Integration: Dotdigital

Overview

The Dotdigital integration creates and updates contacts in Dotdigital as customers join or change their details in Flow, including their email and SMS marketing consent. Customers who opt out in Flow are unsubscribed in Dotdigital automatically.

Before You Start

The following will need to be completed before connecting Dotdigital:

Steps

1. Create an API User in Dotdigital

1. Sign in to Dotdigital
2. Go to Settings > Access > API users
3. Click New user
4. Email: Dotdigital generates an API email address (e.g. apiuser-123@apiconnector.com)
5. Password: Enter a strong password and make a note of it
6. Click Save

2. Create Your Contact Data Fields in Dotdigital

Flow sends customer information into Dotdigital data fields. A data field must exist in your account before Flow can populate it.

1. In Dotdigital, go to Audience > Data fields
2. Create a field for each item you want to sync, using the names in the What Data is Synced table below
3. Set each field's type to Text

Note: You do not have to create all of them. Any field you have not created is skipped, and the rest of the contact still syncs. Create the ones your marketing needs, and add more later at any time.

Important: Field names must match one of the names listed for that item in the What Data is Synced table below. Capitals do not matter, but underscores do. Dotdigital limits names to 20 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores only.

Already have fields with different names? Several items accept more than one name, so an existing field such as DOB will be used without you having to rename anything. Where more than one of the accepted names exists in your account, the first one in the list is used.

3. Connect Dotdigital in Flow

1. Go to System Configuration > Data streams > Integrations > Third-Party Integrations
2. Select Dotdigital
3. Click Connect
   
4. API Username: Enter the API user email address from step 1
5. API Password: Enter the API user password
   
6. Click Save

4. Configure the New Customer Sync

This workflow creates a contact in Dotdigital when a customer is created in Flow.

1. In the Dotdigital integration settings, open New Customer
2. Merge Option: Select how new data is merged into existing Dotdigital contacts:

3. List IDs (optional): Enter the Dotdigital address book IDs that new contacts should be added to. This is the number at the end of the address book's URL in Dotdigital, not the address book's name. For example, an address book at https://r1-app.dotdigital.com/contactmanager/#/audience/lists/107389933 has the ID 107389933. Separate multiple IDs with a comma, for example 1234567,8912345
4. Toggle the workflow on:
   

5. Configure the Customer Updated Sync

This workflow keeps contact details current when a customer changes their details in Flow.

1. Open Customer updated
2. Merge Option (optional): As above. Defaults to Overwrite when not set
3. Toggle the workflow on

Note: Without this workflow enabled, Dotdigital keeps whatever details a customer had when they first joined. Later changes to their name, postcode or home venue will not reach Dotdigital.

6. Enable Unsubscribe Automation

1. Open Customer unsubscribe
2. Toggle the workflow on

Important: Without this workflow enabled, customers who opt out of marketing in Flow will remain subscribed in Dotdigital.

What Data is Synced?

Contacts are matched by email address, or by mobile number for customers who have no email address.

Create a field using any one of the accepted names. Where a row lists more than one, they are alternatives, not extra fields.

FLOW_SOURCE is set to the text "Flow" on every contact Flow syncs. Create it if you want to see at a glance which of your contacts came from Flow, or to build a segment of them. It is deliberately not called SOURCE, so that it cannot overwrite a field of your own.

Email and SMS channel status is set from the customer's marketing preferences in Flow. Mobile numbers are synced for UK mobiles only.

Customers without an email address are synced using their mobile number instead, and receive the SMS channel only. A customer with neither an email address nor a valid UK mobile number cannot be synced.

Note: Data flows one way, from Flow to Dotdigital. Changes made in Dotdigital are not sent back to Flow.

Result

New customers appear as contacts in Dotdigital within a few minutes of being created in Flow, with their marketing consent reflected on the email and SMS channels, and any address books you nominated.

Troubleshooting

A data field is empty in Dotdigital? 
The field probably does not exist in your Dotdigital account under any of its accepted names, so Flow skipped it. Check the name against the table above, then create it using any one of the names listed. It will populate the next time that customer is created or updated. Contact OpenPlay support if you would like the exact list of fields being skipped for your account.

Contacts are syncing but details are out of date? 
Check the Customer updated workflow is toggled on. Without it, only the details a customer had when they first joined are sent.

A customer changed their email address and now appears twice? 
Contacts are matched on email address, so a change of email creates a new contact and leaves the original in place. Merge or remove the old contact in Dotdigital.

The connection test fails with valid credentials? 
Confirm your Dotdigital account is hosted in region 1. The API host used is r1-api.dotdigital.com; contact OpenPlay support if your account is in a different region.

A customer's mobile number has not synced? 
Only valid UK mobile numbers (07 or +447) are sent to Dotdigital. Landlines and international numbers are skipped.

A customer with no email address is missing from Dotdigital? 
Customers without an email address are synced on their mobile number instead, so check they have a valid UK mobile in Flow. A customer with neither cannot be synced, because Dotdigital identifies a contact by one or the other.

A customer opted out but is still subscribed in Dotdigital? 
Check the Customer unsubscribe workflow is toggled on. The unsubscribe is sent when the customer record is updated in Flow.

Contacts are not appearing in my address book? 
Check the List IDs setting on the New Customer workflow contains the correct address book IDs. Contacts are added to address books when they are created, not on later updates.

What's Next?

• Setting Up Google Tag Manager (GTM)