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scotth77579150
Level 2
December 28, 2016
Question

How to tie Custom Objects and Companies?

  • December 28, 2016
  • 2 replies
  • 5357 views

We do not have CRM synch, but we do have access to the API. We have created a custom object with many company fields and have one field as the link field which is linking to Company >> ID. We are trying to figure out the process of uploading our leads into Marketo, tying those leads to companies and then tying those companies to the custom object. From what I have gathered, the order of operations should be:

  1. Upload contacts (leads) via csv upload with all pertinent data, including company information. External Company ID is not being populated, even though we have included and mapped our data to this field. Is this an API / CRM synch only field?
  2. Upload Custom Object Data, making sure to map our companyID to the link field.

This is where we get stuck. Is the next step to tie the lead and company via the API? If so, will the custom objects then automatically make the tie to the company record? Or is this not the correct order?

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2 replies

Grégoire_Miche2
Grégoire_Miche2
Level 10
December 29, 2016

Hi Scott,

In Marketo, the data schema is not fully relational. It is closer to a star model in which the lead table is the center.

This means that the lead - company link is a 1-n by default. This means that one lead can have multiple companies and that the company object needs to have a lead id field to link it to the field. This obviously not what you intend to do, as I understand that what you would like to have each companies having multiple leads.

So you will need to use a n-n model with a joint table to link the leads to companies. This means a "lead role" table that links to the lead on one end and to the company on the other.

The limit of this is that you will not be able to use a 3rd custom object linked to companies, because AFAIK, the Marketo data model for the moment is only limited to 2-levels depth.

-Greg

    S
    scotth77579150Author
    Level 2
    December 29, 2016

    Hi Greg,

    Thanks for the reply. We do intend to have a 1 - n relationship between lead and company. As I understand it, the company could also have a 1 - n to custom objects, with External Company ID and the link field we designated for the company link in the custom object. I am sure I didn't explain my question very well as this is all new to me, but I am trying to figure out how to make that tie between the custom object and company.

    Grégoire_Miche2
    Grégoire_Miche2
    Level 10
    December 29, 2016

    Hi Scott,

    Yes, you are correct you can have 2 custom objects, company and another one, and link them together in a 1-n relationship, as you describe.

    But without any link to the lead object, these 2 will be useless in Marketo.

    May be you can explicit a little bit more what you are trying to achieve.

    -Greg

    A
    Anonymous
    December 29, 2016

    Good day Scott,

    We had a similar challenge. So I hope the following is helpful. We wanted to associate all products a company has purchased. We did not want to associate at the lead level. Here is what Marketo told us.

    • You must use the Company API to specify the externalCompanyId. There is no way around it... to do what you are looking for.
    • And I believe the association of leads to the company and thus the Custom Object must happen within the API.  You may want to ask others to chime in or ask support for more details.
    • You may need to contact Marketo Support to add fields to the Company Info record too.

    I do think it would be good for someone in Marketo to write how to set up this type of association.

    Below is recently update product documentation regarding custom objects and companies.

    Using Custom Objects with Companies

    A custom object that's linked to the company works best if you sync down companies from the CRM or if you explicitly create companies using the API. We also recommend that you use the Company ID as the link field.

    If you have multiple people in Marketo that are lead records in the CRM or Marketo-only records, a custom object linked to a company won't get associated with more than one individual lead record. This is because a company having multiple people underneath it is supported only when companies are synced down from the CRM or if you use an API to explicitly create companies.

      Custom Objects can only directly link to a single lead record. This means that when your custom object type is linked by company field, you should ensure that your person records are associated to a company either using contact conversion in your CRM, or using the externalCompanyId field, if you manage companies using Marketo’s REST APIs. For person records that aren't linked explicitly to company records, custom objects linked using company will be randomly linked to a single lead record, even if the value of the company field is shared across many people. http://docs.marketo.com/display/public/DOCS/Understanding+Marketo+Custom+Objects

    Best of luck!

    Regards,

    Khalilah

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