Selecting a list of contacts

Configure a Select process to select contacts from your marketing data.

About this task

To select contacts, you can specify all IDs in a segment or table, or you can use a query to find just the contacts that you want. One or more Select processes can then be used as input into another process. For example, you can select all Gold customers, then create another selection of Silver customers. You can then use a Merge process to create a single list of eligible contacts.

Procedure

  1. Open a flowchart for editing (click Edit in the flowchart toolbar).
  2. Drag a Select process Head in circle from the palette to your flowchart.
  3. Double-click the Select process box in the flowchart.

    The Select process configuration dialog box opens and the Source tab is open by default.

  4. On the Source tab, use the Input list to select a Segment or Table as the data source.
    To select multiple tables, click the ellipsis button 3 dots next to the Input field, then check the tables that you want to use.
    Note: If Digital Analytics is integrated with Unica Campaign, you can select Digital Analytics segments as the input.
  5. If you want to include all rows from the segment or table that you selected as the Input source, choose Select all <audience> IDs (The word <audience> indicates the audience level, such as Customer, that is specified for the selected input data source.)
  6. If you prefer to use a subset of IDs from the selected data source, choose Select <audience> IDs with, so you can do a query for the records that you want.

    The Expression box shows columns labeled Field name, Oper, Value, and And/Or.

    When the button says Text Builder, you can build expressions by populating the columns labeled Field name, Oper, Value, And/Or.

    When the button says Point & click, you can view or edit raw SQL and you can use the Formula helper to pick macros, operators, and string functions from a list.

    With either method (Text Builder / Point & click), you can select fields from the Available fields list, including Unica Campaign Generated Fields and Derived fields.

  7. Construct a query to determine which records are selected:
    1. To specify which field to query, click in the Field name cell. The Available fields list should appear. If the list does not appear, click in the Field name cell again. In the Available fields list, expand the fields until you see the one that you want. Select an available field by double-clicking it or by highlighting it and clicking Use.
      Note: When deciding which field to use, you can highlight an available field and click Profile to see a list of values in that field. Then use the Profile selected field dialog to examine the field values. For more information, see Previewing field values from your user data.
      Note: When the list of Available fields is displayed, you can use the Derived fields button if you want to create or select a variable for querying. For more information, see Derived fields.
    2. Click in the Oper cell, then double-click a comparison operator in the Operators list (=, <, >, <=, >=, <>, In, Not in, Between).
    3. Click in the Value cell, then double-click a value. If no values appear, double-click (Profile...) in the Values list to open the Profile selected field dialog so you can select from a list of values. You can also double-click in the Value cell to edit the value directly.
      Note: If you do not see the expected list (Available fields, Operators, Values, For selected expresssion), try either single clicking or double clicking on a cell in the Expression area.
    You now have an expression that consists of a field name, operator, and value.
    Select process expression
  8. Click Check syntax to confirm whether the query syntax is valid. Checking the syntax does not put any load on the database server.
  9. To add and combine multiple expressions, follow the guidelines below:
    1. To add another expression, click the And/Or cell, then double-click AND or OR in the Values list to indicate how to combine the expressions.
    2. Build your next expression, consisting of a field name, operator, and value.
    3. To add parentheses to control evaluation order, double-click the Field Name in any row to display the For selected expression list. In the list of expressions, double-click Add ( ) to add a set of parentheses, Remove ( ) to remove a single set of parentheses, or Clear all ( ) to remove all of the parentheses in the selected expression. Parentheses allow you to group expressions when defining complex queries. For example, (AcctType = 'Gold' AND Rank = 'A') OR NewCust = 'Yes' is different from AcctType = 'Gold' AND (Rank = 'A' OR NewCust = 'Yes').
    4. To reorder the selected expression, double-click Move up or Move down.
    5. To add a blank row below the selected expressions, double-click Insert.
    6. To delete the selected expression, double-click Delete.
  10. Optionally, click the Text Builder button so its label changes to Point & click. When the button says Point & click, you can view or edit raw SQL. You can also use the Formula helper to pick macros, operators, and string functions from a list.
    Select process Formula helper
    Note: If your query includes a table field that has the same name as a Campaign generated field, you must qualify the field name. Use the following syntax: <table_name>.<field_name>.

    For related information, see Creating raw SQL queries. Also see Creating queries with Formula helper.

  11. Click the Point & click button to change back to the original query mode. The button label changes back to Text Builder.
  12. (Optional) Use Test query to see how many IDs the query returns.

    A progress bar is displayed while the query is being tested. Close the progress window if you want to cancel the test. When testing is complete, Unica Campaign indicates the number of rows the query returned.

    Important: Global suppressions and cell size limits are not applied in test query counts. Test queries might also return non-normalized data. To obtain an accurate result count, test run the process.
  13. Continue configuring the process, as described below, or click OK to close the process configuration dialog and save the query expression.
  14. Optionally, use the Cell size limit tab to limit the number of IDs generated by the process during production or test runs. See Limiting the size of output cells.

    If you selected Random seed, in most cases you can accept the default seed. The random seed represents the starting point that Unica Campaign uses to select IDs randomly.

    Note: The same random set of records will be used for each subsequent run of the Select process (unless the input to the process changes). This is important if you intend to use the results for modeling purposes, because different modeling algorithms must be compared across the same set of records to determine each model's effectiveness. If you do not intend to use the results for modeling, you can make the Select process select a different random set of records each time it runs. To do this, use a Random Seed of zero (0). A value of 0 ensures that a different random set of records will be selected each time the process runs.
  15. Use the General tab to set the following options.
    1. Process name: Assign a descriptive name, such as Select_Gold_Customers. The process name is used as the box label on the flowchart. It is also used in various dialogs and reports to identify the process.
    2. Output cell name: This name matches the Process name by default. It is used in dialogs and reports to identify the output cell (the set of IDs that the process retrieves).
    3. (Optional) Link to target cell: Perform this step if your organization pre-defines target cells in a target cell spreadsheet. To associate the pre-defined target cell with the flowchart process output, click Link to target cell, then select a target cell from the spreadsheet. The Output cell name and Cell code are inherited from the target cell spreadsheet, and both of those field values are shown in italics to indicate that there is a link relationship.
    4. Cell code: The cell code has a standard format that is determined by your system administrator and is unique when generated. Do not change the cell code unless you understand the implications of doing so. By default, the name of a cell created in a process matches the process name. When you save changes to an output cell name, if Auto generate is selected, the cell code is regenerated. If you do not want the cell code to change, uncheck Auto generate. See Cell names and codes.
    5. Note: Use the Note field to explain the purpose or result of the process. Common practice is to reference the selection criteria or other important information. The contents of this field appears when you rest your cursor over the process box in a flowchart.
  16. Click OK to save and close the configuration.

    The Select process is now configured. You can test run the process to verify that it returns the results you expect.