Create a Custom Dynamics Sync Filter

Last update: December 5, 2023

Don’t want to sync everything in your Dynamics CRM into Marketo Engage? Don’t worry! Marketo allows you to set up a sync filter and sync only part of your records.

Overview

To set up a Dynamics sync filter:

  1. Create a custom Two Options (boolean) field named new_synctomkto in your Dynamics CRM for any object (lead, contact, account, opportunity and other custom entities).
  2. Assign this field a Yes/No value.

You must make these changes in Dynamics CRM, not your database or Marketo.

CAUTION
If you don’t assign the field and leave it blank/NULL, it will sync down but not update. Records with a field value of blank/NULL in Dynamics CRM will show this field value in Marketo as “false”.

Marketo looks for this field during the automatic background sync and determines which records to sync over based on this logic:

Field Value
Sync to Marketo?
Field doesn’t exist
Yes
Field is empty
Yes
Field has value Yes
Yes
Field has value No
No
CAUTION
The only way to tell Marketo to skip a record is to set the field value explicitly to be No. Marketo still syncs records over even if the field values are empty.
PREREQUISITES
Install the latest version of the Marketo Plug-in (3.0.0.1 or later). Go to Marketo > Admin > Microsoft Dynamics > Download Marketo Solution.

Create SyncToMkto Field

  1. Log into your Dynamics CRM. Click Settings, then click Customizations.

  2. Click Customize the System.

  3. Click next to Entities.

  4. Click next to Lead and select Fields. Then click New.

  5. Enter SyncToMkto in the Display Name field and select Two options as the Data Type. Then click Save and Close.

    NOTE
    Choose any display name for this field, but the Name field must be exactly new_synctomkto. You must use new as the default prefix. If you’ve changed the default, go here to reset the default prefix for the custom field names. You can change it back after you’ve created the new fields.
    NOTE
    If you have asynchronous workflow set up, the record gets the default SyncToMkto value you set up in the field, and gets the correct value a few seconds later when the workflow finishes running. If the default value is set to Yes, those records will be created in Marketo and then become stale. Use No as the default value to avoid this.

  6. Repeat this process and create the SyncToMkto field for any other entities you wish to limit the sync on, such as contact, account, opportunity and custom entities.

Select the Filter in Marketo

Even if you’ve already done your initial sync, go in and select the fields to be synced with Marketo.

  1. Go to Admin and select Microsoft Dynamics.

  2. Click Edit on Field Sync Details.

  3. Scroll down to the field and check it. The actual name must be new_synctomkto but the Display Name can be anything. Click Save.

Great, Now you’ve enabled the sync filter for Marketo.

Create a Dynamics Workflow to Assign Sync Filter Values Automatically

You can always manually assign a value to the SyncToMkto fields for your records. But why not take advantage of the power of a Dynamics Workflow and auto-assign a value to the SyncToMkto field when a record is created or updated?

NOTE
You can’t do this on the database level. It must be done in the CRM manually or using a workflow.
A Dynamics workflow works only on new records created going forward, not on historical data. Use a batch update to move over existing records.

  1. Go to your Dynamics CRM. Click Settings, then Processes.

  2. Click New.

  3. Enter a name for the workflow, and select Workflow as the category and Lead as the Entity. Then click OK.

  4. Create rules to assign a true or false value to the SyncToMkto field based on your organization’s preference. Click Save and Close.

    NOTE
    Define a Default Action after you click Add Step to add a Check Condition. This sets the records that you don’t want to sync to No. Otherwise, they will sync.

  5. Select the workflow and click Activate.

    TIP
    See Custom Sync Filter Rules for an Email Address to set up rules to sync only records for people with email addresses.