UPDATE: As of November of 2023, Salesforce has announced that the deadline has been removed for Prospect Opted Out Field Sync Behavior. You can review more details on this change with this Knowledge Article.
In Account Engagement (Pardot) there is a field called “Opted Out” on prospect records. There is a similar field in Salesforce, on Leads and Contacts called “Email Opt Out”. This data point in Account Engagement is intended for prospects to control themselves via the unsubscribe link, or by using your email preference center. Account Engagement users can edit this field, but it is not recommended, due to compliance concerns.
Once the two fields were decoupled, switching Opted Out to true does not affect the Do Not Email value. In a recent notification from Salesforce, there was an update that caught everyone’s attention: “Pardot Opt-Out Sync Required Behavior Change Notification”.
Prospect mailability has been always been confusing and tricky to navigate. There were changes to simplify mailability fields back in 2021, but now these new changes have puzzled marketing admins once again.
Intended Use of Pardot: Opted Out
The Opted Out and Do Not Email fields now operate independently, which emphasizes the fact that these fields have new definitions, and new ways that marketers should approach them.
- Opted Out: The prospect controls this via the unsubscribe link or by using your email preference center. Pardot users can edit this setting, but it's not recommended.
- Do Not Email: This is intended for admins/marketers to globally suppress specific prospects and prevent them from receiving emails.
New Sync Behavior for Pardot Opt Out
Opted Out now requires either "Use Pardot's Value" or "Use Salesforce's Value". "Use the most recently updated record" is no longer an option.
It is a battle when Salesforce is connected to Account Engagement (Pardot), and a field is updated. The question is: which is the 'source of truth': Salesforce or Account Engagement (Pardot)?
When you first enable the Pardot-Salesforce connector, Opted Out is automatically mapped to the "Email Opt Out" field on the Lead and Contact objects. In contrast, Do Not Email is not mapped to Salesforce automatically.
Recap of Key Facts
Let's recap two key facts now that we've reached this point:
- Prospects can opt in/out via an email; opting in/out allows them to manage their opt-in status.
- In light of the fact that the fields are now decoupled, Opted Out can have a different sync behavior from Do Not Email.
For something as serious as prospect opt-out, you don’t want the sync to revert the prospect’s choice back to its previous state. In the event that a prospect opts out through an email unsubscribe link, and a Salesforce user updates the lead/contact record before the connector sync finishes, the prospect would be opted back in unintentionally. With the new sync behavior options, you can pinpoint what system is the true one.
Example of Pardot Opt Out
In line with the Opted Out intended purpose, it makes sense to set the sync behavior to "Use Pardot's value". Prospects would then be able to control the value of the field, which would remain their choice. Salesforce will revert the field back to the prospect's selection if anyone attempts to change the field's value, protecting their opt-in or opt-out status if anyone tries to change the value.
What if you need someone on your team to update the prospect's opt-in status? In the age of privacy and compliance, the prospect should be the one who takes the affirmative action (i.e., the one who opts themselves in, not someone from your sales/service team using Salesforce).
If a prospect/customer is hounding one of your colleagues on the phone, they can navigate to the Pardot Lightning App, find the prospect's record, and edit it.
No matter how you access the prospect's record, this is not a recommended approach, but rather a workaround when necessary.
Why Opted Out Should "Use Pardot's Value"
Re-subscribe a prospect
Once the change goes into effect, how will Pardot re-subscribe work? Previously, we said that you should set the sync behavior to "Use Pardot's value". Prospects would be able to control the field's value this way, such as re-subscribing (i.e., changing the Opted Out field from true to false so that they will receive emails again). If you choose to “Use Salesforce’s value” for the Opted Out field, prospects won’t be able to re-subscribe themselves.
Users with Pardot-only licenses (Identity Licenses)
When Pardot began to enforce all users to use Salesforce's single sign on (SSO), Identity Licenses were introduced to fill the gaps for Pardot users without Salesforce licenses. These licenses do not have any Salesforce functionality, but have the full functionality of Pardot. If "Use Salesforce's value" is selected, Pardot-only users will lose the ability to manually set prospect preferences if field sync behavior is changed for Opted out (and Do Not Email).
Salesforce Users and how they Opt In and
Opt Out
Members of sales and service teams won't like hopping between their Salesforce and Pardot apps to update the prospect's Opted Out field since Account Engagement (Pardot) is an entirely separate app.
The Do Not Email field exists to allow Salesforce users to suppress emails from being sent to prospects.
You can still choose from all three field sync behaviors for Do Not Email.
“Use Pardot’s value”
“Use Salesforce’s value”
“Use the most recently updated record”
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Here is how this would work in practice. To meet the Do Not Email's intended purpose, you would set the sync behavior to "use the most recently updated record". The reasons for this are:
- There is a possibility that a hard bounce has been detected from Pardot, which would result in the Pardot Hard Bounced field being checked. Hard bounces happen for reasons, such as an invalid email.
- A colleague from another internal team may wish to stop all marketing communications with that prospect and have edited the field in Salesforce.
- This field should only be editable by marketing team members, and validation rules should prevent this field from being unchecked if Pardot Hard Bounced occurs, which could be caused by an invalid email address, etc.
Do Not Email Warning
If Salesforce users will be updating the field, "Use the most recently updated record" is the logical choice.
There is somewhat of a risk to this, as the sync could restore the Do Not Email field to its previous state. A Salesforce Lead/Contact record becomes the most recently updated record if Pardot/the user marks a prospect as Do Not Email (true) and an update is made before the sync completes (where Do Not Email is false).
There is no guarantee which system is the master system for that particular record - depending on the scenario, it could be Salesforce or Pardot. Many organizations leave the Do Not Email field unmapped to prevent this.
Fake Opt In is Misleading for Prospects
We've sorted out how the two fields should be used, but another issue arises: Prospects don't have visibility into the Do Not Email field.
Prospects base their subscription status on the Account Engagement (Pardot) Opted Out field when opting in/re-opting in. Why would they consider there could be another field (Do Not Email) that prevents them from opting in?
If the Opted Out field is false and the Do Not Email field (that your organization controls) is true, this can be unintentionally misleading - essentially a fake opt-in. Both fields must be false for a prospect to receive emails.
Ideally, prospects should not have to contact your organization directly in order to be fully re-subscribed.
Is it Better to Keep Opting Out the Same Way?
Marketing admins oppose the change because it will cause disruptions and require them to change how they currently operate. Yes, there are probably workarounds available – but when combined with the time and effort to re-train users, it's not the best option.
An alternative suggestion would be to add audit tools for admins to monitor when, how, and why fields are updated.
Organizations are already anticipating the custom setup they may have to deploy, such as a dedicated field for synchronizing Email Opt Out, in order to access "Use the most recently updated record". This presents its own set of challenges, like connector synchronization speed, making sure both fields are taken into account before sending emails, and more. These types of workarounds can result in technical debt so it is essential to think through the consequences before making any decisions hastily.
Summary
We have covered the following topics:
- Opted Out must now have a designated system of record, either Pardot's or Salesforce's. "Use the most recently updated record" is no longer an option.
- "Use Pardot's value" is the most logical choice for Opted Out sync behavior, especially for prospect resubscribes to function properly, and to not disrupt Pardot-only users.
- Salesforce users can still use the Do Not Email field to suppress marketing emails sent
- Using “Use the most recently updated record” for the Do Not Email field still presents issues if the Pardot and Salesforce record are updated in rapid succession and before the connector sync completes. In this scenario, there's no guarantee which is the master system for that specific record - it could be Salesforce or Pardot, depending on the scenario.
- Prospects do not have visibility into the Do Not Email field, which can be misleading for those who supposedly opt in, but have no idea they are being suppressed (I call this a fake opt in).
- Should Opted Out sync behavior remain the same?
This change seems to be yet another step in refining Pardot's mailability fields. Unsurprisingly this hasn't been received favorably by existing users of the platform, due to what it could mean for data, the need to retrain Salesforce members on the Do Not Email feature, and any alterations that could come about between Pardot and Salesforce regarding mapping for Do Not Email.
Rithom is here to help you navigate through any and all updates that Salesforce makes to their platform, including Account Engagement (Pardot). Contact us today for more information and support on the Opt Out field changes.