When building a program in Marketo, testing can be as (or more) important than building. Testing ensures that there are no build defects that will compromise your end result, ensuring that your program operates the way it is intended to.
Marketo Program QA
First let us review what you always should QA in Marketo. Smart Lists: Triggers and Filters give you plenty of options when defining your audience. However, there are a few things you should always check twice:
- The filter operator. For example, the filter operator “is” (exact match) will not give you the same result that the filter operator “contains” (any words together in the string match). If you have any doubt about which operator you should use, check the Marketo Smart List Filter Operators Glossary
- The rule logic. The rule logic should be verified to ensure it is reflecting the combination of filters that you want. If you are using advanced filters, double check all the filters numbers and their order.
Links in emails and on landing pages: Imagine that you send an batch email with a link to a registration page or to download a white paper and that after sending this email to the half of your database, you realized that the link is incorrect? This nightmare will considerably impact your credibility and happens more often that we think. You can test the links easily using the “Send sample” action. Also, don’t forget to test the text version as well!
*Be extra extra careful when using program tokens as links in your assets*
Flow steps:
When building a smart campaign, it is very important to verify that all your flow steps work properly. To bring your QA process to the next level, clone the smart campaign (or program) you want to test. In the smart list for the smart campaign you are testing, drag in the ‘email address’ filter and set it to: is (your test email address), and then activate the smart campaign. Using the information for your test lead, complete the behaviour that should trigger the flow steps (fill out a form, click link in an email). If your smart campaign is a batch, add the trigger “lead is created” and use a test address email that is not in the database. To ensure that the flow steps work properly, check the Activity Log of the test leads. If some flow steps failed, you will find some information as to why in this section.
The Importance of QA
Testing should be part of a strictly defined process. This ensures that your program is doing what you expect it to do. As a precaution, QA should be assigned to another person who is NOT the builder. Putting a fresh set of eyes on the program will help to spot any design/build defects (even small ones). Small errors in builds could potentially compromise your database, impact your reputation, and harm your relationship with your clients. Ensure that your programs run smoothly and have a seamless user experience? Then QA! Comment below with your horror stories about why you should have QA’d your programs in Marketo!
