MCE-Dev-201 Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Engagement Developer Questions and Answers

Automation Studio provides tools for extracting tracking data from the Marketing Cloud. This can be done using the Data Extract Activity, which allows you to extract various types of tracking data such as email send, open, and click information.

Salesforce Automation Studio Data Extract Activity

In Salesforce Marketing Cloud, access tokens are valid for one hour (D). After one hour, a new access token must be obtained to continue making API calls. This ensures security and helps manage the lifespan of tokens effectively.

To optimize a query activity that is currently timing out, a developer can use the following strategies:

Use Primary key(s) on fields used in joins (C) - Ensures that the join operations are efficient by utilizing indexed fields.

Use intermediate tables to stage data (D) - Breaks down complex queries into simpler steps, improving manageability and performance.

Only update records that have changed since last execution (E) - Reduces the amount of data processed by focusing only on changes since the last query run.

The HTTPGet2 and HTTPPost2 functions in AMPscript allow you to include additional headers, such as an OAuth token, in your HTTP requests. These functions provide more flexibility for specifying custom headers compared to the standard HTTPGet and HTTPPost functions.

Example:

SET @header = 'Authorization: Bearer your_oauth_token' SET @response = HTTPPost2("https://example.com/api ", @header, "data=example")

Salesforce AMPscript HTTP Functions

In Salesforce Marketing Cloud, you can use either AMPscript or Server-Side JavaScript (SSJS) in email messages. Both languages are supported and can be used to manipulate data, create dynamic content, and perform other server-side operations.

Salesforce Programming Languages in Emails

To accurately identify subscribers who have unsubscribed from any of the child business units in an Enterprise 2.0 account, it is necessary to create data extracts of all subscribers within each child business unit. This approach ensures that unsubscribes specific to each business unit are captured.

Data Extracts: By creating data extracts within each child business unit, you can gather comprehensive unsubscribe data for all subscribers specific to each unit.

Salesforce Enterprise 2.0 Account Management

To retrieve multiple records associated with a particular customer from the OrderDetails data extension, the LookupRows and LookupOrderedRows functions are suitable. These functions return a rowset containing the records that match the specified criteria.

LookupRows: Retrieves a rowset of records based on specified criteria.

Example:

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SET @rows = LookupRows('OrderDetails', 'CustomerID', @customerID)

LookupOrderedRows: Retrieves a rowset of records based on specified criteria and allows for sorting.

Example:

SET @rows = LookupOrderedRows('OrderDetails', 0, 'OrderDate DESC', 'CustomerID', @customerID)

Salesforce AMPscript LookupRows

The Describe method in the SOAP API provides metadata about the objects available in the system, including Profile and Preference Attributes. This method can be used to dynamically retrieve and display these attributes in a custom profile center.

Describe Method: This method returns the schema of the objects, including fields and their properties, which can be used to dynamically generate forms and interfaces.

Salesforce SOAP API Describe Method

In the provided AMPscript, the IF statement checks the length of the @point variable and sets @value accordingly. Since x = 'Tacos' has a length of 5, it meets the first condition Length(@point) > 1, which sets @value to 1. Subsequent conditions are not evaluated because the first condition is already true.

AMPscript IF-ELSEIF Example:

%%[ SET @point = RequestParameter('x') SET @value = 5 IF Length(@point) > 1 THEN SET @value = 1 ELSEIF Length(@point) > 2 THEN SET @value = 2 ELSEIF Length(@point) > 3 THEN SET @value = 3 ELSEIF Length(@point) > 4 THEN SET @value = 4 ENDIF ]%%

Salesforce AMPscript Documentation

When using Server-Side JavaScript (SSJS) in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the developer can leverage the following features:

Wrapping of AMPscript in SSJS code (A) - SSJS can include AMPscript within its code, allowing for dynamic content generation and manipulation.

Include Try/Catch blocks within the code (D) - SSJS supports the use of Try/Catch blocks to handle errors and exceptions in the script, providing better control over error management.

When importing an encrypted file from the Enhanced FTP server, you need to move the file to the Safehouse first, and then decrypt it within the Safehouse.

Move to Safehouse: Use a File Transfer activity to move the encrypted file from the Enhanced FTP server to the Safehouse.

Decrypt in Safehouse: Use another File Transfer activity to decrypt the file within the Safehouse.

Salesforce File Transfer Activities

To dynamically populate the physical address of a company's locations using the variable @address and ensure the fastest possible performance for millions of subscribers, the recommended AMPscript solution is:

%%[ SET @address = Lookup("Building_Locations", "Address", "Id", @Id) ]%%

This solution uses the Lookup function, which retrieves a specific field value from a data extension based on the given criteria. It is efficient and performs well for high-volume sends.

The first step in using the Transactional Messaging API to send emails is to authenticate and obtain an access token. This is done by making a POST request to the /v2/authorize endpoint with the client credentials.

Salesforce Transactional Messaging API Authentication

When a send is initiated directly to a Sendable Data Extension that includes records targeted for deletion, the following behaviors are expected:

Records still in the suppression phase will be excluded from sends (B) - These records are in the process of being deleted and will not be included in the send.

Records that have been deleted will be excluded from sends indefinitely (D) - Once records are deleted, they are permanently excluded from future sends.

To add new customers to a cross-channel welcome campaign when they register on the company website, the Journey Builder API (D) should be used. This API allows you to programmatically inject contacts into a journey, triggering personalized marketing interactions across multiple channels.

To create a JavaScript Web Token (JWT) using a key from Key Management in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the GetJWTByKeyName function should be used. This function generates a JWT using the specified key from Key Management.

Salesforce JWT Documentation

An Exclusion Script is used to exclude certain subscribers from an email send based on defined criteria. It can also log or capture details of those excluded addresses for reporting purposes.

Exclusion Script: This script runs before the send and can dynamically exclude recipients based on logic you define. It allows you to prevent competitors from receiving the email and to log their email addresses.

Salesforce Exclusion Script Documentation

To remove line breaks within the Comments field and replace them with a single space, you can use the REPLACE function in combination with the CHAR function. The CHAR(13) and CHAR(10) functions represent carriage return and line feed characters, respectively.

REPLACE Function: This function is used to replace occurrences of a specified string with another string.

CHAR Function: This function returns the character based on the ASCII code provided.

Example:

SELECT REPLACE(REPLACE(Comments, CHAR(13), ' '), CHAR(10), ' ') AS Comments FROM YourDataExtension

Salesforce SQL Reference

The error message "Cannot Perform 'Post' on objects of type 'SentEvent'" indicates that the SentEvent object is not updatable via the SOAP API. The SentEvent object is typically read-only and is used for tracking purposes.

Read-Only Object: The SentEvent object is used to log events and is not designed to be modified via API calls. This is why attempts to perform POST operations on it will result in an error.

Salesforce SOAP API Error Codes

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is designed to protect data at rest by encrypting the underlying storage of the database. This method ensures that data is encrypted on disk to prevent physical data theft while allowing it to remain accessible to authorized users within the system.

Salesforce Transparent Data Encryption

To store only the first 4000 characters of the fields SMTPBounceReason and SMTPCode in a data extension, the developer should use the LEFT (C) SQL function. This function returns the specified number of characters from the beginning of a string.

Example:

SELECT SubscriberKey, LEFT(SMTPBounceReason, 4000) AS SMTPBounceReason, LEFT(SMTPCode, 4000) AS SMTPCode FROM _Bounce

The JobID parameter is required for the LogUnsubEvent request to be tied to the appropriate send. The JobID uniquely identifies the email job that was sent, allowing the system to accurately log the unsubscribe event for that specific send.

JobID: This parameter ensures that the unsubscribe event is correctly associated with the email send job.

Salesforce LogUnsubEvent Documentation

The SQL statement in question does not return any records because it is joining on the EmailAddress field, which is not present in the _Bounce Data View. The correct approach is to join using the SubscriberKey (or SubscriberID). Here is the corrected SQL statement:

SELECT s.EmailAddress, s.SubscriberKey, b.JobID, b.EventDate, b.SMTPBounceReason FROM _Subscribers s JOIN _Bounce b ON s.SubscriberKey = b.SubscriberKey WHERE b.EventDate > DateAdd(DAY, -30, GETDATE())

This ensures that the join is based on the SubscriberKey, which is a common field in both data views.

To successfully create a TriggerSend object using AMPscript's API functions, the following objects are required:

TriggerSendDefinition (B) - Defines the parameters of the triggered send, including the email to be sent and the associated attributes.

Subscribers (D) - Represents the individual recipients who will receive the email.

These objects ensure that the correct email is sent to the specified subscribers when the TriggerSend is executed.

To optimize a SQL Query Activity in Automation Studio that is experiencing timeouts, the developer should use intermediate tables to break queries into smaller parts (B). This approach helps in managing complex queries by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps, thus reducing the likelihood of timeouts.

The "Overwrite" import operation is used when you want to completely replace the contents of a Data Extension with the contents of the import file. This operation adds new records from the file and removes any records that are not present in the file.

Overwrite Operation: This will ensure that the Data Extension contains only the records present in the CSV file. Any existing records in the Data Extension that are not in the file will be deleted.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Import Activity

In an Enterprise 2.0 account, when querying shared data extensions from a child business unit, the data extension name should be prefixed with 'ENT.' to indicate it resides in the shared data extensions folder.

Correct Query:

SELECT * FROM ENT.MemberData WHERE State = 'NY' AND US = 1

Salesforce Shared Data Extensions

When batch deleting large volumes of contacts, it is important to consider the following factors:

Batch Deletion Limits: Up to one million records can be deleted in each batch. This helps manage and control the deletion process without overwhelming the system.

Suppression Status Visibility: The suppression status does not show for individual contacts until the entire batch processes. This means that you will not see the status updates for individual contacts until the deletion batch is fully processed.

Salesforce Contact Deletion Process

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is the appropriate method for ensuring that the underlying database files are encrypted at rest. TDE encrypts the database files themselves, protecting the data in case the physical media is stolen, while allowing the data to be viewed in clear text by authorized users within the system.

Transparent Data Encryption: Encrypts data at rest, ensuring that the database files are secure.

Salesforce Transparent Data Encryption

The purpose of the IF statement in the AMPscript code is to check if any rows are returned by the LookupRows function. If rows are returned, it retrieves the image field from the data extension and sets the image source accordingly. If no rows are returned, it defaults to using a standard image.

Salesforce AMPscript LookupRows Function

To validate that a parent-level data extension can be accessed by a child business unit, the developer should ensure that the data extension is in the Shared Data Extensions folder and the query includes the ENT. prefix (A). This setup allows shared data extensions to be accessible across different business units.

To ensure the MobileConnect Contact is tied to the Email Contact when making a QueueMO call for an existing email subscriber, the parameter to include is emailaddress. This ensures that the MobileConnect Contact is correctly linked to the existing Email Contact.

In AMPscript, comments can be added within a code block using the /* comment */ syntax. This allows developers to include notes or explanations without affecting the execution of the script.

Example:

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%%[ /* This is a comment */ SET @var = "value" ]%%

Salesforce AMPscript Syntax Guide

To define a filename pattern that matches files starting with the current month and day, you can use the %%MMDD%% pattern and the "Begins With" operator.

%%MMDD%% Pattern: This pattern represents the month and day in a two-digit format.

Begins With Operator: This operator ensures that the automation matches filenames that start with the specified pattern.

Salesforce File Drop Automations

To ensure a blank email will not be sent when creating a complex dynamic email with multiple sections and content blocks, the developer should confirm every version has default content (D). This practice ensures that if any dynamic content fails to load or meet the conditions, the default content will be displayed, preventing a blank email from being sent.

The AMPscript function that returns the number of rows in a specified data extension is DataExtensionRowCount (B). This function provides the count of rows within a data extension, which can be used to dictate what is displayed on a landing page.

Example usage:

SET @rowCount = DataExtensionRowCount("MyDataExtension")

To analyze the Send, Click, and Open Data Views and transfer the data to the SFTP, the developer should build the following activities:

Query Activity - To query and gather the data from the Send, Click, and Open Data Views.

Data Extension Extract - To extract the queried data from the data extension and prepare it for transfer to the SFTP.

To configure a data extension to store data for six months, you should update the data extension configuration to include data retention settings.

Data Retention Settings: You can configure data retention directly within the data extension settings in Email Studio to specify how long data should be retained. This ensures that data older than the specified period is automatically deleted.

Go to Email Studio -> Subscribers -> Data Extensions.

Select the data extension you want to configure.

Click on "Properties".

Under "Data Retention", set the retention period to six months and define the retention settings accordingly.

Salesforce Data Extension Retention Settings

To populate a data extension with the date of the most recent click for each subscriber, the developer should use the following SQL query:

SELECT c.SubscriberKey, MAX(c.eventDate) AS eventDate FROM _Click c GROUP BY c.SubscriberKey

This query selects the SubscriberKey and the maximum eventDate for each subscriber from the _Click Data View, ensuring that the most recent click date is retrieved.

The best Data Type to use for the Purchase_Price column, which includes values ranging from '$.05' to '$100', is Decimal(9,2) (C). This data type ensures that values are stored accurately without data loss, allowing for precision up to two decimal places.

To remove contacts mistakenly synced from the User_Salesforce object, the recommended approach is to put the synced records into a sendable data extension and use Contact Delete (C). This method allows for the systematic deletion of these contacts from the All Contacts table without affecting other data.

A developer would use the LookupRows function instead of the Lookup AMPscript function to return a complete rowset from the data extension (A). The LookupRows function retrieves all rows that match a specified criterion, returning a rowset that can be further processed or iterated over in AMPscript. In contrast, the Lookup function retrieves only a single field value from the first row that matches the specified criteria.

The Contact Delete process in Marketing Cloud removes contact data from various locations to ensure complete deletion. This includes both sendable data extensions and mobile lists.

Sendable Data Extensions: The Contact Delete process will remove contact data from sendable data extensions, ensuring that the contact is no longer present in any data used for sending.

Mobile Lists: Contact data will also be removed from mobile lists, ensuring that the contact is fully deleted across all communication channels.

Salesforce Contact Deletion Process

The Output function in AMPscript is used to include the result of interpreted code within a code block in the rendered content. This function ensures that the evaluated result of the code is included directly where the Output function is called.

Example:

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%%[ SET @message = "Hello, World!" ]%% %%=Output(@message)=%%

Salesforce AMPscript Output Function

To create a lead capture form on a landing page and create a Lead record in Salesforce, you can use either AMPscript or SSJS. AMPscript can be used for interacting with Salesforce, and SSJS can handle form processing. Alternatively, SSJS can handle the entire process, including creating the Salesforce record.

AMPscript and SSJS Combination: You can use AMPscript to interact with Salesforce APIs to create records and SSJS for form handling.

SSJS for Full Functionality: SSJS can handle both the form submission and the interaction with Salesforce to create Lead records.

Salesforce AMPscript and SSJS Integration

A File Drop Automation should be configured to handle files that arrive at varying times and have unique filenames. This type of automation triggers when a file is dropped into a specific folder on the Enhanced FTP site, allowing the system to handle imports as soon as the file arrives.

Salesforce File Drop Automations

To ensure the security of Client ID and Client Secret credentials, they should be stored securely and not exposed in the application source code or URL parameters.

Environment Variables: Setting credentials as environment variables in the application platform is a secure way to handle sensitive information. This method ensures that the credentials are not hardcoded in the source code and can be managed securely by the application platform.

Environment Variables

Key Management System (KMS): Storing credentials in a key management system (KMS) provides an additional layer of security. KMS solutions are designed to securely store and manage sensitive information such as API keys, passwords, and other credentials.

To retrieve a row of data from a data extension using the SOAP API, the developer should use the DataExtensionObject API Object. This object allows for operations such as retrieving, updating, and inserting rows within a data extension.

In AMPscript, to create a FOR loop that populates HTML table rows, the developer should place the FOR keyword before the tag. This ensures that each iteration of the loop creates a new table row with the appropriate data.

Example:

<title> %%[ FOR @i = 1 TO RowCount(@TargetDE) DO ]%% %%=Field(Row(@TargetDE, @i), "FieldName")=%% %%[ NEXT @i ]%% </title>

To trigger an SMS message to a subscriber using a form published on CloudPages, the developer should use the requestToken and messageContact REST API objects (D). These objects can be used to authenticate and send the SMS message programmatically when the form is submitted.

Before deleting a sendable data extension that contains a large number of contact records, it is important to manage the contact deletion through Contact Builder. Deleting the data extension from Contact Builder ensures that all related contact information is also removed from the contact model.

Salesforce Contact Builder

To configure an Email Send Logging Data Extension for a new business unit, the recommended approach is to use the SendLog Data Extension Template. This ensures that all necessary fields and configurations are correctly set up to log email send data.

SendLog Data Extension Template: This template includes predefined fields and settings that are required for logging email sends. Using this template ensures that the data extension is set up correctly for tracking send logs.

Go to Email Studio -> Subscribers -> Data Extensions.

Click on "Create".

Choose "Create from Template" and select the "SendLog" template.

Follow the prompts to configure and save the new Send Log data extension.

Salesforce Email Send Logging

To include Server-Side JavaScript (SSJS) in an email message, you need to use the <script> tag with the runat="server" attribute. This ensures that the script runs on the server side before the email is sent.

<script runat=server></script>: This is a valid way to include SSJS in an email. It specifies that the enclosed code should be executed on the server.

<script runat="server"> Platform.Load("Core","1"); var rows = Platform.Function.LookupRows("DataExtensionName", "EmailAddress", "example@example.com"); </script>

Salesforce SSJS Documentation

<script runat=server language=javascript></script>: This is another valid syntax. It specifies that the code within the script tag is JavaScript and should run on the server.

<script runat="server" language="javascript"> Platform.Load("Core","1"); var rows = Platform.Function.LookupRows("DataExtensionName", "EmailAddress", "example@example.com"); </script>