Impact of reordering emails in a nurture

[Lisa_Docter]

Hi Marketo Experts,

I have a nurture program with multiple streams.  I'm in the process of updating my emails with newer verbiage and would like to re-order some of the emails.  Such as move Email 4/Stream 4 to Email 6/Stream 6, etc.  What impact will this have on the people already in the nurture?  If they received Email 4/Stream 4, will they receive it again if it's moved to Email 6/Stream 6?

[SanfordWhiteman]

Please move the thread to Products‌. Move link will be at the right. This isn't a support space, it's for questions about the community site itself.

[Lisa_Docter]

Moved to product.  Thank you for the guidance.

[Lisa_Docter]

How do I check to see if anyone answered my question? (Sorry, I'm new to asking questions in here!)

[Josh_Pickles]

Hi Lisa,

If your nurture program has been built out using the Engagement Program, then Marketo won't resent an email that it has already sent out to users. 

Engagement programs operate by identifying what emails a lead record has and has not received. It does this by tracking the email ID - so if a lead is sent email one they won't be sent it again, even if it is re-ordered to a different position in the stream.

This will not apply if a new email is created.

The same process will happen if you use default programs within your nurture programs - however - for an engagement program to "skip" a default program, a person MUST be a member of the default program.

[Lisa_Docter]

Thanks for the info Josh.  How about if I add a NEW email to my nurture (engagement program), say as Email 2, will the people that are down on Email 6 still receive the NEW Email #2?  

[Josh_Pickles]

Hi Lisa, 

That is correct. If you're adding in a new email into the second position, people who are down at email six will receive the new email the next cast.

If you are looking to avoid this I would recommend you look into using Default Programs within your nurture program. This will allow you to create as many versions of an email as you like as a person is "skipped" if they are a member of the default program.

[Lisa_Docter]

Hi Josh,

I'm trying to wrap my head around this.  So I have these nurture programs that have been running for years and we keep adding people that qualify.  I'm in the process of updating the nurture to switch to our new email templates and updating some assets, etc.  Essentially, all the emails will be new because of the new template.  

My goal would be to have members receive the new versions of the emails (vs the old versions) but not receive the same asset content twice.  Is that possible using a default program?  Please explain.  Thanks

[Josh_Pickles · Accepted solution]

Hi Lisa,

No worries - as far as I'm concerned, you've got three options to consider:

1. Create new emails in the new templates and replace existing content. Leads within the stream will receive all the new content - whether they've previously received it before or not.

2. Duplicate the nurture program. Update the content to feature the new template and replace this within each stream. Deactivate the smart campaigns for the original nurture and activate them for the new. The new nurture must have an exclusion in the Smart Campaign that basically says "Don't add people who exist in the old program". This way, only leads going forward receive the new emails in the new template - those who existed in the original program will continue to receive the remaining original emails.

3. Create a default program for each email within your Engagement Program. Run a smart campaign that basically says "If a person was sent Email ABC, make them a member of Program for Email ABC". Create a new email in the new default program. Add the default program to the stream. People who previously received the original email will be skipped as they are a member of the default program. People who have not received it will receive the new email. 

Nested engagement programs (like option 3) are a great way to capture reporting. Joe Reitz has a really good video explaining this (Marketo-Fu - Episode #38: Engagement Program Best Practices - YouTube ) and there's a really good thread you can read more on the community ( https://nation.marketo.com/thread/46624-nurture-ahem-engagement-programs-best-practices ).

I hope that helps clarify things, but reach out if you need further insight.