Signal Integration with Marketo Guide

Source:

Published:

Keywords: Certain Signal, Marketo, Signal Real-Time Data Integration, Retry Queue, OAuth2

Document ID: https://platform-support.certain.com/hc/en-us/articles/10901541136151#split1

Certain Signal: Marketo Native Integration Guide.

This document is a guide to using Certain Signal to integrate with Marketo. (Signal also integrates with other products, including Eloqua and Salesforce via native integrations and others via Webhooks or Advanced Webhooks – see separate guides.)

This product is not included with Certain Platform by default. Certain Signal is available if you email help@certain.com and features@certain.com and include your account name.

Contents

1. What is Signal? How does it work?

2. Prerequisites • Data-Flow Considerations • Marketo Credentials

3. Overview of Setup Steps

4. Setting up Tags • What Are Tags? • Setting Tags Up for an Account • Applying Tags in an Account • Applying Tags in an Event

5. Opening Certain Signal

6. Setting up a Connection • What are Connections? • Adding a Connection

7. Setting Up Flows • What is a “Flow”? • The Flow List • Configuring a Flow

8. Flow Data Source • Available sources • Activate for

9. Flow Filters

10. Flow Destination • Setting up a Destination • Mappings • Campaign ID • Form

11. Metrics Dashboard • Account Insights

12. The Retry Queue

13. Replaying a Flow

What is Signal? How does it work?

Certain Signal processes data from your events in real-time, passing it from Certain Platform to your instance of Marketo.

The real-time integration empowers sales and marketing teams to take intelligent, prompt action on the right event data.

Almost everything is set up at the account level. Signal processes information from the events in your account.

For event-level information, this is based on the custom tags you attach to data such as Events, Custom Registration Properties, or Registration Statuses, as explained in this guide.

Important: Signal processes outbound information.

Signal processes information from Certain and sending it to Marketo.

Prerequisites

Data-Flow Considerations

Marketo Credentials

To set up a Connection in Signal (see Setting up a Connection), you need to know the URL you use to log in to Marketo.

Your Marketo administrator must create an OAuth2 app in Marketo. Your Marketo administrator must create the app by going to Admin > Integration > LaunchPoint > New Service > Service: Custom > Create.

Your Marketo administrator must provide the following details:

Overview of Setup Steps

| Step | See Page |

|---|---|

| On Certain Platform 1. Add tags in the account | Setting up Tags |

| On Certain Platform 2. Apply those tags | Applying Tags |

| In Certain Signal 3. Add a Connection | Adding a Connection |

| In Certain Signal 4. Configure a Flow | Setting up Flows |

Setting up Tags

What Are Tags?

Tags are a way of identifying event-level data using labels you set at the account level.

You can apply those tags to generic items in events. You can especially apply tags to custom registration statuses and custom registration properties for use in Certain Signal.

Tags can be used for other purposes. This guide does not cover other purposes.

For example, your events may have several custom registration statuses in addition to the standard ones.

You can apply the same Tags to more than one status. You can also give each status its own Tag.

When you set up a Flow in Certain Signal to send data to Marketo when an attendee’s Registration Status changes, you specify the tags applicable to those statuses. You do not specify the statuses themselves.

That flow can apply to any event in your account.

Setting Tags Up for an Account

1. As an Administrator, go to Account Settings > Management > Tags.

2. Enter a Name and a Label for the tag.

3. Select the Object(s) to which the tag can apply.

For example, select Registration Statuses and/or Custom Registration Properties.

4. Click Add.

5. Repeat as required for as many tags as needed.

6. Important: Add enough tags to apply to all of the following that you will use in your Signal Flows (see Flow Data Source).

a. Registration Statuses

b. Custom Registration Properties

7. Also, add enough tags to apply to all of the following that you will use in filters for flows (see Flow Filters).

a. Attendee Types

b. Events

Applying Tags in an Account

In each event from which you want information to flow through Certain Signal, apply tags to the relevant information.

The relevant information includes Registration Statuses and Registration Custom Properties.

You can also tag Attendee Types and Events to filter registration records by attendee type or event. See Flow Filters.

Default Registration Statuses

These apply to all events.

An Administrator applies the tags at the account level.

1. Go to Account Settings > Management > Registration Statuses. 2. Select one or more Tags for each status.

Important: Even if you don’t use any standard registration statuses, set up tags for all of them.

At least tag the New status.

Certain uses “behind the scenes” when first processing each registration.

Applying Tags in an Event

Custom Registration Statuses (Essential)

1. In each event, go to Plan > Event Setup > Custom Statuses.

2. Select at least one tag for each status.

Custom Registration Properties (Optional)

If any of the Flows you configure in Signal (see Configuring a Flow) will activate for Custom Reg Properties:

1. In each event, go to Plan > Configure.

2. Under Custom Registration Properties, select at least one tag for each custom reg property in the event.

Standard Registration Properties (Automatic)

These tags are set up for you automatically.

These tags use names identical to the properties themselves:

You only see these tags in Signal. You can activate Flows for them. See Activate for.

There is nothing to edit on Certain Platform.

Attendee Types

(Optional– for use with filters – see Flow Filters.)

1. In each event, go to Plan > Event Setup > Attendee Types. 2. Select one or more Tags for each attendee type on which you may wish to filter registrations. See Flow Filters.

Events

(Optional– for use with filters – see Flow Filters.)

1. In each event you wish to include in a filter. For example, ensure that only registrations for that event are passed to Marketo. 2. Go to Plan > Event Setup > Details. 3. Select one or more Tags for the event.

Registration Questions

(Optional– for mapping Certain fields to Marketo fields – see Mappings.)

1. In each event in which you use registration questions to capture data from attendees and wish to pass those answers and/or questions to Marketo: 2. Go to Plan > Event Setup > Questions. 3. Select just one Tag for each question. Selecting more could result in duplicate data in Marketo.

Opening Certain Signal

When Signal is activated for your account, the Account Settings > Implementation menu includes an extra option.

The menu is available to Administrators.

Click that link to open Certain Signal in a separate window. Signal runs separately from Certain Platform.

Note: To return from Signal to Certain Platform at any time, click.

Setting up a Connection

What are Connections?

A Connection in Certain Signal specifies how to connect to your instance of Marketo.

Marketo is your Target application.

You can have multiple connections. For example, you might have a connection to Marketo and a connection to another application.

Other target applications are covered in separate guides.

Each Flow (see Setting up Flows) requires a Connection. Multiple flows may use the same Connection.

You can set up a Connection before configuring your first Flow. You can also set up a Connection while configuring a Flow.

This guide assumes you are setting up the Connection first.

Adding a Connection

As an Administrator, set up one or more Connections for your account.

Set up Connections only once.

Use the Connections in the Flows you set up.

1. Go to Account Settings > Implementation > Signal Real-Time Data Integration.

2. As noted above, Certain Signal opens in a separate window.

3. Click Connections in the left navigation panel.

4. Click Add A Connection in the Connection List page that opens.

5. Enter the details in the Connection Setup screen that opens.

This could be just ‘Marketo’ or ‘Marketo Connection’.

This part starts with “https://” and ends with “marketo.com”.

For example:

For Marketo, the authentication type is OAuth2.

OAuth2 is an industry-standard secure method of authentication.

See ‘Marketo Credentials’ on Marketo Credentials.

If selected, and Marketo already has a record for the Lead whose data is being sent, then update that Lead.

Update the Lead where Certain data details differ.

For example, update the phone number.

The Signal connection takes precedence.

6. Click Save & Test.

7. If the test is successful, click Close.

If the test is not successful, check that the values in step 5 are all correct.

Setting Up Flows

What is a “Flow”?

A flow is a configuration to manage the flow of data from Certain to Marketo.

Create flows from the landing page in Signal (see Configuring a Flow).

You may configure several flows for an account. Several flows might all use the same Connection.

You need to configure a flow only once at the account level.

After a flow is complete, it starts picking up data for each event in that account within about a minute.

The minute’s delay exists because Signal runs independently from Certain Platform. If you edit a flow, a slight delay happens again before the change takes effect in the processing of registrations.

The Flow List

As an Administrator in Certain Platform, go to Account Settings > Implementation > Signal Real-Time Data Integration.

Certain Signal opens in a separate browser window.

The main screen in Signal is the Flow List. The Flow List lists all flows.

The Status column shows whether a flow is completely set up.

The Active column shows whether a flow is running. Click the toggle button to change a flow from Active to Inactive, or vice versa.

Configuring a Flow

Click ADD A FLOW to start setting up a new flow.

The configuration consists of:

The Flow activates for Source criteria.

See Flow Data Source.

See Flow Filters.

See Flow Destination.

‘Live’ or ‘Test’

The Live toggle switch determines whether your Flow is Live or Test.

A Live Flow picks up all live registrations in live events. A Live Flow ignores test registrations, even in live events.

A Test Flow picks up all test registrations. Test registrations include registrations in test events. Test registrations also include registrations marked as ‘Test’ in live events.

Best Practice: Set up a new flow as Test.

Test the flow.

Then set the flow to Live.

Flow Data Source

Specify the Source of data for the flow (optionally applying Flow Filters).

The Source of a Flow is what the Flow watches for in your data in Certain. The Source also determines when the Flow activates. The activation happens based on that data.

For example, the Flow might watch for any change to a Registration Status. The Flow activates if an attendee’s status changes to a status tagged as ‘Registered’.

Available sources

Set a flow to watch for any one of the following:

Note: You can always save an incomplete Flow and complete it later.

After you complete a Flow, it starts picking up data after the usual minute’s delay.

Activate for …

Choose what the flow should activate for by selecting one or more tags in each appropriate object’s dropdown list.

As shown in the screenshot above, activate for tags applied to Registration Statuses and/or Registration Properties. The latter includes both Standard Reg Properties and Custom Reg Properties.

Other options may be added depending on what the Flow is watching for:

The tags available for selection are those set up for that object. See Setting up Tags.

For example, tags for Registration Statuses include Registration Status tags.

You can apply Registration Status tags to:

Flow Filters

You can filter data going into a flow.

Select fields in any of these three filter types:

The flow includes a registration only if the registration meets the rule(s) specified in the filter.

Note: For custom fields, you can select only “enumerated” questions.

Enumerated questions have pre-configured answers.

Enumerated questions include questions of types Select, Multi-select, Checkbox, or Radio.

Flow Destination

Select Marketo from the integrations set up by Certain for your account.

Setting up a Destination

1. Give the Destination a name you choose.

2. Select the Connection to use.

The process to set up a connection is the same as described on Setting up a Connection.

3. Select the action for this connection from the available actions:

Your choice of action determines the other configuration options.

Mappings

The Available Mappings option is available for most actions.

These actions include ‘Trigger Campaign’, ‘Create/Update Lead’, and ‘Form Post’.

A mapping specifies how each target field in Marketo matches a source field in Certain.

Select a mapping from the drop-down list.

If no mappings have been set up yet, or if you need something other than existing mappings, click New Mapping.

1. Give the mapping a name you choose.

Best Practice: For multiple mappings, use self-explanatory names.

For example, ‘Lead Mapping’ and ‘Form Mapping’.

2. The left column lists Marketo fields.

These are the “target” fields.

Under each target field is the default “source” field in Certain that matches that target field.

For example: target field ‘Salutation’ defaults to source field ‘Prefix/Title’.

The value of the Salutation field in Certain populates the Prefix/Title field in Marketo.

3. By default, the First Name, Last Name, and Email fields are mandatory.

Select the checkbox next to a target field to make the field mandatory.

This is not normally fixable.

This issue would not go into the Retry Queue.

4. Click the x after a source field label to delete that field.

Click to add a new source field.

You can also type fixed text.

Separate source fields by two spaces and “@”.

5. In the second column, select a transformation option for each field.

The default selection of “no selection” sends the data to Marketo unchanged.

Available transformation options:

Note: You can select more than one transformation for a field.

For example, change it to Proper Case and trim it.

6. At the end of the list, use Add Target Fields to add target fields and select source fields for them.

To delete a field from the mapping, click DELETE at the end of that row.

If you selected a mapping, Signal enables two buttons:

If you have a mapping, Signal also enables:

Use Refresh Target Fields if you do not find a target field you expected in an existing mapping.

Technical note: This is likely for new fields added since a connection was created.

Target fields are cached when a connection is tested.

A refresh updates the cached mappings.

Available source fields for mapping

The Certain fields you can choose from as the source of the data going into the target fields in Marketo include:

See page 5 about not using the same tag for more than one question.

Campaign ID

The Campaign ID is required if your action is ‘Trigger Campaign’ or ‘Create/Update Lead’.

There are two options:

See Registration Questions.

Select that question here.

This move happens regardless of event.

Note: If you specify both an event question and an account-level campaign ID, the event question-based campaign takes precedence.

Form

If the selected action is Form Post, complete the following:

Select the target fields and map them to the source (Certain) fields.

See Mappings above.

Metrics Dashboard

To see the statistics available in Signal, click Metrics in the left navigation panel when looking at flows.

The choices in the new navigation panel depend on the flows and their targets.

The first choice is Insights, as illustrated and described below.

Other links include, for example, Leads Created and Form Posts. These work in the same way as Account Insights.

Account Insights

Select whether you want to see Live Flows or Test Flows.

Select the period for which you want to see the data. For example, for the last 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours. You can also select a number of days.

There are three tabs:

Summary tab

This is the default tab on the Insights page.

The figures shown depend on the flows and actions.

For some figures, click the number to drill down. For example, click Unique Registrations to see the registrations processed by flows in the selected time frame.

You can filter or search for records after you drill down. For example, filter on an Event Code to see only registrations in that event.

The figures listed below apply to the whole account. The whole account includes all events and registrations.

For each figure, click the number to drill down to details.

Changes Processed increments each time a registration is created or updated in Certain.

Changes Processed also requires processing by a flow in Signal.

For example, creating a registration and then updating it twice would total three “changes”.

Unique Registrations counts any single registration only once.

If all changes were for the same registration, Unique Registrations would increase by 1.

Example: if you only have one flow with one action, Actions Triggered could match Changes Processed.

More flows can trigger more actions.

This could be caused by, for example, a registration having an untagged status.

Active Flows is not related to whether the flow is shown as ”Active” or ‘Inactive” on the Flow List.

External Activities would apply only if the Target were Eloqua.

This figure is the number of form posts.

Drilling down into the failures provides a high-level view for troubleshooting. For example, you can see why an action failed. If you can address the failure, then expedite the fix in Signal by going back to Flows and clicking Retry in the left navigation panel. See Retry Queue.

Troubleshooting tab

The second tab on the Insights page shows troubleshooting information.

For example, if registrations are not processed because a Registration Status is not tagged, troubleshooting helps you rectify tagging. Rectifying tagging lets registrations process on the next retry.

The numbers shown include the following. Click a number to drill down to details of the actual records.

The action is retried.

Maximum automatic retries per action = 3.

For example, if an action was retried twice, Total Retried increases by 2.

For example, a lead cannot be created because a mandatory target field has no value in the source field.

See ‘Mappings’.

Example categories include “General”, “System”, “Config”, “Connection”, etc.

Activity Feed tab

The third tab on the Insights page lists the registrations processed.

The listing notes success or failure.

The listing also includes Registration Code, Event, Flow, etc.

This Activity Feed is a rolling history by date. Activity Feed is another way to access lower-level data you could see by drilling down in Summary or Troubleshooting.

The Retry Queue

When an action fails, the action usually joins the “Retry Queue”.

The action then takes its turn to run again.

Failures that cannot be resolved, such as missing mandatory fields, do not join the queue.

An action can be retried up to three times. After three retries, the action does not rejoin the queue.

To see the Retry Queue, click Retry in the left navigation panel on the Flows page.

Causes of failure include failures you control. Examples include a registration with a status that has not been tagged.

Causes of failure also include technical failures. An example technical failure is a connection being down.

If you can resolve a failure cause, you can do so. Examples include tagging a registration or setting a flow back to being active. The action should succeed when retried.

Other failures that do not resolve themselves may require contacting your administrator. You may also need to ask Certain for help.

The interval between retries depends on severity. More severe reasons get retries sooner.

Filtering the Queue

Filter the records shown in the Retry Queue using three filters:

Submitting to the Queue

When you click an item in the Retry Queue, you see its full details.

If you have enough knowledge to solve the problem, click Submit to Retry Queue. Submit to Retry Queue adds the item straight to the front of the queue.

Replaying a Flow

If you change an aspect of a flow while it has been running for some time, you may want to replay that flow for the same registrations as before.

This happens as if the changes had been made earlier.

This is not something you can do directly. You can ask Certain to arrange it for you.

You may be able to specify a date range. You may also be able to specify an event.