Targeting Overview

Align's Targeting feature allows users to create and master Multichannel Cycle Plans (MCCPs) in Align for later use in CRM. MCCPs are plans that bring together activities from multiple CRM areas to guide users on which channel activities provide the most value for their Targets. Using these MCCPs, CRM users can set target goals per channel and product for high-value Accounts and track their progress against these goals.

With Targeting, Align Admins can create Multichannel (MC) Cycles with multiple MC Cycle Channels and products on a single page, saving time over creating each item individually in Veeva CRM. The Align Rules Engine can create all MC Cycle Plans, Targets, Plan Channels, and Products. The Rules Engine also automatically identifies high-value Accounts, which are HCPs considered important because of their specialty and pharmaceutical segment, and set Target goals for those Accounts. The MCCPs are then sent to CRM using the native integration between Align and CRM.

For example, Sarah Jones’ organization wants to improve its relationship with cardiologists in a particular region who regularly prescribe its products. Sarah also needs to make the cardiologists aware of recent product developments and several events the company is hosting. Using Align's Targeting feature, the organization creates a set of goals for its representatives to follow. Sarah’s goals include several face-to-face calls to each HCP and detailing specific products to them, as well as ensuring the HCPs attend at least one event per quarter. Align's rules engine retrieves all HCPs who match the criteria for a high-value cardiologist and automatically creates records to track the predetermined goals for these HCPs. All of these steps can be taken within Align's Territory Modeling section, allowing Admins to test out various Targeting plans and options before settling on a final plan.

Align pushes these target plans into CRM's existing Multichannel Cycle Plan infrastructure, where CRM can track the company's progress against these goals on a daily basis.

About Multichannel Cycle Plans

MCCPs introduce an interaction-based calculation approach where each channel and product activity can have a weight assigned to it. That weight is eventually taken into consideration when calculating channel and product attainments. This calculation illustrates to users the value their company places on each activity type.

MCCP supports single or multiple channels created from the following objects:

• Call2_vod
• EM_Event_vod
• Medical_Event_vod
• Multichannel_Activity_vod
• Sent_Email_vod

Configuration

To enable Targeting in Align:

1. Add the Targeting tab for users who need visibility to Targeting cycles.
2. Add the MC Cycle related list to the Field Force and Field Force model page layouts.
3. Add the Rule Type field to the Account Rule related list on the Field Force and Field Force model page layouts and to the Account rule list view.

To enable Targeting in CRM, create a unique Master_Align_Id_vod field on all MCCP objects. This field is identical to the out-of-the-box Master_Align_Id_vod on the Territory object in CRM.

Targeting Infrastructure

Align's Targeting feature rests on the following objects:

Label	Name	Description
Channel Template	channel_template__aln	Channel Templates can be created to store a set of criteria and weights to be reused when creating channels. Templates can be created by an Admin at headquarters for use by market-level Admins to create channels for their specific markets and they ensure all markets track the same type of activities consistently in CRM.
MC Cycle	mc_cycle__aln	The Multichannel Cycle object is the initial object for building an MCCP. The MC Cycle record stores basic information such as the MC Cycle Name, Start Date, End Date and over/under threshold values. From this information, channel records and products are created. Each MC Cycle Plan belonging to a Territory must reference a MC Cycle. In Align, MC Cycles are linked to specific Field Forces.
MC Cycle Channel	mc_cycle_channel__aln	Multichannel Cycle Channel records are child records to the Multichannel Cycle, and they define what channels are in play for the Cycle. Each Channel record contains important metadata about the Channel; such as the channel criteria (defining which activity records count for the channel) and channel weight (how much value is placed on the channel activity compared to other channel activities).
MC Cycle Product	mc_cycle_product__aln	Multichannel Cycle product records are child records of a Multichannel Cycle Channel. They define which products are applicable to the Channel. Each MC Cycle Product record contains important metadata about the product/channel, such as product weight (how much value is placed on the product compared to other products). Products that can be aligned to more than one channel are treated independently. For example, Cholecap aligned to a Call channel has a weight of 1.00, but Cholecap aligned to an Email channel has a weight of .50. While Channel records contain criteria, product records do not. Product records inherit the criteria defined in the parent Channel record.
MC Cycle Plan	mc_cycle_plan__aln	Multichannel Cycle Plan records serve as the header record for the territory. They link to an MC Cycle where the basic metadata for the MC Cycle is stored and defines the aggregate goals for each territory for a given cycle.
MC Cycle Plan Target	mc_cycle_plan_target__aln	Multichannel Cycle Plan Target records are child records of a Multichannel Cycle Plan and they serve as the junction between an MC Cycle Plan and the targeted Accounts a Territory needs take action against. Target records can store overall channel and product goals.
MC Cycle Plan Channel	mc_cycle_plan_channel__aln	Multichannel Cycle Plan Channel records are child records of a Multichannel Cycle Plan Target, and they serve as the junction between the Targeted Account and the Channels applicable for the Target. (Not all Channels under the MC Cycle may be applicable to the Target.)
MC Cycle Plan Product	mc_cycle_plan_product__aln	Multichannel Cycle Plan Product records are child records of a Multichannel Cycle Plan Channel, and they serve as the junction between the Targeted Account and the Products applicable for the Channel (not all Products under the Channel may be applicable to the Target).
Targeting Rule Channel	targeting_rule_channel__aln	Targeting Rule Channels are a child object of the account_rule__aln object. They are used in conjunction with Account Rules to create MC Cycle Plan records and their child records. Admins can use Targeting Rule Channels to define a set of criteria Accounts must match to become a target and be assigned a particular channel, as well as the goals set for the resulting MC Cycle Plan Channel records.
Targeting Rule Product	targeting_rule_product__aln	Targeting Rule products are a child object of the targeting_rule_channel__aln object. Admins can use Targeting Rule products to define a set of criteria Accounts must match to be assigned a particular product within a channel, as well as the goals set for the resulting MC Cycle Plan Product records.

Users should not reassign child records to another parent object. For example, users should not attempt to reassign an mc_cycle__aln record to a different Field Force or to reassign an account_rule__aln record to a different MC Cycle. Doing so can result in discrepancies among supported channels and other metadata and leads to problematic implementations.

Align Targeting ERD

The following entity relationship diagram illustrates the relationship between objects used in MCCPs.