Data Cloud Activations and Actions: An Ultimate Guide 2024

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, leveraging data effectively is crucial for businesses aiming to enhance customer experiences and drive growth. The concept of Data Cloud Activations and Actions plays a pivotal role in this endeavor. 

This guide delves into the intricacies of data activations, the differences between segmentation and activation, and best practices to maximize their potential.

Understanding Data Activation

Data Activation involves delivering a payload of segment members along with their supporting attributes to a connected target system. This process ensures personalized and timely interactions can be executed across various platforms, catering to specific audience needs. The activation process is crucial in leveraging customer data to enhance marketing strategies and drive engagement.

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Key Points:

Segmentation and Filters:

• Segmentation Filters: These identify records under the unified individual that meet specific audience criteria. For example, identifying all records where the preferred color is green.
• Activation Filters: Used to select records associated with the channel based on source priority, ensuring the right message is delivered through the right channel.

Source Priority:

• The activation process selects records based on source priority, where reconciliation rules in Identity Resolution (IR) have no impact. This ensures that the most relevant data is used for activation.
• For example, an email address is selected based on source priority, and the individual ID from the record is used as the subscriber key.

Attributes and Metrics:

• During activation, relevant profile attributes and metrics are decorated and appended to the audience, providing richer data for personalization and engagement.

Types of Activations

There are two primary types of activations in the Data Cloud: DMOs and Streaming DMOs. Each type serves different purposes and is used by different organizational roles.

DMOs (Data Management Operations):

• Typical Use Case: Primarily used by marketers for large-scale activations.
• Scheduled Activation: DMOs are scheduled to activate large segments containing millions of profiles, ensuring comprehensive coverage for marketing campaigns.
• Focus on Profile Attributes: The primary focus is on activating segments with relevant profile attributes and metrics, such as customer preferences and engagement scores.

Also Read – Salesforce Data Cloud Implementation Approach

Streaming DMOs:

• User Roles: Utilized by data-aware specialists, architects, and data engineers.
• Event-Driven Automations: Focus on event-driven automations and data integration, enabling real-time responses to customer actions and interactions.
• Near-Real-Time Insights: Streaming DMOs provide near-real-time events and insights across various engagements, such as product interactions, account services, sales fulfillment, and payment processing.

Key Comparisons:

Activation vs. Data Action:

Activation:

• Process of publishing a segment to activation platforms.
• Scheduled activations for large segments.
• Targets include Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC), B2C Commerce Cloud, and external platforms.

Data Action:

• Sends alerts/events to targets such as Salesforce core or webhooks based on real-time insights and engagement data.
• Event-driven, focusing on real-time data integration.
• Targets include Salesforce Core, MuleSoft, and Webhooks.

Payload and Context:

• Activation: Sends Data Cloud IDs to targets, appending attributes and insights.
• Data Action: Triggers based on real-time insights without pushing historical data, focusing on the current engagement context.

By understanding these activations and their specific use cases, businesses can effectively utilize their data to drive targeted marketing campaigns and real-time customer interactions. This strategic approach ensures that data is activated efficiently and leveraged to its full potential for enhancing customer experiences.

Activation Targets

Activation targets are diverse and cater to various platforms, allowing seamless data utilization across different channels:

Cloud File Storage (Amazon S3):

• Permissions: Requires S3 access key and secret key with permissions for s3.
• Use Cases: Ideal for storing and managing large data sets securely.

Marketing Cloud:

• Business Units: Can be added or removed based on organizational needs.
• Shared Data Extensions: Enables data activation across multiple business units for cohesive marketing strategies.

Data Cloud:

• Flow API Integrations: Allows activation data to be published back into Data Cloud DMOs for integrations with various applications, including LWCs (Lightning Web Components).

External Activation Platforms:

• Google Ads and Meta: Automatically created when connected to Data Cloud, enabling direct marketing campaigns.
• B2C Commerce Cloud: Facilitates e-commerce strategies with personalized data.
• Personalization (Interaction Studio): Automatically integrated for enhanced user interaction and engagement.

Also Read – How Data Cloud Segmentation Can Transform Your Marketing

Creating an Activation

Creating an activation involves several detailed steps to ensure precise and effective data utilization:

Selecting Target and Membership:

• Define Segments: Choose the segment data and the membership criteria to be activated.
• Example: Selecting a segment like “High Loyalty Customers” to target for re-engagement campaigns.

Selecting Contact Points:

• Marketing Cloud Options: You must choose from an email address, mobile app, or phone number.
• Cloud File Storage and Personalization: Options include email address and phone number, with additional fields as needed.
• External Platforms: Options vary and can include Mobile Advertiser ID (MAID) and Over-the-Top (OTT) ID.

Additional Attributes:

• Attribute Selection: Up to 100 additional attributes can be included, derived from any object in the DMO with valid relationships.
• Calculated Insights: Metrics can be added to provide deeper insights, such as customer engagement scores or purchase history.
• Attribute Naming: Fields used in activation can be updated with preferred attribute names to align with target requirements.

Related Attributes Considerations:

• Use in MC and S3: These attributes must be used mindfully, considering a 90-day lookback window and the ability to traverse up to four hops for related objects.
• Segmentation vs. Activation Filters: Different filters for segmentation and activation ensure precise targeting and message personalization.

Best Practices and Considerations

To ensure effective data activations, follow these best practices and considerations:

Use of Filters:

• Segmentation Filters: Narrow down the audience to those meeting specific criteria.
• Activation Filters: Focus on attributes that personalize messages, enhancing relevance and engagement.

Multiple Data Sources:

• Unified Individual: Use this as the Activation Membership to avoid duplicate entries and ensure accurate data representation.
• Avoid Duplicates: Selecting Individual instead of Unified Individual can lead to inaccuracies in counts and targeting.

Identity Resolution & Reconciliation:

• Contact Point Accuracy: Do not solely rely on Data Cloud reconciliation for deduplication or merging contact points. Ensure manual checks for accuracy.

Publishing Schedule:

• Staggering Times: Schedule activations at different times to manage load and performance, especially for large audiences.
• Performance Management: Regularly monitor and adjust schedules to optimize system performance and data processing.

By adhering to these expanded guidelines and best practices, businesses can leverage Data Cloud Activations and Actions to achieve more precise, personalized, and effective customer engagements.

Hands-On Exercises

Practical exercises help solidify understanding of data activations. Here are some examples:

1. Create activation for “Customers parked at EV charging station” and review results.
2. Activate the “High Loyalty Customers who are not actively purchasing” segment and analyze outcomes.
3. Run activation for “Reward Program Customers with Low CSAT Score” and evaluate the impact.
4. Activate “Customers who are only in the parking system and not the reward system” to identify engagement opportunities.
5. Add a related list of contacts for a unified contact point email to enhance personalization efforts.

Explore our Salesforce Data Cloud series on YouTube for expert guidance and tips on leveraging Salesforce Data Cloud effectively.

Conclusion

Data Cloud Activations and Actions are powerful tools that enable businesses to leverage their data for enhanced customer experiences. By understanding the processes, types of activations, and best practices, businesses can effectively utilize their data to drive engagement, personalization, and growth. 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Data Activation? 

Data Activation delivers segment members and their attributes to a connected target system for personalized and timely interactions.

2. What is the difference between Segmentation and Activation? 

Segmentation identifies records meeting specific criteria, while Activation selects records based on channel relevance and source priority.

3. What are the main types of activations? 

The two main types are DMOs (for large-scale, scheduled activations) and Streaming DMOs (for real-time, event-driven automations).

4. Who uses DMOs and Streaming DMOs? 

DMOs are primarily used by marketers while Streaming DMOs are utilized by data specialists, architects, and engineers.

5. What platforms can be used as Activation Targets? 

Activation targets include Cloud File Storage (Amazon S3), Marketing Cloud, Data Cloud, Google Ads, Meta, and B2C Commerce Cloud, among others.

6. How do I select contact points for an activation? 

Contact points can include email addresses, phone numbers, and Mobile Advertiser IDs, depending on the activation target.