Connecting Eloqua to Multiple CRM Systems

Quite often we’ll be asked if it is possible to connect Eloqua to more than one CRM system. Typically, the question focuses on connecting more than one Salesforce.com, Oracle OnDemand, or MS Dynamics systems to a single Eloqua instance…but we also have been asked about simultaneously connecting a number of different CRM systems. Within this post, I’ll try to answer these questions as well as point out some potential “gotchas” to look out for within this type of configuration.

First, a refresher…

Before we begin, let me provide a quick refresher on how a CRM system is typically integrated with Eloqua. A CRM integration with Eloqua is bi-directional, that is, we pull in Lead, Contact and potentially Account and custom object data from CRM into Eloqua….this usually happens every couple hours. We also push information from Eloqua back to the CRM. For example, Eloqua might create a new lead, update an existing lead, update an existing contact, and create tasks within CRM that get associated to the correct Lead or Contact record for common marketing activities such as sending an email, opening of an email, clicking through an email, submitting a form, subscribing and/or unsubscribing, or email bouncebacks.

When “pulling” data from CRM into Eloqua, typically, we use the email address as the unique identifier to match a CRM record with an Eloqua record. When “pushing” data from Eloqua to CRM, typically, we use the CRM Lead or Contact ID as the unique identifier for matching. When you have more than one CRM system, the same record within Eloqua could have more than one unique CRM Lead or Contact ID…here lies a potential gotcha, but I’ll cover that below.

One last thing, there are three general types of integration with Eloqua:

• DirectConnect integrations – these are API integrations leveraging pre-built integration tools within Eloqua for the most popular CRM systems including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle OnDemand and NetSuite.
• Custom API Integrations – these are API integrations using custom built integration code and/or third party integration tools (e.g., CastIron or Pervasive).
• Secure “Push/Pull” – this is a batch transfer method that allows you to automate the pulling of CRM information into Eloqua using data exports stored on a secure file server, via HTTPS or SFTP. This method also allows Eloqua to push record and activity exports to a secure file server which then can be imported back into the CRM or other backend systems.

Step 1 – Define Your Integration Architecture

The first step is to identify the number and types of CRM systems you want to integrate with Eloqua. This will give you a hint on how much effort the integration may require and potential limitations you can expect.

• If you are using multiple Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle OnDemand or NetSuite instances connected to a single Eloqua instance, you can leverage a DirectConnect integration with each of these systems. In this configuration, one system will need to be set as the primary integration and all others will be secondary integrations.
• If you are using a mixture Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle OnDemand or NetSuite integrations, you can use a DirectConnect integration with one of these systems and then either an API integration or a secure “push/pull” integration for the remaining systems.
• If your organization wants to integrate a hodgepodge of CRM systems with a single Eloqua instance, well, you are left with either building API and/or using secure “push/pull” integrations.

Step 2 – Cleanse Your Data

By default, lead and contact records from CRM systems are pulled into Eloqua matching based on email address. If more then one lead or contact record within Salesforce.com shares the same email address, Eloqua will use one lead or contact record as the primary record, pulling over all of the desired fields, and then populate, on a field-by-field basis, missing information using field data from records with the same email address. Eloqua calls this a “smart-merge.” To ensure data is as clean and accurate as possible, it is recommended that you first dedupe your CRM databases before they are integrated with Eloqua.

Step 3 – Determine Your Field Mapping

Before integrating your CRM systems with Eloqua, you need to determine what CRM fields to pull into Eloqua and how to store this information, that is, is it data that should be stored within the Eloqua contact record, as part of an associated account record, or within a custom object. You also need to determine what type of data you want Eloqua to write back to your CRM systems and when these types of events should occur.

Inbound Mapping
Lets refer to data coming from CRM, or other backend systems, into Eloqua as Inbound.
It is possible that the same field within your different CRM systems could contain different information for the same contact or lead. For example, within “CRM 1,” a contact might have a first name of John while within “CRM 2” they have a first name of Jon. Which one is correct? Which one do you want to store within Eloqua? For fields that are the same across all CRM system, you can store this information within a single Eloqua field. For fields that have a high degree of variability, you may want to use CRM specific fields within Eloqua. An example of this are the CRM Lead ID and/or Contact ID values – for these fields, you will want to map information to unique Eloqua fields – “CRM 1 Lead ID,” “CRM 2 Lead ID,” “CRM 1 Contact ID,” “CRM 2 Contact ID,” etc.

Outbound Mapping
Lets refer to data going from Eloqua to CRM, or other backend systems, as Outbound.
As I mentioned above, Eloqua has the ability to create a new lead, update an existing lead, update an existing contact, and create tasks within CRM. One of the biggest challenges with a many-CRM-to-one-Eloqua configuration is which CRM system should you update when these events occur? Well, there are a number of option you have available:

• For environments that share the same types of CRM systems via a DirectConnect configuration, you can easily choose to update just the primary. Updating the secondary CRMs can get a little trickier…and to be honest, is out of scope for this posting…but call us if you want more info.
• For environments that have different CRM systems, potentially one connected via DirectConnect and others via API or batch transfer, you might have Eloqua update your DirectConnect system real-time and then use file exports or API calls to pull over information into the other CRM systems.
• For configurations that rely solely on API or secure push/pull, you can use an API call to leverage Eloqua’s activity process queue or set up secure nightly report exports that can be imported back into your CRM systems

The big takeaway here is that Eloqua is quite flexible in how you can upload data into the system and how you can send information back to CRM and other backend systems. That said, if you want to be successful you must take the time to map out your requirements and consider how information can and should be shared from different CRM systems within a unified Eloqua environment.

Step 4 – Build, Integrate and Test

Once you have defined your integration approach, cleansed your CRM data and defined your field mapping requirements, you can move forward with your integration build and testing. For larger organizations, consider using an Eloqua sandbox to test out your integrations before you connect your CRM system with your production Eloqua system.

If you are want to learn more about how to integrate Eloqua with multiple CRM systems, or need some help cleaning up an existing integration, please complete our Contact Us form. We’d be happy to help out!