A client project brief demanded a sophisticated 'integrated I.T. platform' that would combine website content management, user profiles/accounts, email and SMS communications, behavioral profiling, database segmentation and CRM functions in one solution.
The requirements:
- Build an online community of users through the website
- Capture preferences and build a profile of your users' interests
- Synchronise and streamline management of users across both platforms
- Marketing automation – deliver timely, relevant communications with minimum effort
- Enhanced user segmentation based on website interactions
- Centralie website and campaign performance reporting.
Using our expertise in Drupal CMS development, and the comprehensive API and support provided by dotMailer, we developed a series of custom Drupal modules that provides tight integration between the two systems.
The integration was approached and developed to be modular and generic, enabling us to rapidly adapt it to other scenarios.
Integration highlights...
- Combined Drupal user registration and dotMailer user record creation
- Drupal webform integration
- Synchronised user profile updates
- Automated segmentation and list building
- Manual Export to Dotmailer Address Books via Drupal
- Triggered emails
- Summary reporting
Combined Drupal user registration and dotMailer user record creation
Automatic segmentation of users via a custom multi-page registration form on the Drupal website.
At the first stage of registration the user is presented with a number of options and asked to choose the one that best describes themselves. The user is assigned a Drupal 'user role' (depending on their initial self-selection), and the remaining registration pages and fields tailored to match that user role. At the point of Drupal account/profile creation a contact record is also created within dotMailer and the captured registration data passed across to corresponding contact fields in dotMailer.
Multi-page website registration with automatic dotMailer contact record creation
Drupal webform integration
Capture requests from website forms to dotMailer, communicate to prospects and turn into registered users.
Synchronised user profile updates
When a user logs in to their account/profile on the Drupal website a 'last logged in' time and date is recorded in the user's dotMailer contact record. (This is useful for triggering 'reactivation' emails via dotMailer for inactive website users).
When a user profile is updated on the Drupal website, either manually by the user, or automatically through a defined website interaction, the data is synchronised with dotMailer.
Update dotMailer contact fields. Including ‘Last Logged In’ to website date and time – useful for triggering 'reactivation' emails via dotMailer for inactive users.
Automated segmentation and list building
dotMailer provides really excellent dynamic segmentation tools. Pre-defining the segmentation queries in dotMailer, and feeding the user profile data through from Drupal in real-time, accurately segments email lists effortlessly.
Target your website users accurately using dotMailer’s powerful segmentation tool
Manual Export to dotMailer Address Books via Drupal
Building on the powerful user management features within Drupal, a filterable search system is provided to select users based on a number of criteria.
The administrator has the ability to export to existing dotMailer address books or create a new dotMailer address book directly from within Drupal. Alternatively, export to CSV/Excel for manual import.
Search and filter your website users, export selections to existing dotMailer address books or create a new one, all from within Drupal.
Triggered emails
A custom behavioural tracking system on the Drupal website tags users with 'interest categories' and updates their dotMailer profile. Using this extra level of user profiling allows for sophisticated marketing automation, triggering emails and presenting dynamic email and website content based on the users' interests.
Website users ‘collect’ tags against their Drupal user profile, automatically feeding through to the user’s dotMailer contact record.
Summary reporting
dotMailer offers comprehensive campaign reporting. The integration offers summary reporting from within the Drupal website, via an administrator dashboard. The dashboard within Drupal provides insights and KPI reporting to stakeholders across website and email campaigns.
Reporting dashboard features dotMailer campaign reports and website activity using Google Charts to visualise data.
Sharing our expertise
Access have released the foundations of our integration work as code on github and have written a series of comprehensive articles outlining our approach to working with the dotMailer API. We'd love to get some feedback on what dotMailer users are looking for from Drupal and dotMailer so we can make further contributions via a free Drupal Module.
Discuss a Drupal or dotMailer integration project
Call Mark Hope, Digital Director, on 0161 872 3455
