Understanding Why Contacts Get Skipped in Journeys
There are various reasons why a contact might be skipped or prevented from entering a Journey in ZMA. Below, we’ve categorized these reasons to help you address them effectively.
Email Sending Issues
Exceeding Mail Policy Limits
If a mail policy restricts the number of emails a contact can receive (e.g., a limit of 1 or 2 emails per contact), and that limit has been reached, the contact will get skipped in the send email trigger. As a result, no further emails will be sent to them. Review your mail policy settings to ensure contacts receive emails within the allowed limit.
Content Not Approved by Compliance Team
If an email fails to get approval from ZMA’s compliance team, the contacts will get skipped. Ensure that your email content meets compliance guidelines and gets approved before initiating the Journey to avoid delivery issues.
Non-Marketing Contacts
If a contact is marked as Non-Marketing and you attempt to send a marketing email via the Journey, the contact will get skipped and will not enter the send email component. As a result, they will not receive the email. To ensure successful email delivery, update the contact’s subscription type to Marketing before adding them to the Journey.
Topic Mismatch
If a contact is assigned to different topics than the ones selected for the email campaign in the Journey, they will get skipped. Emails are only sent to contacts who have opted in for the specific topic assigned to the campaign. Ensure that the contact’s topic preferences align with the campaign settings to avoid getting skipped.
Phone Leads Without Emails
If a contact does not have an email address and only a phone number is available, they will get skipped in the send email component. Ensure that contacts have a valid email address before launching the Journey.
CRM Consent Not Provided
If a contact’s consent status is not updated or is left blank in Zoho CRM, they will get skipped and will not enter the send email component. Emails are only sent to contacts with valid consent records. Ensure that consent is properly collected and updated.
Topic Unsubscribed
If a contact has unsubscribed from the topic associated with the email campaign in the Journey, they will get skipped. Emails are only sent to contacts who are subscribed to the selected topic. Ensure the contact’s topic preferences align with the campaign before launching the Journey.
No Topic Subscription
If a contact has not subscribed to any topic, they will get skipped.
Email Credit Limit Reached
If your email credit limit has been reached, contacts will get skipped and will not enter the send email component. To continue sending email campaigns, ensure you have sufficient email credits or upgrade your plan.
SMS Sending Issues
Sender Address Not Configured
If the sender address (phone number) is not configured or does not follow the correct format, the contact will get skipped and will not enter the Send SMS component. Ensure that the sender’s phone number is correctly set up and meets the required format before initiating the Journey.
Contact Unsubscribed
If a contact has unsubscribed from SMS communications, they will get skipped and will not enter the send SMS component. As a result, no SMS will be sent to the contact. Ensure that only subscribed contacts are included in the Journey.
Unsupported Country
In Zoho Marketing Automation’s in-house gateway, SMS can only be sent to contacts in the US, Canada, India, and Saudi Arabia (coming soon). If a contact’s country is not supported for SMS delivery, they will get skipped and will not enter the send SMS component. For other countries, you must integrate with a third-party SMS gateway that supports those regions. Verify the supported country list before setting up your Journey to ensure successful message delivery.
Invalid Phone Number
If a contact’s phone number is invalid or does not follow the required format, they will get skipped and will not enter the send SMS component. Ensure that phone numbers are correctly formatted and follow the E.164 format to avoid getting skipped.
Custom Field Deleted
If an SMS template contains a custom field that has been deleted or is empty for a contact, the contact will get skipped and will not enter the send SMS component. Ensure that all required custom fields are available and populated before sending SMS messages.
Duplicate Phone Numbers
If multiple contacts have the same phone number, only one contact will enter the send SMS component, while the others will get skipped. The system will randomly pick one contact to receive the SMS. To ensure accurate messaging, verify that each contact has a unique phone number before initiating the Journey.
SMS Credit Limit Reached or Expired
If your SMS credits have been used up or your plan has expired, contacts will get skipped and will not enter the send SMS component. Ensure that you have sufficient SMS credits or an active plan before initiating the Journey.
Gateway Authentication Error
If there is an authentication error from the SMS gateway, contacts will get skipped in the send SMS component. Verify your SMS gateway settings to ensure successful SMS delivery.
WhatsApp Sending Issues
No Phone Number Available
If a contact does not have a mobile number, or the provided number is not linked to WhatsApp, they will get skipped and will not enter the send WhatsApp component. Ensure the contact has a valid mobile number stored in the mobile number field and that the number is registered on WhatsApp.
Invalid Phone Number
If a contact’s mobile number is not in the correct format, they will get skipped and will not enter the send WhatsApp component. Ensure the number follows the required format, including the correct country code, to avoid getting skipped.
Insufficient WhatsApp Credits
If there are not enough WhatsApp credits available, the contact will get skipped in the send WhatsApp component. Meta’s messaging rates apply, and sufficient credits are required to send WhatsApp messages. Ensure your account has enough credits before initiating the Journey.
Lead Stage Issues
Assigning to a Disabled Lead Stage
If a lead is being assigned to a stage that has been disabled, the contact will get skipped in the Update lead stage component. Ensure that the target lead stage is active before launching the Journey.
Assigning to a Deleted Lead Stage
If a contact is set to move into a lead stage that has been deleted, they will get skipped in the Update Lead Stage component. Ensure that the lead stage exists and is active before configuring the Journey.
Subscription Management Issues
Insufficient Privileges
If a user does not have the required privileges to perform an action, such as changing a contact’s subscription type to Marketing, the contact will get skipped. Subscription management and other CRM actions require specific permissions. Before setting up the Journey, ensure that you have the necessary privileges to execute the actions included in the Journey.
Subscription Limit Exceeded
Zoho Marketing Automation imposes a limit on the number of times a contact’s subscription type can be changed (e.g., from Non-Marketing to Marketing or vice versa) within a month. If this limit is reached, the contact will get skipped. The allowed number of changes varies based on your subscription plan. Review your plan’s conversion limits before setting up the Journey to ensure uninterrupted subscription updates.
Marketing Contact Limit Reached
If the maximum number of Marketing contacts allowed in your Zoho Marketing Automation plan has been reached, any additional contacts will get skipped and will not enter the subscription management component. To continue adding Marketing contacts, consider upgrading your plan or managing existing contacts within the allowed limit.
Journey Management Issues
Contact Already in Target Journey
If a contact is already active in the Journey you are trying to move them to, they will get skipped in the Move to Another Journey component. Ensure the target Journey allows re-entry before attempting to move them.
Push to CRM Issues
Missing Mandatory Fields
If a contact is missing any mandatory field required by Zoho CRM, it will be skipped in the Push Data component in Journeys. Mandatory fields in Zoho CRM are marked with a red line on the left side of the field name box. You can check these fields in Zoho CRM > Settings > Modules and Fields > (Select Module).
Ensure all the mandatory fields are filled in before pushing contacts using Journeys. If you want all the contacts to be pushed to Zoho CRM without getting skipped, you can modify the CRM field settings to make it optional instead of mandatory.
Pushing Deleted Contacts
When a contact is deleted from Zoho CRM, and you try to push the same contact from ZMA back to Zoho CRM, the contact will be skipped in the Push Data component.
Custom Module Deleted in CRM
If a push data component is configured to push records to a custom module in Zoho CRM, and that custom module is later deleted, the contacts will get skipped. Ensure that the custom module exists in Zoho CRM before initiating the push.
Field Character Limit Exceeded
If you are trying to push a contact to Zoho CRM with field values that exceed the character limit, the contact will get skipped and will not enter the push data component. Ensure that all field values meet Zoho CRM’s character limits before initiating the push.
Contact Converted from Lead to Contact
If the push data component is set to push contacts to the Leads module in Zoho CRM, but the lead has already been converted into a contact, the contact will get skipped.
Email Address Changed in CRM
If a contact’s email address has been updated in Zoho CRM, they will get skipped. Since the system uses the email address as a unique identifier, it cannot recognize the contact after the update. Ensure that the correct email is maintained in Zoho CRM before attempting to update the record.
Data Type Mismatch
If a field in Zoho CRM is mapped to a different data type than the one in Zoho Marketing Automation, the contact will get skipped. Ensure that field types remain consistent between both platforms to avoid skipped contacts.
Unknown Errors
A contact gets skipped due to an unknown issue, unexpected configuration issues, or account-specific restrictions. If the issue persists, contact Zoho Marketing Automation Support for assistance.
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