Marketo Top Tip: Setting up Custom CRM Sync Filter the Right Way

The custom CRM sync filter is a powerful tool that enables you to filter which records get synced from CRM to Marketo. This can help ensure that only relevant data is being synced, reducing clutter and improving the efficiency of your marketing and sales processes.

To give some background, to set up a custom sync filter, you need to create a custom sync field on the lead and contact objects in your CRM. This field is typically a custom Boolean field, with a value of "Yes" indicating that the record should be synced and a value of "No" indicating that it should not be synced. However, some CRMs, such as MS Dynamics, have boolean fields that contain three values: NULL, Yes, and No.

In MS Dynamics, the only way to tell Marketo to skip a record is to set the field value explicitly to "No." If the field value is empty, Marketo will still sync the record.

To avoid this issue, it's essential to set the default value of the custom sync filter to "No" during record creation itself. Then, you can use an asynchronous workflow to update the field value to "Yes" when required, allowing the record to sync to Marketo.

It's also crucial to set the default value of the custom sync filter to "No," rather than "Yes" and then have an asynchronous workflow update the correct value. If the default value is set to “Yes”, all the new records will be created in Marketo and then become stale when the sync filter gets updated to “No.” To avoid this, always use “No” as the default value.

Additionally, while users can set the custom MS Dynamics sync filter on their own, in the case of SFDC, they need to request assistance from Marketo’s support team to complete the setup once they create the custom sync filter field on the Lead and Contact objects.

A properly configured custom CRM sync filter can help you avoid inconsistencies and prevent irrelevant or stale data from being transferred, leading to better data conformity.