Subscriber Data Management18% of the exam
Contact Builder and the contact model
What counts as a contact, how Contact Builder's tools (Contacts Configuration, Data Designer, Data Extensions, Imports, Data Sources, Contacts Analytics) build one record per person, the one-way switch to the Contacts structure, the four Contact Builder permissions, how Contact Delete runs, and why Contact Events is retiring.
Given a scenario, describe the contact model.
~7 min read · 18 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Decide whether an individual counts as a contact, including people reached only by MobilePush or GroupConnect.
- Pick the Contact Builder tool for a task: relate data, tag its origin, import a file, control import processing or check delete requests.
- Explain the one-way switch from the older subscriber data structure to Contacts, and that new accounts include Contact Builder.
- Grant the right combination of the four Contact Builder permissions for a persona.
- Describe the Contact Delete process and what replaces the retiring Contact Events.
- Key terms: contact (an individual added to any contact database in Marketing Cloud Engagement); single contact record (the record that all of a person's channel addresses and tracking should relate to); data extension (a table that holds contact information); population (a Data Designer group of contacts linked 1:1 by contact key); suppression period (the window before a deleted contact's data is removed).
Key facts
Contact definition
- Detail
- Any individual in any contact database, including GroupConnect, MobileConnect, MobilePush and Journey Builder recipients
New accounts
- Detail
- Include Contacts and Contact Builder
Switching to Contacts
- Detail
- Existing accounts can't return to the previous structure
Contacts Analytics
- Detail
- Delete-request status from app or REST API; use in the top-level account
Permissions
- Detail
- Access, View All Contacts, Delete Contacts, Administer Contact Data Model
Populations
- Detail
- Link by ContactKey 1:1; avoid more than three per account
Suppression period
- Detail
- 2 days by default, adjustable
Delete batch
- Detail
- Up to one million records; can't be canceled once started
Contact Events
- Detail
- Retiring; filter or query in Automation Studio
Sources for this section (5)
- Why does a push-only app user count toward contacts?
- Why can't a contact in the suppression period receive even a transactional send?
- Which tool shows how many REST API delete requests completed, and from which account?
- Why must an admin think twice before moving an older account to Contacts?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 20 lessons of the Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (18 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
- Unlimited timed practice exams