Hello, Marketing Nation! Welcome to the second post of "Tuesday Tech Bytes 2024 Edition.". Today, we're diving into the world of Marketing Operations vs. Sales Operations: The Untold Story (and How to Bridge the Gap) by our very own Ajay Sarpal and reviewed by the rest of the Tech Bytes Team! Use these to supercharge your marketing efforts with Adobe Marketo Engage.
Let's face it, marketing and sales operations sometimes feel like they speak different languages! We've all been there, caught in the middle of a good-natured (or maybe not-so-good-natured) blame game over lead counts and Salesforce data discrepancies. But fear not, fellow marketing ops warriors! This post is here to equip you with the knowledge you need to explain the real root cause to your sales ops counterparts, all while building a stronger, more collaborative relationship.
MQL Discrepancies: When Marketo and Salesforce Don't See Eye to Eye
One of the most common battlegrounds is the MQL count. Marketing swears they delivered a ton of qualified leads, but for some reason, Salesforce shows a lower number. The culprit? Often, it's a simple sync issue. Here are a few sync gremlins I've encountered in the trenches:
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The Validation Villain: Ever seen a cryptic error message like "FIELD_CUSTOM_VALIDATION_EXCEPTION"? This means a custom validation rule in Salesforce is blocking the lead from syncing. Solution: Team up with Sales Ops to identify the rule causing the issue. This might require a fix, but by working together, you can get those leads flowing smoothly.
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Picklist Peril: Does the error message mention "INVALID_OR_NULL_FOR_RESTRICTED_PICKLIST"? This means Marketo is trying to push a value that Salesforce's picklist doesn't recognize. Solution: Clean up the data in Marketo to match Salesforce's picklist values. Think of it as a data cleansing mission – you and Sales Ops, side by side! Pro tip: Country and state picklists are notorious for causing this issue, so double-check those.
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Duplicate Dopplegangers: If you see "DUPLICATES_DETECTED" in the error message, Salesforce is rejecting the lead because it thinks it's a duplicate. Solution: Sales Ops can check the deduplication settings in Salesforce and see if there are leads with similar information (think first name, last name) already clogging the system. Working together, you can figure out how to handle these potential duplicates.
Pro Tip: Mandatory fields are like bouncers at a nightclub – they control who gets in! Ensure that all mandatory fields on Salesforce in the contact and lead objects are updated with values when syncing records from Marketo. This can help prevent sync errors and ensure your high-quality leads make it into Salesforce.
By following these tips, you can troubleshoot common sync issues and keep those MQL counts singing in harmony.
The Account/Opportunity Tug-of-War
Another common source of tension? When updates to Accounts and Opportunities in Salesforce get attributed to the Marketo sync user, even though marketing isn't actually making those changes. Here's the deal: Marketo, out of the box, isn't designed to update these objects in Salesforce. It's a one-way street for syncing data. So, what's causing the confusion?
Often, the culprit is Salesforce itself. Apex code or workflows can update these records, and since these are automated processes, they don't show up as a specific user in the field history. Marketo, simply syncing information at the same time, gets the blame (even though it's innocent!).
The Takeaway: Collaboration is Key
By understanding these common issues, you can approach your Sales Ops colleagues with empathy and a solution-oriented mindset. Remember, open communication and collaboration are the secret weapons for building a strong marketing-sales ops alliance.
Here's to fostering a world where MQL counts match up perfectly, and Salesforce data flows like a well-oiled machine!
Stay tuned for more Marketo insights next Tuesday as we continue to explore the intricacies of successful marketing operations.
Until next time, keep marketing smart, Marketing Nation!
Thank you very much for your time!
Your Tuesday Tech Bytes 2024 Team,
Ajay Sarpal, Amit Jain, Balkar Singh Rao, and Darshil Shah
Edit (7/23/2024): Here's the quick link to next week's post (week 3):
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