Building Efficient Marketing Operations with Pardot Automation Rules

 

This session, led by Thimuth Amarakoon of WSO2, provides a deep dive into Pardot Automation Rules, explaining when to use them over other automation methods, how they work, and presenting complex use cases for scoring, segmentation, spam filtering, and data cleanup.

Key Takeaways

 

• Rule Engine: Automation Rules are used for custom, rule-based automations and are the best choice for prospect operations that are not one-time events and do not require an automatically updating list (use Dynamic Lists for that).

• One-Time Match (By Default): By default, an automation rule will only match and apply actions to a prospect once.

• Repeat Rules: To match a prospect multiple times (e.g., for gradual score decay), you must enable the Repeat Rules option and define a time interval.

• Real-Time Cautions: The “Execute in Real Time” option is useful but can slow down form submission processes if too many rules are running.

When to Use Automation Rules

 

The choice of automation method in Pardot depends on the trigger:

• For automations based on Marketing Asset Interaction (Form fill, link click, email open), Completion Actions are simple and immediate.

• For automations that create an Automatically Updating List, use Dynamic Lists.

• For Persistent Rule-Based Action / Prospect Operations (required if a prospect needs to be matched more than once or for complex bulk actions), use Automation Rules.

Creating and Running Automation Rules

 

• Logic: Use Match Any for OR conditions or Match All for AND conditions. To simplify complex OR conditions on a single field (e.g., matching three different country names), use a semicolon (;) to separate the values within one rule field.

• Rule Execution: When a rule is resumed, it immediately runs through all existing prospects in the Pardot instance once. Afterward, it listens continuously for new leads and updates to existing leads.

• Repeat Rules: To apply actions multiple times, enable the Repeat Rule option and define the time interval and an optional maximum match limit. This is used for scenarios like sending multiple alerts or gradually reducing a score.

Advanced Automation Rule Use Cases

 

Automation rules are powerful for managing data, score models, and member statuses in bulk.

1. Custom Scoring and Score Decay

 

• Secondary Score: Create a custom numeric field to store a secondary score. Use the action Increment Prospect Field Value based on rule matches.

• Score Decay (Repeat Rule): To gradually reduce a prospect’s score based on inactivity, use a Repeat Rule. The rule checks if the Prospect time :: Last activity days ago is greater than 30, and if so, reduces the score by a defined amount (e.g., -10).

2. Spam Filtering and Real-Time Execution

 

Automation rules can filter out junk leads before they pollute the CRM.

• Detection: Match known spam keywords in text fields or common temporary email domains (e.g., using the semicolon trick to list domains like @mailinator.com).

• Actions: Use the action Do not sync with CRM and optionally Change prospect default field :: Do not email :: to Do not email.

• Real-Time Use: Enable Execute in Real Time so that when a form is submitted, the rule runs instantly and marks the lead as “Do Not Sync” before any form completion email or follow-up is sent, preventing wasted sends.

3. Data Cleanup (Clearing Mistakes)

 

Automation rules can fix widespread data errors without causing system downtime.

• Example (Clearing “Null” String): If an import mistakenly wrote the string “Null” into a field, you must cut off the sync before clearing the value (otherwise Salesforce will sync the “Null” back).

  1. Action 1: Use an automation rule to match the problematic prospects and set them to Do not sync with CRM.

  2. Action 2: Clear the field value in Pardot.

  3. External Action: Bulk update the same prospects in Salesforce using a tool like Data Loader to clear the field there.

  4. Re-enable Sync: Use a final automation rule with the action Allow deleted CRM lead or contact to recreate from Pardot (or a similar action for existing prospects) to re-enable the sync with clean data.

Best Practices and Cautions

 

• Always Preview: Before resuming any automation rule, always run the Preview to ensure you are targeting the correct set of prospects.

• Monitor System Performance: Set up an Inactive Automation Alert in settings and regularly post or delete old, unused rules, as too many running rules can negatively affect system performance.

• Quotas: Be aware of your automation rule quota (often 100 or 150 per account) and choose the correct automation method.

• Data Change is Permanent: Automation rules change data, and it is hard to revert. Always test rules on a sample dataset (like team members’ emails) first.

• Real-Time Caution: Limit the number of rules running in real time, as they can slow down form submission processing times.