Common Implementation Guide

The following is organized around the 3 main goals Drift Email can support. You may be inclined to skip around or prioritize based on which of these goals you care about most. Also, we're here to help, strategize, walk through, or review anything, anytime - support@drift.com.

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Before you start: Set-up in Your MAP

Common static lists to create (optional):

Most Commonly Used Lists:

• Drift Email new contacts - (This will be used in your new contact skill)

• Drift Email invalid contacts - (This will be used in an update contact skill)

• Drift Email Human emails - (This will be used in your route and track skill)

Other Lists:

• Drift Email existing contacts - OOO and vacation (this is less common - used for temporary suspend programs when contacts are out)

Common fields to create (optional):

• Drift Email Reply Date - used for measuring/tracking replies over time.

• Drift Email Reply Type -  used for tracking different types of responses and driving automation (i.e. if Vacation, then send welcome back email).

• Drift Email Reply Text - used for storing actual replies with contacts in your MAP, can be useful for human replies.

• Drift Email Subject Line - for associating a contact with a certain campaign in your MAP

Common fields in your MAP to populate with Drift Email data:

• Lead Source - When creating a new contact, we recommend populating a lead source field.

• Email Invalid - When syncing invalid contacts, customers often set an email invalid field to "True" in tandem with skills set up in their MAP

• Email Invalid Cause - When syncing invalid contacts, customers often set an email invalid cause to " Drift Email"

• Exclude/Suspend/Opt Out - When syncing invalid contacts, many customers will use an existing suspend, unsubscribe, or exclusion type field.

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Goal 1: Update Invalid Contacts 

(See more detailed help here)

Why? Cleaner database = better results.

Click "Create New Skill" and Select "Create Skill” under Update Contacts

 

1. In EMAILS, set TYPES as Left Company, Changed, Unsubscribe, Bounce, System, and Unsubscribe

 

2. In TRACK, Set LIST as Drift Email invalid contacts

 

3. In TRACK, Set FIELDS to map the fields you're using (see common field set up for updating invalid or risky contacts below).

Common Field Set Up for Updating Invalid or Risky Contacts

• Drift Email Field "Drift Email Reply Type" mapped to custom MAP Field "Drift Email Reply Type"

• Static MAP Field "Email Invalid" set to value "True"

• Static MAP Field "Email Invalid Cause" set to value "Drift Email"’

 

In plain English, your skill is handling these scenarios:

• Ken has Left his Company. Update his contact record so you can exclude from future campaigns.

• Len's email is invalid and returned a Bounce. Update his contact record to exclude from future campaigns.

• Sven replied to asking to be Unsubscribed. He ignored the link in your footer and instead replies. Update his contact record to exclude from future campaigns.

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Goal 2: Managing Human Emails

A. Route Human Emails to Your Team

(see more detailed help here)

Why? When people reply, engaging quickly creates a positive experience.

There are more advanced routing options such as sending alerts based on the lead owner, or dynamic routing. If you think one of these advanced routing options would fit your needs, reach out to your CSM or support@drift.com

Common Set-up:

Click "Create New Skill" and Select "Create Skill” under Route and Track

 

1. In EMAILS, set TYPE as Human Reply (some customers also choose to route Unsubscribe emails and human direct emails)

 

2. In ROUTE, if creating a rule for one person to receive human replies, choose “Specific People” Then add their email address by clicking “Add specific address”

 

If you have different logic about who should receive replies, then you will create multiple Routing skills with different recipients and different filters.

Plain English Summary of Use Cases:

• Jen replies to one of your webinar emails with a question. You want Jen's message routed to the person who owns webinars so they can engage.

• Ken replies to one of product emails requesting a demo. You want Ken's message routed to the sales team so they can engage.

• Gwen replies to an email you sent on behalf of a specific sales rep. You want that reply routed back to the sales rep to engage.

B. Track & Measure Human Email Rates

(see more detailed help here)

Why? Replies = engagement. Tracking can help optimize.

Common Set-Up:

1. In TRACK of your Route and Track skill, set LIST as Drift Email existing contact - human replies

 

2. In TRACK of your Route and Track skill, set FIELDS to map Drift Email data to the fields you're using (see common field set up below)

Common Field Set Up for Tracking and Measuring Human Reply Rates

• Drift Email Field "Date of the Reply" mapped to custom MAP Field "Drift Email Reply Date"

• Drift Email Field "Email Subject" mapped to custom MAP Field "Drift Email Subject"

 

In plain English, your skills are handling these scenarios:

• Jen replies to one of your marketing campaigns. You want to measure this reply as a signal of engagement. You want to look at how many replies you get across your audience, over time, and by campaign.

• You only want to measure the true human responses, rather than counting an auto-reply as success.

• You may also want to review the text of these human replies to understand what kinds of asks or responses your campaigns are generating.

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 Goal 3:  Add New Contacts 

(see more detailed help here)

Why? More contacts per account = more pipeline.

Common Set-Up:

Click "Create New Skill" and Select "Create Skill under Create Mined Contacts"

 

1. In EMAILS, set TYPES as OOO, Vacation, Human, Left Company, Changed

 

2. In TRACK, set LIST as Drift Email new contacts

 

3. In TRACK, set FIELDS to map Drift Email values to your desired MAP fields (see common field set up for adding new contacts below).

Common Field Set Up for Adding New Contacts

• Drift Email Field " Drift Email Reply Type" mapped to custom MAP Field "Drift Email Reply Type"

• Drift Email Field "Date of the Reply" mapped to custom MAP Field "Drift Email Reply Date"

• Static MAP Field "Lead Source" set to value "Drift Email"

• Sender Fields to Map: Company Name, Country, Website

 

In plain English, your skills are handling these scenarios:

• Jen is on Out of Office or on Vacation and referred you to Sven while she's out. Create a new contact record for Sven in your database with the same company/account info.

• Glen has Left his Company and been replaced by Ben. Create a new contact record for Ben with the same company/account info.

• Gwen got married and Changed her email addresses. Create a new contact record with her updated email.