Send Time Optimization: Important usage information
Important: Send Time Optimization (STO) is an add-on feature that must be ordered for your account. Please contact your account manager or Oracle sales.
There are several important usage considerations to keep in mind when using the Send Time Optimization stage:
Launch at the top of the hour
For contacts with optimal send times within the send period, they will move from the Send Time Optimization stage to the next Email stage along the “With STO Data” path at the optimal send time at the top of the hour.
For example, contacts with optimal send time of 14 for that day will move from the Send Time Optimization stage to the Email stage starting at 2pm.
Note: There is an exception for the initial optimal send time(s).
Initial optimal send time(s) delay
When contacts move to the Send Time Optimization stage, the process of identifying the optimal send times for each contact and segmenting them into optimal send time groups do take time. This process time varies based on the size of the audience itself. As a result, the contacts who have optimal send times that are the same as the time of entry into the Send Time Optimization stage may not necessarily move to the Email stage at the top of the hour. Instead, the stage will move the contacts as soon as the process completes.
For example, if the contacts move to the Send Time Optimization stage at 9:00 am and the process of identifying the optimal send times and segmenting the contacts into groups takes 20 minutes, then the group with the optimal send time of 9:00 am will not move to the Email stage until 9:20 am. The remaining groups will move at the top of the hour based on their optimal send times.
Tip: If you notice that the process time is consistent, you may consider entering the contacts into the Send Time Optimization stage earlier to compensate for the delay for the initial optimal send time group. For example, it the process time is 20 minutes, instead of entering the contacts into the Send Time Optimization stage at 9:00 am, enter them at 8:40 am so the group with the optimal send time of 9:00 am will move to the Email stage closer to the top of the hour.
Send period delay
When contacts enter the Send Time optimization stage, it will take some time to look up the optimal send times for each contact and assign them to optimal (hourly) send time groups. The actual time depends on the size of the contacts that enter. Sometimes the process will take so long, the optimal send time group will not be created for the hour when the contacts entered. As a result, the send period will begin the next hour.
For example: Let’s say your desired send period is Monday, 9:00 am through Tuesday, 8:00 am. The size of the contacts is so large that the optimal send time lookup takes a long time and the optimal send time group for Monday, 9:00 am is not created. The Send Time Optimization stage will then delay the send period by 1 hour to Monday, 10:00 am through Tuesday, 9:00 am.
Currently, it takes roughly 40 minutes for the Send Time Optimization stage to process a contacts group size of 10 million messages (10MM) to generate that first optimal send time group. To prevent the desired send period from being delayed an hour, you can try entering contacts before the first hour of the send period. Do not enter your contacts more than 60 minutes earlier than your desired send period; otherwise, you may risk starting the sends earlier than expected.
For example: Let’s say the size of your contacts group is 10MM and your desired send period is Monday, 9:00 am through Tuesday, 8:00 am. You can try to enter the contacts into the Send Time Optimization stage on Monday, 8:40 am.
Please refer to the Send Period Delay Prevention example in the Send Time Optimization: Campaign use cases section for additional guidance.
How Send Time Optimization works
Send Time Optimization attribute group
Send Time Optimization: Campaign use cases
Managing your Send Time Optimization add-on feature