Engagement Scoring requires the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) tier that includes Einstein features (Plus, Advanced, or Premium depending on the specific scoring product). Setup runs from the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Admin area, not from Salesforce Setup.
- Verify the license tier and data threshold
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, Admin, Einstein. Confirm the org''s license includes Einstein features. The Data Readiness panel shows whether prospect volume and engagement history meet the model''s minimum requirements.
- Enable Einstein Engagement Scoring
Inside the Einstein panel, toggle Engagement Scoring on. The platform begins training. First-time training takes 24-72 hours; scores then appear on Prospect records.
- Sync scores to Sales Cloud (optional)
Build custom fields on Lead and Contact in Sales Cloud. Configure Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Connector to sync the score values from Prospect to the Sales Cloud fields. The scores then show up alongside CRM data and feed into reports and automation.
- Build reports and dashboard segments
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement reporting includes the Engagement Scores as filter and segment criteria. Build dashboards showing high-Customer-Likelihood prospects, declining-engagement prospects, and segments where the score is mismatched with the rule-based Pardot Score.
- Coordinate with marketing-ops scoring strategy
Decide whether Engagement Score replaces, complements, or is ignored relative to the rule-based Pardot Score. Marketing campaigns and Engagement Studio paths can use either; consistency matters for sales handoffs.
Engagement Scoring (this feature), Behavior Scoring (goal-driven ML), Lead Scoring (Marketing Cloud Account Engagement version). Pick one or two; running all three creates internal confusion.
Map Prospect score fields to Lead/Contact custom fields. Required for the scores to feed Sales Cloud reports and automation.
Prospect Likelihood (will they remain engaged) versus Customer Likelihood (will they convert). Use both; they answer different questions.
Automatic, similar to Sales Cloud Einstein. Not user-configurable.
- The license tier matters. Engagement Scoring requires a Marketing Cloud Account Engagement edition that includes Einstein; the base tier does not.
- Data threshold is enforced. Small orgs without enough prospect history cannot enable the feature regardless of license.
- Engagement Scoring and Pardot Score coexist. Marketing ops must decide how to use both consistently or expect rep confusion.
- Activity captured outside Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (direct sales emails, paid social) is invisible to the model. Channels matter for accuracy.
- Cross-product sync from Marketing Cloud Account Engagement to Sales Cloud requires explicit field mapping; the scores do not appear in Sales Cloud automatically.