Importing contacts
Use NexJ CRM to import contacts from a legacy system and merge them with your current database.
This process involves the following steps:
You can import contacts by navigating to the contacts panel in the Contacts workspace, clicking the Options button selecting Import , and selecting the required import option. Ensure that any users who want to use the contact import functionality in NexJ CRM have the ImportProcessView and ImportProcessManage privileges.
Importing contact packages
Once you have obtained an import package containing the CSV files and mapping files, import it to the staging server.
To import the contact package:
To view all completed and running import jobs, click the Options button and select . The Import Processes dialog displays a list of all import jobs. Once an import job has completed, its status changes from Running to Completed or Failed. To see the error log for a failed job, select the job in the processes list and click View Error Report .
You can filter the list of import jobs in the Import Processes dialog by description, stage, status, or start date. Click Showing all Import Processes to display the filter fields at the top of the dialog.
Reviewing imported contact data
After importing contact data and notes, review it to verify that all data is present and correct. You can then correct any inaccurate information and discard any unnecessary records. You can stop reviewing the data and come back to the Import Processes dialog at any time.
Reviewing the records in the import package allows you to verify the data is accurate before submitting it for merging with other existing records in the system. It also gives you the opportunity to remove old or outdated records that you do not want to ultimately import into NexJ Customer Relationship Management. Carrying out this part of the import and merge process helps ensure a smooth migration of the data into the new system.
To review the imported contact data:
You can now review the ranked contact matches on screen or in a printed report.
Contact matching logic
When you submit contact data for matching, NexJ CRM uses algorithms to determine which contact data is new and which data is duplicated in NexJ CRM and should be consolidated with an existing contact record.
The following table lists the data fields that are used by NexJ CRM to match imported contacts and shows percentages for the quality of the match.
Contact matching data fields and match quality values
Data field | Match quality value |
---|---|
First Name | 20% |
Last Name | 30% |
Birth Date | 30% |
Gender | 5% |
Zip field of the primary address | 15% |
Before completing the import process, you will have the opportunity to review the imported contact data, and the match quality value, and to specify how to process staged contacts. For example:
- If only the gender matches, the match quality is 5%. This is considered a low quality match, so you may choose to create a new contact.
- If the last name, birth date, and Zip field match, the match quality is 75%. This is considered a high quality match, so you may choose to associate the imported data with the existing NexJ CRM contact.
Reviewing match results and processing staged contacts
Once the matching process has completed, you can review the proposed match results, recommend actions for each contact, and process the data. To check that your match data is ready for review, navigate to the Import Processes screen by clicking in the main toolbar. Your import job's Stage column should read Review Match Results
, and the Status column should read Waiting on User
.
You can print out the match results, have other users review the report, and then recommend the actions using the View Match Results Report button available in the View Import dialog, or you can review the results and recommend actions directly in the Review Match Results tab.
Printing match results for review
If you prefer printed documents to on-screen data, or if you want someone else to review the data before making a decision, you can print the Match Results Report.
The report displays each staged contact with its recommended action. It also contains summary information such as:
- The name of the import package and date generated
- The total number of contacts processed
- The total number of recommended merges
- The total number of recommended creates
The report is truncated after 250 pages or 2500 records, whichever is smallest. If there are records that were not included in the report, you can process the records that were included, rerun the report for the remaining records, and repeat as needed.
To print match results for review:
- Navigate to the Contacts workspace and click the Options button in the contacts panel.
- Select Stage column will read
Review Match Results
, and the Status column will readWaiting on User
. . The import job's - Select the import job from the list and click View Match Results Report.
- In the Report Parameters dialog, specify report criteria, including whether contacts with suggested matches or without suggested matches or both should be included, and how close the existing contact must be to the imported contact to be considered a match. Specify in which format the report should be generated.
- Click Run Report.
When the report is generated, you can either save it to your system or open it in the appropriate application.
Review the report to determine which merge actions are required for each contact. When you are done your review, use the Review Match Results tab to enter the actions into the system and process the contacts.
Specifying merge actions
Staged contacts require an action during a merge. Actions indicate how the staged contact information will be moved into the existing database. You can merge the staged contact with an existing contact in the database, create a new contact in the database, or discard a staged contact.
Specify the merge actions in the Review Match Results tab. To access the tab, in the Import Processes screen, select your import job and click Open . You can use the fields above the Staged Contacts list to filter the contacts by name, status, match quality, match, and action. You can also sort staged contacts by name or match quality by clicking the sort arrows in the column title row.
To specify a merge action for a staged contact:
Processing staged contacts
Note
Only process staged contacts when you have already reviewed their information. Once you process a contact, the merge process for that contact is complete. This cannot be undone, and changes are committed to your database.
Processing single contacts
- Select the contact in the Staged Contacts list.
- Verify that the correct action is selected under Choose how to process the staged contact.
- In the Staged Contacts list, click the Process Selected button.
- In the Process Contacts confirmation dialog, click Yes.
Processing lists of contacts
To process a list of contacts:
- In the Staged Contacts list, ensure that the correct actions are selected for each contact under the Action column.
- In the Staged Contacts list, click the Process List button.
- In the Process Contacts confirmation dialog, click Yes.
Completing the import
Complete the import to indicate that you have finished all work on the import package.
Note
Completing an import ends the import process. Any unprocessed records in the import are discarded. This action cannot be undone.
To complete the review and produce an import completion report:
After the import completes, the contact records become available in the system, and can be accessed like any other contact records.
After completing the contact import, you can generate an Import Completion report, which contains details such as import package name, the generation date, and the total number of processed contacts by merge action. You can also include additional information when you request the report.
Generating the Import Completion report
After completing the import tasks, including marking the review as complete, you can generate an import completion report, which summarizes the actions taken during the contact import process.
The Import Completion report contains detailed information on the import package and how it was processed. This information includes:
- The package name
- The date that the report was generated
- The total number of contacts merged into the system
- Other additional information specified when you run the report
The Import Completion report includes detailed data for up to 2500 records or 200 pages. If the import job includes more than 2500 records or would run longer than 200 pages, then the printed report will be truncated.
To produce an import completion report:
The Import Completion Report opens.
You can choose to review or to print the report. You can also regenerate the report, including different fields.
Deleting import jobs
You can delete an import job before it is completed from the Import Processes dialog. You can delete any job with one of the following statuses: Failed, Completed, Waiting on User.
If you delete an import job with the Import Into Staging state, all data from the import package is deleted.
If you delete an import job with the Review Staged Data state, all data from the import package is deleted.
If you delete an import job with the Review Matched Data state, all unprocessed records are deleted and will not be processed further. Any processed records remain in your database.
Note
This action cannot be undone.
To delete an import job: