Data import: painless CRM system implementation

Are you considering switching to a new CRM system but afraid of the implementation? That's understandable - moving data from one software to another can be extremely cumbersome. In Sugester, we've simplified this process to the maximum by creating an easy data import system.

With import, you transfer all previously collected customer data to Sugester. Whether you're importing from a pre-prepared file or from another system, both cases are equally simple. It's a one-time operation, and once imported, you use the data continuously.

If you're importing data to Sugester for the first time, just prepare the file properly, upload the data, and you're done! You can start using it right away.

If you import data to the CRM regularly, keep a few important things in mind:

• Always use the helpful duplicate strategy feature in Sugester. It will help you avoid duplicate records in the database
• For data to be correctly updated, your import file must contain at least one of the columns mentioned in the next point, so the system knows where to update what
• Customers are matched in the system using this data in the following order: Customer ID, Tax ID, email, primary phone, mobile phone. This means that when uploading a new database and selecting Duplicate Strategy -> Update record, the system first tries to match records based on the Customer ID column; if not found by ID, it searches by Tax ID; if not found by Tax ID, it searches by email, etc. and overwrites the data. If the system cannot find records by the above data, it starts searching by contact data (primary and additional) - email, primary phone and mobile phone.

Get prepared

You've got the preliminary information, so now you can start preparing the file you'll import. The key word here is "properly". It might seem like the easiest part of the import, but in reality, a well-prepared file is the guarantee of import success.

What do you need to know about import files?

• You can prepare them in xls or csv format (we have a tip for you: How to prepare a customer data file)
• A single file should not have more than 5000 records. If it's larger, split it into several smaller ones
• Every column you want to import from the file must have a corresponding field in the CRM (more on this in the next step)
• Remember that only 1 piece of data can be in one row. If, for example, you're importing a customer who has more than 1 email address, put only their main email address in the file, and import the rest separately using customer contact import

Do you have additional fields?

If you have your file ready, it's time for the next step - additional fields. What does this mean? We already mentioned this when discussing files.

If your file contains data that is personalized and specific to your industry, and Sugester doesn't have corresponding fields, you simply need to add them. That's what custom fields in the CRM are for.

With them, you can create as many fields as you need to store all necessary customer information. They are essential for the import to be carried out correctly. Why? Because the system, when "taking" data from the file, needs a designated place for each piece of data. Without this, your import will be incomplete.

What about headers?

The last step before successfully completing the import is assigning the correct headers to the columns in Sugester. This ensures that the email address goes to the email field, the company name becomes the customer name, etc.

What does this mean? Take a look at the screenshot below.

Above each column of the customer file there is a menu to select the field where the content of that column should go. So if a given column contains email addresses - select "E-mail" from the menu; if the column contains tax ID numbers - select "Tax ID", etc.

If the file has a header (the first row in the file contains column titles), you can use the "File has headers" option, where the system will automatically match headers based on the column content. However, it's always worth checking whether it did so correctly.

If we don't want to import certain columns from the file, just set the "skip" option in the column header.

Once you've set all the headers, just click "import data" and you're done! You can now enjoy your brand new customer database, which you can expand, manage, and modify as you wish.

Done?

What if something went wrong? Don't worry, it happens to the best. The import might contain errors. You can easily check this on the import list in the "errors" column. By clicking on the number of errors, you'll be taken to a list where you can read exactly where the problem lies.

This article has been updated. It was first published on 25.03.2016.