Are you an Account Engagement (Pardot) user who feels like you need a translator just to understand the platform's terminology? Don't worry, you're not alone! Account Engagement (Pardot) is a powerful marketing automation tool with a lot of bells and whistles, but sometimes its jargon can leave even the most experienced marketers scratching their heads. In this article, we're going to unravel the complex web of Account Engagement (Pardot) jargon, so you can feel confident navigating the platform like a pro.
What is a "Prospect"?
Starting off strong, we have one of the most often used and misunderstood words in the Account Engagement (Pardot) lexicon. Simply put, a prospect is a record of a person in Account Engagement (Pardot).
It’s someone you want to do business with, and the term itself covers a lot of ground. Cold Leads, Warm Leads, and Customers all fall under the prospect umbrella. Just make sure you’re aware of the differences between those subcategories.
What Do You Mean By "Conversion"?
We mean that your marketing is working! Conversion is when either a) a visitor becomes a prospect or b) when a prospect is assigned (the system marks them as MQL). This is the goal!
This means you’re managing to push your prospects through the sales funnel. When conversions start occurring in greater numbers during specific campaigns, it means you need to look at your data, see what went right, and use your findings to color your future strategies.
Speaking of "Campaigns"...
Simply put, a campaign is a multi-channel effort by your marketing team to nurture prospects. They can range from little, individual efforts to long campaigns that actually merge several campaigns together to form one large marketing push.
Be sure that you are making a distinction between Campaigns and Salesforce Campaigns, as the latter refers specifically to the Salesforce record of a campaign, and the former is a larger, umbrella term, which can throw you off.
Why Have I Been Hearing “Marketing Cloud Account Engagement” Everywhere?
It’s an awful lot of words, right? Recently, it was decided by Salesforce that the name “Pardot” needed an update, and “Marketing Cloud Account Engagement” was what they landed on! “Pardot” is still a term that will be used in terms of specific features, but officially, MCAE is the new overall name… You’ll find that most people still just say “Pardot”, though.
Is That Different From “Marketing Cloud Engage”?
Believe it or not, it is. “Marketing Cloud Engage” specifically refers to messaging and journeys. One example is the Marketing Cloud’s “Journey” builder. It’s a little bit confusing, but that’s exactly why we wrote this!
“External Actions” or “External Activities”?
Again, terms that are very close, but mean different things! External Activities are when engagement data is given to Account Engagement (Pardot) by a third-party platform. They can also be used in
the Engagement Studio, Dynamic Lists, Automation Rules, and Segmentation Rules. That means you can use them in your automation.
External Actions are when you take actions on prospects outside of Account Engagement (Pardot) using third-party platforms. Both can be used in combination, as well. Doing so will apply both the action to a prospect and log a prospect's activity on the prospect’s engagement history.
