Opt-outs are handled by the creation of an Unsubscribe record and Posted Preferences records. Once you have created your Subscription Lists and Subscription Management Page you’ll need to set up how the people who opt-in to lists get on the right Marketing List. There are a few ways of doing this. The first way is to use a custom field and a Workflow with a dynamic marketing list; it will keep your Marketing Lists clean, but this way takes a little longer to set up. You can also manage opt ins using a Campaign Automation or the Add to Marketing List action in the Subscription Page builder. The action option will not keep your lists as clean but is quicker to set up. This article will cover the workflow method.
NOTE: This article discusses the use of a CRM workflow and custom CRM fields to extend native ClickDimensions functionality. Since both workflows and the creation of new fields are CRM functions and not part of the ClickDimensions solution, we cannot provide technical support for this. If you need assistance setting up the workflow or creating new fields, please reach out to your CRM partner or administrator.
NOTE: If you are still using a version of ClickDimensions prior to 9.2.0 (8.2.2 for CRM 2011 users), Posted Preferences will be named Subscription Preferences. Other than this name change, the process discussed in this article is the same.
Goals
- Learn how to manage Opt Ins using a CRM workflow that monitors Subscription Page submissions and updates custom fields.
- Dynamics 365
As mentioned in this article, if someone opts into a Subscription list, ClickDimensions records the Opt-In as a Posted Preference record. However, you may want to take this a step further and make sure that person has been added to the corresponding Marketing List in CRM.
Step 1: Create Custom Fields for Lead/Contact Records
Start by creating a custom field within CRM for the Contact and Lead records for each corresponding Subscription List (the topics or categories of your emails). For example, if you have a Marketing List for your newsletter, create a two-option field titled Newsletter for both Leads and Contacts. The two options should be something like Yes and No. Make sure the Default Value is set to the No option or equivalent value. These fields will be used when checking the criteria for the Marketing List (via an Advanced Find or Dynamic Marketing List). Go to Settings > Customizations > Customize the System. Click on Entities > Lead or Contact > Fields and click New. Create the field(s) like the one shown in the below screenshot.
Save and close that, and create any other two option custom fields needed for other subscription lists you may have. Then click Publish All Customizations.
To add the field to the Contact records, in the same Customize the System window, under Contacts click on Forms and choose the Contact form to which you would like to add the new field.
Drag Newsletter (and any other fields you may have created) onto the record.
Click Publish in the top left, and click Save and Close. You will have to close and re-open the record in order to see the new field. Repeat these steps for Leads.
Step 2: Create/Edit the Marketing List(s)
Next create a Dynamic Marketing List (in CRM 2011) or Static Marketing List (CRM 4) for your Newsletter Subscription List. If applicable, you may need to create one for Contacts and one for Leads.
Once you've saved the Marketing List, click on Manage Members.
For a Dynamic Marketing List, you will be prompted to set the criteria in the new window. For a Static Marketing List, choose Use Advanced Find to find Members.
For the search criteria, you will want to include the following:
- Check to see if the Email field Contains Data
- Check to see if the Newsletter field (the custom field that was created in Step 1) equals Yes.
Then click Use Query. Repeat this step for your Lead Marketing List.
Step 3: Create Corresponding Subscription List
If you have not previously created a Subscription List for your Marketing List, create one now. If you need to see how to do so, please refer to this article.
Step 4: Create a Workflow to Manage People who Opt In
You will need to create a Workflow to add those who opt into a Subscription List to the corresponding Marketing List. Having this process automated will automatically change the custom field to Yes, which will then add that Lead/Contact to the corresponding Marketing List (automatically via Dynamic Marketing Lists in CRM 2011 and 2013, and manually via Static Marketing List in CRM 4).
First, create a new Process record (or Workflow record in CRM 4). Name the Process, choose Posted Preference for the Entity, and choose Workflow for the Category.
Change the Scope to Organization. If you created this Subscription list prior to this step, there maybe be people who have already opted into the Subscription List. If that is the case, you will also want to set the Available to Run to As on-demand process. To run this workflow on those who have already opted-in, create an Advanced Find of people who have opted into the list. Select all of the results and run this workflow.
Here are the steps you need to add to the Workflow:
1. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Preference > Equals > "In"
2. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Subscription List > Equals > "Newsletter" (enter your Subscription list name)
3. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Contact > Contains Data
4. Update Record: Contact > click Set Properties. In the Properties window, select Yes for your Custom field (ex. Newsletter). Click Save and Close.
5. (Select Step 3 and click Add Step from the ribbon) Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Lead > Contains Data.
6. Update Record: Lead > click Set Properties. In the Properties window, select Yes for your custom field (ex. Newsletter).
Click Save and Close.
The image below shows how your Workflow should look after adding these steps.
Step 5: Add Steps to the Workflow for Opt-Outs
If you'd also like to make sure the Marketing Lists stay clean with only the people who have opted-in to the Newsletter, you can add these steps starting at the same level as the first step:
1. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Preference > Equals > "Out"
2. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Subscription List > Equals > "Newsletter" (enter your Subscription list name)
3. Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Contact > Contains Data
4. Update Record: Contact > click Set Properties. In the Properties window, select No for your Custom field (ex. Newsletter). Click Save and Close.
5. (Select Step 3 and click Add Step from the ribbon) Check Condition: If Posted Preference > Lead > Contains Data.
6. Update Record: Lead > click Set Properties. In the Properties window, select No for your custom field (ex. Newsletter).
Click Save and Close.
Save the workflow, and when you are ready, click Activate.
If you have other Subscription Lists you do not have to create a separate Workflow. Just add them to this one under the first step and repeat steps 2-6 in respect to the new list. You will, however, need to do all of the previous steps before creating the Workflow again.