Data Management and Audience Segmentation
Domain 2 tests lead data structure and audience building: fields, static and smart lists, segmentation, deduplication, imports, and hygiene. Questions often hinge on filter logic and on the difference between a smart list and a segmentation.
Fields and lists
Standard and custom fields have types such as string, picklist, date, and score. Static lists are fixed membership; smart lists update dynamically. Smart lists use filters for batch campaigns and triggers for trigger campaigns. ALL requires every filter to match; ANY requires at least one. Behavioral filters carry date constraints such as "in past 30 days."
Segmentation
A segmentation is a set of segments, for example Industry: Healthcare, Finance, and Technology, used for dynamic content and reporting. Segment membership is evaluated from lead fields, and a lead belongs to one segment per segmentation. A segmentation is not a static list.
Data hygiene
Merge duplicates carefully; the surviving record follows merge rules. Imports can create duplicates unless deduplication is configured. Custom objects extend lead data and require filters with at least one condition.
Worked example: Build "EMEA engaged SQLs" using Lead Status is SQL, Region is EMEA, Score greater than or equal to 50, and Email Engaged in past 30 days, joined with ALL. If you use ANY, a low-score EMEA lead who opened once qualifies. Add the date window so old engagement does not count. Reasoning: each filter narrows the population, and behavioral filters need explicit windows.
Traps: using ANY for AND logic; treating segmentation as a smart list; forgetting that batch smart lists evaluate at run time; assuming null values match "is not"; omitting lead partition filters when audiences must stay separate.