Marketing-Cloud-Email-Specialist Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist (SP23) Question and Answers

The personalization string that should be appended as a parameter to identify the business unit in each of its links is %%memberid%%. This string returns the ID of the business unit that sent the email.

This way, NTO can track customer engagement by business unit. Option A is not a valid option, as %%membername%% returns the name of the business unit, not the ID. Option B is not a valid option either, as %%memberstatus%% returns the status of the business unit, such as active or inactive, not the ID. You can learn more about this in the Personalization Strings module on Trailhead.

A nightly automation with a filter activity can help ensure they have fresh data for their sends by updating the filtered data extensions with the latest data from the primary data extension. A verification step in the send automation may not be sufficient if the data changes frequently or if there are multiple send automations. An approval process for sending may not affect the freshness of the data.

Automation Studio and Journey Builder can be used to accommodate this request. Automation Studio can be used to create an automation that runs daily and injects new records from the data extension into a journey. Journey Builder can be used to create a journey that sends a customized ‘congratulations’ email immediately after entry, and then waits for 14 days before sending a review request email. Journey Builder and Behavioral Triggers would not work because behavioral triggers are based on web or mobile app activity, not purchase data. Automation Studio and Path Optimizer would not work because path optimizer is used to test different paths within a journey, not different product recommendations.

 Removing the bounced addresses before the next send is a best practice to uphold the sender reputation and avoid being marked as spam. Bounce rates above 10% are considered high and can negatively affect the deliverability and engagement of email campaigns. [Source: Trailhead]

The marketer should mark the field as the Primary Key to ensure the Email Address field values are unique1. A primary key is a field that uniquely identifies each record in a data extension2. By marking the Email Address field as the primary key, the marketer can prevent duplicate email addresses from being imported or added to the data extension3. This can help the marketer maintain data quality and avoid sending multiple emails to the same subscriber.

Using Email Address as Subscriber Key is not the correct answer, as it does not ensure the Email Address field values are unique. A subscriber key is a field that uniquely identifies each subscriber in the Marketing Cloud account4. By using Email Address as Subscriber Key, the marketer can link the subscriber’s email address to their profile and preference attributes, but they cannot prevent duplicate email addresses from being stored in different data extensions5.

Selecting ‘Deduplicate by Email’ checkbox is also not the correct answer, as it does not ensure the Email Address field values are unique. This option is available when importing data into a data extension from a file or another data extension. By selecting this option, the marketer can avoid importing duplicate email addresses based on an existing email address field in the destination data extension. However, this option does not affect the structure or properties of the Email Address field itself. References := 1: Data Extension Field Properties - Salesforce 2: Data Extensions - Salesforce 3: Importing Data into Data Extensions - Salesforce 4: Subscriber Key - Salesforce 5: Subscriber Key Migration Guide - Salesforce : Deduplicate Subscribers by Email Address - Salesforce

The first action the team should take to make the edits is to update email approval status1. Updating email approval status allows the team to change the status of the email from approved to pending, which enables them to make changes to the email content, subject line, preheader, or sender profile1. After making the edits, the team can resubmit the email for approval and send it to the business units.

Canceling send using email is not the correct answer, as it does not allow the team to make edits to the email. Canceling send using email is a feature that lets the team stop an email send that is in progress or scheduled for a future date2. However, it does not affect the approval status or content of the email.

Unsharing the email is also not the correct answer, as it does not allow the team to make edits to the email. Unsharing the email is a feature that lets the team remove access to the email from other business units3. However, it does not affect the approval status or content of the email. References := 1: Edit an Approved Email - Salesforce 2: Cancel Send Using Email - Salesforce 3: Share Content Across Business Units - Salesforce

The correct answer is B because bounced contacts from previous sends are excluded from future sends by default, unless they are reactivated. DoNotTrack preferences only affect tracking data, not sending. Suppressed contacts from contact deletion are not relevant because the data extension contains the audience for the send.

The sending relationship determines which field in the data extension is used as the subscriber key and email address for the send. If the sending relationship is incorrect, the send will fail because Marketing Cloud cannot identify the recipients

Verification Activity is the step that prevents the automation from completing the automation instance and delivering an inaccurate report if some agents have not created their data extensions in time. This activity verifies that a data extension meets certain criteria, such as row count or field value, before proceeding to the next step. If the criteria are not met, the activity stops the automation and sends an email notification. Data Extract Activity is a step that extracts data from a data extension or data view and places it in a file on the Enhanced FTP server. Wait Activity is a step that pauses an automation for a specified period of time.

Utilizing exit criteria for the journey is a way to simplify the journey that has a decision split prior to every email send to remove certain subscribers from the journey. Exit criteria can define when contacts should exit the journey based on specific conditions, such as unsubscribing or making a purchase. This will eliminate the need for multiple decision splits on the journey canvas. [Source: Trailhead]

Configuring the Journey Entry Event to ‘allow no re-entry’ will ensure that subscribers who have made recent purchases will only receive a thank you email the first time they show up in the file drop. This will prevent them from receiving duplicate emails if they make multiple purchases. [Source: Trailhead]

The marketer should go to From Address Management to see a list of all email addresses and domains that are verified for sending1. From Address Management is a feature that allows the marketer to manage, verify, and import email addresses and domains that are used as From addresses in email sends1. The marketer can search, filter, and sort the verified email addresses and domains by status, type, and sendability. The marketer can also add new email addresses or domains, send verification emails, set sendable or non-sendable addresses, and delete unneeded addresses1.

Send Classifications is not the correct answer, as it does not show a list of all email addresses and domains that are verified for sending. Send Classifications is a feature that allows the marketer to define the settings and attributes of an email send, such as the sender profile, delivery profile, CAN-SPAM classification, and priority2. The marketer can use send classifications to choose from a list of verified email addresses or specify a custom email address as the From address, but they cannot see or manage all the verified email addresses and domains in send classifications.

Domain SSL Certificates is also not the correct answer, as it does not show a list of all email addresses and domains that are verified for sending. Domain SSL Certificates is a feature that allows the marketer to enable SSL encryption for their custom domains, which can improve their email security and deliverability. The marketer can use domain SSL certificates to apply SSL encryption to their authenticated or private domains that are used as From addresses, but they cannot see or manage all the verified email addresses and domains in domain SSL certificates. References := 1: From Address and Domain Verification Checklist - Salesforce 2: Send Classifications - Salesforce : Domain SSL Certificates - Salesforce

 Journey Builder and Engagement Split are no-code features that can be used to accomplish this scenario. Journey Builder is a tool that allows marketers to create personalized customer journeys across channels and devices. An Engagement Split is a type of decision split that evaluates how a subscriber interacted with an email, such as opening or clicking. Based on the outcome, the subscriber can be routed to different paths in the journey.

Implementing an SAP with Private Domain and a Dedicated IP is the best action to ensure NTO’s sending reputation remains intact, as it allows NTO to have full control over its sender authentication and IP reputation. A private domain enables SPF and DKIM authentication, which helps to verify the sender’s identity and prevent spoofing. A dedicated IP isolates NTO’s sending volume and reputation from other customers, which reduces the risk of being affected by their sending practices. Requesting three dedicated IPs or a private domain alone would not provide the same level of protection as an SAP.

Tracking Extracts are a type of data extract activity that allows marketers to export tracking data from Marketing Cloud to an external system, such as a dashboard or a data warehouse. Tracking Extracts can be configured to include various types of tracking data, such as email sends, opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, etc. Tracking Extracts can be combined with a File Transfer activity and an Automation Studio workflow to transfer the extracted file to the desired location on a daily basis.

Configuring Field-Level Encryption in import file is the correct answer. This option allows you to specify which fields are encrypted and how to decrypt them in the import file activity. This way, you can import decrypted information to a data extension from an encrypted file of subscriber data. Managing Files in File Transfer is not a valid option, as this option only allows you to move files from one location to another, not to import them. Specifying character encoding in import file is not a valid option either, as this option only allows you to ensure the correct display of characters in different languages, not to decrypt encrypted data. You can learn more about this in the Importing Data into Marketing Cloud module on Trailhead.

 Creating the data extension as ‘Is Testable’ is the option that ensures the data extension appears as a Recipient Test Data Extension in the Test Send menu. This option allows the marketer to use the data extension for testing purposes only, and not for actual sends. Saving the data extension in the Test Folder or associating it to the Campaign does not affect its availability for test sends.

Goals are the Journey Builder component that addresses the two requirements of this campaign. Goals allow marketers to define a desired outcome for each journey, such as making a purchase at the NTO outlet, and track how many contacts achieve it. Goals also allow marketers to exit contacts from the journey once they achieve the goal, which means they will stop receiving emails from the campaign. Decision Splits are used to branch contacts into different paths based on criteria, but not to exit them from the journey or track their outcomes. Exits are used to remove contacts from the journey based on criteria, but not to track their outcomes.

 An Interactive Email Form is a type of content block that allows marketers to create and embed a form within an email. The form can collect information from subscribers, such as feedback, preferences, ratings, etc., without requiring them to leave their inbox. The form can also link to a confirmation page or another email after submission. An Interactive Email Form can increase the response rate by making it easy and convenient for subscribers to provide feedback.

A Tracking Data Extract is a type of data extract activity that allows marketers to export tracking data from Marketing Cloud to an external system, such as Azure Blob. A Tracking Data Extract can be configured to include various types of tracking data, such as email sends, opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, etc. A Tracking Data Extract can be combined with a File Transfer activity to transfer the extracted file to the desired location.

The correct answer is B because creating more focused segmented lists for messaging can help reduce the number of unsubscribes and increase engagement by sending more relevant and personalized content to each segment. Adding complementary SMS campaigns may not be effective if the subscribers are not interested in receiving more messages from NTO. Focusing on action-driven subject lines may help improve open rates, but not necessarily engagement or retention.

Scheduling report and emailing file to the director is the correct answer. This option allows you to create a report of sends across all business units using the Email Performance by Business Unit report type in Analytics Builder. You can then schedule the report to run daily and email the file (CSV or XLS) to the director or any other recipients. This way, you can ensure the report is sent to the director each day without manually running and exporting the report. Scheduling report and emailing the link to download is not a valid option, as this option only allows you to email a link to access the report online, not to download the file. Scheduling report to export as a web page is not a valid option either, as this option only allows you to export the report as a web page, not to email it. You can learn more about this in the [Email Reporting Tools] module on Trailhead.

To make locating appropriate images easier, you can import a metadata tag index for the stock art so that the images are searchable by keywords. You can create a CSV file with columns for file name and tags, and then import it into Content Builder.

 If you want to ensure the exclusion is updated before the audience query runs, you should place the audience SQL Query Activity in a step after the exclusion SQL Query Activity. This way, the exclusion query will run first and update the data extension with the subscribers who should be excluded from the send. Then, the audience query will run and pull the subscribers who meet the criteria for the send, excluding those who were filtered out by the previous query. Placing a wait step between them or placing them in the same step will not guarantee that they will run in the correct order. You can learn more about this in the [Automation Studio Basics] module on Trailhead.

 Verification is the correct answer. A verification activity is an activity that allows you to set criteria for an automation to run successfully or fail based on data counts or validation errors. For example, you can use a verification activity to check if the number of records in a data extension is within a certain range before sending an email. This can help prevent sending emails to more subscribers than intended or to an empty data extension. You can learn more about this in the [Automation Studio Basics] module on Trailhead.

The originally approved version of the email will be sent if the approval is withdrawn after scheduling the send. The withdrawal of approval does not affect the scheduled send, unless the marketer cancels or reschedules it manually. [Source: Trailhead]

To test different subject lines with a pilot group and then send the winning subject line out to the remaining customers, you should place a random split before path optimizer for the pilot group. This will allow you to divide your audience into two groups: one for testing and one for holding back. Then, you can use path optimizer to test up to 10 subject lines with the testing group and select the winner based on open rate or click rate. Finally, you can send the winning subject line to the holdback group.

File transfer is the activity that is missing from the automation. File transfer is used to move files from one location to another, such as from Marketing Cloud to an SFTP server. Without this activity, the data extract will create a .csv file in Marketing Cloud, but it will not send it to the SFTP server. Fire event is used to trigger a journey or an automation from another automation. Import file is used to import data from a file into a data extension.

A double opt-in at signup is the best way to make sure email addresses are valid before adding them to the audience, as it requires the subscriber to confirm their email address by clicking on a link sent to their inbox. This ensures that the email address is not fake, misspelled, or belongs to someone else. A double opt-in also helps to build trust and consent with the subscriber. A Smart Capture block or a CAPTCHA validation would not verify the validity of the email address, but only capture or filter the input from the form.

 A data extension that is used for a SQL Query Activity must have a primary key. The primary key ensures that each record is unique and can be updated by the query. The Is Sendable and Nullable settings are not required for a SQL Query Activity, but they affect how the data extension can be used for sending emails and storing null values.

Overwrite is the best import option to ensure the data extension only contains currently active customers, as it deletes all existing records in the data extension and replaces them with the new records from the import file. This ensures that only customers who are included in the daily feed remain in the data extension. Append or Add and Update would not work for this scenario, as they would either add new records without deleting old ones or update existing records without deleting old ones.

A Transactional Send Journey is a journey type that allows marketers to send transactional messages, such as password resets, order confirmations, or shipping notifications, to individual contacts based on API events. This journey type is suitable for the healthcare marketer’s use case

Content Detective is the correct answer. Content Detective is a tool that allows you to scan your email content for any words or phrases that may trigger spam filters or cause deliverability issues. Content Detective assigns a score to your email based on the number and severity of the flags it detects, and provides suggestions on how to improve your content. You can learn more about this in the Email Testing Tools module on Trailhead.

Triggered Automation is a feature that allows marketers to run an automation when a file is dropped into a specified location, such as an FTP folder or Enhanced FTP folder. Triggered Automation can accommodate the setup of NTO’s third-party point-of-sale software that sends order information in batches of large files at varying times throughout the day. [Source: Trailhead]

Frequency split is a journey builder activity that splits contacts based on how often they have received messages from the account. It can be used to focus marketing efforts on subscribers who are least likely to unsubscribe by sending them fewer or more relevant messages. Path optimizer and scoring split are not related to frequency.

Journey Builder is a tool that allows marketers to create personalized, cross-channel customer journeys based on real-time behavior and data. Journey Builder can use a Recurring Entry Source to inject contacts from multiple data extensions into a journey on a daily basis. Journey Builder can also use Messaging and Flow Control Activities to send emails and mobile messages and control the timing and frequency of the communications.

 Withdraw email approval is the first action that should be taken to make the edits. Withdraw email approval is a feature that allows you to revoke the approval status of an email and make changes to it. You can use this feature if you need to update an approved email before sending it or sharing it with other business units. Unshare the email is not necessary if you want to make edits to the email, and it may affect the access of other business units. Cancel send using email is not relevant if you have not scheduled or sent the email yet.

Datorama Reports - Journey Performance is where leadership at NTO should find the dashboard showing the success rate of customers that have been through a Welcome Series Journey in the last 7 days. Datorama Reports is a feature that provides advanced analytics and insights for Marketing Cloud journeys. It allows you to create custom dashboards and reports that measure the performance of your journeys based on various metrics, such as engagement, conversion, revenue, etc. You can also filter your data by time range, journey name, version, status, etc. Journey Builder - Journey History shows the history of journey versions, activations, and deactivations, but not the success rate of customers. Reports - Journey Engagement shows the engagement metrics for a specific journey version, such as sent, delivered, open, click, etc., but not the success rate of customers.

Create CloudPages to collect and subscribe users is the correct answer. CloudPages is a feature that allows you to create web pages and landing pages using Marketing Cloud tools and data. You can use CloudPages to collect information from users who visit your pages from social channels, such as Facebook or Twitter, and subscribe them to your email lists or data extensions. You can also use CloudPages to create preference centers, profile centers, or unsubscribe pages for your email subscribers. You can learn more about this in the [CloudPages Basics] module on Trailhead.

A key differentiator to get a dedicated IP rather than using a shared one is sending volume. If you send more than 250,000 emails per month, you should use a dedicated IP to ensure better deliverability and reputation. A dedicated IP means that only your emails are sent from that IP address, so you have full control over your sender reputation

 Einstein Engagement Frequency is a feature that uses artificial intelligence to analyze subscriber engagement data and determine the optimal number of emails to send to each subscriber per week. Marketers can use Einstein Engagement Frequency to segment subscribers based on their engagement frequency range and target them with personalized email campaigns.

Data filters are low-code tools that can be used to create segments based on criteria applied to data extensions. They can be used to filter subscribers by age, opt-in status, or any other attribute. Filtering the .csv file before import is not a low-code option, and writing a query is a code-based option.

Send Classification is the correct answer. A send classification is a setting that defines the type, priority, and sender information for an email send. There are three types of send classifications: commercial, transactional, and operational. Transactional send classifications are used for emails that are triggered by a subscriber’s action, such as a purchase confirmation or a password reset. Transactional emails are sent to subscribers regardless of their opt-in status, as they are considered essential communications. You can learn more about this in the Email Creation and Sending module on Trailhead.

 A collection is a group of related reports that can be created in Datorama to provide customized insights and analysis. A collection can contain reports from different data sources and channels, as well as filters, segments, and calculations. A collection can be shared with other users or embedded in other applications.

Scheduling an automation to refresh the filter activity each day is the best step to ensure the data extension includes newly added records, as it allows the marketer to automate the process of updating the filtered data extension based on the latest data in the source data extension. The automation can run at a specified time or frequency, or be triggered by an event. Checking the ‘AUTOMATICALLY REFRESH UPON SENDING’ checkbox or configuring the filter DE to auto-refresh daily in properties would not work for this scenario, as they only refresh the data extension when it is used as a target audience for an email send.