Managing contacts efficiently is crucial for any business, especially when dealing with multiple communication channels like email and SMS. This article explores the best practices for linking email addresses and phone numbers to avoid creating duplicate contacts and ensuring the validity of phone numbers using Dotdigital's features.
Link email addresses and phone numbers
To prevent duplicate contacts created from phone numbers, link email addresses and mobile numbers in the same contact record. Here are some strategies to help you achieve this:
API or import
When adding new contacts, submit the mobile number and email address. This helps ensure that both identifiers are added to the same contact record, unless they already exist in separate records.
Contacts
With contacts, you can store multiple communication channels such as email, mobile number, in one record. This keeps your contact database clean and organised.
Learn more in Merging SMS and email contacts.
Programs and autoresponders
Use Dotdigital's automation tools to manage SMS subscriptions. Here’s how you can leverage these tools effectively:
Automated programs
Create automated programs that enrol contacts when they provide a mobile number. For example, when a number is added, you can set up a program to send an SMS asking the user to reply to confirm their subscription. This ensures that the number is valid and active.
Learn more in Program builder.
Autoresponders
Use autoresponder keywords to manage responses. When a user replies to the confirmation SMS, he keyword response can trigger an autoresponder action that updates their contact record or adds them to a list.
Learn more in Keyword autoresponder.
SMS campaigns
Use SMS campaigns in your programs to send personalized alerts, reminders, and notifications. This helps in maintaining engagement and keeps the contact information up-to-date.
Learn more in SMS campaigns overview.
Append phone numbers using Surveys, pages, and forms
When you send a form using email to your subscribers to collect phone numbers, the submitted numbers can be automatically added to the existing contacts. Here’s how it works:
Surveys, pages, and forms
Create a form using Surveys, pages, and forms so submitted mobile numbers can be added automatically to the contact record of the email subscriber who completes it.
Link form option
When linking the form in the email, use the link form option rather than pasting the embedded link. This ensures that the form pre-fills correctly and the phone number is appended to the existing contacts in the database.
By following these steps, you can efficiently gather phone numbers from their email subscribers and ensure that these numbers are correctly appended to the existing contacts in your database.
Prevent incorrect phone numbers
Ensuring the validity of phone numbers is crucial to maintain the integrity of your contact database. The following methods help you prevent incorrect or malicious phone number registrations:
Phone number validation API
Use Dotdigital's Phone Number Validation API to check whether a phone number is valid and assigned to an active handset. This combines number format validation and a handset status check in one call.
Learn more in Phone number validation API.
Double opt-in for SMS
Implement a double opt-in process for SMS subscriptions. When a user signs up with their phone number, send a confirmation SMS asking them to reply to confirm their subscription. Asking for confirmation ensures that the number is valid and actively used.
Learn more in Use verified double opt-in.
Data validation rules
Add data validation rules to your forms to ensure that only correctly formatted phone numbers can be submitted. This helps reduce the number of incorrect entries.
Merge contacts manually
If you already have the issue of unmerged contacts, you can merge them manually. This process involves identifying duplicate contacts and combining their information into a single record to ensure a clean and organised database.