5 Easy Steps for Creating Contact Lists: Marketing Automation 

So you purchased a  Marketing Automation Software platform. Now how do you plan on getting your existing contact database imported into the new software system? Gathering contact lists can be one of the most difficult tasks a marketing person must complete  but without importing contacts, the ultimate goal of success is not possible.

Below are five steps to use when compiling contacts for marketing automation software implementation.

Step #1 Deciding Which Information is Important to Gather.

Before you ask everyone to compile their contacts, be sure to give clear instructions. Certain information will be valuable once you import contacts into the marketing software. An email address, for example, is the single most important piece of information. Without an email address, you won’t be able to send any outbound marketing messages. If you have phone numbers but no email addresses, call the contact to request their email address. The second most important piece of information is the type of contact. You will be sending different messages to different contacts. You will especially want to distinguish between your prospects and customers.

Tip: Be sure to add a column in your spreadsheet called “contact type” and put your labels there.

Step #2 Gathering Your Contacts.

How your contacts are stored will depend on your company’s import methods. The most common places for contacts are in employee email accounts, physical business cards, or in a CRM. Obviously if your company contacts are strewn across several employees’ desks, it is going to be difficult to gather them. The important thing is to ask for help in those situations. Ask employees to export CSV files directly from their mail client or ask employees to gather their contacts and put them on a spreadsheet. If you are lucky enough to have a CRM, export your contacts from there. Then combine all of them on one spreadsheet.

Tip: You can always use a spreadsheet function to remove duplicate email addresses.

Step #3 Importing Contacts

Special considerations should be taken before you actually import your contacts. Some systems make it much more difficult to manipulate the data once it is imported. First, make sure you have a column to represent each piece of information for each contact. Make sure the spreadsheet is filled out as completely as possible. Then take a survey of the fields within your marketing platform. Although the names may not be exact, you can store “work phone number” in a field that says “primary phone number.” If there is not a field for all of your information, create one. Now you can import your contacts and map your column headings to the respective field inside the platform.

Tip: Be careful of your contact limit. If you attempt to import more contacts than you platform will allow, you can lose data.

Step #4 Segmenting Imported Data

Now that your data is safely imported into your marketing software platform, it is time to make separate dynamic lists. First decide the topic of your first marketing message. Will you be sending a discount coupon to customers? If that is the case, create a filter or a list of only customers so it is available when you are ready to send your email. Become familiar with the techniques of list building. Some systems provide more capabilities than others and segmentation can create endless marketing possibilities. For example, you may be able to create a list of all warm prospects, who live in a certain state, and who belong to a certain industry.

Tip:  Using if/then conditions can really open up your segmentation possibilities.

Step #5 Creating a Process for Adding Future Contacts

Getting the initial set of contacts imported is the biggest challenge but creating a process for continuous additions can also pose some challenges. You may have several different employees adding contacts at different times to different accounts. Begin by requiring certain information to be entered for each contact. This will ensure that you have all the data necessary to satisfy the different lists/filters you have created. Next, decide how and when that data will be imported.  Once those contacts are imported, they can join dynamic lists which will funnel those contacts right into the correct email campaigns. If you don’t have a CRM, you can set up a company drive where employees can deposit their contacts.

Tip:  Take your time in developing a process that works and that will be easy for everyone involved to follow.

This article should have answered at least five important questions you might ask yourself when implementing marketing software for the first time. Although the task seems daunting, once the initial database is imported and processes are aligned for adding new contacts, you can enjoy a sense of accomplishment knowing that all of your contacts are automatically funneled into the right automated email campaigns.

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