Account Engagement (Pardot) Select Sync Behavior for the prospect Opted Out field

Did you see the new message on the Pardot Dashboard tab: Select Sync Behavior for the prospect Opted Out field?

Salesforce is changing the Opted Out field sync behavior.

You must choose either “Use Pardot’s Value” or “Use Salesforce’s Value.”

You have until July 11, 2023, to update it.

If you don’t take action, the Opted Out field will be UNMAPPED and stop syncing with Salesforce. Any new Pardot instance created after July 11, 2023 will automatically map the Opted Out field to “Use Pardot’s Value.”

Attend my office hours if you have any questions.

Read the official Salesforce documentation here.

You can also watch the recent Account Engagement (Pardot) User Group meeting on the topic.

What to pick?

That’s a good question. Let’s review what the settings mean. Most instances are currently set to “Use the most recently updated record.”

Salesforce is asking you to choose either “Use Pardot’s Value” or “Use Salesforce’s Value.”

Use Salesforce’s Value

Select Use Salesforce’s Value in the drop-down if you want Salesforce to be your source of truth for the Opted Out field. Beware! This means that if Pardot and Salesforce have differing values, Salesforce will override Pardot.

For instance, if a prospect unsubscribed to your emails, Pardot will mark that prospect as Opted Out, but then Salesforce will override it minutes later.

An example of a company that might select “Use Salesforce’s Value” uses multiple email systems. In this case, using a custom object in Salesforce as a source of truth for unsubscribed prospects makes sense.

Use Pardot’s Value

Most companies will select “Use Pardot’s Value” because they want Pardot to be the system of record for Opt Outs.

In this scenario, when a prospect unsubscribes, Pardot marks the prospect as Opted Out and updates Salesforce. If a salesperson tries to change the Email Opt Out field in Salesforce, Pardot will override it.

If your company chooses Use Pardot’s Value, Salesforce Administrators should change the Email Opt Out field to “View Only.” Otherwise, sales will get the impression that they can update the field, but it will only get overridden by Pardot on the sync. (Pardot’s “Opted Out” field maps to the “Email Opt Out” field in Salesforce.)

Do Not Email

One consequence of this system change (and choosing Use Pardot’s Value) is that Sales can no longer update the Opted Out field. If sales want to stop specific customers from getting marketing emails, I advise setting up the Do Not Email field. Unlike the Opted Out field, the Do Not Email field can be set to “Use the Most Recently Updated Record.”

Here’s a quick refresher on the difference between the Opted Out field and the Do Not Email field in Pardot:

Mapping Do Not Email

The Do Not Email field does not natively map to Salesforce, so you need to create a custom Salesforce field and sync the field in Pardot.

Follow these steps to map the Do Not Email field:

In Salesforce, create a checkbox field in Lead and Contact object and name it “Do Not Email.”
Map the Do Not Email field upon Conversion. In Salesforce go to Setup > Object Manager > Lead > Fields & Relationships. Select Map Lead Fields. Select the Contact tab
Find the Do Not Email field in the Lead Fields column and select Do Not Email field under the Contact Fields Column.
Go into the Padot Settings tab and choose “Object and Field Configuration > Prospect Fields.” Select “Add New” custom field.
Name the field and choose the new Do Not Email in “salesforce.com Field Name.” Select the Use the Most Recently Updated Record in the Sync Behavior. Also, add field value choices of “True” or “False.”

Resubscribe

Consider another scenario where a customer contacts sales and requests to opt back into marketing emails. Create a short resubscribe form (you only need the email address field), so your sales can share the link with any call-ins wishing for marketing communications from you again. (Idea from Yvette Montague)

Steps:

(1) Go to the Pardot Email tab to create an email template for resubscribing. You’ll find a Resubscribe layout that includes the link.

(2) Once the email is published, the resubscribe function needs to be enabled from the Pardot Settings > Account tab. You’ll need to add your published template to the account area. I usually rename the link to say “CLICK HERE” instead of “let us know”

(3) Create a form with just email address. Send the prospect the link to the form. There is a linked message that appears on the form. IMPORTANT: The prospect needs to click the “Let us know” link on the form (not the submit button) to resubscribe.