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what is a marketing cloud data extension

by Ivy Runolfsson Sr. Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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A data extension refers to a table in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud containing information about your subscribers such as name, address, age, gender, email, city. It allows you to track and update your customer's data via, for instance, a form of data submitted through a home page or through Salesforce object records.Nov 29, 2020

What are marketer’s Marketing Cloud Data Extensions?

Marketing Cloud Data Extensions seemed wild and untamed in comparison! Data extensions exist in Marketing Cloud to “satisfy the need for flexible data storage”. They are flexible, indeed, enabling you to essentially build a table within the app database that contains your data, exactly how you need to structure it.

What is data extension in Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Data Extension in Salesforce Marketing Cloud. What is a Data Extension? A data extension refers to a table in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud containing information about your subscribers such as name, address, age, gender, email, city.

How do I import data extensions from Marketing Cloud?

You can manually import data extensions, or you can automate the import through Automation Studio or the Marketing Cloud API. Data extensions can be used in both Contact Builder and in Email Studio, but data extension permissions, sharing, and other functionality live in Email Studio. There are three types of data extensions in Marketing Cloud.

What is a data extension?

What is a Data Extension? A data extension is simply a table/relational database that contains all of your company information, for example, customer data like; Name, Address, Age, Gender, Email, City, etc. In practice, you can put anything in a data extension and keep track of that information, just like you can in an Excel Spreadsheet.

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Where is data extension in Marketing Cloud?

View Marketing Cloud Data Extension RecordsClick Subscribers.Click Data Extension.Select the data extension name.Click Records. From here you can review records, export records, import records, and clear data.

What is difference between list and data extension in Marketing Cloud?

Data Extensions. There are two different methods to store and segment subscriber data within Marketing Cloud: Lists and Data Extensions. Lists have limited functionality, whereas Data Extensions provide full flexibility to store and relate subscriber information.

How do I use data extension in Marketing Cloud?

Here is how to create a Data Extension using Email Studio. Once you're inside Email Studio, you can navigate to ' Subscribers' → Data Extensions in the drop down. This brings me to the overview screen. If you're new to Marketing Cloud, these data extensions may be there by default because they are system generated.

How many data extensions are in Marketing Cloud?

three typesThere are three types of data extensions in Marketing Cloud. Standard data extensions are used for building a custom set of fields. Filtered data extensions are used to create a subset/segment from an existing data extension.

Are data extensions testable?

Is Testable - If you select Is Sendable, this field indicates whether you intend this data extension to have test messages sent to it. Campaign Association- To associate a data extension used for sending with a Campaign, select the radio button for the appropriate Campaign, optional.

How do I create a random data extension in Marketing Cloud?

Create a Random Data Extension in Marketing CloudHover over Subscribers.Click Data Extensions.Click Create.Select Random Data Extension.Click OK.Select a source data extension of records to split.Click OK.Click Add Data Extension. Enter a name for the data extension.More items...

What are the different types of data extensions?

There are three types of data extensions we have in Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Standard Data Extension. Filtered Data Extension. Random Data Extension.

What is Salesforce data extension in Sfmc?

A data extension refers to a table in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud containing information about your subscribers such as name, address, age, gender, email, city. It allows you to track and update your customer's data via, for instance, a form of data submitted through a home page or through Salesforce object records.

What is required to make a data extension Sendable?

By definition , a sendable data extension is a data extension that has a column mapped to the All Subscriber List. e.g if you have a ContactId that represents that SubscriberKey in that data extension, you would have to map it to SubscriberKey so that system can resolve it at send time.

What are synchronized data extensions?

Synchronized Data Extensions are automatically added to your data model in contact builder. In order to actually work the data, at present, you have to manually create a new data extension and populate it with data by using SQL.

What is data extension?

A data extension is simply a table with fields of data about your contacts. Data extensions can be standalone or related to other data extensions. You can use the data to run queries, pull information, and send to a subset of subscribers.

What is segmentation in marketing?

Segmentation allows you to take your larger audience and then send targeted and relevant messages to a segment of that audience to ensure that you’re sending the right message to the right subscriber at the right time. When segmenting data, random segments, as well as filtered segments, can be created.

What is nonsendable extension?

Nonsendable data extensions are reference data, such as the weather, airport codes, orders, product tables, etc.—things you want to use to personalize emails, but not a person you are sending an email to.

Can you import data extensions in Marketing Cloud?

You can manually import data extensions, or you can automate the import through Automation Studio or the Marketing Cloud API. Data extensions can be used in both Contact Builder and in Email Studio, but data extension permissions, sharing, and other functionality live in Email Studio. There are three types of data extensions in Marketing Cloud.

Prerequisites

Before you get started with Salesforce data extensions (SFDEs), check the subscriber key, Email field, and field names.

Importing Salesforce Data Extensions

Import Salesforce data extensions into the Marketing Cloud through Interactions. Create import activities with accessible Sales or Service Cloud reports. For example, if you can’t access a report in Marketing Cloud, you can’t access it in the Marketing Cloud Admin folder of Sales or Service Cloud.

1. Email Studio

Here is how to create a Data Extension using Email Studio. Once you’re inside Email Studio, you can navigate to ‘ Subscribers’ → Data Extensions in the drop down.

2. Contact Builder

Here is how to create a Data Extension using Contact Builder. From the overview screen, navigate to ‘Audience Builder’ → ‘Contact Builder’ in the drop down.

Marketing Cloud Data Extensions – In a Nutshell

Data extensions exist in Marketing Cloud to “satisfy the need for flexible data storage”. They are flexible, indeed, enabling you to essentially build a table within the app database that contains your data, exactly how you need to structure it.

When to Use Marketing Cloud Data Extensions

There are two main use cases that immediately signal you need to use a data extension over a list:

Marketing Cloud Lists vs. Data Extensions

For the Marketing Cloud Email Specialist exam, you need to compare data extensions and lists and know when to use each. Here are the facts in one table. The rows in the first table are absolutely essential for you to learn! (a second table goes into more detail afterwards).

Clear a Data Extension

Use this script to clear rows from a Data Extension or Auto-Suppression, also a data extension in Marketing Cloud.

Delete all contacts from a Data Extension

If you wish to delete contacts from your Marketing Cloud Instance, following GDPR requirements, you can create an automation that queries contacts to be deleted and store them in a data extension. Then, run this script pointing to the data extension in subject.

Clone a Data Extension

Create a data extension programmatically based on the structure of an existing data extension. Does this code need updates? Leave a comment here.

Find Data Extension used as target source in SQL queries

Use this script to find all queries where a specific Data Extension is used as the target source. This script will not look take into consideration the data extensions mentioned in the query itself.

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Learning Objectives

Data Extensions

  • Information about contacts is stored in a data extension. A data extension is simply a table with fields of data about your contacts. Data extensions can be standalone or related to other data extensions. You can use the data to run queries, pull information, and send to a subset of subscribers. You can manually import data extensions, or you can a...
See more on trailhead.salesforce.com

Shared Data Extensions

  • You can share data extensions with other business units by storing them in shared data extension folders. You can configure the data retention policy settings, select who can see what actions are available, set the sharing window, and decide which business units have access to a shared data extension.
See more on trailhead.salesforce.com

Segmentation

  • Segmentation allows you to create specific criteria or rules and apply the rules to a data extension. Segmentation allows you to take your larger audience and then send targeted and relevant messages to a segment of that audience to ensure that you’re sending the right message to the right subscriber at the right time. When segmenting data, random segments, as well as filt…
See more on trailhead.salesforce.com

Attribute Groups and Data Extensions

  • When you create an attribute group, you give it a name, and you have the ability to link data in Data Designer. Each attribute group includes a data model consisting of data extensions linked to either the contact record or to other data extensions. You can create attribute groups including all relevant data extensions at the same time to ensure that all the necessary data resides in the co…
See more on trailhead.salesforce.com

Best Practices

  1. Create data extensions only if you need them and just bring in the data that you need. Views can get messy when you create a lot of data extensions that you don't need.
  2. Ensure the data types that you choose match the data you are bringing in. If you have a date field and store it as a text field, that can cause issues with segmentation.
  3. Make sure that a sendable data extension only has one email address field.
  1. Create data extensions only if you need them and just bring in the data that you need. Views can get messy when you create a lot of data extensions that you don't need.
  2. Ensure the data types that you choose match the data you are bringing in. If you have a date field and store it as a text field, that can cause issues with segmentation.
  3. Make sure that a sendable data extension only has one email address field.
  4. Filtered data extensions are typically sendable data extensions that have been filtered based off of some sort of criteria.

1.Salesforce Marketing Cloud Data Extensions: Easy Guide

Url:https://hevodata.com/learn/salesforce-marketing-cloud-data-extensions/

28 hours ago  · A data extension is a table that contains your data. With Marketing Cloud Connect, push tracking data from the Marketing Cloud back to your Sales or Service Cloud orgs using Salesforce data extensions (SFDEs).

2.Learn About Data Extensions Unit | Salesforce Trailhead

Url:https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/content/learn/modules/marketing-cloud-contact-management/learn-about-data-extensions

36 hours ago A data extension is a table that contains your data. With Marketing Cloud Connect, push tracking data from the Marketing Cloud back to your Sales or Service Cloud orgs using Salesforce data extensions (SFDEs). SFDEs can use the same Marketing Cloud segmentation and filtering tools as standard data extensions.

3.Salesforce Data Extensions in Marketing Cloud Connect

Url:https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_co_salesforce_data_extensions.htm&language=en_US&type=5

15 hours ago A data extension is a table that contains your data. With Marketing Cloud Connect, push tracking data from the Marketing Cloud back to your Sales or Service Cloud orgs using Salesforce data extensions (SFDEs). Push any tracking data for emails sent to SFDE audiences using Marketing Cloud Salesforce Sends to the Salesforce Contact or Lead record in the connected org. SFDEs …

4.How to Create a Data Extension in Marketing Cloud (2 …

Url:https://www.salesforceben.com/the-drip/how-to-create-a-data-extension-in-marketing-cloud/

10 hours ago  · Creating Data Extensions in Marketing Cloud is one of the most important aspects to learn. Data Extensions can be a tricky topic to learn, and the fact that there are more than one way you can create a Data Extension and add contacts to it can cause confusion. In this guide, I share two ways you can set up a Data Extension, through Email Studio, or by using Contact …

5.Marketing Cloud Lists vs. Data Extensions – Quick Overview

Url:https://www.salesforceben.com/the-drip/marketing-cloud-lists-vs-data-extensions-quick-overview/

16 hours ago 13 rows ·  · Marketing Cloud Data Extensions seemed wild and untamed in comparison! Marketing Cloud ...

6.Data Extensions - General 6 — Marketing Cloud Developer …

Url:https://www.marketingdeveloper.io/marketing-cloud-data-extension-functions

5 hours ago Data Extensions are crucial components in Salesforce Marketing Cloud as they are used to store data as tables in a database. Here you will find useful functional code …

7.Create a Data Extension in Marketing Cloud - Salesforce

Url:https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.mc_es_create_data_extension.htm&language=en_US&type=5

32 hours ago Create a Random Data Extension in Marketing Cloud. Data Extension Properties for Marketing Cloud. Clear Data from a Marketing Cloud Data Extension. Set Marketing Cloud Ent 2.0 Shared Data Extension Permissions. Import into a Marketing Cloud Data Extension. View Marketing Cloud Data Extension Records. Export a Marketing Cloud Data Extension.

8.Videos of What Is a Marketing Cloud Data Extension

Url:/videos/search?q=what+is+a+marketing+cloud+data+extension&qpvt=what+is+a+marketing+cloud+data+extension&FORM=VDRE

8 hours ago

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