Data Imports will differ from company to company depending on what information you're importing. However, the same basic rules apply for each import template in order for the import to work successfully.
What is a mandatory field?
On the import template (which is downloadable from the CRM), some fields have an asterisk symbol (*) next to the column header on the spreadsheet template as shown in the example below. This means that you must enter data into these fields, and therefore cannot remove it when choosing which fields to import to.
If you don't have all the information required for the mandatory fields for the import, you can enter information such as 'Unknown', 'Unassigned', or '?' depending on the field. Below are a few FAQs based on what you should fill in the blanks with:
Contact Last Name
These blanks can be filled in with anything you like such as a dash ('-') or question mark ('?') as this is just a name. After the import, make sure you set Tasks on the Contacts where there's information missing so you go back and fill this in.
Contact Opt In / Physical Mail Flag / Swap Flag
If you haven't yet confirmed with the Contacts if they wish to be subscribed to you marketing communications, simply add a zero (i.e. the number '0') for these Contacts and they will be set to Unsubscribed.
Contact Role
If you're unsure of the Contact Role, you can simply type in 'Unknown' and complete this at a later date.
Company Group Name
Company Group Name should be the same as the Company Name if you're just creating one single company. More on Company Groups and Single Companies here.
Company Name
Company Name should be the same as the Company Group Name if you're just creating one Single Company. If you're creating a Company that's part of a Company Group, make sure the Company Group Name is the correct Parent Company.
Company Type
Company Types are used to categorise your records based on their relationship to you, such as; Prospect, Customer, Competitor, Supplier, Partner etc. Here's a guide on how to configure your Company Types, so it's recommended you fill these in where possible, and consider having a Company Type called 'Other' or 'Unknown'.
Account Manager
If you don't wish to assign an Account Manager, simply set this to 'Unassigned'.
Ready to start a data import? Get started and follow these steps!