Collect form-specific information with unmapped fields

Unmapped fields let you collect information that's useful for a particular form without adding that data directly to a contact or lead record. For example, imagine an independent book publisher wants to ask customers who their favorite author is. That information could help the publisher better understand its audience, plan merchandise, or personalize future marketing. An option set unmapped field is especially helpful when you want to give submitters a defined set of choices. When configuring the field, you can:

• Set the display text.
• Give it a logical field name for internal reference.
• Choose how the options display, such as radio buttons or a drop-down.
• Add individual choices.
• Add placeholder text when supported.
• Set a default value.
• Save the field for reuse on future forms.

Be careful with default values. Placeholder text simply guides the person completing the form and isn't submitted as their response. A default value, however, will be submitted if the person doesn't change it. Unless you intentionally want to encourage a particular response, it's generally better to use placeholder text or leave the field without a default.

Find responses from unmapped fields

Data collected in an unmapped field isn't stored directly on the contact or lead record. Instead, you can find it in the form submission data. Because the submitted values appear together, you can open the form values separately or use your browser's search functionality to locate a particular field or response. If you need that data in a more accessible location, Power Automate can be used to move it into CRM, a spreadsheet, or another destination.

Create journey branches from unmapped field responses

One useful application for unmapped fields is personalizing a journey based on someone's form response. For example, our fictional publisher might want to send different welcome emails based on the favorite author someone selected. Each email could contain a different discount or recommendation. Start with a trigger-based journey using the Marketing Form Submitted trigger. Choose whether the audience is a lead or contact, then add a condition identifying the specific form that should trigger the journey. You can identify the form using its internal name so only submissions from that particular form enter the journey. From there, add an attribute branch. The branch can evaluate the submitted field and its value, allowing people to follow different paths depending on what they selected. The logical field name you assigned when creating the unmapped field is important here because you can reference it when configuring the branch. Once you've built your first branch, you can duplicate it and change the response value for each additional path. Then, add the appropriate email to each branch.

Use unmapped fields for events

Unmapped fields can also be useful when you're collecting information that's important for a specific event but doesn't belong permanently on a contact or lead record. For example, an event registration form could ask attendees for:

• Meal choices
• Food sensitivities
• T-shirt sizes
• Other event-specific preferences

This information can then be associated with the registration without unnecessarily adding it to the person's CRM record.

Capture metadata with hidden fields

Hidden fields let you capture additional data without asking the person completing the form to enter or even see it. For example, suppose the same signup form appears on a specific page of your website. You might want to document that page as the person's signup source. You can add the appropriate lead or contact field to the form, give it a default value representing the source, and then hide it. When someone submits the form, the source is captured automatically. This keeps the form short and avoids relying on the submitter to provide information you already know.

Let embedded forms inherit your website's styling

If you're embedding a Customer Insights - Journeys form on a website, you can allow some design properties to inherit styling from the webpage itself. Instead of specifying a value for an element such as the background color, you can use inherit so the form adopts that attribute from the webpage where it's embedded. This can be especially helpful if:

• Your organization anticipates a future rebrand.
• You want to minimize design rework.
• You're embedding one form on multiple pages with different designs.

Properties you may want to inherit include:

• Background colors
• Header fonts, colors, and line heights
• Paragraph fonts
• Field labels
• Button fonts, colors, borders, and corners
• Hyperlink fonts and styles

Keep in mind that an inherited design may look incorrect in the form designer's preview because the form doesn't have the surrounding webpage's CSS to reference. Always test the embedded form on the actual webpage. Inherited styling uses the attributes of the direct parent element on the webpage. If the result isn't what you expect, a developer may need to adjust the page's CSS, or you can return to the form designer and explicitly set the affected styles.

Protect existing data with Ignore Empty Values

You may not want every field on a form to be required. But if someone leaves an optional field blank, you also don't necessarily want that blank response overwriting information that already exists on their CRM record. Under the form's audience settings, the Ignore Empty Values option prevents empty submitted fields from updating existing data. This setting should be enabled by default and, in most cases, is worth leaving on.

Understand the Ignore Opt-Outs setting

Consent fields have a related setting called Ignore Opt-Outs. When this option is enabled, leaving a consent checkbox unchecked won't automatically unsubscribe someone from a purpose or topic to which they're already subscribed. Instead, the unchecked box effectively behaves as no new response. This setting gives organizations flexibility in how forms affect existing consent. Marketing consent requirements vary depending on the privacy and compliance regulations that apply to your organization, so configure this behavior based on your own consent strategy and regulatory requirements.

Redirect people after they submit a form

A successful form submission doesn't have to end with a simple "Thank you" message. Customer Insights - Journeys lets you redirect the submitter to another URL after a successful submission. You could send them to:

• A custom thank-you page
• A page containing a signup discount
• Related content
• Another relevant page on your website

Go to the form's submission settings, select Redirect after submission, and enter the destination URL. A thoughtful redirect helps make the submission part of the larger customer experience rather than the end of it.

Edit an email that's already used in a live journey

You can edit an email that's currently being used in a live customer journey. This is useful for small corrections and updates, such as:

• Fixing a broken link
• Replacing an image
• Correcting content
• Making a minor design adjustment

When you edit an email that's already part of a live journey, Customer Insights - Journeys warns you and identifies the journey using it. You can continue editing the existing email or create a copy if you don't want the changes applied to the version used by the journey. Changes can't alter emails that have already reached someone's inbox. However, recipients who receive the email after your saved changes take effect will receive the updated version.

Fix bullet colors in marketing emails

If an email's bullet points aren't the same color as the surrounding text, check the theme's body text color. The body text setting influences the color of your bullet points. Updating that theme color can bring the bullets in line with your intended design. Remember that changing the body text color also affects additional body text you create, so make sure the adjustment works with the rest of your email.

Improve bullet point formatting

If a bulleted list isn't formatting correctly, try placing the list in its own text box rather than combining it with the surrounding paragraphs. Start the new text box with the bulleted formatting already enabled and add your content from there. Separating bulleted content from other body copy can help the email designer apply the formatting more consistently.

Be careful when copying and pasting into the email designer

Copying content from a word processor directly into the Customer Insights - Journeys email designer can bring unwanted formatting with it. Even when using plain text or the designer's remove-formatting option, you may still encounter inconsistencies involving:

• Fonts
• Font sizes
• Font colors
• Background colors
• Padding
• Margins

Whenever practical, enter your content directly into the email designer instead of copying and pasting it from another application. If you do paste content, carefully review the formatting afterward. Check the font family, size, color, padding, margins, background color, and other design properties to make sure everything remains consistent with your email theme and brand.