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Understanding Campaigns, Marketing Exclusions, and ADF Leads

Written by Katie Miller

What Is a Campaign?

A campaign is a targeted communication workflow designed to reach a specific audience with a specific message.

Examples:

  • Customers due for first service

  • Customers with active recalls

  • Customers with telematics alerts

  • Customers nearing lease expiration

Campaigns can use:

  • Phone calls

  • Emails

  • Text messages

  • A combination of communication methods

The campaign builder is used to:

  1. Define the audience

  2. Configure how customers are contacted

  3. Set enrollment and exclusion rules

How Customers Enter a Campaign

Query Parameters

Query parameters determine which customers qualify for a campaign.

Think of query parameters as filters that pull the right customers into a campaign.

Examples:

  • Customers who own a certain vehicle

  • Customers due for service

  • Customers with a specific model year

  • Customers with open recalls

Example

A first service campaign may include customers who:

  • Purchased a vehicle within the last 5 months

  • Have not yet completed their first service

Run Schedule

The run schedule determines how often Volie evaluates customers against the query parameters.

The run schedule and query parameters work together:

  • Query parameters decide who qualifies

  • Run schedule decides when Volie checks for qualifying customers

Important Behavior

If configured, Volie can also:

  • Re-evaluate customers already in the campaign

  • Remove customers who no longer match the query parameters

Example:

  • A customer qualifies for a telematics campaign because their vehicle has an active alert

  • If the alert clears later, the customer can be automatically removed from the campaign

Understanding Marketing Exclusions

Marketing exclusions prevent customers from being over-contacted.

Think of marketing exclusions as a “marketing frequency buffer.”

They are evaluated:

  • When a customer first attempts to enter a campaign

  • Before enrollment occurs

Once a customer passes marketing exclusion and enters the campaign, they are not continuously rechecked against those same exclusion rules.

Marketing Exclusion Days

This is the most commonly used marketing exclusion setting.

Marketing exclusion days determine how long a customer must wait before being enrolled in another campaign.

Example

A customer:

  • Qualified for a first service campaign yesterday

  • Qualifies for a telematics campaign today

If the telematics campaign has:

  • Marketing Exclusion Days = 30

Then:

  • The customer will NOT enter the telematics campaign until 30 days have passed since they enrolled in the first service campaign.

Important Notes

  • The timer is based on enrollment date, not contact date

  • It does NOT matter whether the customer answered the call

  • The customer must still meet the campaign criteria once the exclusion window expires

Recommended Best Practice

Most customers should use the default exclusion recommendations provided in catalog campaigns.

In many service workflows, marketing exclusions are intentionally kept low because:

  • Recalls and telematics alerts are operationally important

  • Customers may need immediate attention

  • Service communication is not always considered “marketing”

Example

A customer may:

  • Be due for first service

  • Have an active check engine alert

  • Need recall outreach

In these cases, it may be appropriate for the customer to qualify for multiple campaigns.

Lead-Specific Marketing Exclusion Settings

Some marketing exclusion settings primarily apply to lead-based campaigns.

Examples:

  • Sales leads

  • Telematics leads

Should Leads Be Filtered Through Query Parameters?

This setting determines whether incoming leads should still be evaluated against campaign filters.

Example

A telematics campaign may exclude customers who:

  • Moved outside the dealership’s service area

In this case, query parameters can still filter those leads before enrollment.

Should Leads Ignore Marketing Exclusions?

This setting allows lead-based campaigns to bypass marketing exclusion rules.

This is commonly used for:

  • High-priority telematics alerts

  • Real-time service opportunities

Example

Some OEM telematics systems generate frequent alerts.

  • Toyota may send a new alert every time a vehicle starts

  • OnStar may only send one alert per day

A campaign can use marketing exclusions to:

  • Prevent duplicate enrollments

  • Limit enrollment frequency

  • Allow only one enrollment per day

Understanding “Unique Events”

Volie can determine whether customers should only enroll once per qualifying event.

A unique event is not necessarily the customer themselves.

It is the specific qualifying activity.

Example

A customer purchases multiple vehicles over time.

Each vehicle purchase creates a separate:

  • First service opportunity

  • Campaign qualification event

This means the same customer can:

  • Enter the same campaign multiple times

  • For different vehicles or different qualifying events

Re-Enrolling Customers

Sometimes customers should repeatedly re-enter the same campaign.

Example

A customer:

  • Missed previous first service outreach

  • Still has not completed service

Instead of:

  • Creating a campaign with many contact attempts

You can:

  • Use a shorter campaign

  • Allow re-enrollment monthly

  • Continue outreach until service is completed

Campaign Visibility and Cross-Campaign Behavior

Should Other Campaigns Ignore This Campaign?

This setting is rarely used.

It essentially makes a campaign “invisible” to marketing exclusion logic.

Example

A dealership sends:

  • Happy Birthday emails

You may NOT want:

  • A birthday email to block a customer from entering a service campaign

In that case:

  • Other campaigns can ignore the birthday campaign entirely

Managing Customers Across Multiple Campaigns

There are two common strategies for handling customers who qualify for multiple campaigns.

Strategy 1: Allow Multiple Campaign Enrollments

In this approach:

  • Customers can exist in multiple campaigns simultaneously

  • Agents are expected to review campaign enrollment history

  • Agents should discuss all qualifying opportunities during a single interaction

Recommended Workflow

If the agent:

  • Makes contact

  • Or sets an appointment

Then Volie can automatically:

  • Remove the customer from other campaigns

This assumes the agent already handled all related outreach.

Benefits

  • Maximum visibility

  • No missed opportunities

  • Better handling of service urgency

Strategy 2: Only Allow One Campaign at a Time

In this approach:

  • Volie automatically removes customers from older campaigns when they qualify for a new one

This helps prevent:

  • Duplicate outreach

  • Repetitive customer experiences

  • Agents missing related conversations

Example

A customer:

  • Qualifies for telematics today

  • Was already in a first service campaign

Volie can:

  • Remove them from first service

  • Keep them only in telematics


Campaign Type-Based Exclusions

Some organizations separate:

  • Sales campaigns

  • Service campaigns

In these cases, you may want:

  • Sales campaigns to only affect other sales campaigns

  • Service campaigns to only affect other service campaigns

This allows a customer to:

  • Remain in both a sales and service campaign simultaneously

Why Agent Dispositions Matter

Campaign automation often depends on accurate dispositions.

Examples:

  • Made Contact

  • Set Appointment

  • Left Voicemail

Dispositions can:

  • Remove customers from campaigns

  • Trigger workflow automation

  • Prevent duplicate outreach

  • Control reporting accuracy

Best Practice

Agents should always select the correct disposition.

Incorrect or default dispositions can:

  • Remove customers unintentionally

  • Cause missed opportunities

  • Create inaccurate reporting

Understanding ADF Leads

ADF stands for:

  • Automotive Data Format

ADF is a standardized format used to transmit automotive lead information.

It is commonly used between:

  • Lead providers

  • CRMs

  • Automotive platforms

What Does an ADF Address Look Like?

An ADF lead address looks similar to an email address.

Volie can generate ADF addresses to receive leads directly.

When Volie Uses ADF Leads

Volie primarily uses ADF for:

  • Sales leads

  • Telematics leads

Why ADF Is Needed

Volie’s DMS integrations primarily provide:

  • Closed repair orders

  • Closed sales

  • Appointment data

DMS integrations typically do NOT provide:

  • Real-time telematics alerts

  • External sales leads

ADF allows Volie to receive this data in real time.

Telematics Leads

Telematics leads are generated by connected vehicle systems.

Examples:

  • Subaru

  • Toyota telematics systems

  • OEM vehicle health systems

These systems can generate alerts for:

  • Check engine lights

  • Maintenance needs

  • Vehicle issues

  • Diagnostic warnings

ADF enables those alerts to flow directly into Volie campaigns.

Using ADF for Custom Campaigns

If a customer wants to build a new campaign, the first step is understanding:

How Is the Data Received Today?

Possible answers include:

  • CRM leads

  • OEM portals

  • Excel exports

  • DMS reports

  • Manual advisor notes

The answer determines how the campaign should be configured.

Common Data Intake Methods

CRM or Lead Provider

Use:

  • ADF lead routing

Volie can:

  • Receive leads directly

  • Or receive forwarded leads from the CRM

Excel or CSV Reports

Use:

  • Spreadsheet imports

Example:

  • Lease maturity lists

  • Monthly OEM reports

DMS Reporting

Use:

  • Query parameters

Example:

  • Service due campaigns

  • Lease maturity campaigns

  • Sales follow-up campaigns

Manual Processes

Use:

  • Manual mode campaigns

Example:

  • Advisor sticky notes

  • One-off customer outreach

Best Practices Summary

Marketing Exclusions

  • Use exclusions to avoid over-contacting customers

  • Keep exclusions lower for operational service workflows

  • Use catalog defaults unless customization is needed

Agent Workflows

  • Train agents to review campaign enrollment history

  • Ensure agents use correct dispositions

  • Use automation to expire customers after contact or appointment

Campaign Design

  • Use query parameters to define audiences

  • Use run schedules to control evaluation timing

  • Decide whether customers should exist in multiple campaigns simultaneously

ADF Leads

  • Use ADF for sales and telematics workflows

  • Ask customers how they currently receive their data

  • Match the intake method to the correct Volie workflow

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