Integrating AskNicely and Marketing Cloud makes sending NPS surveys as part of a customer journey simple. We have a 2-way integration with Marketing Cloud (MC) - this article sets up the Marketing Cloud -> AskNicely side.
We integrate with Marketing Cloud Journey Builder by way of a custom activity to trigger a survey along a customer journey. When a survey is triggered by the custom activity, we can query MC using their API for any custom fields the tenant would like to import from their MC Data Extensions. These fields are selectable on the integrations edit page.
Video Guides for Configuring Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Once Marketing Cloud is configured and ready to go, it is very much a "set-it-and-forget-it"-type of integration. 95% of the "work" is configuring the Marketing Cloud <> AskNicely connection. These two videos do a nice job of summarizing what a "typical" Marketing Cloud <> AskNicely integration might look like.
Marketing Cloud Integration, start to finish: Part One
Marketing Cloud Integration, start to finish: Part Two
Given that there is a bit of complexity in setting up this integration, we recommend
following along with these videos and pausing as needed if attempting to connect
Marketing Cloud yourself. In our experience, these two videos provide the best
guidance for those attempting to set this integration.
These same videos are posted in the "Part 2" Marketing Cloud setup article as well to ensure all of our customers see them first.
Connecting AskNicely to Marketing Cloud Journey Builder
The first step when integrating AskNicely and Marketing Cloud is to connect your accounts together. Don't worry: when you connect your accounts, surveys will not be sent immediately - you'll have a chance to make sure everything is ready to go before sending your surveys.
- Make sure you're logged in to both your AskNicely and Marketing Cloud accounts
- In Marketing Cloud, under your name in the top right, select Setup.
3. On the Setup Menu on the left, select Installed Packages.
4. Choose 'New', and then give it a name - ‘AskNicely NPS’ should do nicely.
5. Head on over to Components, and choose 'Add Component'
6. Choose 'Journey Builder Activity from the checklist.
7. Give the new Journey Builder Activity a name, e.g., ‘Send AskNicely NPS Survey’, set the category to ‘Messages’, and use the following format for the endpoint URL: https://<yoursubdomain>.asknice.ly/marketingcloud/
8. When you create or edit a journey using Journey Builder, you should now see the AskNicely Send Survey activity under 'Messages':
9. Drag it into your journey, and then click on it.
10. You will need to add your AskNicely API key here. To find this in AskNicely, click Settings > Account > scroll to the bottom of the page and select 'Show Key' as shown below.
11. Note: If you wish to test the integration before enabling it for all of your customers, please note that the “test” feature in Journey builder skips over the Send Survey function.
The best way to test the SFMC->AskNicely connection is ensure that just you and a couple of test users are the only ones in the data extension; then, when you turn the Journey on, you and your test users should be created on your Contacts page in AskNicely and sent a survey as expected.
If your test succeeds, you are safe to turn the Journey back off, readjust your data extension so that it goes to all of your customers, then turn it back on again.
When testing multiple times, be sure to use unique email addresses each time. Your Global Contact Rule may prevent a successful survey send to the same address.
12. Last Step: Go into AskNicely and click App Store > Installed Apps > Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Click the "Configure" tab in the center of the page, and you should see a message in green that says "Marketing Cloud is configured correctly." Below that is an Edit button: click that button.
You should then see a list of checkboxes - every checkbox that you click brings in a field from the data extension you built in Marketing Cloud. Click the boxes that help tell the story of who your Contacts are, what they purchased, and what level of interaction they've had with your company: things like, "Product Type, Account Manager, CRM id, country, store location, Salesperson name, site name..." The sky is the limit here! We just suggest you limit it to 20 fields or so for the cleanest-looking experience in AskNicely.
And now you, my friend, have conquered Marketing Cloud. Give yourself a pat on the back. We made it!