# Journey types, splits, goals and activities

*Marketing Cloud Engagement Foundations Study Guide · Email Sending and Journeys · Last updated November 3, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-engagement-foundations/email-sending-and-journeys/journey-types-splits-goals-and-activities*

Matching a business need to Journey Builder functionality: the Single Send, Transactional Send and Multi-Step journey types, Decision, Engagement and Random Splits with Join and Wait activities, goals and exit criteria, and customer-update and Sales and Service Cloud activities.

- Certification: Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement Foundations
- Exam section: Email Sending and Journeys
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-engagement-foundations

**Official exam objective:**

> Given a scenario, identify which journey functionality should be used to address business needs.

## What the exam expects

- Choose Single Send, Transactional Send or Multi-Step from a business requirement.
- Route contacts with the right split: Decision Split for contact data, Engagement Split for behaviour, Random Split for random groups, and bring them back with Join.
- Group activities correctly: messages, flow control, customer updates, and Sales and Service Cloud.
- Set a goal as a count or a percentage, and tell goals from exit criteria.
- Explain that Journey Builder works with content and audiences built in other Engagement apps.
- Key terms: **journey type** (Single Send, Transactional Send or Multi-Step); **split** (an activity that divides contacts into paths); **Join** (an activity that reunites branches); **goal** (a measurement of a customer action you want to promote); **exit criteria** (a filter that removes contacts from a journey).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Journey types | Single Send, Transactional Send, Multi-Step | [Manage Customer Journeys](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_journey_types.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Decision Split | Evaluates contact data | [Activity Types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_activities_reference.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Engagement Split | Evaluates a customer behavior | [Activity Types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_activities_reference.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Join | Reunites branches toward one endpoint | [Activity Types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_activities_reference.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Goal target | Total number or percentage of people | [Journey Goals](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_goals.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Goal evaluation | Every 24 hours; at wait end with Exit Option | [Journey Goals](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_goals.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Sales and Service Cloud activities | Need Marketing Cloud Connect | [Get Started with Journey Builder](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/journey-builder-basics/get-started-with-journey-builder) |
| Content and audiences | Built in Email Studio, Content Builder, Contact Builder | [Get Started with Journey Builder](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/journey-builder-basics/get-started-with-journey-builder) |

## Check yourself

- How often does Journey Builder evaluate contacts against a goal?
- Why does a contact who leaves through exit criteria not appear in goal statistics?
- When are Sales and Service Cloud activities missing from the canvas?
- Which five activity groups does Trailhead list on the Journey Builder canvas?

## Sources

- [Manage Customer Journeys](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_journey_types.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Activity Types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_activities_reference.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Journey Goals](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_jb_goals.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Get Started with Journey Builder (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/journey-builder-basics/get-started-with-journey-builder)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 7 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Marketing Cloud Engagement Foundations pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams