I’m looking to create a report that tracks the date a contact becomes associated with a custom object. Since a contact can be linked to multiple custom object records, I want to avoid creating numerous properties and workflows.
The most effective solution I’ve found so far is to use active lists. By creating an active list that captures when a contact is associated with a specific event (via the custom object), I can then use list performance data to analySe growth over time.
Ideally, whenever a new custom object record is created, a corresponding active list would also be generated to begin collecting data from that point forward.
Ok, just playing it back to you:
- a contact can be associated to multiple custom object records.
- These custom objects appear to be events?
- You want the date of the association to be logged.
It would help to know a little more about why you want to do this. E.g. Is it for reporting, lead scoring, or are you trying to drive a downstream process?
Using lists could work, but there are limits on how many you can have. Sooner or later you will hit that limit.
If it were me I would create another custom object called something like ‘Interactions’. An interaction can be associated with a contact and your original custom object. I’ll call this ‘OriginalObject’ for clarity…
Simply update your workflow that currently associates a contact with an OriginalObject. When this happens you should create a new ‘Interaction’ with a unique identifier for the contact and the OriginalObject record. Then just use the create date of Interactions to drive your report / downstream activity.
Hi, apologies for the lack of detail in my original message!
You’re absolutely right, we’re trying to track when contacts become associated with a custom Events object during the lead-up to the event. The goal is to measure interest over time and compare engagement with previous years’ events (e.g. how many contacts were associated and when).
I hadn’t actually considered using a separate custom object like “Interactions” but that could be a really good approach. My only hesitation is whether it’s over-engineering things a bit just to generate a couple of reports.
I know you mentioned not using multiple properties and workflows, but I do feel that a date field on the Custom Object Record would work here.
The record would be
- Event Name: Event A
- First Associated Date: mm.dd.yyyy
then your report could be show me a timeline of all “Event A” records and using First Associated Date.
I also agree @LBeer7 that another Custom Object would work as well and would give you even the option for greater insight, but if you wanted a more straightforward approach, here it is!