Hi Chris Kuhlman,

A few things:

- The fields that come with the MSI packaged has not changed. And MSI does not write to any field in sf.com. The fields it creates (like the interesting Moments fields) are populated by the sync and this part remains exactly the same.

- The MSI package used to reference the lead score field created by the MLM package. In some versions mousing over the stars in MSI would show the lead score by referencing this field. This reference has been removed from all versions.

- You don't actually need to reinstall MSI. We removed the reference mention above remotely.

Hope this helps

Aj

[Chris_Kuhlman]

Hi Arjun and thank you for your reply.  Sorry to bother but I have a few follow up questions.

The fields that come with the MSI packaged has not changed. And MSI does not write to any field in sf.com. The fields it creates (like the interesting Moments fields) are populated by the sync and this part remains exactly the same.

So the fields that the MSI app uses on both the SFDC side and the marketo side are exactly the same as the MLM package? If they use the exact same fields, why the backfilling? What are the 16 new fields I'm creating for then? I'm sorry to bother with so many questions but I must not be understanding something right.

The MSI package used to reference the lead score field created by the MLM package. In some versions mousing over the stars in MSI would show the lead score by referencing this field. This reference has been removed from all versions.

But I can still keep the hover functionality if I create the mkto71_Lead_Score field right? the the new MSI installed package will recognize this field?

You don't actually need to reinstall MSI. We removed the reference mention above remotely.

So I don't need to install the MSI package then? I can just leave the (deprecated) MLM package running? I thought I was supposed to install MSI then remove MLM. Can you please link to this new updated documentation where the reference has been removed?

Thanks for the great product and taking time to respond to my questions. I sincerely appreciate it.

[Mike_Reynolds2]

Hi Chris Kuhlman​

It's important to remember that MSI and MLM are two separate packages. It's very easy to get them mixed up.

• MSI stands for Marketo Sales Insight. Sales teams tend to use it a lot.
• MLM stands for Marketo Lead Management. It really doesn't do anything for anyone.

The MSI package creates a set of fields that MSI uses like Interesting Moments. Those fields get installed when MSI is installed and they will still keep getting installed moving forward with new MSI installations. Those fields remain unchanged. The MSI package can stay right where it is. It doesn't need to be uninstalled or anything--the patch we sent out automatically updated it so that it keeps on working just like it should.

The MLM package, however, created the 16 fields inside of SFDC, like Lead Score, and those are the ones that are affected here. Now, the MSI package used to reference the MLM package in a very minor way, but the patch we sent out removed that dependency so again, MSI is good to go as is, but the MLM package is where the fun is here.

So the MLM package created these fields and the configuration change is going to cut off data syncing into those fields. The question is, do you need that information inside of SFDC? If you do, recreate the fields, but if you don't, then don't worry about recreating them and save yourself the trouble. Lead Score is still visible within the view of MSI in Salesforce, so the data is still there, accessible to your sales teams. It's the other fields that tend to be the question. Do your sales teams ever need to know what the Acquisition Program was? (That's the only other field that is commonly used, though the rest sometimes get some attention) If your sales teams don't need the data from those other fields, save yourself the trouble. If they do need it, then yes, go ahead and recreate the fields.

I hope that helps. If you have any other follow up questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask! Happy to help.

-Mike

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Mike Reynolds​,

Are the timelines (https://nation.marketo.com/docs/DOC-3841#jive_content_id_Timeline) for the patch of the MSI package or for the backfill process or both ?

-Greg

[Mike_Reynolds2]

Greg,

Good question. The timeline given is the schedule for when customers are to recreate the fields and initiate the backfill process. We've staggered it out over 6 months to minimize impact, both on our customers so everyone can schedule accordingly, and also on our data centers pushing the data back and forth.

The recreation of the fields is what initiates the backfill process. As soon as they are recreated, the very next sync cycle will pick up that they've been created and will start the backfilling.

The MSI patch is already out. It was rolled out previously so that it's already in place prior to the initiation of the backfill for any customers.

- Mike

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Mike,

Thx

I understand from a comment you made on another question that it is possible to make the field changes earlier or later, and for this, we need to get in touch with support. Am I correct ?

Also, I have one customer for which Salesforce change release schedules are very constrained and the 6 months period might not even be enough. Could we manage this?

-Greg

[Mike_Reynolds2]

Greg,

We're definitely willing to accommodate reschedule requests. Please just Contact Marketo Support and we'll get that rescheduled for a better time.

It's best to work within the 6 month timeframe because the MLM package will be officially deprecated as of January 31st, 2017. The data will stop syncing to the fields created by the MLM package after this date. You can certainly push it out past the January 31st cutoff date and recreating the fields later on will still kick off the backfill the same way at that point. The thing to keep in mind though is that between January 31st and when that's actually done, the data flowing from Marketo to the old fields will stop, so on the SFDC side will become stale and won't update any more. The info in Marketo will still keep updating as usual and no data will be lost, but it won't be able to pass into SFDC. Another thing to note is that even if the data stops passing into the fields like in your lead/contact page layouts, the data in Sales Insight will still update as usual even after the January 31st cutoff date, and even if the fields haven't been recreated yet.

The January 31st cutoff date is a firm date and can't be changed.

-Mike

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Mike,

Thx, that's clear.

-Greg

[Anonymous]

I followed the instructions above to a T (created new custom fields, did mapping, then uninstalled the MLM package) and now my lead score, flames and stars are all blank. I sincerely hope I haven't lost data. Can you please help me troubleshoot?