My Top 5 Favorite Eloqua Features To Maximize Marketing Automation with Custom Data Objects

Eloqua by Oracle is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that provides a wide range of features designed to enhance the way you engage with customers, nurture leads, and ultimately drive business growth. With so many tools available, it can be challenging to pinpoint which ones will make the biggest impact on your strategy. To help you get the most out of Eloqua, I’ve identified five of my favorite features that can take your marketing automation to the next level through the use of custom data objects: SFDC Integration App, Segmentation, CDO Update Rules, CDO Program Canvas, and CDO Reporting. By understanding and utilizing these features, you can enhance your marketing strategies and achieve better results.

1. SFDC Integration App

The Salesforce.com (SFDC) Integration App in Eloqua is a vital tool for aligning your marketing and sales efforts. It allows you to seamlessly synchronize data between Eloqua and Salesforce, including Custom Data Objects (CDOs), ensuring that both platforms are always up-to-date with the latest data, enabling more efficient marketing and sales collaboration.

Key Features:

• Two-Way Data Sync: Automatically synchronize data from Salesforce into Eloqua CDOs and vice versa, ensuring that both systems reflect the most current information.
• Field Mapping: Easily map specific fields between Salesforce and Eloqua CDOs, ensuring that data is transferred correctly and efficiently.
• Automated Data Flow: Set up automated workflows that move data between Salesforce and Eloqua based on specific triggers or conditions.

Benefits:

• Improved Sales and Marketing Alignment: By syncing CDOs with Salesforce, you can ensure that both your marketing and sales teams have access to the same, up-to-date data, improving coordination and decision-making.
• Enhanced Data Utilization: Real-time syncing means your marketing team can access the most current information from the CRM, beyond the standard lead and contact data, improving the timeliness and relevance of marketing outreach based on a wider set of data points stored in custom objects.
• Increased Efficiency: Automating data syncs reduces manual data entry and minimizes the risk of errors, saving time and resources.

Best Practices:

• Regularly Audit Field Mappings: Ensure that data is flowing correctly and that there are no discrepancies between Eloqua and Salesforce in terms of Objects, fields, picklists, or other expected values in order  to ensure that the right data is being transferred
• Monitor Data Syncs Regularly: Regularly review and monitor data syncs to ensure that they are functioning correctly and that no data is being lost or misaligned.

Note: If you don’t use SFDC as your CRM, there is a similar app for Oracle CX Sales that also allows integration to CDOs though without quite as many features. Microsoft Dynamics is also a supported CRM with a different pre-built integration that can also utilize CDOs. Any other CRM will need to be integrated through other methods but should also be supported by Eloqua’s CDOs. 

2. Segmentation for Contacts with linked Custom Data Objects (CDOs) 

Eloqua’s Segmentation tool is essential for targeting the right audience with the right message. By building highly targeted audience segments based on the data stored within Custom Data Objects you can create personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with more specific customer groups.

Key Features:

• Advanced Filtering Options: Use a wide range of filters and criteria to build precise audience segments based on CDO data, such as purchase history, event participation, or customer preferences.
• Dynamic Segments: Automatically update segments based on real-time data, ensuring that your campaigns always target the most relevant audience.
• Campaign Usage: Easily connect your segments to email campaigns, landing pages, and other marketing assets to deliver personalized experiences.

Benefits:

• Increased Relevance: By targeting specific segments with personalized content, you can increase the relevance of your campaigns, leading to higher engagement rates.
• Better Conversion Rates: Tailored messaging to specific segments is more likely to convert, improving the overall effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: Focus your marketing resources on the segments most likely to respond to your campaigns, maximizing ROI.

Best Practices:

• Regularly Update Segments: Ensure that your CDO segments are updated regularly to reflect the most current data and insights.
• Test Different Segments: Experiment with different segmentation criteria to find the most effective ways to engage your audience.

3. Update Rules for Custom Data Objects (CDOs) 

CDO Update Rules in Eloqua enable you to automatically manage and update data within your Custom Data Objects. Update rules can be used to standardize data, clean up inconsistencies, or enrich records with new information, ensuring that your campaigns are always based on the most up-to-date information.

Key Features:

• Automated Data Management: Set up rules that automatically update, append, or standardize data within your CDOs based on predefined criteria.
• Real-Time Updates: Apply updates to your CDOs in real-time as new data is added, ensuring that your records are always current.
• Customizable Conditions: Define specific conditions and triggers for when and how data should be updated within your CDOs, giving you full control over your data management processes.

Benefits:

• Cleaner Data: By automating data management within your CDOs, you can maintain a clean and standardized database, reducing the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
• Improved Segmentation: Accurate data within your CDOs enables more precise segmentation, ensuring that your campaigns reach the right audience.
• Time Savings: Automating repetitive data management tasks allows your team to focus on more strategic activities, improving overall productivity.

Best Practices:

• Regularly Review Update Rules: Ensure that your CDO update rules are still relevant and aligned with your current data management needs.
• Test Before Applying: Before applying CDO update rules broadly, test them on a small data set to ensure they work as expected.

4. Custom Data Object (CDO) Program Canvas

The CDO Program Canvas in Eloqua is a powerful tool that allows you to build complex, multi-step workflows using Custom Data Objects (CDOs). CDOs are flexible data structures that can store any type of data, such as event registrations, product purchases, or customer preferences, and the Program Canvas enables you to automate how this data is processed and acted upon.

Key Features:

• Visual Workflow Builder: Easily create and diagram complex workflows on an object-by-object basis for a, using a drag-and-drop interface.
• Conditional Logic: Implement conditional paths based on the data within your CDOs, allowing for highly personalized and dynamic customer journeys.
• Integration within Eloqua: Seamlessly integrate CDO workflows with other Eloqua tools, such as email campaigns or lead scoring, to enhance the customer experience.

Benefits:

• Personalized Customer Journeys: By using CDOs, you can create highly customized workflows that respond to specific customer actions or attributes, improving engagement and satisfaction.
• Increased Efficiency: Automating complex workflows reduces the need for manual intervention, allowing your team to focus on strategy and analysis.
• Enhanced Data Utilization: The ability to leverage CDOs within workflows ensures that you are making the most of all available data, driving more effective marketing efforts.

Best Practices:

• Map Out Your Workflow: Before building your program, clearly define the steps and conditions to ensure a smooth and effective process.
• Monitor Performance: Regularly review the performance of your CDO Program Canvas workflows and make adjustments as needed to optimize results.

Note: Natively, segments can only create audience lists of Eloqua contacts based on linked CDO data, so if you’re needing to create audiences directly from the custom object data itself of CDO records for use in the Program Canvas we have an app for that! Our premium Eloqua CDO Segment Builder app allows users to query Eloqua Custom Data Object (CDO) records in real-time, using simple or complex matching logic, and add them to a CDO Program Canvas. 

5. CDO Reporting

CDO Reporting in Eloqua provides detailed insights into the data stored within your Custom Data Objects. This feature is essential for seeing and understanding the exact values captured in the CDO fields that may be relevant to event registrations, or any other custom data you collect, allowing you to make data-driven decisions that enhance your marketing efforts.

Key Features:

• Pre-Built Reports: Review a series of pre-built reports that serve to identify the most populated fields and their values to create insights within your CDO data. 
• Real-Time Data Access: Access up-to-date data, directly from the Custom Object itself to ensure that your segmentation references the data points. 
• Integration with Other Reports: Through Insight, you can combine CDO data with some of the other Eloqua data to get a comprehensive view of your marketing prospects.

Benefits:

• Deeper Insights: CDO Reporting allows you to dive deep into specific data sets, uncovering trends and insights that can inform your marketing strategy.
• Improved Decision Making: With access to detailed reports on a field-by-field basis, you can make data-driven decisions that lead to better outcomes for your campaigns.
• Enhanced Customization: The ability to report on custom data ensures that your analytics are fully aligned with your unique business goals and objectives.

Best Practices:

• Regularly Review Reports: Make it a habit to regularly review CDO reports to stay informed about expected data sets and overall volume.
• Share Insights Across Teams: Use CDO reports to provide valuable insights to other teams within your organization, such as sales or product development, to enhance overall business performance. 

Custom Data Objects (CDOs) themselves are my favorite feature in Eloqua, now you can see how they are a powerful asset for marketers looking to enhance their data management, segmentation, and reporting capabilities inside the tool. By leveraging the SFDC Integration App, Segmentation, Update Rules, CDO Program Canvas, and CDO Reporting, you can create more personalized, efficient, and effective marketing campaigns that drive meaningful results.

These tools not only improve the way you manage and utilize data but also allow for greater automation and optimization within your marketing efforts. As you continue to explore and utilize these CDO features, remember to regularly review and optimize your strategies to ensure you are getting the most out of Eloqua’s capabilities. With the right approach, CDOs can be a powerful driver of success in your marketing endeavors. Looking to elevate your CDO strategy, but unsure where to start? We’re here to help, reach out!