Adobe Marketo Engage General

For years, we’ve leaned heavily and happily on AWS Lambda to stretch Marketo into other realms.   A simple Lambda lets you integrate with, say, event platforms, transforming their generic outbound webhooks to valid inbound Marketo API calls. Especially cool are “loopback integrations”: a Marketo webhook calls a Lambda that swoops back in to call the Marketo API, allowing juiced-up flows of all sorts.   Serverless architectures pioneered by AWS are perfect when a service doesn’t need to run hot 24/7 but must still be available and scalable 24/7, i.e. when a second of spin-up time after idling or increased load isn’t a problem.[1]   But the dynamic spin-down/spin-up comes with undocumented risks. One rears its head with newer (but not older!) versions of NodeJS Lambdas. To make matters worse, you won’t see the problem when developing your Lambda offline, only when it’s really running within AWS.[2]   A simple example A snippet from a Lambda that receives an inbound

As primitive as SMTP and DNS may seem, lots of stuff needs to work for an email to go from sender ⮕ recipient’s MX ⮕ recipient’s mailbox. Then even more stuff needs to work for a mail client to parse and render an HTML email, plus its embedded resources and/or remote images.   The good news: modern infrastructure is reliable. We don’t worry much about extended network outages or servers melting down. But that’s also misleading, since fault-tolerant infrastructure, plus the native resilience of SMTP and DNS, can disguise poor performance.   Put another way, stuff stays up, but that doesn’t mean it stays fast.   DNS is everywhere I recently looked into a problem with email image load performance for a client. Check out the animation below. The left side shows the expected load performance with an unprimed local cache.[1] This was happening most of the time. But sometimes they’d see performance like the right side: a noticeably staggered experience, more than twice as slo

Extending an earlier post on standard JavaScript ${template strings} on Marketo LPs, here’s how to use near-standard {{ variable }} syntax.   Say you want to use AngularJS to create highly dynamic LPs, or even single-page apps, hosted on Marketo. (May not be a common ask, but it is technically feasible!)   You might declare a little ng-app like this: <div ng-app=""> <p>First Name: <input type="text" ng-model="firstName" /></p> <p>Last Name: <input type="text" ng-model="lastName" /></p> <h1>Hello {{ firstName }} {{ lastName }}!</h1> </div>   Problem is, you won’t be able to approve the LP:   The popup doesn’t provide details, but the root cause is the super common {{ }} delimiters, which Marketo reserves for internal use: that’s how we deploy {{lead.tokens}}, {{my.tokens}}, and so on! Yet you aren’t using a valid dot.ted variable name inside them, so it’s a syntax error.   Seeing the error is good ac

One of the things that I find very helpful as a learner (and when I'm teaching others) is to make comparisons, or "translations" between new vs known products. In this case, I often try and use Marketo Engage as the anchor point.   Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition has a functionality to create buying group stages in what is called the stage model. The most similar translation to that in Marketo would be the lifecycle model and lifecycle stages. Below are some similarities and differences in their use cases.   Like a Marketo Engage lifecycle model, AJO B2B buying group stages are designed to track the progression of opportunities converted to customers - but in this case it tracks the progression of the buying groups as a whole, rather than only individual person records. You can use this feature to track buying group progression and identify the next best actions for buying group members to compliment your existing strategy. Though it is not a requirement to build and

There may be no code smell ranker than this:   That screenshot was sent by a 3rd-party form vendor who was getting frequent errors from their Marketo API calls and couldn’t figure out what was wrong.   “Does this look right?” they asked. “Nope,” I said immediately — even before they showed me any error messages.   See, even taking Marketo out of the picture, this is wrong for any API. If you see something like this, it’s frankly not suitable for work.   No way is that value correctly JSON-encoded It’s clear they’re not encoding since there are double quotes outside the template variable. A JSON-encoded string always includes the double quotes. (Simple JavaScript example: JSON.stringify("Hello") is "Hello" with the quotes, not Hello. You cannot add another pair of " around it.)   Let’s review how their “bizarro JSON” logic works.   They’re using Jinja templates, but any template language works the same way. Since there’s no filter specified, the property

Hard to put a number on it, but I’d bet 51% of Marketo users don’t realize a non-empty SFDC Type field doesn’t mean the record is synced to SFDC. Same with a non-empty SFDC ID.   That’s right: someone can have SFDC Type = Contact and SFDC ID = 003BLAHZAYBLAHBLAH and there may be no trace of them in SFDC.   Why? Because those fields come from the last time they were synced and will not be updated unless they’re synced with another SFDC record in the future. And that last connected SFDC record may have been completely deleted.   Don’t believe it? Create a Smart List like this:   You might see thousands of records. (If you regularly delete people who have SFDC Is Deleted = true, the number won’t be as high.[1])   This came up recently on Marketo Nation, when someone wanted to add the person’s current SFDC Type to certain alerts (e.g. type=L or type=C). This can be done via a Formula field:   N.B. Formula fields can’t be used in filters, only in {{lead.tok

Welcome back to the Marketo Community Lens - June Edition! In this series, we highlight the most impactful and exciting announcements that will improve your capabilities as a best-in-class marketer. This edition highlights some resourceful updates including an AMA on Advanced BI Analytics, a feature which launched on June 1st, 2025, an announcement on using AI-driven Predictive Audiences to revolutionize targeting, and a Self-Service Flow Steps blog for unlocking limitless integrations. Plus, Adobe's September security upgrade and Dynamic Chat's smart routing are reshaping how we automate. Don't miss these game-changing updates - dive into the full newsletter now!   Highlights   Business Practitioner Exam Guide: Transform your Marketo knowledge into certified expertise with comprehensive guidance for both Professional and Expert practitioner exams. The 110-minute Expert exam contains 50 questions requiring 32 correct answers, covering advanced campaign logic, database manage

Shout out to Andy Schneider for letting me brainstorm with him!   It’s been a question many of my clients have had, particularly with the announcement of Customer Journey Analytics B2B at Adobe Summit this year: where do I use Marketo Measure vs. other B2B analytics tools?   It’s important to understand that attribution is a specific subset of analytics. Analytics, particularly journey-type analytics, focuses on analyzing overall business performance, customer behavior, and marketing campaign effectiveness, while revenue attribution – such as that provided by Marketo Measure - specifically focuses on measuring the impact of individual touchpoints and channels on lead and sales conversions within the B2B customer journey.   B2B journey analytics involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data about various aspects of a business, including customer behavior, sales performance, marketing campaign results, and overall business operations. Its goal is to gain insights i

As seasoned Marketo Engage users, we’ve built sophisticated lifecycle models, orchestrated complex nurture programs, and fine-tuned our segmentation strategies. But with the introduction of Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B (AJO B2B), many of us are asking: how does it compare—and more importantly, how does it complement what we already do in Marketo?   Marketo Engage: The “OG” and Proven Powerhouse Marketo Engage remains the gold standard for B2B marketing automation. Its strengths lie in: Lifecycle Management: Granular control over lead progression and scoring at a per-record level. Programmatic Flexibility: Supports nearly every B2B use case. CRM Integration: Deep native integrations with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. Tokenization and Personalization: Scalable personalization across channels, deep persona- and activity-based personalization B2B: Journey Intelligence at the Account Level AJO B2B is a complementary layer built on Adobe Experience Platform (AEP). It introduces ca

AppFolio has seen immense success when using product usage data to onboard and nurture our customers. Using engagement programs and the template provided here for how to structure a product data-driven nurture, written by my incredibly talented colleague @shannonmacq, (LinkedIn) you'll be well on your way to seeing similar marketing successes with your own customers!    Building product-driven nurtures is one of the most powerful options we as marketers have to provide the most relevant onboarding materials, give our customers access to support, and help drive product adoption in one seamless experience. Below is a template for how to think through your first product nurture to create the most tailored experience for your customers.   Stream one:  Welcome Message   Stream One’s objective is to welcome your new customers and help familiarize them with the resources they’ll need for success. You can listen for customers who have just begun their onboarding journe

Hi Marketo Community, @shannonma6 and I presented at the February 2025 Marketo User Group on one of our favorite topics: email operations. From improving deliverability to surfacing meaningful metrics, Shannon created this blog to give a high-level summary of the strategies and best practices we covered during our session. Building and Protecting Your Sender Reputation Your sender reputation directly affects whether your emails land in the inbox. These are some of the foundational steps every team should be following: Authenticate your sending domain: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential. BIMI can also enhance brand recognition. Warm up new IPs or domains: Start slowly, sending to your most engaged users first, and gradually increase volume. Maintain list hygiene: Remove invalid or inactive contacts regularly. Email validation tools are helpful for staying ahead. Stay consistent: Maintain a steady sending volume and cadence to avoid deliverability spikes. Avoid “no-reply” senders:

Self Service flow steps (SSFS) are a powerful way to integrate with third party applications and to build custom workflows that can't be achieved in Marketo alone. This blog post will give you a Replit repository that you can clone to get started and it will walk you through the code in the repository so that you can make it your own and bring SSFS into your Marketo instance.   Ok so we all know what a SSFS looks like inside of Marketo but what happens when the SSFS is executed in a smart campaign flow and the data is sent outside of Marketo? There is a server set up to catch all this information, process it, and then send the information back to Marketo to update the lead record.   Don't be intimidated by the word "server", this is just somewhere we have hosted our SSFS code so that it is constantly listening out for information sent from Marketo, ready to process it and send it back. This hosted code for the SSFS can be referred to as a "service".   I have seen

Is AI coming for my job? Lets face it, that question hangs in the air. In the world of Marketing Operations (MOps) – where we orchestrate the complex symphony of marketing technology and process – the rise of AI feels particularly potent. It promises automation, efficiency, and insights at a scale that seems almost... threatening. The narrative often paints AI as the disruptor poised to dismantle roles built on process and precision.   But hold on. Lets deconstruct that fear. Is AI really an extinction level event, or is it the ultimate leverage point? NYU Professor Scott Galloway breaks it down succinctly, with his characteristic bluntness: “AI wont take your job. Someone using AI will.” This shifts the frame entirely. It’s not about being replaced by a machine, it’s about being outpaced by someone who masters the new tools. The challenge isn't the technology itself, but how we adapt to it.   For Marketo professionals, adept at navigating sophisticated campaigns and wo

Here are the instructions to send a Birthday Message.  In this example, I am using the Date of Birth field which is automatically created when a new Marketo instance is created. It is automatically mapped to the SFDC Contact Birthdate field when Marketo is integrated with SFDC.  The field type is “date.”     You have to set up two smart campaigns since the lead token, {{lead.Date of Birth}}, can only be used in a trigger campaign.     Step 1. Create a trigger campaign with campaign is requested in the Smart List     Step 2.  Configure Wait Step in the Flow Add token {{lead.Date of Birth}}. Remember a token can only be used in a trigger campaign. Remember to click "Use next anniversary date" Set time for when you want the wait step to end. This will be the time the email will be sent out.     Step 3. Add Send Email to Flow   Step 4. Activate   Step 5. Next create a batch campaign with a request campaign in the fl

Dynamic Chat in Marketo Engage provides powerful capabilities to ensure customer interactions are guided seamlessly to the right agents at the right time. Proper routing not only enhances customer experience but also streamlines your team's efficiency. In this blog, we’ll explore the various routing options available and share setup tips to help you make the most of Dynamic Chat.     Key Routing Methods Dynamic Chat boasts several intelligent routing options to accommodate your requirements. Here’s a closer look: 1. Account Routing Account routing allows you to prioritize customers from specific accounts. For example, high-value or strategic accounts can be assigned to designated agents. To set it up: Go to the account routing tab. Add the domain of the account (e.g., microsoft.com). Assign an agent to this account. Whenever a visitor from this domain engages with Dynamic Chat, they’ll be routed to the assigned agent if available. 2. Custom Routing Rules Custom routing rul

Let’s face it—webinars can be a little… well, bland. But not on your watch! With Adobe Marketo Engage’s Interactive Webinars the power is at your fingertips in Design Studio to change the obvious default look and feel to your brand. Whether you're hosting a product launch, a customer Q&A, or a thought leadership session, customizing your webinar experience is the best way to extend your brand.   Why Bother Customizing? Because first impressions matter—and so do second, third, and fiftieth. Customizing your webinar room isn’t just about slapping on a logo and calling it a day. It’s about creating a seamless, on-brand experience that makes your audience feel like they’re in the right place (and not just another Zoom room).   Step Into Design Studio To get started, head over to the Design Studio in Marketo Engage. Under the “Interactive Webinars” tab, you’ll find the “Customize Webinars” section. (Good to know… These setting apply to all of your events and all workspaces, so

In today’s digital landscape, capturing high-quality leads is essential to driving pipeline and revenue. Adobe Dynamic Chat empowers businesses to engage website visitors through automated dialogues or live chat, while adding Conversation Scoring ensures your team focuses on the most promising prospects.   🔥 What Is Dynamic Conversation Scoring? Dynamic Chat Conversation Scoring assigns a numerical value from 0 to 3, visually represented as flames, to each interaction. These scores are based on: Predefined goal cards within dialogues, or Manual scoring by live agents during real-time conversations. This scoring system helps prioritize high-intent leads for sales follow-up while nurturing others through appropriate marketing tracks.   Weighing Dialogue Goals Strategically Whether you’re running multiple dialogues with distinct goals or a single dialogue with various goals, not all goals carry equal weight. For example: A lead

Looking to level up and set yourself apart as a Marketo consultant? Passing the new Architect exam will move you into an elite tier of Marketo users and prove to prospective clients that you know how to lead Marketo projects from conception all the way through to implementation.   The Architect exam replaces the previous presentation exam that was required by Marketo to achieve this certification. According to this post in the Marketo forum, there were less than 150 Marketo Certified Solutions Architects as of December 2017 so this is definitely an exclusive club to be a part of.   Marketo released this new exam format to help with scaling and make it easier for people to become architect-certified. Since I am a Certified Expert I was part of the lucky bunch that got a sneak peek at the new Architect Exam in October 2021. I passed the beta test and as of September 2023, I recently passed the online renewal exam so I can share a more updated version of my e

Marketers constantly seek smarter ways to build segmentations or profiles for targeting the right audience through the right channels at the right time. While traditional segmentation is helpful to gauge the intent based on behavior, demographics, or engagement activities, it often falls short in predicting future behavior. That’s where Marketo’s Predictive Audiences come in useful. I have recently started to explore this feature and its capabilities so I aim to highlight potential practical use cases and share how Marketo users can start thinking about integrating Predictive Audiences to upscale their marketing automation strategy.   1. What Are Predictive Audiences in Marketo? Predictive Audiences utilizes AI and Machine learning models to score and segment leads based on their likelihood to engage with your campaigns. It helps marketers shift from manual segmentation to intelligent, data-driven targeting. Predictive Audiences in Marketo Engage provides the following features:

When it comes to formulas in Marketo, most users have doubts about how to use them and their real benefits.Formulas can be used for several purposes, such as data cleaning, formatting, validating emails, defining segmentation, applying advanced math to campaigns, among others.In this article I’ll provide an overview of your options for using formulas in Marketo and the possibilities from each one. Formula Field in MarketoFormula Field in Marketo is very limited and can’t truly apply formulas to your campaigns. In Marketo Admin section you can create a New Custom Field with Type: Formula. This field allows you to generate values based on data from other fields. For example:If Marketo Social Gender is Male, Value: Dear Mr. {{Lead.First Name}}If Marketo Social Gender is Female, Value: Dear Ms. {{Lead.First Name}} The formula field is added as a token in an email and will follow the rule you defined during setup. See how to use formula field here. The Formula field in Marketo is simple and

Tools like Marketo Engage sit at the core of modern marketing and revenue operations. But many teams treat it as a tactical platform—used for emails, forms, and basic lead management—rather than as a strategic system that drives scale, insights, and growth across the organization.   This mindset severely limits the value you can extract from Marketo. To truly leverage its potential, we must think like Marketing Operations Architects—professionals who go beyond execution and focus on designing systems that are scalable, resilient, and future-proof.   Let’s explore what it really means to think this way, with practical examples and thought-provoking shifts you can bring to your organization.    1. Templates Over Tactics: Build for Repeatability and Scale A tactical approach builds from scratch each time. An architectural approach builds once, standardizes, and scales with consistency.   Key Shifts: Use program templates for recurring workflows—webinars, newslet

A community user wondered if they could show an email’s Subject line in View As Web Page mode.   It makes sense that Subject and other SMTP headers aren’t part of the VAWP display, as it’s designed to show the HTML content. (And the Subject is typically reflected in the content anyway, albeit with different phrasing.)   But you can set any element to only show in View As Web Page – including a copy of the Subject line!   Just hide the content by default in all clients, as you would with an email preheader: <table id="emailSubjectMirror" style="mso-hide:all;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;visibility:hidden;opacity:0;color:transparent;line-height:0;font-size:0px;display:none;"> <tbody> <tr> <td>They’re tariffin’ pariffin, but our tactical candles are made here in the US of Flamin’ A</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>   Then include this CSS, which will unhide the content in VAWP mode: body:has(#forwardtoFriendDropDown) #emailSu

I am one of those geeks that will keep an eye on Marketo's release notes to see what new and exciting features are about to go live. Especially with all the announcements for this year that is well worth paying attention to. I was getting a little frustrated though that the dates mentioned were not what I was seeing in Marketo, so I dove into this a little bit. Here's what is good to be aware of if you are like me, eager to get your hands on it as soon as you can: The release schedule has increased frequency. New releases are published once a month instead of once a quarter. I think that is really nice. The date that is announced is the date that features technically are pushed to the production environment. There is a catch with that one. Features that have been pushed to production will first be rigorously quality assessed by the technical team before they are enabled for users. That can take longer for one feature than for the next, which is why you will see the features appear one

Last updated date: May 9th, 2025   Hi Marketo Engage Community,   Webinars have evolved—have yours? Adobe Marketo Engage Champion Maria Cruz (@maria_cruz1) has leveraged Interactive Webinars at MRM, a global direct and digital marketing agency, to boost participation, capture better insights, and seamlessly integrate webinar data into her marketing strategy. Watch the webinar on-demand to learn how to make every webinar count with Interactive Webinars.    Watch this webinar to learn about:  Elevating your Interactive Webinars set up to the next level —from registration to post-event follow-up with features such as Tokenization, Smart List Filters, and Triggers.  Transforming engagement into action by integrating webinar data such as poll responses, Q&A insights, and attendee behaviors into your CRM or marketing automation platform to trigger personalized follow-ups and nurture streams. Maria’s real-world story in adopting Int

ZoomInfo’s FormComplete plugin is... potentially pretty cool. 😀 (I take care not to endorse any products here, though I didn’t say anything bad, which is a good sign!)   FormComplete delivers DiscoverOrg enrichment data directly into form fields, so starting from just an email address, you can get most — or even all — of the form fields pre-filled, in B2B at least.   (Note: this is separate from (a) pre-filling form data from Marketo for known leads and from (b) the web browser’s ability to autofill from previously stored data.)   The problem, as one of my clients put it well, is that it can be kind of creepy. Seeing your personal data evidently loading from a mysterious service, especially if you know you don’t have that data saved in the browser, ain’t so good:     (The inverse relationship between creepiness and friction can extend to activity tracking as well. But I digress.)   Much better would be having fields that are populated by Form