For a B2B marketing automation platform like Marketo, there is no more important connection than to the CRM (Customer Relationship Management). The CRM is essentially the final destination of all marketing activities, especially for passing a marketing-qualified lead (“MQL”) over to sales.
Marketo offers a native integration with two CRM systems, namely Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. There are differences between the two, but we’ll focus here on their commonalities. First, let’s clarify two terms: What do we mean by “integration” and “native”?
What does “integration” mean?
Integration is the process by which two systems exchange data. It can be unidirectional, with one system acting as the source and the other as the target (or “destination”), or bidirectional. The use case in the target system dictates the setup.
This process can be broken down into three steps:
- Connection: The two systems must exchange their endpoints and be authorized to write into each other’s systems.
- Mapping: Data models, field names, field types, and allowed values need to be made known to both systems.
- Orchestration: What happens when? Which data needs to be exchanged in real time, and which can wait for daily or weekly updates? These conditions must be established in the source system.
What does “native” mean?
Marketo can exchange data with any other system using its REST API and webhooks. However, only the integrations with Salesforce and Dynamics are considered “native.” Native here means that Marketo already includes the “middleware” between both systems, where connection, mapping, and orchestration are organized. Compared to any other “custom” integration, this integration is relatively simple.
What exactly does this integration do?
Primarily, it keeps CRM leads and contacts synchronized with Marketo persons. This means that updates in either system are written into the other system. If Marketo changes a person’s first name, this change is synced to the CRM. And if a sales representative changes a contact’s job title, Marketo also receives this update. Persons are bidirectionally synchronized objects.
Additionally, there are some unidirectional objects that the CRM transfers to Marketo: accounts, campaigns, opportunities, and others. These objects are used by Marketo for segmentation, but Marketo cannot write to them.
Marketo also captures a lot of activity data for a person (email opens, email clicks, website visits, etc.), which it can transfer to the CRM via a tool called “Marketo Sales Insights,” helping sales representatives better understand each person.
Once set up, this integration runs in the background. It is reliable and stable, and our recommendation is unequivocal: if you use Marketo and either Salesforce or Dynamics, use this native integration. Of course, we are also here to advise you on areas where this integration reaches its limits (e.g., when using a second CRM).
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