Question
Why doesn't the count in Audience Insights match my direct mail list or email list count?
Answer
To ensure a better user experience and efficient performance, WebMD Ignite uses a tool to display results quickly when applying criteria in Audience Insights. The returned population is a fairly accurate estimate of the number of targets that can be reached based on the criteria but the actual population may not match what is in Audience Insights.
Since the Audience Insights population result is an estimation, it may vary from the actual number of records when a list is exported since the actual targets' records are pulled into the list.
Marketing automation (e.g. Eloqua or Salesforce Marketing Cloud) mail lists can deviate from the count in Audience Insights: when a list is synced to marketing automation, the actual targets' records are pulled into the list. Marketing automation excludes invalid email addresses, but Ignite Growth Platform doesn't currently have this functionality. Due to this discrepancy, the number of records in the finalized list in Ignite Growth Platform may not exactly match what is available in marketing automation. Subscription management is available only in the marketing automation tool, and only global unsubscribes sync back to Ignite Growth Platform.
For example: let's say someone opted out of a specific email group/topic in marketing automation (e.g., cardiology newsletter) but they want to continue receiving emails for other topics. They would be included in the Ignite Growth Platform list, but excluded in marketing automation if the email topic is cardiology.
If you need to retrieve an exact count for a specific purpose (budget planning, etc.), the recommended best practice is to download the list or sync to marketing automation in Campaign Workflow.
