Segment Smart Lists in Marketo: Workarounds for Performance Limitations

When working with Segment Smart Lists, you may have noticed that they come with certain limitations compared to general Smart Lists. Understanding these restrictions and implementing effective workarounds wherever required can help you maintain system performance while still achieving your segmentation requirements.

Why Are Segment Smart Lists More Limited?

Segment Smart Lists function differently from general Smart Lists. They are essentially flat, meaning they only consider person fields and roll up data instantly into another, invisible person field. Unlike traditional Smart Lists, which can evaluate a broader range of criteria, Segment Smart Lists must maintain real-time efficiency across your entire database.

Because of this real-time processing, Marketo limits the possible dimensions you can use. Key constraints include:

• No custom object relationships: You cannot filter using relationships from custom objects (COs).

• No Smart List membership filtering: Segment Smart Lists do not support referencing other Smart Lists.

• No time range constraints: You cannot filter records based on activity within a specified timeframe.

These limitations are necessary to ensure that the system operates efficiently, as Segment Smart Lists function like a continuous trigger campaign that evaluates every record in your database in real time.

A Workaround: Rolling Up CO Data/Activity into Flat Fields

Given these constraints, how can you still leverage key data points from custom objects and time-based activities?

One practical workaround is to roll up custom object (CO) activity into a flat field once per day or often if required by your use case and use the flat field in your segmentation smart list.

While this method is effective, avoid overusing it unless necessary for your specific use case. Rolling up too much CO activity or storing excessive amounts of data in person fields via campaigns can negatively impact segmentation and overall instance performance. Implement this strategy only when required to balance functionality and system efficiency.

Happy Marketo’ing! 💜