How to create Visio diagrams from Marketo Data

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for Marketo. The driver surfaces Marketo data as an ODBC data source that can be accessed by applications with built-in ODBC support like Microsoft Office. This article shows how to create a simple diagram to start brainstorming about Visio projects linked to Marketo data.

Connect to Marketo as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Both the REST and SOAP APIs are supported and can be chosen by using the Schema property.

For the REST API: The OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and RESTEndpoint properties, under the OAuth and REST Connection sections, must be set to valid Marketo user credentials.

For the SOAP API: The UserId, EncryptionKey, and SOAPEndpoint properties, under the SOAP Connection section, must be set to valid Marketo user credentials.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to obtaining these values.

Connect Marketo Data to Diagrams

Follow the steps below to use the Data Selector Wizard to import data into your diagram.

1. Open Visio and click File -> New. Open the Brainstorming template.
2. On the Data tab, click Link Data to Shapes.
3. Select the ODBC option and select ODBC DSN.
4. Select the DSN for Marketo, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses Leads as an example.

Link Marketo Entities to Shapes

Follow the steps below to create a simple diagram that shows how to create shapes from your data, one of the ways to link Marketo entities to shapes:

1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter Leads as the text of the main topic.
2. Click Topic.
3. Select a row in the External Data window and drag it onto the drawing page.
4. Right-click the Topic shape and click Data -> Edit Data Graphic.
5. Click New Item.
6. In the Data Field menu, select a column. In the Displayed As menu, select how to display them.
7. Drag a few other Marketo entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, Leads. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other Leads entities.

You can refresh your diagram from the Data tab, synchronizing your shapes with the external Marketo data.