Queue priority between batch and triggered campaigns

[dafeagro]

Hello everyone, 

I have a question about the queuing processing of batch and triggered campaigns. 

We've faced queuing issues in the past and after checking our instance, Marketo support has suggested changing some of our trigger campaigns to batch campaigns. 

I know both types of campaigns are processed in different queues. However, it is not very clear if Batch campaigns are more efficient than triggered ones. 

Let me give you an example, we had a triggered campaign with settings to send an email everyday at 14h CET. We were suggested to convert this into a Batch scheduled everyday at 14h CET. 

In both cases, the settings, audience, and send time are the same. However, we were told that a Batch would be more efficient in terms of processing int he queue, even though the campaigns have the same settings and process the same amount of users. 

So I'm wondering if that's true and what's the technical explanation for that. 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

[Darshil_Shah1 · Accepted solution]

You're right to be skeptical about converting your triggered campaign to a batch campaign solely for queue efficiency. While changing campaign types can impact queueing, simply replicating the same behavior with different campaign types might not yield significant benefits. Here's a breakdown of the situation:

Differences in Campaign Processing:

• Triggered Campaigns:
  • Run continuously in the background, evaluating each member of the target audience against the triggers.
  • Process leads individually, one at a time, as they trigger the campaign.
  • This can lead to slower processing for large audiences with frequent triggers, especially during peak times.
• Batch Campaigns:
  • Run only at scheduled times, processing the entire target audience all at once.
  • More efficient for large audiences as they utilize a separate processing queue from triggered campaigns.
  • But, they cannot respond to real-time changes in lead behavior.

In your case:

• Sending an email daily at 14h CET with both methods will likely take about the same time for the same audience size.
• If you have a small audience and low trigger frequency, converting to a batch campaign might not offer significant efficiency gains.
• However, for large audiences or frequent triggers, a batch campaign might be faster because it processes the entire audience at once during a scheduled window, avoiding continuous runtime evaluation in the background.

Technical Explanation:

• Triggered campaigns have additional overhead processing leads against triggers and managing individual executions.
• Batch campaigns only work on a predefined audience at scheduled times, reducing runtime complexity.
• Additionally, Marketo queues campaigns based on type, ensuring fairness and preventing one type from monopolizing resources.

Before converting:

• Consider the audience size and trigger frequency. For small audiences or infrequent triggers, the efficiency gain might be minimal.
• Analyze your queueing issues. Understand if the bottleneck is related to triggered campaigns or other factors like resource limitations.
• Evaluate alternative solutions like optimizing triggers or adjusting launch times for triggered campaigns.

The campaign processing is also impacted by what you have in the campaign flow, and how it was launched (batch, trigger, or resumed from wait). Marketo also assigns a priority to each campaign based on what you have in the flow - Campaigns with Send Email, Send Alert flow steps have higher priority than the campaigns with Change Data Value, Call Webhook, etc. flow steps. This Marketing Nation article has got all the beans on how campaign processing works in Marketo if you want to give it a read. Additionally, Marketo also allows users to override the default campaign priority for the trigger campaigns, here's the experience league documentation re the same.

I hope this is helpful. Please let us know if you have questions.

[dafeagro]

Hello Darshil, 

Thanks so much for your reply. Everything is clearer now.