The IdeaExchange is an open feedback platform that uses a points-based system to rank ideas for Salesforce product enhancements. From 2007 (the launch of the IdeaExchange) to now, 98k+ ideas were submitted to the IdeaExchange, 5.4k of which have been delivered by Salesforce’s development teams.
The ‘Marketing’ category of the IdeaExchange is brimming with ideas, ready for you to upvote. Looking at the past, some of the most sought-after features came from the platform, including making error logs available in Marketing Cloud, dynamic link clicks monitoring in Journey Builder Engagement Splits, and the recycle bin in Marketing Cloud. Let’s take a look at the five most popular, current open ideas that fellow users have requested.
1. Report on Super Messages
Points: 9,360 (Idea Link)
Super Messages could be compared to credits in order to send emails, SMS messages, MobilePush messages, and more. The number of credits that are consumed varies according to the channel. In the case of SMS, different carriers dictate the effort to pass messages through their networks.
I’m not an expert on this topic, so apologies if this is an oversimplified overview of how Super Messages work. The concept of ‘multipliers’ describes the number of Super Messages you would expect to consume based on the following factors: Marketing Cloud edition/product, destination country, and message type (you can see the rate tables here).
The submitter of this idea suggests not only having visibility but also being able to set admin notifications, for example, if 80% of their Super Message allowance has been used. In Account Engagement (Pardot), notifications are sent to admins when the prospect database limit is close to being reached.
This idea is the source of controversy, with some pointing out that the lack of consumption reporting is a recipe for spending more on Salesforce’s products. While I don’t believe this is the true motivation behind the slow movement, I did like how one respondent described the challenge: “The business must know their consumption, so they can know and make decisions without any pressure. It’s like driving a car without a fuel gauge.”
2. See SQL Query Results (Without Data Extensions)
Points: 9,350 (Idea Link)
This idea requests that there be an easier, quicker way to view the results of an SQL query. Currently, the steps required to make the process of querying data cumbersome involve building a query “activity”, pointing it to a data extension, running the activity, and viewing the data extension.
An improved console interface would make designing, testing, and debugging SQL queries less painful. After all, SQL is a learning curve, and that near real-time feedback will help others to refine their queries.
3. Debug Mode for CloudPages
Points: 6,330 (Idea Link)
CloudPages is the way to publish content for multiple marketing channels, with assets such as landing pages, forms, etc.
Creating CloudPages, more often than not, involves coding. The interface would be improved with a debug mode to simulate how a prospect/customer would interact with the asset. Like with Salesforce Flow, this would pinpoint the places in the process/code where the intended result couldn’t be reached – as opposed to spending hours doing your own, manual diagnosis. If this speaks volumes to you, go upvote.
4. De-Duplicate by Email Address in Journey Builder
Points: 4,930 (Idea Link)
Duplicates are my least favorite topic when it comes to working with databases of any kind. As we know, there are multiple ways to send an email from Marketing Cloud, and one would hope that there would be feature parity – that is, data handling you can achieve with one method, you can achieve with any method.
The “De-Duplicate by Email Address” feature in the normal emails sends, however, is not consistent across the board – notably missing from Journey Builder. The submitter of this idea describes how this would avoid having to conjure up workarounds using SQL queries and additional data extensions – and, not to mention, the development time. Some people may not even be aware that Journey Builder doesn’t deduplicate contacts upon entering a journey, meaning that the individual is at risk of receiving a message more than once, without the described manual guardrails in place.
5. Sync Subscriber Status from Marketing Cloud to Salesforce
Points: 4,190 (Idea Link)
Marketing Cloud Connect syncs Marketing Cloud contact records to/from their associated Salesforce record. The bugbear highlighted here is that the Marketing Cloud Connect syncs the ‘unsubscribed’ status, but doesn’t sync subscriber status, such as ‘bounced’ or ‘held’.
Speaking from their experience, the requester claims that these statuses would be highly valuable for teams that use Salesforce core (i.e. sales and service teams). Furthermore, automation on the Salesforce side could help to bring awareness and correct errors, for example, to prompt a sales rep to reach out to the prospect/customer to get a correct email address.
There is a glimmer of hope. While I haven’t tried this personally, one respondent suggested looking at the Marketing Cloud Connect Toolbox, which fills this and other Marketing Cloud Connect functionality gaps. Let’s keep watching how this unfolds over time.
Summary
While the IdeaExchange can bring out people’s frustrations, it’s a great asset to have your voice heard by product managers.
You may criticize the platform for its entries that have been knocking around for years, however, there are many dependencies that bring some features to reality – not to mention that with Marketing Cloud’s long-term vision of moving to Data Cloud.
Whether you like it, or simply tolerate it, I have found the IdeaExchange has been especially useful for confirming what’s not possible (i.e. gaps in functionality) while researching solutions. Let us know in the comments which feature you’d most like to be implemented in Marketing Cloud…
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