Discover How Data Powers Marketing Cloud Next
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain how Data 360 forms the foundation of Marketing Cloud Next.
- Identify the role of campaign records.
- Describe how flows automate customer journeys.
- List common flow elements used.
Before You Start
Before you start this badge, make sure you complete this content. The work you do here builds on the concepts and work you do in that content.
The Need for Coordinated Engagement
What if your campaign adjusted itself the moment a customer's behavior changes? As a marketer, you have more data than ever, but using it fast enough is challenging. By the time you refresh a static list or launch a campaign, the moment has already passed. You need a system that reads customer attributes and behaviors, evaluates them instantly, and guides each person down the right path at the right time.
Marketing Cloud Next closes that gap. It brings together Data 360, campaigns, and Salesforce Flow in one platform, so you can move from static lists to personalized journeys that respond to your customers.
Next, you explore the building blocks that make this possible, starting with how Data 360 unifies customer data and makes it usable inside your journeys.
Building Blocks of Data and Engagement
To personalize customer journeys, Marketing Cloud Next relies on unified customer data from Data 360. Customer information often lives across multiple systems, for example:
- CRM contacts with different email addresses
- Order history from a commerce platform
- Web activity such as page visits or abandoned carts
- Email engagement like opens and clicks
Each data source maps to a data model object (DMO). For example, CRM contacts map to the Individual DMO and order data maps to the Order DMO.
Data 360 uses identity resolution to compare customer records such as email address, phone number, or mailing address and match them to the same person. When the system finds a match, it creates a Unified Individual profile that represents that customer across systems.
A unified profile is powerful, but to use it in flows and content, you need data graphs.
Data Graphs
A data graph connects the Unified Individual to all related records, creating a connected view of the customer. For example, a data graph links:
- Profile attributes such as location or loyalty status.
- Order data such as order total, product name, or purchase date.
- Account details such as industry or annual revenue.
Typically, administrators or data analysts create data graphs for specific use cases. For example, a common approach is to build a marketing data graph that uses Unified Individual as the primary object and links related engagement and transaction data.
As a marketer, you use these graphs to personalize campaigns. When configuring branching in your flow, the data graph provides the attributes and behaviors you need, such as loyalty status, recent purchases, or cart abandonment. This helps the flow evaluate each customer in real time and route them down the most relevant path.
In other words, DMOs organize the data, identity resolution unifies the customer, and the data graph makes that information usable inside flows. Together, these pieces form the foundation that campaigns are built on.
Campaign Orchestration
If Data 360 provides intelligence, campaigns provide structure. In Marketing Cloud Next, campaign records organize marketing initiatives in one place by grouping audiences, campaign flows, content assets, and outcomes. They help you track who you target, how customers respond, and the results your efforts generate.
While campaigns define the initiative, they rely on flows to deliver messages to customers.
Journey Automation
Marketing Cloud Next uses Salesforce Flow Builder to automate marketing journeys. You launch campaign flows from the campaign record, and each flow stays tied to that campaign.
In Marketing Cloud Next, you commonly use the following flow types.
-
Segment flows: The flow runs for eligible Data 360 segment members when the segment is activated or on its scheduled run. Before the flow can run, the segment must first be published.
-
Automation event-triggered flows: The flow runs when a customer takes an action, such as clicking an email, submitting a form, or updating a CRM record.
When a flow launches, it reads customer attributes from the data graph, such as purchase history, loyalty tier, or email engagement score. The flow then guides each person through the journey, performing actions such as sending a message, waiting, or routing based on behavior.
Core Elements in Flows
You build campaign flows using core elements, each playing a specific role.
Element |
Usage |
|---|---|
Entry |
Specify entry configurations such as who enters and when. |
Decision |
Control branching with decisions that evaluate an attribute from the data graph (or from the triggering event). Based on whether conditions are met, the flow sends the individual down different paths. |
Action |
Define actions for what must happen, such as, sending an email or SMS. Personalize message content using attributes from the data graph and merge fields. |
Wait |
Listen to customer behavior before deciding what to do next. Control the timing of the journey using wait elements that:
|
Path Experiment |
Test a maximum of 10 variations within a flow using Path Experiments. The system automatically declares a winner based on engagement metrics. Instead of manually setting up split segments and comparing results, the flow manages the experiment natively. |
For the full list of flow elements, check out Flow Elements and Flow Builder Elements for Marketing Flows.
Path Experiments are only available in Marketing Cloud Next Advanced Edition. To add a Path Experiment element to a flow, you require either the Marketing Cloud Manager or Marketing Cloud Admin permission set. The Path Experiment element also requires that you set up personalization features. Check out Set Up Personalization Features in Marketing Cloud.
Now that you understand how Data 360, campaigns, and flows work together, explore how it all comes to life with an example.
The Super Kicks Campaign
Cloud Kicks, a footwear company, is launching a new running shoe, Super Kicks. Their marketing manager, Yasmin Ahmad, must run a targeted campaign with three audience groups in mind.
- High spending customers with a total spend of over $5,000 receive early access to Super Kicks before the public launch.
- Contacts created in the last 30 days receive a message that highlights Super Kicks as a great starting point for their Cloud Kicks experience.
- Everyone else receives the standard product launch message.
Yasmin maps each requirement to the different components needed to set this up.
Design a Campaign
When creating a campaign record, one of the first decisions is defining the audience. You can create segments in Data 360 for your campaigns. The segment criteria draw on unified profile data, and when the segment publishes, only customers who meet the criteria enter the flow. Alternatively, quick filters offer a faster way to define your audience using common criteria such as Birthday Today, No Open Cases, or Contacts.
For this campaign, Yasmin decides to include all Contacts in the system.
Map Requirements to Flow Elements
Here are the specific flow elements needed for the journey.
Campaign Requirement |
Flow Element |
|---|---|
Enroll all contacts into the campaign flow |
Entry (Segment, All Contacts) |
Route contacts by spend or account age |
Decision (reads Total Spend and Created Date from data graph) |
Send tailored email for each customer profile |
Action (Send Email Message) |
Wait and check for engagement before follow-up |
Wait Until Event (listens for Email Open or Click) |
Up Next
In this unit, you learned how Data 360 is the unified data layer in Marketing Cloud Next. Identity resolution builds unified profiles from multiple source systems, and data graphs make those attributes available for flow logic and personalization. Campaigns organize marketing initiatives and serve as the container that connects audiences, content, and flows.
In the next unit, you step into Yasmin's role and roll up your sleeves to build the Super Kicks campaign.