Salesforce MC-101 Exam - Topic 1 Question 6 Discussion

Actual exam question for Salesforce's MC-101 exam

Question #: 6
Topic #: 1

Cloud Kicks recently sent a flash sale email to a data extension containing 1,300 subscribers. The email tracking report shows the email was only sent to 950 subscribers.

What caused the discrepancy?

AAn exclusion list was applied at send time.

BThe personalization string in the email was written incorrectly.

CThe data extension was not marked as sendable.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: A

In Salesforce Marketing Cloud, exclusion lists are used to suppress specific contacts from a send. If Cloud Kicks applied an exclusion list, it would prevent certain subscribers from receiving the email, which would explain why only 950 out of 1,300 subscribers received it. The exclusion list may contain subscribers who have opted out, unsubscribed, or were otherwise flagged to be excluded from this particular email.

Using Exclusion Lists: Exclusion lists are managed at the send time and are often used for regulatory compliance or to manage email fatigue.

Salesforce Documentation Reference: See Exclusion List Management for guidance on how exclusion lists impact email sends.

by Alaine at Nov 21, 2025, 08:19 AM

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Fallon

3 days ago

Surprised they didn't check the data extension settings!

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Helaine

8 days ago

I think it was a sendable issue, not an exclusion.

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Novella

13 days ago

Haha, I bet the intern forgot to check the "sendable" box. Rookie mistake!

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Chauncey

18 days ago

Hmm, I'm going with A. Exclusion lists are the bane of every marketer's existence.

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Leslie

24 days ago

I'm betting on the data extension not being marked as sendable. Classic cloud-based blunder.

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Johana

29 days ago

C'mon, it's gotta be the personalization string. Who doesn't love a good typo?

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Rosina

1 month ago

The exclusion list is the likely culprit here. Gotta love those pesky lists!

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Sage

1 month ago

Could it be that the email was sent to a segment of the data extension? I feel like I read something about that in our last review.

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Michal

1 month ago

I practiced a similar question where an email didn’t send because of a personalization error. But I don’t think that’s the issue here.

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Cortney

2 months ago

I feel pretty confident that the answer is C. If the data extension wasn't marked as sendable, that would definitely explain why the email was only sent to a portion of the subscribers. I'll make sure to double-check the sendable status of any data extensions I use in the exam.

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Thurman

2 months ago

I'm a bit confused on this one. Could it be a combination of factors, like an exclusion list and the data extension not being marked as sendable? I'll have to think through the possible scenarios more carefully.

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Cecilia

2 months ago

I'm leaning towards B - the personalization string in the email was written incorrectly. That could cause the email to fail to send to some of the subscribers in the data extension.

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Anna

2 months ago

I’m not entirely sure, but I think if the data extension isn’t marked as sendable, it wouldn’t send to all subscribers.

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Mitsue

3 months ago

I remember something about exclusion lists affecting how many emails actually go out. That could be a reason for the lower number.

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Pok

3 months ago

Probably an exclusion list was used.

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Loren

3 months ago

Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. Could it also be an exclusion list that was applied at send time? That would make sense if some of the subscribers were excluded from receiving the email.

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Oneida

3 months ago

I think the answer is C - the data extension was not marked as sendable. That would explain why the email was only sent to 950 subscribers out of the 1,300 in the data extension.

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Louis

2 months ago

But what about A? Maybe an exclusion list was applied.

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Desmond

3 months ago

I agree with you, C makes the most sense.

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