Split and merge paths
Use split and merge path nodes in your account journey to orchestrate your account journeys according to the conditions that you define for accounts or people. You can segment the journey audience or accounts list according to the conditions, define a path with action and event nodes for each segment, and then combine the segments and continue the journey further.
A Split paths node defines one or more segmented paths based on either account or people filters.
Split paths by accounts
Paths split by accounts can include both account and people actions and events. These paths can be split further.
How does a split path by accounts node work?
- Each path that you add includes an end node with the ability to add nodes to each edge.
- Split by account nodes can be nested (you can split the path by accounts repeatedly).
- Evaluation of each path is from top to bottom. If an account matches for the first and second paths, it proceeds along the first path only.
- Two or more paths can be combined using a merge node.
- The node supports the definition of an Other accounts path, where you can add actions or events for accounts that do not match one of the defined segments/paths.
Account path conditions
Attributes from the account profile, including:
-
Annual revenue
-
City
-
Country
-
Employee size
-
Industry
-
Name
-
SIC code
-
State
The account does or does not have members of buying groups. Can also be evaluated against one or more of the following criteria:
-
Solution Interest
-
Buying Group status
-
Completeness Score
-
Engagement Score
The account is or is not related to an opportunity. Can also be evaluated against one or more of the following opportunity attributes:
-
Amount
-
Close date
-
Description
-
Expected revenue
-
Fiscal quarter
-
Fiscal year
-
Forecast category
-
Forecast category name
-
Is closed
-
Is won
-
Last activity date
-
Person source
-
Name
-
Next step
-
Probability
-
Quantity
-
Stage
-
Type
Add a split path by account node
-
Navigate to the journey map.
-
Click the plus ( + ) icon on a path and choose Split paths.
-
In the node properties on the right, choose Accounts for the split.
-
To define a condition applicable to Path 1, click Apply condition.
-
In the conditions editor, add one or more filters to define the split path.
-
Drag and drop filter attributes from the left navigation and complete the match definition.
-
Fine tune your conditions by applying the Filter logic at the top. You choose to match all attribute conditions or any condition.
-
Click Done.
-
-
To add more paths, click Add path and repeat the previous steps to add conditions applicable to this path.
You can also label each path based on these conditions or use the default labels.
-
If needed, reorder the paths according to the priority that you want for the split.
Path filtering is evaluated in top-down order. Each account proceeds along the first path that matches.
Click the up and down arrows at the top right of each path card to move it higher or lower in the list of paths.
-
Enable the Other accounts option to define the default path for accounts that are not a match for the defined segments/paths.
When this option is not enabled, the journey ends for accounts that do not match a defined segment/path within the split.
Split paths by people
Paths that are split by people can include only people actions. These paths cannot be split again and automatically join back.
How does a split path by people node work?
- Split by people nodes function within a grouped node split-merge combination. The split paths automatically merge so that all the people in the audience can move forward to the next step without losing their account context.
- Split by people nodes cannot be nested (you cannot add a split path for people on a path that is in this grouped node).
- Evaluation of each path is from top to bottom. If a person matches for the first and second paths, they proceed along the first path only.
- The node supports the use of account-person relationships, which allows you to filter people based on their role (such as contractor or full-time employee) as defined in the relationship.
- The node supports the definition of an Other people path, where you can add actions or events for people that do not match one of the defined segments/paths.
People path conditions
Attributes from the person profile, including:
-
City
-
Country
-
Date of birth
-
Email address
-
Email invalid
-
Email suspended
-
First name
-
Inferred state region
-
Job title
-
Last name
-
Mobile phone number
-
Phone number
-
Postal code
-
State
-
Unsubscribed
-
Unsubscribed reason
Email activities based on conditions that are evaluated using one or more selected email messages from earlier in the journey:
-
Clicked link in email
-
Opened Email
-
Was delivered email
-
Was sent email
Switch to inactivity filter - Use this option to filter based on lack of activity (a person did not have the email activity).
SMS activities based on conditions that are evaluated using one or more selected SMS messages from earlier in the journey:
-
Clicked link in SMS
-
SMS Bounced
Switch to inactivity filter - Use this option to filter based on lack of activity (a person did not have the SMS activity).
For a selected person attribute, a value change occurred. These change types include:
-
New value
-
Previous value
-
Reason
-
Source
-
Date of activity
-
Min. number of times
Switch to inactivity filter - Use this option to filter based on lack of activity (a person did not have a data value change).
Interesting moment activity that is defined in the associated Marketo Engage instance. Constraints include:
-
Milestone
-
Email
-
Web
Switch to inactivity filter - Use this option to filter based on lack of activity (a person did not have an interesting moment).
Web page activity that for one or more web pages managed by the associated Marketo Engage instance. Constraints include:
-
Web page (required)
-
Date of activity
-
Client IP address
-
Querystring
-
Referrer
-
User agent
-
Search engine
-
Search query
-
Personalized URL
-
Token
-
Browser
-
Platform
-
Device
-
Min. number of times
Switch to inactivity filter - Use this option to filter based on lack of activity (a person did not visit the web page).
The person is or is not a buying group member evaluated against one or more of the following criteria:
-
Solution Interest
-
Buying Group status
-
Completeness Score
-
Engagement Score
-
Role
Account-person path conditions
The person is or is not assigned a role in the account. Optional constraints:
- Role name
Add a split path by people node
-
Navigate to the journey map.
-
Click the plus ( + ) icon on a path and choose Split paths.
-
In the node properties on the right, choose People for the split.
-
Set the Attributes used for conditions.
- Choose People attributes only to use conditions related to the person profile.
- Choose Account-person attributes only to use conditions related to the person’s role membership within an account.
-
To define a condition applicable to Path 1, click Apply condition.
-
In the conditions editor, add one or more filters to define the split path.
-
Drag and drop any of the people attributes from the left navigation and complete the match definition.
note note NOTE If you have custom person fields defined in the account audience schema in Experience Platform, these fields are also available to use as person attributes in conditions. -
Fine tune your conditions by applying the Filter logic at the top. You choose to match all attribute conditions or any condition.
-
Click Done.
-
-
To add more paths, click Add path and repeat the previous steps to add conditions applicable to this path.
You can also label each path based on these conditions or use the default labels.
-
If needed, reorder the paths according to the priority that you want for the split.
Path filtering is evaluated in top-down order. Each person proceeds along the first path that matches.
Click the up and down arrows at the top right of each path card to move it higher or lower in the list of paths.
-
Enable the Other people option to add a default path for people that are not a match for the defined paths.
When this option is not enabled, people that do not match a defined segmant/path move past the split and proceed to the next step in the journey.
When you have conditions defined for each path for splitting your audience on the people level, you can add actions that you want to take on people.
Activity filtering
For a split path by people, you can define a path according to the person’s activity related to:
- Email messages from earlier in the journey
- SMS messages from earlier in the journey
- Change in data value in the person profile
- An interesting moment (tracked in Marketo Engage) associated with an email, web page, or milestone
- Visit to a web page tracked in Marketo Engage
Inactivity filtering
For each of the Activity history filters, you can enable the Switch to inactivity filter option. This option changes the filter to an evaluation for an absence of that activity type. For example, if you want to create a path for people who did not open an email from earlier in the journey, add the Email > Opened email filter. Enable the inactivity option and specify the email. It is a best practice to use the Date of activity constraint to define a time period for the inactivity.
Membership filtering
Within the Special Filters section, there are multiple filters that you can use to evaluate a person’s membership in a buying group or Marketo Engage list. For example, if you want to create a path for people who are members of a buying group and are assigned a particular role, add the Special filters > Member of Buying group filter. For the filter, set the membership as true, select a Solution interest that is associated with one or more buying groups, and set the Role that you want to match.
Marketo Engage list membership
In Marketo Engage, Smart Campaigns check membership of programs to ensure that leads don’t receive duplicate emails and aren’t members of multiple streams of emails at the same time. In Journey Optimizer B2B, you can check for Marketo Engage list membership as a condition for your split path by people to help eliminate duplication in journey activities.
To use list membership in a split condition, expand Special Filters and drag the Member of List condition into the filter space. Complete the filter definition to evaluate membership in one or more Marketo Engage lists.
Merge paths
Add a Merge paths node to combine different split paths by account in your journey.
-
Navigate to the journey map.
-
Click the plus ( + ) icon on a path and choose Split paths.
-
Click the split node to open its properties on the right.
-
Click Add path to create three paths.
-
Add a combination of actions and events to each path.
-
Click the plus ( + ) icon for any one of these paths and choose Merge from the displayed options.
-
In the merge paths node properties, select the paths you want to merge.
At this point, the paths are merged so that accounts from the selected paths combine to a single path that can continue to progress through the journey.
-
If needed, you can unmerge paths by navigating back to the merge paths node properties and clearing the checkbox for any paths that you want to remove.
Overview video
