Handling Addresses and Phones

The Advanced Import feature offers you the ability to add addresses, phones, and electronic addresses to contacts or to update existing items on contacts. Advanced import uses the field group instructions you define for each address, phone, and electronic address to determine how to manage the information you are bringing in for each contact record.

For example, Jane Tarnoff may already exist in InterAction with a business address in New York. You have an import file you want to load that specifies Jane’s business address as being in Los Angeles. You can choose to do either of the following:

• Replace the New York address with the Los Angeles address
• Keep the New York address and add the Los Angeles address as an additional address

You can also choose to delete information from a contact or update addresses, phones, or electronic addresses for a person’s associated company. For more information, see the following sections:

• Matching Addresses and Phones
• Removing Addresses and Phones from Contacts
• Adding vs. Replacing Addresses and Phones
• Setting a Mailing Address
• Updating Company Addresses and Phones from Person Contacts

Most options are only used if you are updating existing InterAction contacts with information from the import file. For information on how to specify instructions when you are not attempting to match contacts, see How Do I Add Addresses and Phones for New Contacts Using Advanced Import?

Any information you add, update, or remove from contacts is subject to Data Change Management rules set for both the contact you are updating and the user on whose behalf you are bringing in contact information.

Matching Addresses and Phones

Using the Advanced Import feature, you can choose either of the following options for matching address, phone, or electronic address information:

• Location Type - should be used in all situations unless you specifically have the address, phone, or electronic address IDs in the import data file.
• Address/Phone/Electronic Address IDs - should only be used if the contact information originated in InterAction. For example, you may export contact information using the export addresses feature and then bring the cleansed contact information back into InterAction using the Advanced Import feature.

[A] Matching by Location Type

[B] Matching by Address ID

Matching by Location Type

If you select the option to match the addresses, phones, or electronic addresses by location type, you must specify the following for the item you are importing:

• Whether the item you are importing should be global or folder specific. Typically, all phone, address and electronic addresses are added as global.
• If you do choose to make the item folder specific, to which folder the item is specific.
• The location type for the item (Business, Business 2, or Home).
• Type of electronic address or phone (for example, email, Web site, phone, or fax).

Although you cannot create locations by tying phones to addresses using the Advanced Import feature, primary business and home locations are automatically displayed in the Web Client. 

Matching by IDs

If you select the option to match the addresses, phones or electronic addresses by IDs, you must specify the following for the item you are importing:

• Address/Phone/Electronic Address ID
• Address/Phone/Electronic Address Source ID

How Do I Add Addresses and Phones for New Contacts Using Advanced Import?

Using the Advanced Import feature, you can add new contacts to InterAction without attempting to match the contacts in the import file with existing contacts in InterAction. When setting up your import instructions, InterAction prompts you to specify the field group instructions for each address and phone you are importing. The field group instructions dialog boxes are designed for situations where you are updating existing InterAction contacts instead of bringing in new contacts and contact information.

When defining your field group instructions for an import where you are not attempting to match contacts in InterAction, choose the option to match the addresses, phones or electronic addresses by Location Type. Then specify the location type (Business, Business 2, or Home) for the address, phone, or electronic address.

Leave all other settings as is.

Removing Addresses and Phones from Contacts

Using the Advanced Import feature, you can remove addresses, phones, and electronic addresses from InterAction. Typically, you use this option in conjunction with matching items by ID instead of location type when you have exported contact information from InterAction and had it reviewed for accuracy by someone who knows the data and can validate that the item was no longer valid for the contact.

To delete an address, phone, or electronic address from a contact, you can leave fields blank in the import data file for the contact. For example, to delete a phone for a contact, you would provide the Phone ID and the Phone Source ID, but leave the field for the phone number value blank. You would then select the option to Delete the current phone for the InterAction contact. The following table indicates which fields must be included in the import file to delete an item from a contact.

Fields to Map with Blank Values to Delete Items from a Contact

Item	Fields Specified in Data File
Address	Street City State Postal Code
Phone	Phone Number
Electronic Address	Electronic Address

[A] Select this option to keep the current value in InterAction.

[B] Select this option to delete the current value in InterAction.

Leaving a field blank in the import data file can also mean that you do not want to update the value in InterAction for the contact. For example, if you are bringing contacts in from another source and some contacts have email addresses defined in the import file, while others do not, you do not want to delete the email addresses already in InterAction for the contacts. In this situation, you should choose the option to Keep the current electronic address for the InterAction contact.

Adding vs. Replacing Addresses and Phones

If you are matching the address, phone, or electronic address in the data file based on location type, you can choose what to do if the InterAction contact already has an item of the specified type. For example, assume you are importing contacts and their business phones. You can choose either of the following options:

• Add the phone from the import data file as a new phone.
• Delete the current phone and replace it with the phone from the import data file.

If you are matching contacts based on ID, you do not have the option of adding the item to the contact. This is because if the ID of the item is known, the exact item you are updating is also known.

In most cases, you should choose the option to add the phone to the contact as a new phone. You may, however, choose the option to replace the current phone if you are certain that the value in the import data file is the only correct phone for the contact.

If you choose to add an address, phone, or electronic address for a contact, the address uses the next available location type. For example, if the contact already has a business phone, the new phone is added as alternate business.

If you choose to replace an address, phone, or electronic address for a person contact, you must specify how InterAction should handle items shared from the person’s associated company. For more information, see Updating Company Addresses and Phones from Person Contacts.

[A] Select this option to retain the current value and add another phone to the contact.

[B] Select this option to delete the current value and replace it with the value in the import data file.

Adding an Address, Phone, or Electronic Address to a Contact

When an address is added to a contact, InterAction checks to see if a matching address is entered on the person’s associated company. If it the address does match, InterAction shares the address from the company contact to the person contact.

Setting a Mailing Address

When adding new contacts using the Advanced Import feature, the mailing address is set as the first address you map regardless of the position or sequence of the address data in the CSV file. For example, if you want the home address to be the mailing address for the group of contacts you are importing, when you set up the import mapping instructions be sure to map the Home address before you map the Business address.

Advanced import cannot be used to change which address is set as the mailing address for a contact already in InterAction. If you are adding a new address to an existing InterAction contact that does not have a mailing address, the new address you are importing is set as the mailing address for the contact. For more information about mailing addresses, see the InterAction for Data Stewards and Marketing Users guide.

Updating Company Addresses and Phones from Person Contacts

When replacing addresses, phones, or electronic addresses for person contacts, you must define what InterAction should do if the item is shared from the person’s associated company. You can choose any of the following options:

• Replace the item for the person contact only.
• Replace the shared item for the company and all company personnel that already share it.
• Keep the current item for the InterAction contact.

If you are bringing contact information back into InterAction after cleansing it using the services of LexisNexis InterAction or a business partner, you should select the option to replace the shared item for the company and all company personnel that already share it. Otherwise, you should select the option to replace the item for the person contact only. If you are unsure of the quality of the information in the data file and neither want to jeopardize the data in InterAction nor review Data Change Management tickets for the import, select the option to keep the current item for the InterAction contact and not replace it.

[A] Select this option if you are sure the information is accurate, bur are not sure if it applies to all company contacts.

[B] Select this option if you are re-importing contact information after data cleansing.

[C] Select this option if you are unsure of the quality of the contact data in the import file.