This article...
- Explains how Compound Target Groups combine multiple target groups for more focused targeting of contacts.
- Details the "Include" and "Exclude" options for filtering contacts, as well as the "In all" and "In one or more" criteria for further refinement.
- Directs readers to the Groups page in the Admin interface.
- Describes how to create and manage a Compound Target Group, and recommends that you review the Groups page.
Compound Target Groups in your account
You can use a Compound Target Group to combine data from multiple Target Groups. For example, you might have Target Groups collecting data from different sources, such as:
- renewal information from your AMS/CRM,
- message activity from your account,
- Web Tracking data from your web site, and
- activity from your Higher Logic community.
NOTE: You can also include different types of Target Groups (e.g., Demographics, Action-Based, and others) in a Compound Target Group.
The benefit of using Compound Target Groups is that you can easily:
- Include some contacts from a given Target Group while simultaneously excluding others who are in the same Target Group
- Include or exclude contacts by requiring certain criteria be met (these contacts could be in multiple Target Groups)
Understand the Include & Exclude options
As you build a Compound Target Group, there are multiple include and exclude possibilities, as described below.
- Include - contacts who meet the criteria are included in the Compound Target Group.
- Exclude - contacts who meet the criteria are not included in the Compound Target Group.
The include and exclude options have an additional filtering condition that you can use to further distill which contacts "qualify" for the Compound Target Group.
- In all - include/exclude the contacts who are in all of the Target Groups you've selected. Think of this as an "and" operator; if you've selected three Target Groups, a contact must belong to Target Group 1, and Target Group, and Target Group 3. This option results in deeper filtering.
- In one or more - include/exclude the contacts who are in any of the Target Groups you've selected. Think of this as an "or" operator; if you've selected three Target Groups, a contact can belong to Target Group 1, or Target Group, or Target Group 3 (i.e., the contact is in at least one of the selected Target Groups). This option results in broader filtering.
Create a Compound Target Group
- Access the Admin interface.
- Navigate to Contacts > Groups.
- Click Create.
- Select Compound from the dropdown, and click Create.
- Specify a Name for your Target Group (required) and, optionally, select a folder (recommended).
- In the Select existing target groups section, select a Target Group folder to display its Target Groups in the Group panel.
- Choose the Target Groups for the Compound. (Use your device's multi-select feature to simultaneously select more than one.) Click either Include or Exclude.
- Choose additional Target Groups to include or exclude.
The selected Target Groups now display in the appropriate panel on the right.
- In the Included and/or Excluded panels, select either In all or In one or more. (These options are described above in Understand the Include & Exclude options.)
Repeat these steps for Target Groups in other folders.
TIP: You can remove a Target Group from the Included and Excluded panels by selecting it and clicking Remove; it returns to the Group panel.
- Click Create Target Group to create the Compound.
Review your Compound Target Group
It's a good idea to return to the Groups list page and verify that your Compound Target Group is listed and in the folder you selected.
In the hover menu to the left of the Target Group's name, click:
- Info to review the Target Group data.
- Edit to open the create dialog where you can make changes.