I have noticed when importing contacts the incoming contact address information has two behaviors that I am curious if there are settings or best practices to help manage the import merging effectively.
- Always primary
- The importing contact address is always considered primary.
- Unlike the lead qualification process were it adds the lead address as a secondary address, the importing address is assumed to be primary. So for matched contact records, the current primary address is overwritten (*but not completely ..see #2 below).
- How can the process be managed so that matched contacts have importing addresses optionally appended (to contactaddresses) rather than overwrite/merge the primary address?
- Of course, if no address exist for the contact or the contact is new, create the address and make it primary.
- Merging field by field vs the address block
- When an importing address does merge with the existing primary address, the fields are merged individually rather than the entire address block. So if an importing address is incomplete (e.g. only state/prov, postal/zip, country ahve values), those fields with values overwrite their corresponding bpm fields, but those fields with no values leave their corresponding bpm fields untouched. What you end up with is an inconsistent update of the contact’s address.
- Contact Address: 280 Summer St., 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02210
- Importing Address: [blank], New York, NY 1002
- New Contact Address: 280 Summer St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10020\
- The field merging strategy works for other fields, but may not for an address block. The address block is a unique, it’s a complete replacement of all fields or none.
- The manual merging is perhaps a tool to use here, but I am believe this does not apply to the batch import.
- Yes, creating cleaner data or I should say more complete data avoids this…but not in reality.
- Case scenarios exists where you are importing contacts with less complete information, especially the address info.
- You cannot know ahead of time record by record when a contact/address exists or not without duplicating your import efforts.
- Ideally, having setup configuration rules to:
- Optionally import address as secondary if an contact address already exists… or force as primary as it does now.
- Optionally abandon the address merge or import as secondary if the address block doesn’t meet address validation/completeness.
- When an importing address does merge with the existing primary address, the fields are merged individually rather than the entire address block. So if an importing address is incomplete (e.g. only state/prov, postal/zip, country ahve values), those fields with values overwrite their corresponding bpm fields, but those fields with no values leave their corresponding bpm fields untouched. What you end up with is an inconsistent update of the contact’s address.
Consistent data updates is what I am looking to achieve when using and leveraging the import tool.
Steve
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Dear Stephen,
Thank you for such a detailed feedback.
You are right that there is a logic on Contact Address object to mark the first address record as primary.
Please find an article on how to import contact address at the following link:
https://academy.bpmonline.com/documents/sales-enterprise/7-10/how-impor…;
Regarding record merging during the import.
We have already a suggestion registered for R&D team to have a possibility to switch off merging process.
I will extend it to add possibility to turn off merging with empty values.
This suggestion will be prioritized by system analysts to be considered for further releases.
Best regards,
Diana Adams
Thanks for the link. The merging really isn't about merging empty values but handling a block or group fields. All or nothing. For now, I currenly see only the address block as the critical issue. So it's about how..so rathe than turn off..provide some control setting(s).
Perhaps a system setting as:
Contact Address on Import
- Overwrite primary address if import address valid, else append (default)
- Always append
- For new contacts
- The address issue is irrelevant. Address is appended as primary.
- For existing contacts
- Setting #1 has the primary address getting overwritten (entire block of fields*) if the import address block is valid else appended
- OR
- Setting #2 has valid or non-valid addresses always appended as either primary or secondary depending on the contact address existing or not.
* entire block or all fields are updated, even having empty values if need be, as long as the entire block matches the import block of fields.
Steve
Dear Stephen,
Thank you for the suggestion. We will pass your ideas to R&D team.
Best regards,
Diana