Create template tables

Prohibited fields

Do no include fields that are also included in the following tables in your optimization template table:

• The audience level that you choose for your Contact Optimization session. If you choose Customer as your audience level, and that audience level contains a field that is called CustomerID, do not include a field with the same name in your template table.
• The UACO_PCTBase table. For example, do not include a Contact Optimization template table field that is named ScorePerOffer or CostPerOffer, since these fields are fields in the UACO_PCTBase table.

The repetition of the field name can cause confusion when Contact Optimization retrieves information from the ContactHistory table.

Use database views

Create a single physical database table that contains all possible customized fields that you might want to use in a Contact Optimization session. This practice is preferable to creating separate physical tables, each with its particular pairing of fields, for each session. For example, instead of creating two optimization template tables, one with fields A, C, and E, and another with fields B and D, it is better to create one database table with fields A, B, C, D, and E.

You can then create standard database views that include the permutations you want, based on the same physical table. Each view that you create represents a separate optimization template table that you can use in an optimization session.

Create a field to represent the Optimize process

You might need to include a Segment process in your post-optimization flowchart to divide customer IDs back into their individual packages. Packages originate from an Optimize process. To select the Optimize process, or package, as the field by which you want to segment, you must include a field in the optimization template table to represent the Optimize process. For example, you might include a field that is called OptimizeProcess in your optimization template table, which you later select as the field by which to segment.

Create a score field

By default, the PCT template contains the ScorePerOffer field that you can use when assigning scores in an optimization session. However, Contact Optimization can use any numeric field in the template table for scores in an optimization session. The ScorePerOffer field has a float data type. If you must use another data type for your scores, you need to either create a column in your template table or edit the existing score column. You might also have several types of scores that you are comparing to determine which is most optimal for a particular Contact Optimization session. By creating many possible score fields in your template table, you can switch between score types when you configure your optimization sessions without rerunning each of the participating campaigns and flowcharts.