This article explains how to create and manage Profile Points, including configuring question types, mapping answers and choices, setting data sources, and exporting or syncing data. It details best practices, limitations, and steps required to ensure accurate data integration and visibility within user profiles and external systems.
Create a Profile Point
- Navigate to the Members list.
- Choose the P2 Engine tab at the top.
- Click the + button to get started.
Question Info
- Question Text—This is the user-friendly version of the question and is required. If you choose to show the question in the user profile, this text will appear there.
- Question Reference—This is a short, one-word reference for the question used in exports (for example, Number_Of_Children or Income_Level). No spaces or special characters are allowed besides the "_" character, and the maximum character limit is 50.
Question Type
Questions must be the same type to map them. You must choose the question type before selecting the Question Source. The available question types:
- Quantitative
- Qualitative
- Grid
The following types of questions cannot be mapped:
- Qualitative Grid
- Dropdown Grid
- Qualitative fields, if you want to use the data in a Dynamic or Static Group.
Question Sources
Choose from Polls, Surveys, or External sources. Once you select the source, additional options will be displayed.
- For Polls, select Predefined or Custom, and then select the question you want to use.
- For Surveys, type the survey name, and then select the specific question.
- For External, you will select the source of your questions:
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CSV Upload
If you have a data point coming from an external source and it's a Quant/Multiselect question, ensure the data are in separate fields during set-up before you perform the external batch update.
- Marketo
- Qualtrics XM Directory
- Salesforce
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The question you select will then be added to the list of sources. You can add multiple question sources if you wish.
The order of question sources is essential. The answer data will be imported in order of priority. For example, if the profile point has 3 sources, the backend will first look at a member's response from source #1. If an answer exists, that data will be used. If there is no answer for source #1, the backend will then look at source #2. If there is no answer in that source, the backend will then look at source #3.
As a best practice, if your source is a custom poll, save this as your first source. Although the most recent source should be first, a custom poll is the exception to this rule and should be the first source.
Auto-create answer—When this is selected, the answers in the next step will be auto-created based on the top/first-priority question source. For example, if the question is Gender, answers will be auto-created for "Male" and "Female" in the next step, but will still require further details. This option speeds up the completion of the Profile Point.
If you add a new source to a pre-existing P2 point, add the new source, leave it at the bottom of the list, click auto-create + save (answers will sort in properly when done this way). Then, return to this same tab and update the new source to be the top priority source.
Settings
- Flag as PII—Personally Identifiable Information
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Show in Profile—When this option is selected, the question appears on the public profile page for all community users.
Moderator and client users will see all profile questions on a member’s profile page, not just profile points set to Show in Profile
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Include in Export—When selected, the question data is included in exports.
When generating an export, you’ll see a new option to manually add profile points to the export or to “include all profile points”.
Push Data to External Source
- Push to Survey Providers—When this option is selected, the latest answer data for this question will be pushed as embedded data to Qualtrics or Alchemer.
- Push to CRMs—When this option is selected, the latest answer data for this question will be pushed to your integrated CRM system as embedded data.
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Expand answers as separate fields for pushed data—When this option is selected, answer values for multi-select questions will be pushed to external sources as separate fields or columns rather than a singular, combined field for all selected answers per respondent.
This only applies if your Grid P2 point/question is a multi-select. If your Grid P2 point/question is not a multi-select, do not click "expand separate fields" as this will result in the data not being reflected properly within an export. As a result, the P2 point build will not be correct.
Based on the question type, the following will happen when you click the Save button:
- Qualitative question—There are no answers to the map. The profile point will be complete, and you'll return to the main Profile Point listing view where your newly-created Profile Point is now listed.
- Quantitative question—The Answer tab will then display, where you must complete all of the required answer fields.
- Grid question—The Choices tab will then display, where you must complete all of the required choice fields, then continue to the Answers tab to complete the mapping.
Please note that you cannot map answers that have been used in other Profile Points.
Mapping Answers
If you select to auto-generate answers, when you reach this tab, the answers from question source #1 will be listed here with an Incomplete status. Answers will be incomplete because further details are required to complete the answer points. If any answers are missing from this list or if you do not have the answers auto-generated, you can use the Add Answer button to add new answers to this profile point.
All answers must be in Complete status before mapping is enabled. You can reorder the answer options using the arrows. Reordering affects how answers are displayed to users when you set the question to display in the profile.
NOTE: You may not delete answers. If you no longer want to use an answer, change the status to 'INACTIVE'. Data will not be saved or included in exports for inactive answers.
You will see a toggle for Active/Inactive next to each answer option. Answers cannot be deleted once created. However, when you set an answer to Inactive, it will no longer sync data or be used. You can always turn the status back to 'Active' to use the answer again.
To finish mapping answers, click an answer to go to the Edit page for that option.
- Answer Text—This is the user-friendly version of the answer and will display in the user profile if "Show in Profile" is selected for the profile point.
- Answer Reference—This is a short one-word reference for the answer that is used in exports. No spaces or special characters are allowed, and the maximum character limit is 50.
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Answer Sources—The left box lists all available answers from the sources entered in step 1. To map an answer to this source, simply drag it to the right box called "Mapped."
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You'll see 1, 2, etc., next to each answer option. These numbers represent the question source by priority. For example, 1 = the first question source.
The order of the answers in the Mapped box does not matter. The priority order is based on the question priority from step 1.
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- Save—When done adding all sources to the mapped box, click the Save button to save changes and return to the Answers tab. The answer will now be in Complete status.
Mapping Choices
Choices are only available for grid questions. If you select to auto-generate answers, when you reach this tab, the choices from question source #1 will be listed here, but in an incomplete status. Choices will be incomplete because further details are required to complete the choice maps. If any choices are missing from this list or if you do not have the choices auto-generated, you can use the "Add Choice" button to add new choices to this profile point.
You will see a toggle for Active/Inactive next to each choice option. Choices cannot be deleted once created. However, when a choice is set to Inactive, it will no longer sync data or be used. You can always turn the status back to Active to use the choice again.
To finish mapping choices, click an answer to go to the Edit page for that option.
- Choice Text—This is the user-friendly version of the choice and will display in the user profile if "Show in Profile" is selected for the profile point.
- Choice Reference—This is a short one-word reference for the choice that is used in exports. No spaces or special characters are allowed, and the maximum character limit is 50.
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Choice Sources—The left box lists all of the choices available from the sources entered in step 1. To map a choice to this source, simply drag it to the right box called "Mapped."
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You'll see 1, 2, etc. next to each choice. These numbers represent the question source by priority. For example, 1 = the first question source.
The order of the choices in the mapped box does not matter. The priority order is based on the question priority from step 1.
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- Save—When you've added all sources to the mapped box, click the "Save" button to apply changes and return to the Choices tab. The choice will now be in the Completed status.
Syncing Profile Point Data
IMPORTANT: Once you are done creating and editing profile points, you will need to click the button to Manually Refresh Data. This will import and update the data for all of the profile points and is very important to do after creating or editing any profile points.
While the job is running, you'll see the status as 'processing'. You will want to wait until processing is complete before running an export or using the profile point to ensure you use the most current member data.Â
The data for the profile points will sync in the following scenarios:Â
- Moderator manually triggers a job—A moderator can click the "Manually Refresh Data" button in the P2 Engine section to manually sync all profile point data. You must do this after creating or editing any profile points.
- A user answers a question—Whenever a user answers either a poll or survey question used in a profile point, the job will automatically run to pull in the latest data for that user.