Auto-lead Data Format (ADF)

[craigh]

Also does it hurt if the ADF email is built to have both xml attachment and xml in the body of the email?

We were told by multiple vendors that this didn't work.
Basically, we ran into 4 vendor situations:

1 - Vendor only accepts ADF attachments
2 - Vendor only accepts plain text ADF body contents
3 - Vendor can accept either or both safely
4 - Vendor accepts either, but if both are provided it creates a duplicate

You can't count on any vendors in this industry to make your life easy

 

[desiondarun]

@craigh excellent points. I did not think about duplicate leads scenario. I like the toggle feature in the lead manager.
Thank You!

 

[desiondarun]

I spoke with DealerSocket rep and they work with xml in the email body as well.

 

[craigh]

I spoke with DealerSocket rep and they work with xml in the email body as well.

This tends to be the majority.
If you wanted to start with one, start with it in the body of the email.

 

[Alexander Lau]

We were told by multiple vendors that this didn't work.
Basically, we ran into 4 vendor situations:

1 - Vendor only accepts ADF attachments
2 - Vendor only accepts plain text ADF body contents
3 - Vendor can accept either or both safely
4 - Vendor accepts either, but if both are provided it creates a duplicate

You can't count on any vendors in this industry to make your life easy

Yes, and that is pretty much what you're going to see time and time again. Until a real force causes the change or disruption.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Sorry @Jeff Kershner ha!

Pretty interesting software (don't think they're automotive-centric), if you're diving heavily into FB spend.

Integrate Facebook Lead Ads with ADF/XML (automotive)
https://leadsbridge.com/integrations/facebook-lead-ads/adf-xml-automotive

Integrate Facebook Lead Ads with Car Dealer CRMs through ADF/XML format
https://leadsbridge.com/documentati...s-with-car-dealer-crms-through-adfxml-format/

Integrate Facebook Offline Conversions with ADF/XML (automotive)
https://leadsbridge.com/integrations/facebook-offline-conversions/adf-xml-automotive

 

[desiondarun]

@Alexander Lau thanks. I wonder how many of us use that?

 

[Alexander Lau]

@Alexander Lau thanks. I wonder how many of us use that?

Don't know of its penetration in the market, but it looks to be effective from what I've heard. Too new to say, I think they are fairly new.

 

[higherturnover]

We were told by multiple vendors that this didn't work.
Basically, we ran into 4 vendor situations:

1 - Vendor only accepts ADF attachments
2 - Vendor only accepts plain text ADF body contents
3 - Vendor can accept either or both safely
4 - Vendor accepts either, but if both are provided it creates a duplicate

You can't count on any vendors in this industry to make your life easy

And therein lies the problem. ADF was created as an industry standard, but it's no longer standard as everyone has their own "minor requirement changes" they need. Oh yeah, and the whole ADF thing was finalized 17 FREAKIN' YEARS AGO! Think about what has evolved in the industry during that time. There are salespeople who weren't even born when it was created. The specs really need to be brought up to date, and include specs on how the leads should actually be sent (e.g. attachments vs. inline vs. both). I mentioned this in a blog post a few years ago and sadly, I know that nothing will ever happen, but my offer stands to work with other vendors to revisit. It's no surprise that @desiondarun has questions about this topic, or that this post from years ago is once again active.

 

[Chris Leslie]

I cant wait until ADF goes away. I understand why it was needed years ago when interenet information was hard to get but for the love of god can we kill it please.

I am hoping someone is secretly building out auto apps for salesforce or something.