Marketo BP Expert study plan
Marketo BP Expert · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Administration and Program Setup
Map the Marketo admin hierarchy (users, roles, workspaces, partitions) and diagram how data visibility flows between them
Configure a test role with least-privilege permissions and verify access behavior with a sandbox user
Inventory the default program status channels and explain which channel applies to each program type
Document the fields, field types, and field management rules required for a clean instance setup
Your checkpoint
A one-page admin configuration reference covering roles, workspaces, partitions, channels, and field types, validated against a test login
Administration and Program Setup & Lead Management and Data Hygiene
Build a smart campaign that standardizes and normalizes incoming lead data (case, whitespace, country codes)
Design a deduplication workflow using merge rules and explain which record survives and why
Create a data hygiene audit checklist covering nulls, invalid emails, and duplicate clusters
Configure communication limits and subscription center settings at the admin level
Your checkpoint
A working data hygiene program with at least three flow steps plus a written audit checklist of 10 checks
Lead Management and Data Hygiene & Segmentation, Lists, and Targeting
Construct a segmentation that splits a database by two attributes and verify membership counts
Build static and smart lists and articulate when each list type is the correct choice
Write a smart list using advanced filters (date ranges, inactivity, data value changes) and validate the results
Explain how segment membership updates propagate to existing records and to dynamic content
Your checkpoint
A segmentation plus two smart lists with documented membership counts and a short note on why each filter was chosen
Engagement Programs and Nurture
Diagram the engagement program structure: streams, cadence, transitions, and pause/archive behavior
Build a two-stream nurture with distinct cadences and a transition rule between them
Configure an engagement program goal and explain how goal achievement is tracked per person
Test stream transitions and document observed cadence behavior
Your checkpoint
A functioning two-stream engagement program with a documented transition rule, a goal, and a test log of observed behavior
Email Marketing and Deliverability & Landing Pages, Forms, and Web Tracking
Author an email with dynamic content driven by a segment and verify rendering per segment
Run a pre-send QA checklist covering links, tokens, plain-text version, and unsubscribe handling
Build a landing page with an embedded form and configure a follow-up page and progressive profiling
Explain the deliverability levers available in admin (SPF/DKIM posture, bounce handling, unsubscribe compliance)
Your checkpoint
A published landing page with an embedded form, a dynamic-content email, and a completed QA checklist with results
Scoring, Lifecycle, and Campaign Execution
Design a scoring model separating demographic and behavioral scores with decay rules
Map a lifecycle model from anonymous through customer with entry criteria per stage
Build a trigger campaign that advances lifecycle stage and verify stage transitions on test records
Explain how score and lifecycle interact with program success and channel attribution
Your checkpoint
A scoring model plus lifecycle map with documented thresholds, decay settings, and a test record showing at least three stage transitions
Reporting and Analytics & Integrations and CRM Sync
Build a program performance report and interpret channel, program, and success attribution
Configure a CRM sync field mapping and identify which fields sync in which direction
Explain sync behaviors for leads, contacts, and opportunities and how sync errors surface
Reconcile a report against source data to confirm the numbers tie out
Your checkpoint
A report screenshot or export plus a field-mapping table showing direction and sync status for at least 10 fields
Administration and Program Setup & Lead Management and Data Hygiene & Segmentation, Lists, and Targeting & Engagement Programs and Nurture & Email Marketing and Deliverability & Landing Pages, Forms, and Web Tracking & Scoring, Lifecycle, and Campaign Execution & Reporting and Analytics & Integrations and CRM Sync
Re-run every weekly deliverable against the domain weightings and close gaps in the two lowest-scoring areas
Complete timed practice sets weighted to the heaviest domains
Rewrite weak-topic notes into a single condensed review sheet
Verify recall of admin, lead management, and campaign execution facts without notes
Your checkpoint
A condensed review sheet plus a scored practice log showing per-domain results and the remediation actions taken
Milestones
Week 2: Can configure roles, workspaces, partitions, channels, and field types from memory, and can explain how a duplicate merge decides the surviving record
Week 4: Can build a segmentation, a smart list with advanced filters, and a two-stream engagement program with a transition rule without referencing documentation
Week 6: Can design a scoring model with decay and a lifecycle model with entry criteria, and demonstrate stage advancement on a test record
Week 8: Scored practice log shows no domain below target and the two heaviest domains (1 and 7) at or above the passing threshold