Building Custom Integrations with Pardot: Options and Best Practices

 

This session, presented by Lauren Drugan and Mike Cruiser, outlines the various paths for integrating external tools with Pardot, focusing on the decision-making process, available technologies, and critical best practices for the Pardot API and the upcoming Single Sign-On (SSO) requirement.

Key Takeaways

 

• Pardot Integrates (Yes, And): Pardot can integrate with nearly any tool, but the right method (pre-built, third-party, or API) depends entirely on the specific use case and available resources.

• Avoid the Dishwasher Integration: Focus on tools related to marketing or sales; avoid building integrations for tools that have no email address or place in the sales/marketing lifecycle.

• API Is Complex: Direct API integration requires custom code, significant time, and deep technical knowledge, making it the “less traveled path.”

• SSO Deadline is Critical: All Pardot logins, including API integrations, must switch to Single Sign-On (SSO) by February 15th, 2022, or they will stop working.

Barriers to Custom Integration

 

Before starting any custom integration project, conduct a deep discovery to identify these red flags:

• Unclear Requirements: If the team cannot articulate exactly what information is needed and what the desired automation should be.

• Existing Salesforce Integration: If a third-party tool already integrates well with Salesforce (e.g., LeanData, RingLead), build the automation off the Salesforce data rather than a duplicate, costly integration directly to Pardot.

• High Cost/Scope: The project is too big, costly, or will take too long.

• Lack of Resources: There is no dedicated technical staff to support the build, maintenance, and auditing of the integration.

• Tool Replacement Risk: The team plans to replace the external tool soon.

The Three Integration Options

 

Integrations can be conceptualized by the level of complexity and effort required:

1. Prebuilt Connectors (Rooms to Go)

 

• Description: Connectors developed and maintained by Pardot to pass data for a selection of applications (e.g., GoToWebinar, Salesforce).

• Effort: Minimal setup; delivered pre-assembled and ready to use.

2. Third-Party Integrations (IKEA)

 

These options require some configuration but avoid custom coding.

• SaaS Tools with Plugins: Tools like Qualified or Drift that provide their own plug-and-play Pardot integration.

• Pardot Wizardry: Using a Form Handler to capture information from an external form (e.g., WordPress forms).

• Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS): Using platforms like Zapier or Workato to connect services.

• Zapier Best Practice: When connecting LinkedIn Lead Gen forms via Zapier, use a Pardot Form Handler over the Zapier Pardot API integration. This ensures the activity presents to the sales rep as a “Form Fill” rather than a generic API update.

3. Pardot API (Lowe’s – DIY)

 

• Description: Using code to connect Pardot to internal or external tools (e.g., ERPs, data warehouses, internal SaaS platforms).

• Use Cases:

  • Solving Sync Errors: Automatically detect and transform incorrect data (e.g., correcting country spelling discrepancies from trade shows) to ensure records sync reliably to Salesforce. This is the biggest use case for the Pardot API.

  • FTP/Data Lakes: Automatically pushing large amounts of data into Pardot.

  • Custom Automation: Triggering Pardot to send emails or update engagement paths based on complex external rules.

  • Ad-Hoc Reporting: Automatically extracting specific datasets for analysis in external tools like Tableau.

API Requirements and Best Practices

 

Direct API integration is complex and requires careful planning and security adherence.

API Complexity

 

• Version: The required API version depends on your license (Version 3 or 4).

• Tiers: The lowest Pardot tier may not support API access.

• Environments: API credentials and servers are different for sandboxes/demo orgs versus production orgs.

API Best Practices

 

• Dedicated User: Give every Pardot integration its own unique user login. This is critical for auditing, as the audit logs will clearly identify which tool made which change. It also allows business users to quickly disable an integration by changing that single user’s password if a programmer can’t be reached.

• Identity Licenses: Salesforce provides a bundle of Identity Licenses (often 100) primarily for marketing-only users to log into Salesforce, but these can also be used for integrations.

Critical: The Single Sign-On (SSO) Deadline

 

• The Change: All Pardot logins, including API integration logins, are required to move to SSO-only logins by February 15th, 2022.

• Impact: Any integration using old username/password credentials will stop working after this date.

• Action: Audit your API usage logs (found under Pardot Settings > Usage Limits) to identify all tools logging in and confirm they are being updated to support SSO credentials.

Q&A Highlights

 

• LinkedIn Integration: It is generally recommended to integrate LinkedIn lead forms through Pardot (via a Form Handler) rather than directly to Salesforce. This allows marketers to bolt on immediate completion actions (like dropping the lead into nurturing) and ensures marketing is aware of the prospect, while still using an automation rule to send the lead to sales immediately for prompt follow-up.

• API Usage Audit: API usage for the last seven days can be viewed in Pardot Settings under the “Usage Limits” tab, showing which email addresses are logging in via API.

• Identity Licenses: These licenses allow users to log into Salesforce without needing a full-price license; they can be used for integration users.