Discovery and Architecture16% of the exam
Data strategy, subscriber keys and segmentation design
How a consultant turns data requirements into a strategy: database of record first, only the data campaigns use, keys and links that hold together, channel-aware opt-outs, attribute groups and populations, and data feeds that stay fresh.
Demonstrate how to gather requirements in order to put together a data and segmentation strategy for the customer.
~8 min read · 16 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Gather data sources and pick the database of record before designing anything else.
- Decide which fields to import from what campaigns will segment or personalize on, and keep unneeded sensitive data out.
- Identify foreign, primary and contact keys, and spot key strategies that will break (channel-bound values, digit collisions, shared household emails, internal IDs).
- Recommend attribute-group, population and link designs, and explain that an Email Studio unsubscribe doesn't reach other channels.
- Plan how data stays fresh: scheduled imports, and synchronized CRM data copied into sendable, shareable data extensions.
- Key terms: DBOR (database of record: source of truth for opt-in status and subscriber info); contact key (unique contact identifier, the subscriber key in Email Studio); foreign key (fields that connect two tables); primary key (unique row identifier); attribute group (linked data extensions); population (a large, distinct group of contacts).
Key facts
Database of record
- Detail
- Source of truth for opt-in status and general subscriber info
Sensitive data
- Detail
- Store only if essential for segmentation or transactional messages
Subscriber key length
- Detail
- Limited to 254 English characters
Spam complaints
- Detail
- Tied to the email address, not the key
Contact ID, Subscriber ID
- Detail
- Internal surrogate keys; not for marketing activities
Email Studio unsubscribe
- Detail
- Doesn't stop MobileConnect or MobilePush messages
Populations
- Detail
- Three or fewer
Numeric identifiers
- Detail
- Convert to string before linking to Contact Key
Outside data in
- Detail
- Data Copy or Import activity, schedulable in an automation
Synchronized data extensions
- Detail
- Not sendable; query into a sendable or shared data extension
Sources for this section (5)
- Design Your Data Modeltrailhead.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Subscriber Keyhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Contact Builder Best Practiceshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Organize Your Datatrailhead.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- SDS Best Practiceshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Which field types does the data model module use to label incoming data?
- When does the module say populations are beneficial?
- Why might a long composite subscriber key fail?
- How can a Data Copy or Import activity map source columns to the destination?
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 Consultant pack
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- All 20 lessons of the Marketing Cloud Engagement Consultant guide, with reading progress
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