#VoteAndPromote: Let’s Get Some Pardot Action on the IdeaExchange

Okay, real talk: the IdeaExchange needs some work.  

If you’re not familiar with the IdeaExchange, it’s a pretty amazing concept — users submit ideas, other users vote on them, the product team reviews, wishes get granted, and we all hug and high five.  

But in reality, that’s not what usually happens.  SteveMo shared some feedback on this that has gotten some great traction, and it sounds like Salesforce is working on making the process better.

For Pardot users to take advantage of any improvements though, we as a group need to step up and start contributing to the discussion on the IdeaExchange.

What’s broken with the IdeaExchange as it stands today

“Post it on the IdeaExchange”

…is probably the most frustrating thing you can hear from support when something really critical that you absolutely need yesterday isn’t available.

And then, you finally suck it up, head over there, and you see 500+ Pardot ideas just sitting. Many have hardly any votes, because many Pardot users are unaware that the IdeaExchange is a thing.

Then you see some genius ideas with hundreds of votes, and there’s no action. Case and point: this idea posted by Adam Blitzer from 8 years ago.

Pardot was brought into the Ohana via acquisition 2013.  Did Adam Blitzer really post this idea in 2010? Very unlikely. But you get the point.  Good ideas sit, may or may not get voted on, and don’t seem to actually influence product decisions.

How Pardot users can contribute to a solution for the IdeaExchange

In the past, I’ve occasionally upvoted ideas, but have really hesitated to post anything to the IdeaExchange.  It has just felt like an exercise in futility.  And really, I like talking about things that I LOVE about the product far more than trying to rally people to think about its faults.

But Salesforce recently announced it’s revamping the IdeaExchange… and I’m excited to see what comes next.  They’ve created an advisory board, feedback sessions, and more — with the stated goal of:

[An] IdeaExchange that can scale with our community’s growth and our growth – and that in 5, 10 years and beyond it will still be a place for meaningful, impactful discussions where together we can prioritize our product roadmap.

Will this vision be realized?  Time will tell. But this seems like an opportunity to make sure Pardot users get in on the action.  

So, I’m going to start posting ideas to the IdeaExchange.

And upvoting aggressively.

And sharing features that I strongly feel should be incorporated into the product.

I’d invite you to do the same… starting with the features below.

Pardot Ideas to #VoteAndPromote

I literally went through every idea on the IdeaExchange this morning and made a top 42 list. 

The best ideas and comments include detailed descriptions, use cases, and examples how the feature request will provide business value. This gives the product management team something to work with as they advocate for new features, and gives fellow users something to relate to as they consider hitting that magic ‘upvote’ button. 

I won’t inundate you with ALL of my top 42… so for now, just a few:

5 awesome ideas related to data quality:

1. Phone Number Validation on Forms
2. Set Field Character Limit
3. Update Account Fields
4. Relate Prospect to Multiple Accounts [if enabled in Salesforce]
5. Automate “Send to Recycle Bin”

5 awesome ideas related to moving fast & being efficient:

1. Variable Date Function
2. Account Wide UTM Codes
3. Push Prospects to CRM Campaign via Table Action
4. Use CRM Campaign “ISN’T” in Automation Rules & Dynamic Lists
5. Option to Sync with Salesforce on creation of a custom Pardot field

Also — if you “upvote” an idea, you’re basically subscribing to future updates.  Super useful if/when your requested features get some TLC!

A few ideas I added to the Pardot pile

I also added two ideas that I feel really strongly about.  I would greatly appreciate an upvote on them if you have a moment:

• Suppression Lists Should Trump Recipient Lists in AMPSEA Orgs
• Searchable List for CRM Campaigns

To sum it all up…

The IdeaExchange has had its challenges — but for it to get better, we as Pardot end users, consultants, and superfans also need to support it. 

This was a mini epiphany for me, but obvious to some others.  Shout out to a super awesome, passionate, and patient product manager who told me this literally a gazillion times before I changed my mind on it. 🙂