Most organizations use several systems in which Deployteq is responsible for the e-mail component. When a customer completes an information form on your website, you want to send immediate confirmation of this request but in your own corporate style and with the certainty that the e-mail will actually arrive. You also want to see any changes made to the customer records by the customer service team in Deployteq. Deployteq offers several possibilities for receiving, as well as sending back this information. Although we have made it as easy as possible to send and receive information, you may require some assistance. Call us on +31 (0)30 - 698 8080 and we will be happy to advise you on the steps to take.


Information to Deployteq

There are several possibilities for sending customer data to Deployteq. If you have large groups of customers who need to be updated periodically but which are not required to undergo immediate action, an import may be all you need. If you have large groups of people for whom it is necessary not only to save data but to whom a direct e-mail must also be sent after the import process, our CSV trigger may provide a solution. If an e-mail needs to be sent directly from a customer action on the website or from a customer service in your own CRM system, an API would, in this case, be better.

There are plenty of different scenarios and solutions. We briefly explain a number of these scenarios, referring to places elsewhere in this manual so that you can find the right information.

What is an API exactly?

API is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface. An API allows other systems and software to provide an "entry" into the system. With this entry, different systems can communicate with each other and exchange data.

How does an API integration work?

When two systems need to communicate with each other, one system uses an API to interact with the other system. The necessary data is then exchanged through the API. An API is highly flexible to develop, meaning there are practically no limits to how open you want to make the door.

Web service remote API

When two systems need to "talk" to each other over the internet, this is often done through a web service. Web services are remote APIs. Usually, this API can be requested through a specific URL, which then returns data in XML or JSON format. An example of a web service is http://xml.buienradar.nl/. This link provides an XML description of the weather in the Netherlands. Based on this, you can develop an application that reads the weather through this API and displays it graphically in your own application.

Import

Customer data that has been modified can be exported from your own CRM system on a periodical basis. This is often done on an SFTP server since both systems have easy access to it. You can then add this SFTP server to the Deployteq File manager and retrieve the file that you want to import from it. Use date variables in your filenames so that you have unique files that are not overwritten. It may be useful for your archive to move the files after an import is complete. You’ll find more information about all the import options here in our manual. If you want to import order or accounting data periodically, it would be better to read about importing into the data model.

Lastly, you can also start imports from a campaign and continue with the campaign using the imported customers. This can be done for the customers and for the data model. You can then be sure of starting the campaign with all the data you need.

CSV trigger

When selections are made outside of Deployteq and created, for example, in your CRM or DMP, you may want those selections to be processed in Deployteq immediately so that you can start a campaign. For example, you want to retrieve everyone who visited a certain page on your website during the last week. Although this can be done via the API that is explained below, for larger selections it is more efficient to deliver these selections using a CSV. If you perform an import, you are dependent upon the time at which you configured the import and can only start a campaign once the import is complete. If you use a CSV trigger, the CSV is picked up automatically and the appropriate campaign is started for the selection, based on the filename. This allows you to be flexible with your send times and enables you to deliver large selections that are imported and processed by the campaign in a short space of time.

API token

If you want to use the API, you first need an API token that is added to your call to recognize that you are allowed to communicate with this brand. When using a webhook, a separate token is created that only has access to that specific webhook. A general API token can be created by the administrator for your brand. To do so, go to the user administration section within Deployteq.




Once you have selected a user, click on ‘Manage tokens’ at the bottom right of the information. Here you can create a token for a brand to which the user has access. Once a token has been created, it may take up to an hour before it becomes active. Once the token is active, you will see a checkmark in the right-hand column in the list of tokens.

Possible issues:

The following situations can occur:

  • The user account is deleted.

  • The user account becomes inactive after 60 days of inactivity.

In these cases, the associated token will no longer work, and Webhooks using this token will also stop functioning. It is not possible to create a new App Token for a specific Webhook. However, you can still use this Webhook with a regular token.

Solution

  1. Firstly, we always recommend creating a separate user account for API tokens that is not linked to a specific individual.

  2. Secondly, it's possible to create a new token with a different user account and use this new token for an existing Webhook.

Tip

When data is changed via the API, the user that owns the token is displayed in the history. It is a good idea to create an API user for the different systems that are allowed to connect with your brand. You can then see where the changes have come from.

In addition, the API connection will not be broken when a user leaves the company and is deleted.

Webhook receiver

Do you want to enter one or more customers into Deployteq? And then start a campaign immediately afterwards? Do you also want to add order data to this for the data model? If so, it would be best to use our webhook receiver. Various endpoints can be created in the Deployteq Store and, just as with an import, you can then link the entered data to the Deployteq fields yourself. In addition, you can immediately start a campaign using the stored data, which means, for instance, that you can send an order confirmation with all the details. For a full explanation of the webhook receiver, you’ll find the relevant manual under our extensions.

Data model API

If you want to add or modify data in your data model via the API, e.g. immediately after an order or booking has been made, you can use the REST API for the data model. You can also use this API to retrieve data from the data model, e.g. to enrich the data for the check-in. Once the data model has been created, you can start using the API right away. You’ll find the manual under data in this online manual.

It is handy to know that if you want to add data to the customer, you will need the unique system ID to search for the customer. You’ll find this system ID using our SOAP API under the action ‘customer_getByEmailAddress’ if you want to search for a customer by their e-mail address or under the action ‘customer_getByExternalId’ if you want to search for a customer by their customer number.

Are you only going to add data model information and not perform a search? Or do you also want to send customer data so that it can be modified? Do you want an e-mail to be sent immediately after the order data has been submitted? In that case, it would be better to use our webhook receiver in which this can all be captured in a single API call.

SOAP API

Deployteq has an extensive SOAP API that can be used to modify customers, create groups, add customers to groups, delete customers from groups, start campaigns, and send e-mails. The manual for the SOAP API can be found under the downloads in this manual. Since there are many possibilities available, it may be worth calling us or sending us an e-mail with your requirements so that we can give you the correct API actions and you can find the right information in the API manual.

Information from Deployteq

There are also several possibilities for retrieving information in Deployteq. Again, you will have to look at what information you would like to view. If you would like to see the modified customers of a campaign with the new customer data, send a CSV to an SFTP from the campaign. If you want to trigger another action as soon as someone completes a certain step in your campaign, you can send customer data via an API. If you want to view the behaviour in the e-mails, then use our Event Based export. And if you want to view all bouncers from your database or even a specific e-mail, we can set up an automatic export.

Customer exports

There are several ways to perform exports within Deployteq. The most common method is to use the export wizard. It allows you to export certain segments periodically (hourly, weekly, monthly, etc.) using your own columns and data. You can also export directly from a campaign. We collect customers in the ‘bucket’ object, and then forward them to the  ‘export’ object after a certain time or when a certain number has been reached. This ensures that you do not receive a CSV immediately for every customer who completes the campaign. If you do want an immediate signal once someone has completed a specific object, it would be better to use the API object.

API call from the campaign

You can also forward customer data directly from a campaign to an external system via API. There are two possibilities to do so: via an HTTP request or via a REST API request. Both use the ‘HTTP request’ object. In the object you can configure whether you want to perform a GET, PUT, or POST request, the URL to send this request to, and which headers and fields you want to send. If you have your own body for the request, you can fill this in yourself by forwarding Raw Body. Please bear in mind that, in the case of batches, we have a limit of 1000 customers at a time for each call.

Event Based exports

Measuring customer behaviour has become an essential marketing activity. You may also want to know whether someone has opened and click on an e-mail so that you can refer customer service to an e-mail opened by a customer, or so that the account manager can make a call if someone has clicked on a link but the website has not registered an order. We have developed the Event Based export for this purpose. This provides the raw data of all activities that have occurred in an e-mail, such as a send-out, bounce, open, click, etc. This information can then be imported into your CRM or DMP so that you have all the customer’s data in that location and can schedule possible follow-up actions.

Link parameters

If you want to know who has visited your site from clicking on a link and where they come from, we can make sure that a parameter is added to all the links in your e-mails. Use it to include encrypted customer data that you can then match to your own database. This enables you to add more data to your website and also personalize it by retrieving this data from the link. Request this option by calling us on +31 (0)30 - 698 8080.

We have provided a standard link for a number of online stores, DMPs, and CRM systems. We will continue to develop this on request, preferably with several customers so that we can test for a variety of scenarios. Examples include Salesforce, Magento 2, Hubspot, and Squeezely – and there are many more. We have developed the Deployteq Store so that we can show you exactly what we have to offer. Just click on a specific link to see what it does and, if it meets your requirements, install it directly on your Deployteq. You will then see a standard configuration ready for you to which you can add the extra fields that you require.

For example, the Magento link comes with a standard data model that applies to everyone, with the order totals and the standard fields for the products. As one user may have fields such as colours and clothing sizes and another user fields for length, width, and brand, these are the types of fields that you can add yourself.

Of course, you can always contact us for assistance should you prefer. Just let us know by calling +31 (0)30 - 698 8080.