Optimize Your Contact Data Import Processes

Automate engagement, avoid costly email deliverability issues, and save time with optimized processes.

By Brandon Powell

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Table of Contents

Importance of Standardized Contact Data Processes

Standardizing and documenting contact data import processes ensures that marketing and sales teams can execute quickly, maximize engagement and work with consistent, reliable data.

Benefits of standardized data processes:

  • Speeds up data integration into CRM systems
  • Improves automation efficiency by aligning data with existing workflows
  • Increases email engagement, avoids spam complains, and ensures email compliance
  • Improves data accuracy and reduces manual data handling errors

Prioritize Website Forms

Website forms are the most efficient and secure way to capture and manage contact data. They have several advantages:

  • Automated Engagement: Forms trigger existing workflows, autoresponders, and sequences automatically.
  • Immediate Follow-Up: Contacts receive immediate responses which increases engagement, and conversions while reducing spam complaints.
  • Data Standardization: CRM systems automatically normalize data, avoiding inconsistencies. External lists can have inconsistencies like CA and California or phone numbers formatted differently.
  • Faster Data Import: Data requests can take time. Missing info, data normalization, miscommunications, backlogs, and building new workflows can cause data request completion to take days to weeks.
  • Compliance Assurance: Forms capture consent directly, reducing the risk of spam violations or complaints.

When to Use Manual Data Imports

Manual data imports should only be used for large datasets that cannot be captured via forms or API automation. Examples include:

  • Bulk data from partners or third-parties.
  • Merging legacy data from other systems.

Essential Questions for Data Import Requests

For every contact or data import request, we should answer the following questions in order to expedite the import process. Data imports can take significant time, can have high impact considerations, and can be prerequisites to launch time-sensitive marketing or sales initiatives.

Data Import Request Questions

  • Where did the list come from?
    • Be as specific as possible since this context helps identify potential requirements, actions, workflows, issues, and opportunities.
    • This info is also important for avoiding CAN-SPAM violation.
  • Did the contacts give consent for marketing emails?
    • If contacts did not, this can cause major issues with email deliverability and spam complaints.
    • Once your domain or IP gets categorized as spam or blacklisted, it's very difficult and can take significant time to recover from.
    • It's important that this info is documented for any list because the fine is $53,088 for each email that is sent in violation.
  • What products/services does this list align to?
    • If there are multiple products or services, what is the primary product or service?
    • What is the overall business objective for the audience?
  • What fields are priority and which fields can be removed?
    • Data cleansing and normalization can take significant time, which delays any other actions that would be triggered by the list import.
    • Fields like state, postal code, phone number, and even first or last name can be inconsistent within the same data source.
  • Have the contacts on the list received an email from our domain yet? If so, when was the last time they received an email from us?
    • This is important because if contacts are not reminded why they are receiving an email from us, there is a very high likelihood of spam complaints and unsubscribes.
    • This affects the overall deliverability for the email sending domain, impacting spam classification for all emails from the domain.
    • Imported contacts usually need a welcome email series specific to how they signed up or the list origin.
  • What are the priority actions that should be triggered for contacts in this list?
    • Do tasks need to be assigned to the sales team?
    • If the contacts did not opt-in to email, do we need to send out automated 1:1 emails (sales sequence)? Do templates for the emails exist?
    • What lifecycle stage should be assigned to these contacts? Subscriber, Lead, MQL?
    • Do they need a specific welcome/warm-up email series?

Key Takeaways

  • Prioritize website forms for contact data collection to maximize automation and data integrity.
  • Use data imports only when necessary, and ensure they are standardized.
  • Answer essential questions for every data import request to speed up the process and avoid data, deliverability, or compliance issues.
  • Standardized processes improve efficiency and minimize the risk of errors.