Pardot Account Engagement Optimization

When optimizing your Pardot Account Engagement account, you may have noticed variations in the execution speed of automations. Sometimes, they run quickly, while at other times, they take longer. This inconsistency can be a bit of a mystery, with no specific answer regarding how automations process prospect records in batches. Discover how to harness the power of the Account Engagement Optimizer and unlock the secrets to optimizing your Pardot account engagement. Read more in this blog to learn how you can boost efficiency and conquer the mysteries of automation execution speed.

Leveraging the Account Engagement Optimizer

One way to accelerate your account engagement is by using the Account Engagement Optimizer. This tool provides a comprehensive view of each of your business units, even if you have only one. It identifies items requiring your attention and offers proactive recommendations. These recommendations encompass different aspects, including active automation rules, Engagement Studio programs, and changes in prospect data. By acting on these recommendations, you can reduce the processing load on your account.

The Optimizer serves as an excellent starting point, offering a comprehensive perspective on all your business units, regardless of their number.

When elements require your attention, they are promptly flagged and categorized as ‘good’ or ‘concerning.’ Furthermore, you’ll receive proactive recommendations for swift action, including:

1. Active automation rules.
2. Active Engagement Studio programs.
3. A ‘histogram’ representing prospect data changes, displaying trends in specific feature areas over time, segmented by business unit.

These factors collectively influence the processing load on your account, helping identify the culprits that strain your account’s processing capacity.

It’s important to note that the Optimizer became universally accessible in the Summer ’23 release, and many users may not have explored its full potential.

Managing Automations

When managing Account Engagement automations, it’s important to understand that this category encompasses more than just automation rules. All types of automations contribute to the processing load your account handles. This includes automation rules, completion actions, dynamic lists, segmentation rules, Engagement Studio actions, and external actions.

Focus on Automation Rules and Dynamic Lists

Two specific components that require immediate attention are automation rules and dynamic lists.

Automation Rules: Comprehensive Control

Automation rules, being the most comprehensive form of automation, provide you with control, allowing you to run, pause, and resume them. These rules offer a wide range of criteria and actions. Therefore, it’s essential to be mindful of the scope of your rule criteria, as you might inadvertently set an automation rule to continuously scan a significant portion of your prospect database for matching prospects. Additionally, depending on the number of actions, you might unknowingly request an automation rule to execute a series of resource-intensive tasks. It’s worth noting that there are prioritized actions, and a general rule for identifying them is to consider whether a particular action impacts other automations.

Optimizing Automation Rules

To prevent delays in the execution of Automation Rule actions, consider the following actions:

1. Pause Unused Automation Rules: Given that your edition provides a specific allowance of automation rules, it’s advisable to incorporate the practice of pausing unused rules into your account maintenance routine.

2. Evaluate Migration to Engagement Studio: In some cases, it may be more efficient to transfer certain automation rules into Engagement Studio. Engagement Studio actions offer enhanced efficiency as they operate with a narrowed-down list of prospects, triggering actions when prospects reach specific points in a program.

Strategizing Dynamic Lists

Dynamic lists automatically add or remove prospects based on your defined criteria as they match or unmatch your criteria. While these lists offer real-time updates, it’s important to consider their purpose. Assess whether they genuinely benefit your campaigns and determine their usage in the provided table. If a dynamic list has no practical purpose, you can delete it. Notably, the term ‘delete’ might sound permanent, but these lists can be retrieved from the recycling bin at any time. If you’re aware that a dynamic list has a temporary purpose, you can establish an archive date to facilitate automatic removal.

Mastering Salesforce Connector Sync

The Salesforce Connector Sync is another aspect to consider in your account’s data synchronization. This sync operation processes prospect records in batches of 200 within a 2-4 minute timeframe. If your data load exceeds 200 records, be mindful that processing time will naturally extend. This underscores the importance of managing the load placed on the connector.

In addition to prospect records, the marketing asset sync queue synchronizes other essential marketing assets such as emails, landing pages, and forms to Salesforce. This synchronization serves to associate these assets with Salesforce campaigns, linking them with the engagement data generated by prospects.

When assessing this process, the number of data points you intend to sync directly affects synchronization time. Take a moment to review the mapped fields linking prospects and leads/contacts. It’s vital to determine the necessity of these mappings for your CRM, considering whether they serve essential reporting functions or fall into the category of ‘nice to have’ features. Additionally, keep in mind that reducing the number of synced fields can help mitigate the risk of synchronization errors, even though it’s not a rigidly correlated factor.

Email Sending Efficiency

Before an email is sent, it undergoes a meticulous three-step process. While Salesforce (Pardot) doesn’t provide external Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for email deliverability times, they suggest that the typical processing time is generally below 30 minutes, though, in my experience, it’s often even swifter.

Several key factors significantly influence the speed at which your emails are sent:

1. Validation and Cleaning Efforts: The quality of your email list, including its cleanliness and accuracy, is a vital factor influencing delivery speed.

2. Time of Dispatch: The server’s capacity to process email requests at any given moment can impact the speed of email delivery. This not only applies to your account level, especially when you send multiple emails simultaneously but also extends across the broader Pardot customer base.

3. Scheduled Emails: Scheduling emails in advance may cause them to undergo different processing, potentially impacting delivery times.

4. Email Recipient List Size: The size of your email recipient list can influence processing speed, with larger lists potentially requiring more time.

5. Server Performance: Occasionally, server downtime or performance issues can contribute to delays in email delivery.

To maintain the efficiency of email marketing and prevent server overload and website traffic issues, marketing automation platforms use throttling. This practice restricts the number of emails sent within a specific timeframe, effectively managing the email volume to ensure optimal server performance.

Throttling in Account Engagement (Pardot) is applied to autoresponder email dispatches during completion actions to maintain your account’s processing speed at an optimal level.

Summary

One aspect that warrants attention is Salesforce’s practice of not disclosing detailed account-specific processing limits within a defined time frame in their documentation. This practice recognizes that each Salesforce account operates under unique circumstances. Consequently, processing speed can significantly vary between accounts, influenced by a multitude of factors, as elaborated upon in this guide.

Distinguishing between account-dependent aspects of processing power and shared services is essential. For instance, automation rules inherently link to an account’s specific configuration, making them account-dependent. Conversely, shared services, such as email sending, rely on Salesforce’s collective servers and are not account-specific.

In conclusion, this guide has provided insights into enhancing the efficiency of your account. It offers actionable steps for immediate implementation and valuable monitoring tips for the future.

– Written by Ma. Almaver Victoria Suarez

Optimizing your Account Engagement (Pardot) is indeed crucial for efficiency and success. The tools and strategies discussed in this article can significantly enhance your account’s performance. If you’re ready to maximize the potential of your Pardot Account Engagement and streamline your operations, reach out to us a DKLOUD or email us at bam@dkloudconsulting.com or enquiries@dkloudconsulting.com.
Our mission is to empower your journey toward account optimization, ensuring that your marketing efforts yield optimal results!