Does anyone know of a way to produce a clickthrough report for a specific email link that shows, not only who clicked on the link, but also the date/time when they clicked on it?  I realize that someone can click on the link more than once.  Displaying the first time they clicked on the link would be suitable in that scenario.

Does anyone know of an app that can synch badge scans at events and shows, into Eloqua?

Looking for any and all ideas to overcome the stall I'm in.

I really enjoyed Amanda Batista's post "Modern Marketing Lessons From The Godfather." LMAO. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, take a minute now - even if you're not a Godfather fan, the analogy she makes between the famous (or perhaps infamous) one-liners and Modern Marketing hit the mark (pun intended).

So, Topliners, what are your favorite movie one-liners? If you're feeling really "modern," please feel free to share how you'd apply your fav as a Modern Marketing lesson - but no pressure, after all, this is Friday Fun!

I'll start... "Get busy living or get busy dying." - Shawshank Redemption.

Cheers!

Kristin

Update July 19, 2013: this script has been updated to use the new Eloqua tracking scripts. I have added support for radio buttons and for using any field (not just the first field) for the email address. Also note that skip rules are now indexed by field name, not by number.

First post.

I'd like to share with you a script I call Progress Pro - a script that uses jquery and data lookups to implement advanced progressive profiling for Eloqua 10.

You can download the script here: http://www.kpaonline.com/assets/js/progressPro.zip

Progressive profiling is a technique whereby visitors are asked different questions each time they fill out a form.  The idea is to start by asking a few simple questions, for example email address and name, and gradually learn more about the visitor as they perform subsequent registrations. This reduces the barrier to entry into your marketing campaign, while still allowing you to collect detailed information on your most interested prospects.

The Problem

Eloqua 10 has a cloud component for progressive profiling. If you want to implement progressive profiling on an Eloqua-hosted landing page, I suggest you start with that. See this post: http://topliners.eloqua.com/community/do_it/blog/2013/02/05/how-to-do-progressive-profiling-in-e10-using-the-cloud-component

However, this solution only works for forms hosted on Eloqua landing pages. It also has some limitations, although it is generally pretty good. But if you want to do progressive profiling on your own forms, you will need to implement some sort of custom solution.

The desired solution would work for visitors from any channel, use only one form, and enable advanced dynamic skip rules while still allowing easy implementation for simple use cases. It would dynamically pre-populate the form based on browser cookie or email address and ask questions conditionally according to the prospect's previous answers. Incidentally, it would also be useful to track the incoming channel and store it in a contact field. Progress Pro implements such a solution.

Methodology

Eloqua has an amazingly awesome feature called Data Lookups. I won't go into the details, as the feature is well documented. This feature allows you to access data from your Eloqua database using javascript. Once you have data on the visitor, you can use javascript to manipulate the form accordingly. The methodology is:

•     Create a long form, beginning with email address, containing all of the questions you want to ask in the entire profiling process. Set the email address field to prefill, but don't make any of the fields required.
•     Create two data lookups: one for looking up the email address by tracking cookie, and one for looking up the rest of your data by email address. These lookups are performed by Progress Pro using jquery.getScript to load a script with appropriate parameters from Eloqua.
•     If the visitor comes in from an email, their email address will be prefilled. Progress Pro uses this to perform the lookup by email address and prefill the form with data accordingly.
•     If the vistor comes from another channel and has an Eloqua tracking cookie, Progress Pro performs a data lookup by cookie to get the email address, then performs another lookup by email address to get the rest of the data and prefill the form.
•     If neither of these is the case, the visitor will begin by filling in the email address field. Progress Pro attaches a jquery.change handler to the email field, and performs the lookup by email address once it has been filled in. If the visitor is not in the database, the rest of the form obviously stays empty.
•     Progress Pro then hides some of the questions on the form according to parameters you specify. In the basic setup, you simply specify a number of fields at the top of the form that should always be shown, and the number of unanswered questions you want to ask. Each time the visitor returns, they will be asked a new set of unanswered questions until they have completed the entire form.
•     For more advanced use cases, you can specify an array of conditional skip rules; e.g. if the prospect indicates interest in a particular product in the answer to one of the questions, skip all questions having to do with other products. These rules are implemented dynamically - as soon as the prospect selects an answer to the question on which the rule depends, the form immediately alters accordingly.
•     Progress Pro uses jquery.validate to validate the form. This is necessary because only visible fields can be required, or the form will always fail validation. You specify an initial set of validation rules, which are modified dynamically according to which fields are shown.
•     To track the incoming channel, you can use an optional URL parameter called "ch" - your form needs to contain an hidden field called "Channel History" which will be populated with whatever channel you specify in the URL.

Usage

To use this script, first upload it to your website (or wherever else you want to host it - please don't hotlink our copy of the script, if you do I will find out and ask you very politely to stop ). Then, in the <head> section of your landing page, add javascript code similar to the following:

//---------begin code-------------

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.0/jquery.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.validate/1.8/jquery.validate.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.validate/1.8/additional-methods.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.mydomain.com/assets/js/progressPro.js"></script>

//-----------end code--------------

This is to load the necessary script files. Obviously replace "mydomain" with your domain, and replace "assets/js" with the path to your copy of Progress Pro.

You should also make sure you have installed the Eloqua visitor tracking code, which you can find in Eloqua under Setup->Website->Tracking.

Then you set up a document.ready function to call the function prePop and prepopulate the form. You will need to specify which field to use for the email address, and the total number of fields on the form (including the "Submit" button). As a callback from the prePop function, optionally call addChannel() to record the incoming channel in the Channel History field, and call the function progressiveProfile to hide fields as appropriate. Be sure to call the latter two functions as callbacks from prePop or they will not work.

In the most basic usage, just specify the number of unanswered questions to ask and the number of fixed questions to always show at the top. For this example we will set both to 3. A more advanced call using conditional skip rules is shown in the comments of the script itself. For basic usage, just specify the skip rules as an empty array.

You will need to provide the data lookup keys for your data lookup by cookie and by email. These will be generated by Eloqua when you set up the data lookups. You will also need to provide an array of form fields (indexed starting at 0) with the names of the database fields corresponding to each question. These names can be found in the fields setup in Eloqua. Also provide a set of jquery.validate validation rules (see http://docs.jquery.com/Plugins/validation). In this example, all fields are required.

//------------begin code--------------------------

<script type="text/javascript">

$(document).ready(function() {

    var elqDLKey_Cookie = escape('9b4bd4bf329e4f5c886a84464823313d');

    var elqDLKey_Email = escape('beecda0cb5e04cfa93fe68127cb5cdb0');

    var theseFields = {0: 'C_EmailAddress', 1: 'C_FirstName', 2: 'C_LastName', 3: 'C_How_did_you_hear_about_us_1',

                    4: 'C_BusPhone', 5: 'C_Title', 6: 'C_Company', 7: 'C_State_Prov', 8: 'C_Product_Family1',

                    9: 'C_Number_of_Employees1', 10: 'C_HR_When1', 11: 'C_EHS_when1', 13: 'C_Channel_History11'};

    var openQuestions = 3;

    var fixedQuestions = 3;

    var emailField = 'C_EmailAddress';

    var numFields = 14;

    var thisForm = $('form').attr('id');

    var myValidationRules = { rules: {firstName: {required: true}, lastName: {required: true},

                howDidYouHearAboutUs: {required: true}, title: {required: true}, company: {required: true},

                stateOrProvince: {required: true}, productFamily: {required: true},

                numberOfEmployees: {required: true}, hRWhen: {required: true}, eHSWhen: {required: true},

                businessPhone: { required: true, phoneUS: true }, emailAddress: { required: true, email: true } } };

    var mySkipRules = {};

    prePop(theseFields, elqDLKey_Cookie, elqDLKey_Email, emailField, function(){

        addChannel();

        progressiveProfile(openQuestions, fixedQuestions, thisForm, theseFields, elqDLKey_Cookie,

                                    elqDLKey_Email, emailField, myValidationRules, mySkipRules, numFields);

    });

});

</script>

//--------------end code-------------

For advanced usage, the skip rules are specified as an array. You set which field (by name) is to be hidden or shown, the field value the rule depends on, an operator, and a condition to match the "depends" field against. In other words, the rule states something like "hide this field if this other field contains 'California'" or perhaps "show this field if this other field equals 'yes'". You can specify multiple skip rules for each field. As a simple example, suppose we want to hide field 'C_HR_When1' if field 'C_Product_Family1' has the value "yes." The skip rule for this looks like:

//---------begin code-----------

var mySkipRules = {'C_HR_When1': {1: {action: 'hide', depends: 'C_Product_Family1', operator: 'eq', condition: 'yes'}}};

/----------end code ---------------

The possible actions are "hide" and "show" where show takes priority over hide if the rules contradict. The possible operators are "eq" for equals, "neq" for not equal to, "contains" and "always" - always means the action will always be taken regardless of the values of other fields.

A more advanced example is given in the script comments.

Et voila! We have progressive profiling that works for all visitors, uses a single form, and supports both simple cases and more advanced conditional rules.

I hope you find this useful. If you have any questions, comments or problems with this, please don't hesitate to contact me: esnyder@kpaonline.com.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: As this is custom code, the Eloqua support team will not be able to provide support or help you troubleshoot this code if you implement it. We recommend that you take Eli up on his offer and add a comment to this message and/or email him directly if you run into questions.]

What is one feature/function that you would add to Eloqua? How would it help you reach your goals?

You can develop the perfect marketing and sales process. The right content can be delivered to the right people at the right time. Leads can be scored and handed off to sales appropriately. Sales can educate and guide the company through the buying process exactly as they should. But even in a perfect situation you may still be faced with competition. And typically that competition is not another solution, it’s indecision. So many opportunities are stalled in the decision-making process and it can be agonizing to overcome that challenge.

I have a campaign idea that can be found here: http://businessischildsplay.com/2013/07/overcoming-indecision-a-late-stage-nurturing-campaign/

Just looking for others out there who are structured similarly with some stories to share, since we're just getting started in many of the Eloqua RPM practices. Are there any key learnings you'd like to share?

...And, if you're using it this way, what are some key challenges you've encountered through your RPM development?  How have you solved them?

Hi Community!

We are interfacing content between a website CMS and Eloqua for custom content, so that we can deliver said content in emails and landing pages effeciently.

We have a requirement to place an image overlay (like a big white play icon), a bit like this: http://u3.uicdn.net/372/cc7727211f2a7907850d2f844e707/diy-business-us/vi_video_content.jpg

Unfortunately the CMS system providing it can't supply it to us for some reason.  And trying to overlay the image in emails from Eloqua using CSS will result in inconsistent results between email clients, particularly mobile and so on..

So - our plan is to overlay the image in our middleware software and then upload the image to Eloqua, then use that newly uploaded image in the system.

Is there any way we can upload an image to Eloqua via the REST API, or via any other API?

Thanks

Mark

The REST API provides access to retrieve and create form submission data.

Accessing Form Submission Data

• GET /data/form/{id}?count={count}&page={page}&startAt={startAt}&endAt={endAt}

Response

The response for this call looks as follows :

{  "elements": [    {      "type": "FormData",      "id": "120666",      "fieldValues": [        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122318",          "value": "fred.sakr@eloqua.com"        },        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122319",          "value": "Fred"        },        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122320",          "value": "Last"        },        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122321",          "value": "Eloqua Corp"        },        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122322",          "value": "Toronto"        },        {          "type": "FieldValue",          "id": "122323"        }      ],      "submittedAt": "1358364307"    },
..
]}

Properties

Related Operations

• POST : /data/form/{id}

We hope that you find this help and please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Fred

I'm interested to understand which CRM systems are most commonly used by Eloqua customers. We're using Microsoft CRM 3.0 which seems to be less than ideal for working with Eloqua... I'd love to work with SalesForce, but what are you using?

Looking for those of you who have integrated with Totango.

Hello-

We are in the research phase of a Salesforce and Eloqua integration. Our first big question: If a new contact is created in Salesforce, are they automatically synced to Eloqua? If the contact does not exist in Eloqua, will a new one be created?

Any helpful information you can send my way for getting started is appreciated.

Thanks,

Sam

The REST API allows access to activity data for known contacts.

Accessing Activities

• GET   /data/activities/contact/{id}?startDate={startDate}&endDate={endDate}&type={type}&count={count}

Response

The response for this call looks as follows :

[  {    "type": "Activity",    "activityDate": "1309459305",    "activityType": "emailSend",    "asset": "2465",    "assetType": "email",    "contact": "380458",    "details": [      {        "Key": "EmailWebLink",        "Value": ""      },      {        "Key": "EmailName",        "Value": "Eloqua Sample Email"      },      {        "Key": "EmailRecipientID",        "Value": "13830d8a-3f22-420a-84f9-5d31305a1cc1"      },      {        "Key": "SubjectLine",        "Value": "Sample Test"      }    ],    "id": "47837"  }
]

Properties

Activity Asset Types

• campaign
• email
• form
• web

Activity Type Details

• campaign
  
  • campaignMembership
    • Responded
    • CampaignName
    • LeadStage
• email
  • emailClickThrough
    
    • EmailClickedThruLink
    • EmailName
    • EmailWebLink
    • EmailRecipientId
    • SubjectLine
  • emailOpen
    • EmailName
    • EmailWebLink
    • EmailRecipientId
    • IPAddress
    • SubjectLine
  • emailSend
    • EmailName
    • EmailWebLink
    • EmailRecipientId
    • SubjectLine
  • emailSubscribe
    • CampaignName
    • EmailCampaignId
  • emailUnsubscribe
    • CampaignName
    • EmailCampaignId
• form
  
  • formSubmit
    • Collection
    • FormName
      
• web
  
  • webVisit
    • Duration
    • QueryString
    • QueryStringDisplay
    • Thread

Related Operations

• none

Sample Code

• C# Samples

When our password/login expires for Cloud Connectors, it will let us know that it has expired, but the list of Cloud Connections only shows step IDs for the affected program--it doesn't list the program name or even the step "name" or description. 

Is there an easy way to identify which step ID goes to which program in ELQ?  Even if there was some report to pull this to match things up...? (I haven't been able to find one, though.)

Every time this happens, we are having to spend time trying to figure out which program has the step that has the expired login.  , ,

Is anyone else all of a sudden seeing a low priority status on emails in Outlook that are form notifications and/or email updates? This just started for our reports this week. I don't see anything in the release notes that relates to this. Anyone else seeing this?

Thanks,

Beth

I have to create several shared lists with about 100 contacts in each. When I try to add contacts to the shared list I am only able to add individual contacts. Whit the number of contacts I have to add to these lists it will take a very long time if I add them individually.

Anybody knows if/how to upload a list (e.g. in excel) of contacts to a shared list?

Since the new release our profiler is not working correctly.  We are using MS CRM 2011 on premise.  I called the support line, but they suggested that I call Microsoft.  Does anyone have any documentation on getting the new version of profiler to work in MS CRM?

The specific problem we are having is that it displays the message "No Contact Found" on the contact record.  It provides a search box and operates fine once you locate the contact.  But I need it to pre-find the contacts when we open their records.

I know there are a lot of SFDC users on topliners, thought it might be helpful. It was written by a coworker of mine, Marc Foreman. He is a technical instructor at Bluewolf. Read the full article here.

About the author Marc Foreman

I graduated from San Diego State University with an Information Systems Degree. Since that time I have spent most of my time in every possible role implementing and supporting ERP and CRM. My passion is training and my favorite role is that of an instructor. I really enjoy the customer relationship experience and seeing how I can educate and solve issues. I also love to travel, collaborate with teammates and push myself to accomplish goals.

How To Pass A Salesforce Certification Exam: Preparation

If you ask any professional athlete their formula for success they’ll tell you that it comes down to two things: preparation and gameday execution. You must first lay the foundation for success through preparation, and come game time, you have to bring it. Passing Salesforce certification exams is no different. As long as you prepare thoroughly and have a tactical approach on exam day, you’re sure to excel. In the first installment of this two part series, we’ll discuss the keys to preparing for any Salesforce exam.

A great source of guidance for passing an exam are the study guides provided by salesforce.com. You can find a guide for each exam and on the salesforce.com website at certification.salesforce.com. They provide the general structure of the exam, a breakdown of topics, the weighting of each question, tip sheets, and study guides.

Tip #1
If you look at the objectives in the salesforce.com study guides most of them start with Describe, Identify, orExplain. The clue here is that you really don’t need to know how something works as much as you need to know what the functionality is and where it would be used. In your studying, look for areas where there are tables of information that attempt to explain, describe, or identify key functionalities of the system.

Tip #2
Write your own questions and then answer them on paper or flash cards. The act of writing down the information and then reading it out loud allows you to internalize the information in multiple ways. If you are only reading the information, you are limiting yourself solely to visual input. However, if you write it, say it, and then put it in the form of a question & answer you are much more likely to recall it in an exam. In fact, recognizing the correct answer in an exam is much easier than answering a question directly.

Additionally, there are a number of practice exams you can find on the internet. They are very helpful in familiarizing yourself with the format and content of the exam, but be careful in trusting the answers.

After you’ve reviewed the available information on certification.salesforce.com and via internet search, what’s the next step to ensure success?

Tip #3
Enrolling in a Salesforce Administrator or Salesforce Developer course is the final step to being prepared to ace your Salesforce certification. There are many benefits to an in-person or online courses. Until now, we’ve touched on only independent studying tactics, it’s crucial to also discuss and learn Salesforce with a network of people.

With Bluewolf’s Training Courses:

• Gain the ability to work with an certified expert instructor
• Work with others to grasp complex Salesforce functionalities, gaining the ability to talk through difficult components
• Go in-depth on each part of the exam, leaving no topic unturned

These courses will cover all relevant topics in multiple formats, through live demos, real use cases and personal quizzes/knowledge checks. Bluewolf provides a differentiated experience through our expert teachers, cost-effective value (40% below market value), and 1:1 post-course support. Take a look at our upcoming Salesforce courses.

Preparation is only half the battle. Stay tuned for the next and final installment of this blog, where we’ll cover the keys to executing on exam day.