When using the Advanced Import feature to bring contacts into InterAction, you can choose to have InterAction attempt to match contacts from the import file with contacts that already exist in the InterAction database. Your matching options are defined on the Edit Advanced Import Instruction Details dialog box that can be accessed when creating or editing advanced import instructions. To access the dialog, choose the Edit Details button on the New/Edit Advanced Import Instructions dialog box. For more information about creating and editing advanced import instructions, see Creating and Editing Advanced Import Mapping Instructions.
For more information about choosing a contact match method, see the following sections:
- Matching Contacts Using InterAction Contact IDs
- Matching Contacts Using Unique Contact Identifier (UCI)
- Matching Contacts Using Electronic Address
- Matching Contacts Using Contact Name
- Do Not Match with Contacts in InterAction
- What Happens if No Matching Contact Is Found?
- What Happens if the Contact I’m Attempting to Update Has Been Merged?
Matching Contacts Using InterAction Contact IDs
This option should only be chosen if the data file you are importing originated from InterAction. For example, you may have exported contact information from InterAction using the address export feature and then used Data Quality Services to cleanse the information. When bringing the contact information back into InterAction, you can easily match the contacts on Contact ID during the advanced import.
[A] When matching contacts based on InterAction Contact IDs, you must specify the ID fields in the data file. When you export contact information from InterAction, you can also export these IDs. If the information you are loading did not originate from InterAction, do not choose this option.
When you match on InterAction Contact IDs you must have both the Contact ID and the Contact Source ID fields in the import data file. These fields are then specified as the InterAction Contact ID import field and the Contact Source ID import field on the Edit Advanced Import Instruction Details dialog box.
When matching contacts based on InterAction Contact IDs or UCI values, contacts are not automatically linked into the folder into which you have chosen to add contacts on the Advanced Import dialog box.
Matching Contacts Using Unique Contact Identifier (UCI)
This option is often chosen when appending contact information to contacts that were loaded into InterAction from another data source. For example, you may have imported contacts into InterAction from your accounting system during your initial data load. Later, you discovered a field in the accounting system that you would like to add to the contacts in InterAction. Using the UCI value, you can match the contacts from the external system with the contacts already in InterAction.
[A] When matching contacts based on UCI, you must specify the UCI field in the data file. This value is typically created using ID information from a system other than InterAction.
When you match on UCI, you must have the UCI field included in your import data file. This field is then specified as the UCI Field import field on the Edit Advanced Import Instruction Details dialog box.
For more information on defining unique contact identifiers for contacts, see Creating Unique Contact Identifiers (UCI).
When matching contacts based on UCI values, contacts are not automatically linked into the folder into which you have chosen to add contacts on the Advanced Import dialog box.
Matching Contacts Using Electronic Address
This option can be used when your data source and InterAction contain unique email addresses. This option is typically used to create and update alternate versions in an environment with multiple language versions of contacts, but it can be used in other scenarios as well.
When you match using electronic address, you must have an electronic address field included in your import data file. The field is specified as the Electronic Address field on the Edit Advanced Import Instruction Details dialog box.
Matching Contacts Using Contact Name
The Contact Name matching method is typically chosen when the contact information you are importing was obtained from a source that has not yet been used to populate InterAction or from an external source. For example, you may choose to match contacts on contact name if your organization’s marketing department has purchased a contact list from a third party.
Contacts cannot be matched on name alone. InterAction needs additional information (such as the company name or an email address) to find matches. For example, importing a list of contacts by name only will find no matches, even if a contact on that list has the exact same first name and last name as a contact in InterAction.
When contact name matching is used, InterAction uses the same matching logic described in Person Contact Matching to determine if the contact being imported matches a contact already in the firm list.
When you select the option to match contacts based on contact name, you can decide if you also want to update the contact name information, if it is different in the import file. If you choose the option to Use name values only for matching contacts, the following InterAction fields are not updated with information from the data file:
- Title, First, Middle, Last, Goes by, and Suffix fields
- Company Name
- Company (Also Known As)
For example, assume the import file contains Thomas J. Williams while InterAction has Thomas Williams. If you choose the option to only use the contact name fields for matching, the J. is not added to Thomas Williams in InterAction.
Note: Matching on contact name is the least reliable way of updating contacts in InterAction. Because of this, you should configure Data Change Management to highly manage any updates made during the import. For details, see Specifying a User Account for Performing Advanced Import.
When you match on Contact Name, you should include as many name fields in the import data file as possible to ensure that InterAction finds an exact match. After you have specified to match contacts based on contact name, you must map the name fields in your import instructions.
[A] When matching contacts based on contact name, map all name fields included in the data file. Providing as much information as possible improves the chances that InterAction is able to identify contact matches accurately.
Do Not Match with Contacts in InterAction
The option to not check for matching contacts is typically used when performing the initial load of contact information into InterAction. When this option is selected, all the contacts in the import data file are added as new InterAction contacts instead of attempting to update existing InterAction contacts. When you choose to import contacts without attempting to identify matches, InterAction also does not attempt to find a matching company in the database for a person’s company listed in the data file.
When you choose not to match contacts, you must map the required fields to create a new contact in InterAction. All new person contacts must have at least a last name defined and all company contacts must have at least a company name defined. The firm may have additional requirements for new contacts.
What Happens if No Matching Contact Is Found?
When defining the contact match method for an advanced import, you can specify the action to take if a contact in the import data file cannot be matched with a contact in InterAction. You can specify either of the following actions:
- Do not import the contact. Write the contact information to the status file.
- Add the contact.
Typically, InterAction always finds a matching contact when using the InterAction Contact IDs or Unique Contact Identifier matching methods to update contacts in the database. If matching contacts cannot be found, there may be a problem with your import file or the contact may have been deleted from InterAction. Because of this, the option to create contacts is not available.
The status file for the advanced import contains details about errors encountered when attempting to match contacts. For more information, see Status File.
When matching contacts based on the contact’s name, you should typically choose the option to add the contact to the database. This is because the contacts you are importing are typically from another system and you do not know if the contact is already in the database.
When you choose to add a new contact if a matching contact cannot be found, any new contacts created during the advanced import are sourced in the import folder for new contacts chosen on the Advanced Import dialog box. For details, see Choosing the Folders into Which Contacts Are Imported.
New contacts created during the advanced import are subject to additional functionality. This includes the ability to create company contacts if the company listed for the person cannot be found. For more information, see Managing Company Association Options.
When new contacts are created during the import, Data Change Management tickets can be sent to notify the data steward about the automatic creation of companies for person contacts and for any possible duplicate contacts created. For more information, see Managing Company Association Options.
What Happens if the Contact I’m Attempting to Update Has Been Merged?
When contacts are merged in InterAction, InterAction keeps as much information as possible about the contacts that were merged. UCI values are all retained in the resulting contact’s UCI additional field. Additionally, InterAction maintains a history of the contact IDs of contacts merged on the resulting contact. When you are using Advanced Import to update contacts and are matching based on the InterAction Contact ID, InterAction checks all contacts that currently exist in InterAction to find a matching contact. If one cannot be found, InterAction checks to see if the contact has been merged with another contact. If InterAction identifies that the contact you are attempting to update has been merged with another contact, InterAction updates the merged contact.