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Function documentationEditing Data Sources and Attribute Lists

 

Attribute lists are required for modeling segments during segmentation. The creation of attribute lists is the responsibility of the database manager, who aims to provide these lists to the marketing manager in such a way as to allow him or her to use the lists without requiring assistance from the database manager. Which attributes (and therefore which data sources) are relevant depends on the respective marketing activity, that is, the purpose for which the target groups are to be created.

Prerequisites

The settings you require vary according to the data source in question. Depending on the origin type of the data source, the following prerequisites must be fulfilled:

Origin Type of Data Source

Prerequisite

Attribute set

You have created attribute sets in CRM Marketing. For more information about how to do this, see Working with Attribute Sets.

InfoSet

You have created an InfoSet query.

SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) Cube

(only in classic segmentation)

You have created a BW report in SAP NetWeaver BW. You can do this using the Business Explorer Analyzer.

External List Management

(only in classic segmentation)

You have created an address list in external list management.

File import

(only for segmentation with high data volume)

You have defined up to 10 different data sources with the origin type File Import (CSV file). For more information about this type of data source, see File-Based Segmentation.

If you want to activate the fast find for certain attributes (step 6), you have installed SAP NetWeaver Search and Classification (TREX).

Process

You create an attribute list as follows:

In Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, choose Start of the navigation path Marketing Next navigation step Segmentation Next navigation step General Settings Next navigation step Maintain Data Sources and Attribute Lists End of the navigation path.

  1. Create data sources

    When creating the data sources, you define where the attributes for your attribute lists come from (attribute set, SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) Cube, InfoSet, external list management, CSV file import). If you have data sources of the origin type InfoSet and are using a data reading program, you need to define whether the filters of an attribute are linked with AND or OR within an attribute and across all attributes. Filters that are mutually dependent require an InfoSet that always links the individual attributes with AND. In the standard delivery, no filter dependencies are defined.

    For classic segmentation, the following origin types are possible for data sources:

    • Attribute set

    • InfoSet

    • SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) Cube

    • External List Management

    For segmentation with high data volume, the following origin types are possible for data sources:

    • Attribute set

    • InfoSet

    • File import (CSV file)

      Note that you can create up to 10 different data sources of this origin type.

    With data sources for high data volume, you also have the option of summating key figures. For more information, see Summating Key Figures in Data Sources (TREX).

  2. Create attribute lists

    Choose a name and a usage for the attribute list.

    Attribute lists that you want to use for segmentation with high data volume must have the category High Volume Segmentation.

    For more information about usages and usage categories, see Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, under Start of the navigation path Marketing Next navigation step Segmentation Next navigation step General Settings Next navigation step Define Usage for Segments End of the navigation path.

  3. Assign data sources to attribute list

    After saving your attribute list, you can assign the required data sources. To select multiple data sources, press and hold down the Shift or Ctrl key on your keyboard when selecting with the mouse. You can add as many data sources to an attribute list as you require. Open each data source and select the attributes that you want to include in the list. To select all attributes for a given data source, place your cursor on the data source and choose Select All Attributes from the context menu.

  4. Activate attributes

    Select the attributes that you need for your attribute list.

  5. Define filter for attributes

    Place the cursor over the relevant attribute and choose Create Filter. Enter the filter criterion and a description for the filter. Depending on the type of attribute, you can either select from predefined values or enter your own values.

    Note Note

    In segmentation, the distribution of business partners across all the attribute values for a given attribute can only be displayed if all these attribute values have been selected and the attribute has been activated in the list. If, for example, you were to select only the attribute value Single for the attribute Marital Status, the number of business partners matching this criterion would be displayed, but not the number matching the other values for this attribute (Divorced, Married, Widowed, and so on). You cannot select the attribute value "Other" to display the remaining values, but must enter each of these values individually. Alternatively, you could create the value "Other", using an InfoSet query.

    End of the note.
  6. Activate fast find for filter

    By selecting the Fast Find checkbox, you can define that fast find is used to determine the distribution for this attribute value.

    In this case, the attribute data is loaded to a buffer. The distribution of attribute values across business partners is read from this buffer and does not have to be recalculated each time you start a count.

    You can define the buffer refresh frequency according to your requirements. To start the initial data transfer, choose Refresh Fast Find. Value distribution updates are scheduled in a background job. You can find the date of the last update in the attribute properties.

    For more information, see Fast Find for Attribute Distribution in Segmentation.

    Note Note

    If you activate the fast find for an attribute, and this attribute can have multiple values simultaneously (for example, the attributes "Hobbies" or "Children's Age"), you must select the Multiple Values checkbox in the attribute properties, otherwise the system always uses only a single value of this attribute. If the attribute is a marketing attribute, the system selects the Multiple Values checkbox automatically. However, for attributes from other data sources, you must select the checkbox manually.

    End of the note.
  7. Change attribute properties

    You can change the attribute description, type, or how the attribute is displayed in segmentation, for example. For attributes deriving from BW InfoCubes or from InfoSets, you can also add filter conditions with values that should be valid for the key figure to be read. In the attribute context menu, choose Edit Filter Conditions and enter the variable name and the corresponding values that you want to apply. For example, you could specify a certain period and sales office for the key figure "Turnover".

    Under Properties, you can specify an update interval for your attributes. This enables you to store the determined attribute distributions in a cache for a freely definable period of time, thus improving performance. Note that you have to schedule the report CRM_MKTTG_CACHE_UPDATE for this, as a periodic job (transaction SM36). For more information, see Customizing for Customer Relationship Management at Start of the navigation path Marketing Next navigation step Segmentation Next navigation step Classic Segmentation Next navigation step Configure Caching for Attributes End of the navigation path.

    If you have also installed SAP NetWeaver Search and Classification (TREX), and activated the fast find for the attribute, specify the Update Interval in days. In this case, you must schedule the report CRM_MKTTG_TREX_UPDATE as a periodic job.

Result

You have created a data source, and a related attribute list that is now available within the segmentation for modelling.

Choose Segment Builder View to display a preview of the attribute list as it appears in graphical modelling. Ensure that the attributes in the attribute list are arranged in a logical order.