Commonly Used Data Views in SFMC

• _Subscribers: Contains subscriber details such as SubscriberKey, Status, and Email Address.
• _Sent: Records all sent emails along with JobID, EventDate, and SubscriberKey.
• _Open: Logs every open event with EventDate and SubscriberKey.
• _Click: Tracks link click activity within emails.
• _Unsubscribe: Stores records of unsubscribed users.
• _Bounce: Contains details about soft and hard bounces.
• _Job: Stores metadata about email send definitions (JobID, EmailName, etc.).

How to Access Data Views in SFMC

You can access Data Views using SQL Query Activities in Automation Studio or Query Studio. To retrieve data, write queries referencing these views. For example:

 SELECT    s.SubscriberKey,   s.EmailAddress,   o.EventDate AS

 OpenDate FROM _Subscribers s JOIN _Open o   

ON s.SubscriberKey = o.SubscriberKey WHERE o.EventDate

 > DATEADD(day, -7, GETDATE())     

This query retrieves all subscribers who opened an email in the last 7 days.

Use Cases of Data Views

• Engagement Reporting: Track opens, clicks, and bounces.
• Journey Optimization: Identify inactive subscribers and target them with re-engagement journeys.
• Deliverability Analysis: Monitor bounce rates and unsubscribe trends.
• Custom Dashboards: Build custom reports by combining multiple data views.

Best Practices for Using Data Views

• Always filter results using date ranges to avoid large data pulls.
• Use JOIN statements to combine views efficiently.
• Export summarized data to Data Extensions for easier reporting.
• Schedule automation for regular data refreshes.
• Follow data retention policies — most data views retain data for 6 months.

Example Use Case: Find Inactive Subscribers

The following query identifies subscribers who haven’t opened any emails in the past 90 days:

SELECT    s.SubscriberKey,   s.EmailAddress

FROM _Subscribers s LEFT JOIN _Open o   

ON s.SubscriberKey = o.SubscriberKey WHERE o.SubscriberKey IS NULL 

OR o.EventDate < DATEADD(day, -90, GETDATE())     

You can use this output to create reactivation campaigns or suppression lists.