Updating existing contacts

Your contact database does not have to be static. When your contacts' information changes, such as their company, preferences or email address, you can keep Flexmail up to date in several ways. This article explains each method and describes how the update logic works.

Before you begin

Before updating contacts via import, check whether your column headers match the Flexmail field names or placeholders. A mismatched mapping is the most common cause of data ending up in the wrong place.

How contacts can update themselves

Contacts can update their own information through:

• Their profile page: a personal page where contacts can manage their public interests. You can link to it using the #update# placeholder in your emails. Custom fields and other contact details cannot be edited on this page.
• A form: if you create a form connected to the contact database and share the link, contacts can update their information by filling it in.

When a contact updates their own data, Flexmail always treats that as the most accurate version.

How you can update contacts

Via import

The most efficient way to update a large number of contacts at once is via a new import. When Flexmail finds an email address that already exists in your account, it updates that contact's data instead of creating a duplicate.

The update logic works as follows:

• A field value is only updated if the new file contains a different, non-empty value for that field
• If a column is empty or missing in your file, the existing value remains unchanged
• For multiple choice fields, the selected values are replaced with what is in the new file
• Sources and interests are never overwritten. New values are added to the existing ones

On the contact detail page

Open a contact's detail page from the contact overview and edit any field directly. Changes take effect immediately.

Via a workflow

Workflows can update contact fields automatically based on actions or triggers. For example, you can set up a workflow that updates a "Last event attended" field when a contact clicks a registration link.

What happens with duplicate email addresses in a file?

If the same email address appears more than once in your import file, Flexmail processes the rows in order. The first row sets the initial values, and each subsequent row updates them using the same logic as above. Sources and interests from all rows are combined. The import summary shows a warning for duplicate rows so you are aware of them.

Common mistakes to avoid

Overwriting good data with empty columns

If your update file is missing columns that you do not want to change, that is not a problem. Flexmail does not touch those fields. But if a column is present and the cells are empty, while the existing contact has a value in that field, Flexmail leaves the existing value unchanged (because the new value is empty). Do not include columns with empty values if you want to clear a field; that requires a different approach.

Forgetting that multiple choice fields are replaced, not merged

Unlike interests and sources, multiple choice field values are replaced by what is in your new file. If a contact currently has "Bronze" selected in a tier field and your update file leaves that empty, the value is cleared. Include the full intended value in your update file.

Mismatched field mapping on re-import

If your column headers have changed since the last import, check the mapping step carefully. A column that is automatically mapped to the wrong field can silently overwrite data across your entire contact list.

Next steps

• Read "Link database fields" for a detailed guide to the mapping step
• Read "Managing your contacts" to see how to edit individual contacts from the contact overview
• Read "About workflows" if you want to automate contact updates based on campaign behaviour