Automating Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Automating Salesforce Marketing Cloud

by Greg Gifford, Jason Hanshaw
Released April 2022
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781803237190

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Book description

Make the most of Salesforce Marketing Cloud through automation and increase your productivity on the platform without adding any extra resources

Key Features

  • Increase your knowledge of automation theory and the applications of SFMC
  • Explore automation with SFMC and its capabilities beyond general usage
  • Understand the automation features and integrations of SFMC to use the platform from outside the user interface (UI) for maximum efficiency

Book Description

Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) allows you to use multiple channels and tools to create a 1:1 marketing experience for your customers and subscribers. Through automation and helper tasks, you can greatly increase your productivity while also reducing the level of effort required in terms of volume and frequency.

Automating Salesforce Marketing Cloud starts by discussing what automation is generally and then progresses to what automation is in SFMC. After that, you’ll focus on how to perform automation inside of SFMC all the way to fully running processes and capabilities from an external service. Later chapters explore the benefits and capabilities of automation and having an automation mindset both within and outside of SFMC. Equipped with this knowledge and example code, you'll be prepared to maximize your SFMC efficiency.

By the end of this Salesforce book, you’ll have the skills you need to build automation both inside and outside of SFMC, along with the knowledge for using the platform optimally.

What you will learn

  • Understand automation to make the most of the SFMC platform
  • Optimize ETL activities, data import integrations, data segmentations, email sends, and more
  • Explore different ways to use scripting and API calls to increase Automation Studio efficiency
  • Identify opportunities for automation with custom integrations and third-party solutions
  • Optimize usage of SFMC by building on the core concepts of custom integrations and third-party tools
  • Maximize utilization of employee skills and capabilities and reduce operational costs while increasing output

Who this book is for

This book is for Salesforce Marketing Cloud users who want to know how to make their day to day lives more efficient and get the most out of the tool by working smarter, not harder. A solid understanding of SFMC and basic knowledge of what automation is will help you get the most out of this book.

Table of contents

  1. Automating Salesforce Marketing Cloud
  2. Foreword
  3. Contributors
  4. About the authors
  5. About the reviewers
  6. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Download the example code files
    5. Download the color images
    6. Conventions used
    7. Get in touch
    8. Share Your Thoughts
    9. Learn more on Discord
  7. Section 1: Automation Theory and Automations in SFMC
  8. Chapter 1: What Is Automation?
    1. Automation theory
    2. Automation definition
    3. Automation opportunities and pitfalls
      1. Opportunities
      2. Expanded opportunities
      3. Pitfalls
    4. Concepts of automation
      1. Infrastructure
      2. Triggers
      3. Data collection
      4. Information routing
      5. Activity tracking
    5. Implementation best practices
      1. Starting small
      2. Understanding the process
      3. Sticking to the objective
    6. ABD – Always Be Documenting
      1. Documentation best practices
    7. Summary
  9. Chapter 2: SFMC Automation Tools
    1. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
      1. The ExactTarget years
      2. Salesforce acquisition
    2. Multi-channel and cross-channel marketing
      1. Multi-channel marketing
      2. Cross-channel marketing
      3. Marketing Cloud evolves beyond email
    3. Automation tools in Marketing Cloud
      1. Marketing Cloud tools
    4. Journey Builder overview
      1. Single Send journeys
      2. Transactional Send journeys
      3. Multi-Step journeys
      4. Journey Builder configuration overview
      5. Journey entry events and activities
      6. Journey Builder considerations and best practices
    5. Automation Studio overview
      1. Scheduled automations
      2. File drop automations
      3. Automation Studio activities
    6. Comparing Automation Studio and Journey Builder
      1. The key differences
      2. Which one should I use?
      3. With our powers combined
      4. Automation Studio and Journey Builder interactions
    7. Summary
  10. Chapter 3: SFMC Automation Best Practices
    1. Best practices
      1. Establishing a best practice
      2. Maintaining best practices
      3. Keep it simple, stupid (KISS)
    2. Creating high-quality testing
      1. Testing woes in Salesforce Marketing Cloud
      2. Creating test versions in your production business unit
      3. Creating a sandbox business unit
      4. Developing and testing outside Marketing Cloud
    3. Performance and efficiency in your architecture
      1. Will the solution solve the problem?
      2. Is the solution your best path forward to meet your needs?
      3. Does this solution consider all future scenarios?
      4. Can your solution handle triple the volume and frequency that's currently expected?
      5. Is the solution fully planned out and developmentally sound?
    4. Is efficiency greater than performance?
      1. Why are we not certain?
      2. Is efficiency better than performance?
    5. Best practice is not always best
      1. Context matters
      2. Subject matter experts don't know everything
      3. Do research and testing
    6. You (your preferences) matter
      1. Imposter syndrome
      2. Trust yourself
      3. Your situation matters
    7. Summary
  11. Section 2: Optimizing Automation inside of SFMC
  12. Chapter 4: Automating Email Sends
    1. Email marketing automation overview
    2. Real-time versus scheduled
      1. Real time
      2. Scheduled
      3. Real time or scheduled – which is the right choice?
    3. 1:1 messaging versus batch sends
      1. 1:1 messaging
      2. Batch messaging
      3. Batch or 1:1? Why not both?
    4. Analytics-powered insights
      1. Analytics in Marketing Cloud
    5. Considerations regarding email automation
    6. Summary
  13. Chapter 5: Automating Your ETL and Data
    1. What is ETL?
      1. Extract
      2. Transform
      3. Load
      4. How is ETL used?
    2. Activities for data in Automation Studio
    3. SQL Query activities
      1. What is a SQL Query activity?
      2. Uses of the SQL Query activity in automation
    4. Filter activities and data segmentation
      1. Filters
      2. Groups
      3. Filtered mobile lists
    5. Import data options
    6. Export data options
      1. Data extract
      2. File Transfer activity
      3. Tracking extract
    7. Summary
  14. Chapter 6: The Magic of Script Activities
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Script activities (SSJS and AMPscript)
      1. AMPscript inside of a Script activity
    3. Overview of SSJS in Marketing Cloud
      1. What is SFMC SSJS in a nutshell?
    4. Oh, the possibilities! (What you can do in SSJS)
      1. Arrays and objects
      2. Functions in SSJS
      3. try…catch in SSJS
      4. More capabilities than we can mention
      5. WSProxy
    5. A real-life example implementation
      1. Setup
      2. Functions
      3. Global variables
      4. allTriggers logic
      5. for loop
      6. The upsert
    6. Summary
  15. Chapter 7: The Power of In-Step APIs
    1. What are APIs?
    2. The REST and SOAP APIs
      1. Authentication
      2. The SOAP API in Marketing Cloud
      3. The REST API in Marketing Cloud
    3. SFMC native functions and WSProxy
      1. AMPscript
      2. Server-side JavaScript
      3. WSProxy
    4. Script.Util for the REST API
      1. HttpResponse
      2. HttpGet
      3. HttpRequest
    5. Why is this important?
      1. External services
      2. Example 1
      3. Example 2
      4. Example 3
      5. Example 4
    6. Summary
  16. Chapter 8: Creating Mini Web Apps
    1. Technical requirements
    2. What is a web app?
    3. Creating a Marketing Cloud web app
      1. Setup and administration
      2. Installed packages inside Marketing Cloud
      3. API component and scope
      4. CloudPages
    4. Example implementation
      1. Automation Dashboard
      2. The full code
      3. The SSJS
      4. The HTML and CSS
      5. Client-side JavaScript
    5. The power is yours!
    6. Summary
  17. Section 3: Optimizing the Automation of SFMC from External Sources
  18. Chapter 9: Getting Started with Custom Integrations
    1. The who, what, and why of custom integrations
      1. Out-of-the-box solutions
      2. Custom integrations
    2. Have your cake and eat it too – combining approaches
    3. Building your integration toolbox
      1. ETL, ELT, and Reverse ETL
    4. Point-to-point integrations versus hub-and-spoke integrations
      1. Point-to-point integrations
      2. Hub-and-spoke integrations
    5. The paradox of choice – finding the right tools
      1. Know your limits
      2. Setup and next steps
    6. Summary
  19. Chapter 10: Exploring SFMC as a Piece of the Puzzle
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Knowing about your process flow
      1. Identifying owners and key players
    3. Putting pen to paper
      1. Defining a use case
      2. Understanding the lightning component framework
      3. Building our lightning component
    4. Understanding the importance of structure
      1. Model
      2. View
      3. Controller
    5. Testing, testing, and more testing
      1. Creating specific tests
    6. Summary
  20. Chapter 11: Exploring SDKs, APIs, and Specs
    1. Understanding APIs
      1. Open APIs... what does that mean?
      2. Partner APIs... a little closer to the vest
      3. Internal APIs... all in the family
      4. Composite APIs… with our powers combined
    2. Requests and protocols – a deep dive
      1. SOAP – not the kind you use in the shower
      2. REST – but not a nap
      3. GraphQL – making data easier
    3. To SDK or not to SDK
      1. APIs versus SDKs
      2. Marketing Cloud platform SDKs
    4. Summary
  21. Chapter 12: Webhooks and Microservices
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Webhooks versus APIs
    3. An event-based example
      1. Configuring the GitHub webhook
      2. Setting up the endpoint
    4. Microservices, assemble!
      1. Advantages of monolithic architecture
      2. Disadvantages of monolithic architecture
      3. Advantages of microservices architecture
      4. Disadvantages of microservices architecture
    5. Summary
  22. Chapter 13: Exploring Custom Journey Builder Activities
    1. Technical requirements
    2. An overview of the required files and structures for Journey Builder
    3. Setting up your package and environment
      1. Setting up your application in Heroku
      2. The Marketing Cloud custom activity configuration
    4. Exploring configuration and activity UI
      1. The config.json file
      2. The index.html file
    5. Using the Postmonger events and payloads
    6. Implementing handlers and authentication
      1. Utilizing logging
    7. Summary
  23. Section 4: Conclusion
  24. Chapter 14: Carpe Omnia
    1. Lessons we've learned so far
    2. Final lessons and examples
      1. Calling an automation from another automation
      2. Creating automated scripts with Heroku Scheduler
      3. How and why to use Heroku Scheduler
    3. Last-minute tips and tricks
    4. Summary (adieu and auf wiedersehen)
    5. Why subscribe?
  25. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Packt is searching for authors like you
    2. Share Your Thoughts

Product information

  • Title: Automating Salesforce Marketing Cloud
  • Author(s): Greg Gifford, Jason Hanshaw
  • Release date: April 2022
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781803237190