Contact management means working with large amounts of data, often amounting to tens or even hundreds of thousands of different people's contact information.

这些联系人通常存储在许多不同ent tools, which means that businesses often want these contact databases to talk to each other. One of the most common ways they do this is by exporting and importing contact data in CSV files, or comma-separated values file.

Download Now: Free Growth Strategy Template

This method means exporting data manually from one app, usually in the form of a CSV spreadsheet, and importing it into the other app. The spreadsheet acts as a vehicle to move your data.

Options to import and export files using CSV are present in plenty of popular apps, such asGoogle Contacts和Outlook。CSV非常适合某些目的(例如一次性数据传输),但是对于持续的联系管理,它确实可以很糟糕。

继续阅读以了解来自使用CSV进行联系管理的常见问题,何时避免在业务中使用它们以及使用什么。

Common Problems With CSV imports and Exports

If you're using CSVs to move your contact data between apps, there are several pitfalls that can quickly escalate to real problems for your business. You might have come up against these already, or they could surface in the future, but in any case — every business needs to avoid them.

1. CSV格式可能会变得非常混乱。

CSV files aren't easy to work with. You might have spent hours wrangling with a CSV template to get your data in the right format, only to import it to your target app to find out there's an error that makes everything invalid.

In a CSV file, data is separated by commas or semicolons, and decimal separators break the structure. With this format, it's easy for long blocks of text to get corrupted, or phone numbers to turn into formulas and amounts instead.

当您使用大型数据集工作时,就像大多数公司在管理联系数据时一样,抛弃您的数据完整性并不需要太多,并且面临大量工作以使其再次可靠。

2.您浪费了很多时间重复相同的任务。

If you manage your contacts by importing and exporting CSVs between apps, this means your database is only up-to-date immediately after each manual update. This could be once a week or even once a month.

As CSV imports are irregular and manual, you're likely to miss new data in your apps — not just new contacts, but changes to contact data, too (like unsubscribes or customer status).

Not only is the CSV method prone to errors and outdated contact information, repeating the same manual updates is time-consuming and frustrating.

3.联系数据始终在变化。

When you export data in CSV, you freeze your data in time. That's a huge risk, as customer data is constantly evolving.

您的系统和业务流程需要运行实时数据,以提供准确,可靠和最新信息,以供您业务运营供电并提供最佳的客户体验。

4.通过CSV导入数据可能会变得非常复杂。

随着您的联系数据库随着您的业务而增长,不可能使用电子表格有效管理它。变量太多:更改电子邮件地址,决策者加入或离开公司,以及客户升级和更改其订阅。bob全站app

您可能会发现您花了时间来重组一个临时电子表格仍然runs the risk of errors instead of actually improving your business data.

如果管理数据过于复杂,则表明您已经超越了简单的CSV,并且需要更直观的解决方案来自动同步数据。

Syncing Contacts Between Apps Without CSV

为了使您的业务最有效地运行并提供出色的客户体验,您需要保持某些联系。这可能是:

  • 您的电话联系人和CRMcontacts, so you always know who's calling
  • 顾客in your CRM and your customer support software
  • Google联系人与iCloud之间的同步触点
  • Marketing qualified leads in your CRM and email marketing app

The best contact management strategies make sure that the data in all of these apps isn't isolated — in other words, if you want to get the most out of your available customer data,you need to make sure your apps are integrated in real-time.

When you use asyncing tool要连接应用程序之间的联系人,您可以准确地拥有最新信息所需的位置 - 您也可以丰富您在每个应用程序中看到的内容。

进口与同步联系管理

So, when should you use CSV files to import and export data — and when should you sync your contacts instead?

手动导入数据是关于创建一个时间ary snapshot of your contacts and moving it from one app into another. It's best for one-time movements of your data between apps.

Syncing is the best alternative to CSVs. It creates a direct and automated connection between apps with one-way or two-way data flow — no spreadsheets involved. It's best for repeated syncs and constant data flow between apps, such as your CRM and sales, marketing, and support apps.

导入和同步联系数据的关键特征

总而言之,如果您需要将数据从一个应用程序进行一次性传输到另一个应用程序,则CSV适合该账单。但是,您应该考虑同步而不是与CSV导入:

  • 您的数据库很混乱
  • You spend too much time manually updating data and apps
  • 您的联系数据不断发展
  • Your data imports have become too complex

简而言之,如果您需要将两个数据库保持不变的同步,则除了CSV导入以外,还需要其他解决方案。

这可以追溯到我们之前提到的导入与同步联系数据选择。同步是持续联系数据管理的更好选择。

我们将同步定义为在两个数据库之间建立一致性并保持这种一致性。尽管诸如Zapier之类的解决方案使您能够根据触发器创建单向数据推动,但联系管理的最佳选择是一个同步,可以在两个方向上传达数据。

当您将数据与双向连接同步时,您将与初始同步建立一致性,然后与连续的双向同步保持这种一致性。

Syncing contact data lets you establish and maintain consistency

By choosing a two-way sync, your contact data in each app is enriched by pulling data in from other apps, so everything is always consistent and up-to-date. This is something you can never achieve with CSV.

New call-to-action

New call-to-action

最初发布于2021年10月1日上午10:47:59,更新于10月1日2021年

Topics:

Contact Management Software