3-Minute Guide: Contact Builder in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

One of the reasons Marketing Cloud Engagement is so powerful is its ability to ingest data from a variety of sources that can then be modelled in the best way for your business use case. The fact it uses relational data modelling via Data Extensions makes Marketing Cloud very flexible. It’s possible to store and manipulate data however you need.

Yet, with data coming into the system from various sources and having access to a combination of lists in Email Studio, and Data Extensions for the likes of Journey Builder and other studios, marketers need a place to design and have an overview of all contacts.

Enter, Contact Builder.

Contact Builder is a Marketing Cloud module that helps customers organise, manage, and unify data by connecting data sources for a single profile of a contact.

It’s impossible to create a customer journey using Journey Builder without first delving into Contact Builder, so if you’ve been avoiding it for fear of being overwhelmed, now’s the time to swot up and get familiar.

Within Contact Builder, it’s possible to:

• See data sources: understand where your data is coming from based on two types of external sources: ‘Synchronised’, meaning data coming from other Salesforce products such as Sales Cloud or Service Cloud, and ‘Custom’, meaning any other external platform such as your website, landing page builder, etc.

• Design your data: define the relationships between different data sources, such as email lists, CRM data, and mobile subscribers, to create a comprehensive customer view.

• Create and edit Data Extensions: marketers can store data in tables known as Data Extensions, which can be customised based on the type of information collected (e.g. demographics, purchase history, or behavioural data).

• Manage your contacts: It helps maintain consistent contact records by unifying data from various systems, ensuring no duplicate or outdated information.

• Set up audience segmentation: Contact Builder makes it easier to segment audiences based on customer behaviours, preferences, and demographics, allowing for highly personalised marketing campaigns.

In short, these features enable you to see ‘All Contacts’ at a glance, as well as manage data sources, imports, and data relationships.

Unless you’re a data scientist, there will likely be technical terms inside Contact Builder that you’ve never heard of. To make the learning process easier, here are the basics:

That last one is crucial when designing your data relationships, so let’s breakdown the different types of data cardinality:

So, now you understand the lingo and what the purpose of Contact Builder is, it’s time to dive into creating your first Data Extensions and relationships.

To help, let’s walk through the steps using two different scenarios as examples.

Scenario A: Financial service business working with high-net-worth individuals

• Step 1: Create a Data Extension for client information

  • Go to Data Extensions under Contact Builder

  • Click ‘Create’ to build a new Data Extension

  • Name the Data Extension ‘High Net Worth Clients

  • Set the Data Retention Policy to ensure data is stored securely for compliance purposes.

  • Define the fields and data type, such as:

    • Client ID (Primary Key): This is the unique identifier for each client.

    • First Name

    • Last Name

    • Email

    • Phone Number

    • Net Worth

    • Service Start Date

    • Service Plan Type (Long-term wealth planning, estate management, etc.)

• Step 2: Create a related Data Extension for service details

  • Create another data extension named ‘Service Engagements’

  • Define fields and data types that will track specific services:

    • Engagement ID (Primary Key)

    • Client ID (Foreign Key to link to “High Net Worth Clients”)

    • Service Type

    • Start Date

    • End Date

    • Advisor Assigned

• Step 3: Set the relationship between Data Extensions

  • In Contact Builder, navigate to Data Designer

  • Under Attribute Groups, create a new attribute group called ‘Financial Services’

  • Click on ‘Link Data Extensions and select the Data Extensions you’ve created - both ‘High Net Worth Clients’ and ‘Service Engagements’.

• Set up a One-to-Many relationship between Client ID in ‘High Net Worth Clients’ and Client ID in ‘Service Engagements’. This relationship indicates that one client can have multiple service engagements over time.

• Step 4: Create a Data Extension for advisor communications

  • Create another Data Extension named ‘Advisor Communications’ to track key touchpoints with clients.

  • Define fields and data types, such as:

    • Communication ID (Primary Key)

    • Client ID (Foreign Key to “High Net Worth Clients”)

    • Advisor Name

    • Contact Date

    • Contact Type (Phone, Email, In-person)

    • Follow-up Action

  • Set a One-to-Many relationship between Client ID in ‘High Net Worth Clients’ and Client ID in ‘Advisor Communications’

Scenario B: eCommerce jewellery business with frequent and repeat customers

• Step 1: Create a Data Extension for customer information

  • Go to Data Extensions under Contact Builder

  • Click Create to build a new Data Extension

  • Name the Data Extension ‘Jewellery Customers’

  • Define the fields and data types, such as:

    • Customer ID (Primary Key)

    • First Name

    • Last Name

    • Email

    • Gender

    • Birthday

    • Preferred Jewellery Type (Necklace, Earrings, Rings, etc.)

    • Last Purchase Date

• Step 2: Create a related Data Extension for purchase history

  • Create another Data Extension named ‘Purchase History’

  • Define fields and data types to track individual purchases:

    • Order ID (Primary Key)

    • Customer ID (Foreign Key to ‘Jewellery Customers’)

    • Product Purchased

    • Purchase Date

    • Price

    • Order Status (Shipped, Delivered, etc.)

• Step 3: Set the relationship between Data Extensions

  • In Contact Builder, go to Data Designer

  • Create a new attribute group called ‘eCommerce Jewellery’

  • Click on ‘Link Data Extensions’ and select both the ‘Jewellery Customers’ and ‘Purchase History’ Data Extensions.

  • Set up a One-to-Many relationship between Customer ID in ‘Jewellery Customers’ and Customer ID in ‘Purchase History’. This relationship indicates that one customer can make multiple purchases.

• Step 4: Create a Data Extension for marketing preferences

  • Create another Data Extension named ‘Marketing Preferences’ to track the customer’s opt-ins for promotional emails.

  • Define fields and data types, such as:

    • Preference ID (Primary Key)

    • Customer ID (Foreign Key to ‘Jewellery Customers’)

    • Email Opt-In (Yes/No)

    • SMS Opt-In (Yes/No)

    • Preferred Promotion Type (Discounts, New Products, Exclusive Offers)

• Set a One-to-One relationship between Customer ID in ‘Jewellery Customers’ and Customer ID in ‘Marketing Preferences’ because each customer has one set of preferences.

Remember to verify your data model

In both of the above scenarios, the customer would need to finish up by:

• Reviewing the Data Designer tab to ensure the relationships are correctly set.

• Validating that Client ID (Scenario A) and Customer ID (Scenario B) are appropriately linking the related Data Extensions.

With all of the above steps complete, either business would be in a position to start importing data to their Data Extensions and using these for marketing campaigns.

Hopefully, the examples have helped you understand how to get started with your data modelling but if you’re stuck and would like to speak with a certified Marketing Cloud specialist, we’re all ears! 

MarCloud has plenty of experience in the platform and with data scientists on our team, we can get you up and running quickly. Send us a message today.