Bulk Actions - Import and Export Contacts

The Bulk Actions feature in your Contacts/Smart Lists section is designed for efficiency, allowing you to handle multiple actions for selected contacts or even your entire contact list. Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: Choose Your Contacts 

• Navigate to your contacts section.
• To select specific contact records, check the appropriate box.

• For a broader selection, check the box at the top to select all contacts displayed on that page. To further extend your selection to every contact, click the hyperlink which represents all contacts in Referins.

Step 2: Column Selection for Export

• Head to the dropdown menu.
• Determine and select the columns you'd like included in your export.
• When dealing with phone data, it's crucial to check both the "Phone" and "Additional Phones" options. This ensures comprehensive management of all associated numbers.

Step 3: Choose Your Action

• Depending on your goal, click either the “Export Contacts” or the “Import Contacts” icon.
• If you opt for exporting, the system will quickly create a .csv file of your chosen contact records from Referins, which will automatically download.
• Those interested in importing can start this process using the bulk action icon.

Additional Notes:

• If the import and export options aren't visible, it might be a permissions issue. Kindly reach out to your account admin for clarity.
• Every contact record intended for import should have at least a phone number or an email address for a successful upload.

Why Export Contacts?

1. Migrating to a New CRM or Account

• Benefits: Seamless transition, retention of contact details, no manual data entry.

2. Creating Targeted Marketing Campaigns

• Benefits: Improved marketing efficiency, higher conversion rates, personalized outreach.

3. Collaborating with Team Members

• Benefits: Enhanced teamwork, consistent information, centralized data management.

4. Generating Reports and Analytics

• Benefits: Data-driven decisions, identification of trends, understanding customer needs.

5. Backup and Data Security

• Benefits: Protection against data loss, easy data restoration, and increased peace of mind.

FAQ’s on Contact Export

Q1: Can I Export Specific Data Fields?

• Answer: Yes, you can customize the data fields in the exported .csv file.

Q2: What About Notes Exceeding 255 Characters?

• Answer: Only the most recent note, up to 255 characters, is included. More extended notes are truncated.

Q3: Can I Export from Multiple Accounts Simultaneously?

• Answer: Exports are done separately for each account, but you can combine .csv files later.

Q4: Is Automatic Export Possible?

• Answer: Currently, this feature is not available.

Q5: How do you Import the .csv File into Another Platform?

• Answer: Follow the import instructions of the new platform, typically involving column mapping.

Importing a comprehensive contact list is a cornerstone of effective database management. When done correctly, it ensures your contacts are organized with the best data, facilitating more efficient business operations.

Pre-requisites:

• Only users with an 'Admin' role will have the option to import and export contacts. You can adjust your User Settings by visiting: Settings > My Staff > Team Management.
• The import file needs to be a .csv file
• Have only one sheet/tab within the spreadsheet
• Be smaller than 50MB
  (Note: a typical .csv file with four columns and 10,000 records will be ~500kb in size)
• The first row should NOT be blank! Include a header row in which at least one column header corresponds to a field in the system.

How to Import Contacts to Referins:

• A .csv file with the contacts you want to import

Step 1: Prepare Your .csv File

• Row 1 of the file should have essential headers such as ‘first name’, ‘last name’, ‘email’, ‘phone’, ‘additional phones’, ‘tag’, and so forth.
• When adding multiple phone numbers for a single contact, list them in the "additional phones" column. This feature allows you to manage multiple phone numbers seamlessly.
• Format phone numbers correctly. If a "+" sign is required, add an apostrophe at the start (e.g., '+191668128779').
• Avoid using File Upload and Signature Fields in the import.
• For DND columns, remember that contacts will be set to DND for all channels unless specified otherwise through workflows and tags.
• Clean your list and check for duplicates before importing. This is crucial for maintaining data integrity and avoiding deliverability issues. Please refer to this guide for finding and removing duplicates:

Find and Remove Duplicates

Step 2: Import Your Contacts

1- Two options exist for adding contacts:

• Manually create a contact by clicking the “+” sign in the top left corner.
• Or, you can use the import icon (an upward-pointing arrow) to introduce contacts via your .csv file. Choosing “Import Contacts” lets you batch import, which is both time-efficient and effective.

2- If the Import/Export icons are not visible, ensure that a user profile has been created under Settings --> Team Management. Need help? Please Contact Support.

3- Upon selecting 'Import Contacts':

• Click “Upload a file” or use drag-and-drop.

• Map fields to specify how the data will fit into Referins’s fields.
  • A green check indicates a ready-to-import field.
  • "Column Header From File" denotes which .csv column gets imported.
  • "Contact Fields" indicates the target field in Referins. Most general fields are automatically recognized. 
  • Create a Custom Field: If a field does not exist in Referins.
  • Map to Existing Fields: Choose a similar field from the dropdown menu.

• If you do not want to import data in unmatched columns, check the Don’t Import Data in Unmatched Columns box.

• Ensure all required fields are mapped. For instance, Timezone is not automatically mapped.
• The "Additional Phones" column can be mapped to import multiple phone numbers. Separate them using commas, slashes, or semicolons alongside the primary “Phone” number column.
• For multiple emails, separate them and map them to the "Additional Emails" field.

4- Proceed to tab 3:

• Assign a name to your import batch for future reference and tracking or let Referins default to a date-time format.

Manage Duplicates:

• Add New and Update Existing: Imports new contacts and updates existing ones with missing information.
• Add New Contacts Only: Imports only new contacts, ignoring existing ones.
• Update Existing Contacts Only: Updates existing contacts without adding new ones.
• None: Allows duplicate contacts if the "Allow Duplicate Contacts" setting is enabled.

Define Unique Identifiers:

• Email: Merges contacts with the same email address.
• Phone: Merges contacts with the same phone number.
• None: Allows duplicate entries, but for this to work, you need to toggle ON duplicate contacts in Settings > Business Profile > Contact Deduplication Preferences

• Add Tags:
• Selective Tags: Add tags by including a "Tags" column in your CSV. If you have multiple tags for a contact, then you can add one tag enter a comma, then space, and enter the next tag. Example: new lead, customer referral 

• Universal Tags: Add a tag for all imported contacts in the Add Tags field.

• Assign to Workflows or Campaigns:
• Be cautious when assigning contacts to workflows or campaigns to avoid triggering incorrect actions.
•  For example, Adding new contacts to a birthday reminder workflow might send birthday notifications prematurely or unnecessarily.

Specific Requirements: Some workflows have criteria that must be met for proper functioning. Importing contacts into these workflows without meeting the criteria could cause errors or miscommunications.

Conditional Logic: Workflows often use conditional logic to determine the next steps based on contact information. If the imported data is incomplete or incorrect, it can lead to incorrect processing.

Please Note:

The Add to Workflow/Campaign toggle only works for new contacts and not contacts that are being updated through the CSV file.

• Create a Smart List:
• Check the box to create a smart list from the imported contacts that do not already exist in your system.

 Note: This will ONLY create a smart list for the contacts you are importing into the system, not the ones that already exist in the system and not the ones you are updating.

• Finalize by clicking 'Submit'.

Step 3: Validate the Import

• Refresh the Contacts page.
• Navigate to Contacts > Bulk Actions to verify the import's status and details.

NOTES:

• Every contact record should have at least one phone number or email address for a successful import. Just listing names won’t work.
• Address common issues such as error code 1007, which requires adding country codes to phone numbers.
• For importing notes for a contact, ensure only one note per contact with a limit of 5000 characters. Use a large text custom field for more extensive notes.

If CSV does NOT have an email and or phone number:

If that is the case then follow the steps given in the article above and in the third tab select None for Skip Existing Contacts Based on (Primary) and click Submit.

This will create a unique Contact ID and will treat each entry as an individual and act as a unique identifier for the contact.

If at a later date, you want to update these contacts or want to get their contact ID, you simply need to:

• Select the contacts and click on Export contacts. 

Now, if you import this file back into the system, you will see the field for Contact ID.
Note:  

• Contact ID unique identifier only shows up if you have a column header with Contact ID written as the header title. 
• When selecting the unique identifier (Email, Phone or Contact ID) The system will only use identifier selected. It will not use the phone number during the import.

FAQ

1- My CSV list is mixed; some contacts have an email or phone number, and some have both an email and phone number. How should I proceed?

When importing a CSV with mixed data, you can use a secondary preference to help match and update contacts. Set your primary preference (e.g., Email) for the system to search first. If no match is found, the system will then use the secondary preference (e.g., Phone) to locate and update records. This approach ensures that contacts are identified accurately, even if some data is missing.

2- Some of my contacts have multiple emails and or phone numbers. How should I proceed?

If a contact has multiple phone numbers or emails, please split the contacts into multiple so they will be uploaded.

Example:

Original with two phone number columns:

Cleaned for upload version:

Keep the email blank for the second lead with a different phone number because it will create duplicates when we upload contacts with phone numbers as the unique field.

Important note for people who use Keap:

The phone field from the CSV export in Keap is incompatible with__CompanyName. The parenthesis '()' and dashes '-' make it incompatible. We have to highlight the entire column in the CSV file and ensure it is numbered in, remove any parenthesis and dashes, and then we can import without corrupting the data in Referins. 

1- When importing the phone numbers, I get the error code 1007 'invalid required property':

Add a country code for numbers outside the account country when importing numbers. If the sub-account country is set to the US, you won't need to add a +1 (US country code) to the imported phone numbers. However, if you're importing numbers outside of the US, you will need to add the country code

For example: An account that has set its business location to the US would need to add '+44 to call the UK. If the Accounts country is set to a different country other than the US (like - the UK, Australia, etc.), to call/SMS US numbers, you would need to add a '+1 to the country's area code within the CSV File.

2- I'm trying to import a CSV with a DND Column, but all contacts are set to DND for ALL channels.

When importing contacts with a DND column within your CSV, please note that the contacts will be DND for ALL the channels. If you want to DND for specific channels, please set up a workflow first and use tags for each channel. 

For example, I would like John to be DND for SMS only. I would create a workflow that DNDs a contact when a tag 'DND SMS' is added. So now, on the CSV, I would add the Tag 'DND SMS' next to John's name. When importing, this would fire automation to DND John for SMS Only. 

3- I'm trying to import a CSV with Notes, and I cannot generate more than one note per contact record.

When importing contact notes, you may only have one note per contact record with a limit of 5000 characters. Please use the large text custom field if you have more than one note or more characters than the allowed amount.

4- I'm trying to export a CSV with Notes. 

As of now, We do not have any limit for CSV import for notes, and As per our current export behavior, we support Max of 255 Characters for the last note.

For more detailed troubleshooting, see our article “Troubleshooting Bulk Imports Via CSV”

Referins is dedicated to making your contact management process as seamless as possible. The Bulk Actions feature is a testament to that commitment. For any queries or clarifications, our support team is always ready to assist.