This guide will walk you through the process of importing your contacts into Roster using a CSV file. Whether you're gathering social data or adding custom properties, this article covers the essential steps to ensure a successful import.
Before You Start
Before getting started, make sure you have the following items prepared:
Email addresses of the contacts you want to import.
A blank spreadsheet in a program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, saved or exported as a comma-separated value (CSV) file. You can also use a downloadable CSV template provided.
Prepare for Import
Follow these steps to prepare your CSV file for import:
Open your blank worksheet in a spreadsheet program such as Excel or Sheets.
Create and label the necessary columns for email addresses and names. Note that an email or social handle is required for uploading.
Perform validations to ensure the data in the CSV is valid:
Email addresses should be in a valid email format.
Social handles should contain only the handle without URLs or extra characters.
Dates should be formatted as Month/Day/Year.
Check all other columns to ensure the data you're importing is clean and accurate.
Paste the contact information into the relevant fields in the spreadsheet.
2. Save the file in CSV format. Most spreadsheet programs offer this option under the "File" menu as "Export as .CSV" or "Download as .CSV." Using a different file type may lead to processing issues, so ensure it's saved as a CSV.
3. If any values in your CSV contain commas, enclose them in quotation marks. Properly saving the file as a CSV will typically handle this for you.
Mapping Column Headers to Import Fields:
One common issue when uploading CSV files is misaligned column headers. To prevent errors, ensure that your CSV column headers precisely match the import fields in Roster.
For example, if your CSV has a "FirstName" column, make sure to map it correctly to "First Name" in Roster's import settings.
Using provided templates and double-checking mappings can help avoid this problem.
Accurate alignment between CSV headers and Roster's import fields ensures a smooth and error-free data import process.
Importing Custom Properties
Roster now allows you to upload additional data beyond basic customer information through Custom Properties. These are fields that you can set up to further organize or segment your contacts. You can include additional customer data like Amount Spent, Number of Purchases, or Last Purchase Date. Here's how to do it:
Make sure to set up Custom Properties within Roster before uploading your contact list. You can do this from the Contacts page or under Settings > Properties. If your CSV includes columns not mapped to supported fields, it will be flagged for review.
When mapping values to custom properties, follow the same CSV field mapping process.
For checklist-type Custom Properties, enclose the CSV column values in quotation marks and ensure they form a valid array. For example, if your property is "Favorite Sports," the value should look like this: "["Cycling", "Hiking", "Running"]" or like this for a single value: "["Cycling"]".
Once these steps are complete, you're ready to import the CSV file into a Roster list.
Mapping Existing Discount Codes to Contacts
Although Roster lacks built-in functionality for mapping CSV columns to Discount Rules and then to Contacts, you can still achieve this with assistance from the support team. Here's how:
Include the discount code as a column in your CSV, associating each code with an email address in the CSV.
Ensure that each upload includes discount codes for a single discount rule that already exists in the system.
Upload the CSV, map the other columns as needed, and leave the discount code field unmapped.
Contact the support team, specifying which discount rule the codes should be associated with. The team will ensure that the discount codes are imported along with the other mapped fields in the import.
By following these steps, you'll be able to successfully import your contacts into Roster, whether you're gathering social data or utilizing custom properties.