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Anonymous
October 10, 2017
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Custom Activities vs Custom Objects

  • October 10, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 4927 views

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get the difference of these two feaures of Marketo. I have not worked with them yet but before I do, I want to know how to use them and why to use them.

I know both of them can be "created" by a REST endpoint or even a List Import. Both can be used as trigger/filter. But what are the differences between these two, with real examples, if possible, so I can choose which one to use?

Thanks guys!

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    Best answer by Grégoire_Miche2

    Hi Raul,

    I see some major differences :

    • CAs cannot be updated, nor deleted. COs can. So CAs are not good for business information that need such updates or deletion.
    • On the other end, CAs cannot be tempered with, which is an advantage if you are in compliance situation
    • CAs cannot be imported, they are only created though API calls
    • COs can have text fields, CAs cannot. If you need to store long data, that may make a difference.
    • With regards to triggering, the 2 are very similar. If you are on Orion, you can ask your CSM to get a custom object update trigger that can be essential for some activities.
    • With regards to filtering, COs are superior with 2 filters ("Has CO" and "Was added to CO"), vs one for CAs. CO filters enable you to filter on current or passed situations.

    -Greg

    2 replies

    Grégoire_Miche2
    Grégoire_Miche2Accepted solution
    New Participant
    October 10, 2017

    Hi Raul,

    I see some major differences :

    • CAs cannot be updated, nor deleted. COs can. So CAs are not good for business information that need such updates or deletion.
    • On the other end, CAs cannot be tempered with, which is an advantage if you are in compliance situation
    • CAs cannot be imported, they are only created though API calls
    • COs can have text fields, CAs cannot. If you need to store long data, that may make a difference.
    • With regards to triggering, the 2 are very similar. If you are on Orion, you can ask your CSM to get a custom object update trigger that can be essential for some activities.
    • With regards to filtering, COs are superior with 2 filters ("Has CO" and "Was added to CO"), vs one for CAs. CO filters enable you to filter on current or passed situations.

    -Greg

    SanfordWhiteman
    SanfordWhiteman
    New Participant
    October 10, 2017

    To use... for what? You should specify your requirements. It may be that neither of these options is suitable (people frequently overlook their weaknesses because they seem so exciting).

    A
    Anonymous
    October 13, 2017

    Hi Sanford,

    I want to create a record related to a lead for each Lead's activity. So if a lead fills out a form, then a record with a field indicating that a form <name> was filled out and the date with it. Also if a product was downloaded from our website of if the lead registered to our website or even if the lead wrote us a Contact Us form in our website.

    Store the action and the date when it ocurred. For Marketo actions and outside of Marketo. And be able to report on this and also to be able to integrate it with our MSD CRM.

    A
    Anonymous
    October 15, 2017

    Hi Raul,


    Isn't this data already in your lead's activity log?

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