Process configuration

Campaign uses processes in a flowchart to perform various actions on your customer data. By adding process boxes to a flowchart, then configuring and connecting the processes, you determine the logic for your marketing campaign.

Most processes determine how Campaign selects and manipulates IDs from your user data. For example, you can configure a Select process to identify high-value prospects, configure another Select process to identify medium-value prospects, then use a Merge process to combine the two lists. Configuring a process determines what occurs when the process runs.

There are many types of processes, and each one performs a distinct function. Some processes are intended to be used when you implement your campaign. For example, you use the Call List process to assign offers and generate a call list, which you can send to a call center.

You use other processes after your campaign is deployed. For example, you use the Track process to update Contact History after you deploy your campaign and see who responds.

Process overview
Campaign processes are the building blocks of flowcharts. The processes are visible on the flowchart process palette at the left of the workspace.
List of Campaign processes
Configure and connect processes in flowcharts to accomplish your campaign goals. Each process performs a specific operation, such as selecting, merging, or segmenting customers.
Types of processes
Campaign processes are divided into three types by function, which are distinguished by color in the flowchart process palette.
Data sources for processes
When you configure most processes in a flowchart, you must specify the source of the data that the process will act on. The data source for a process can be one or more incoming cells, segments, files, or tables. For example, the data source for a Select process might be a database table where your organization stores customer information such as Name, Address, Age, and Income.
Manipulating process boxes in flowcharts
Process boxes are the building blocks of flowcharts. The processes are visible on the flowchart process palette at the left of the workspace. Each marketing campaign consists of at least one flowchart, and each flowchart consists of processes that are configured and connected.
The Select process
Use the Select process to define the criteria to build lists of contacts, such as customers, accounts, or households, from your marketing data.
The Merge process
Use the Merge process to specify which input cells are included and combined and which input cells are excluded (suppressed).
The Segment process
Use the Segment process to divide data into distinct groups, or segments. Connect a Segment process to a contact process, such as a Call list or Mail list, to assign treatments or offers to the segments.
The Sample process
Use the Sample process to divide contacts into groups. The classic use of sampling is to establish target and control groups that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
The Audience process
Audience levels define the target entity that you want to work with, such as account, customer, household, product, or business division. Use the Audience process in a flowchart to switch between audience levels or to filter out IDs by audience level.
The Extract process
Use the Extract process to select fields from one table and write them out to another table for subsequent processing. The Extract process is designed to pare down a large amount of data to a manageable size for subsequent operations, resulting in vast performance improvements.
The Snapshot process
Use the Snapshot process to capture data for export to a table or a file.
The Schedule process
Use the Schedule process to initiate a process, a series of processes, or an entire flowchart. The Schedule process works only if the flowchart is running.
The Cube process
Administrators use the Cube process to allow users to drill into data from multiple sources. Data cubes consist of dimensions that are based on strategic segments.
The Create Seg process
Use the Create Seg process to create lists of audience IDs from customer database tables. Define the Create Seg process in the Sessions area of Campaign so that the segments are available globally for use in all campaigns.
The Mail List process
Use the Mail List process to assign offers to contacts, generate a contact list for a direct mail campaign, and log the contact history. The Mail List process is often referred to as a contact process.
The Call List process
Use the Call List process to assign offers to contacts, generate a contact list for a telemarketing campaign, and log the contact history. The Call List process is often referred to as a contact process.
The Track process
Use the Track process to update the contact statuses or additionally tracked fields for existing records in contact history. The Track process can update existing contact history records, create new records, or do a combination of both.
The Response process
The Response process tracks the responses of customers who were contacted in a contact process, such as Mail List or Call List.
Profiling fields to preview values from your user data
You can use the Profile feature to preview field values when you configure a process in a flowchart. This feature lets you see actual values from fields in your user data. You can profile any field in a mapped data source. You can also profile derived fields.
Skipping duplicate IDs in process output
The Extract, Call list, Mail list, and Snapshot processes allow you to specify how to treat duplicate IDs in the process output. The default is to allow duplicate IDs in the output.

Parent topic: IBM Campaign User's Guide