You can use the reporting and targeting features to create "on the fly" (OTF) Target Groups: Simply enter search criteria in a report, and with the click of a button you’ll have a new Target Group that matches these criteria. Best of all, OTF Target Groups are dynamic – they update when new contacts fit the criteria (the data is not static).

OTF Target Group use-cases

You can create OTF Target Groups quickly, and use them for many purposes. Below are some examples of how you can take advantage of these Target Groups.

You can create a list of:

• Anyone who opened a message within a certain date range (e.g., 10/01/19 through 11/01/19) and completed a subscription form
• All contacts from a specific domain (e.g., “@higherlogic.com”)
• Contacts who clicked a survey link in a message
• Everyone who opened a previously-sent message

Comparison to Action-based Target Groups

There is some overlap between what you can do with an OTF Target Group and what you do with an Action-based Target Group. The main differences are:

• Creating an OTF is very visual. You’ll start off with a list of contacts and apply search criteria to narrow the results.
• Action-based Target Groups have more capabilities with surveys and events.

Create an OTF Target Group

Let's learn about the two ways you can create an OTF Target Group.

1 - Create from a Contact Search

1. Access the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Contacts > Search.

3. Configure the options as desired to designate your search criteria. See Contact Search to learn more about this process.
4. Click Update to filter your contacts.

5. Click Target to create a Target Group.
6. In the resulting dialog:

1. Enter a name.
2. Select a folder to store the Target Group.
3. Describe the Target Group, if desired, to explain its purpose.

7. Click Create to create your Target Group.

NOTE: To view the new Target Group, navigate to Contacts > Groups. The new Target Group displays with the type Report, indicating how it was created.

2 - Create from a Mailing Activity Report (MAR)

If you create an OTF from the MAR for a single message, the message ID becomes part of the search criteria. The Target Group itself functions similarly to an Action-based Target Group, but with the added ability to perform custom searches to create criteria as necessary.

NOTE: If you create the Target Group from the MAR, you can only use contacts who received the initial message.

1. Access the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Messages > List.
3. Click the menu to the right of page title and select Sent to view your sent messages.

4. Select the message in the list you want to report on, followed by Track from the More menu.

5. You're now viewing the MAR. Click the Details tab and select any report that you wish to use as your initial set of contacts. Use the Search feature to apply filter criteria to further refine the contacts.

6. These criteria are used to determine which contacts populate your Target Group. Once your list is refined, click Target.

7. In the resulting dialog:

1. Enter a name.
2. Select a folder to store the Target Group.
3. Describe the Target Group, if desired, to explain its purpose.

8. Click Create.

NOTE: To view the new Target Group, navigate to Contacts > Groups. The new Target Group displays with the type Report, indicating how it was created.

iMIS Cached Personalization fields

If you're using the iMIS Integration, iMIS Cached fields remain in the search screen. You can use these fields as filter criteria.