Setting up Data Sources: Web Forms and CSV Imports

This article describes the steps to set up a data source via Web Form or CSV Import in the FORTH platform. It is organized into the following sections:

• Overview
• How to Access
• How to Use
  • Provide Initial Name and Field Assignment Information
  • Configuration (Type-Specific)
    • Web Form Setup
    • CSV Import Setup
  • Field Mapping
  • Automation and Notifications
    • Assignment Options
    • Notifications and Auto-Responders
    • WebHooks
    • Using Gravity Forms with WordPress
    • Spam Prevention
  • Troubleshooting
  • Assistance

Overview

Data Sources in Forth CRM allow you to bring contact information into your system automatically. Whether you are importing a bulk list via a spreadsheet or connecting a website form to your CRM using an HTTP Post, the setup process follows a similar path. There are two methods to connect to external data sources:

• Web Form: Post contact leads from a website or vendor in real-time via an HTTP Post (Key-Value Pairs).
• Import: Bulk-upload contacts from a CSV file, typically for purchased lists or data migrations.

How to Access

1. Log in to the FORTH CRM.
2. Click the Contacts tab.
3. Select Data Source from the navigation bar.
   

How to Use

Provide Initial Name and Field Assignment Information

On the Data Source page, Fill out the core settings in the Name / Field Assignment section:

1. *Source Name - Enter a unique and identifiable name for the data source that will appear throughout the system. We suggest naming the data source after the marketing company or using the web URL for the website from which the leads will be importing.
2. *Type - Select Web Form for real-time posts or Import for spreadsheet uploads.
3. *File Type - This should default to an option applicable for your system. Select the file type for which the contact should be created. You should make a selection even if you operate with a single File Type.
4. **Stage and Status - This is connected to your account's workflow. Select the Work Flow Stage and Status you want the contact placed on creation.
5. Campaign - (Optional) Select the Campaign to which you want the leads to be assigned. If you do not see the correct option for you, you may need to add the campaign to your system first.
6. De-Dupe Field - Select the field you wish to check for duplicates against. We recommend using the "Email" address, as "Phone" could be a shared number with a spouse or family member and possibly still be separate leads from the same household. You would use "My ID" in cases where you are purchasing leads from a lead vendor, and you want to be sure they are not importing duplicate leads to your account.
7. De-Dupe Action - What should happen to the duplicate? There are two options:
   • Reject - the lead will be rejected, no contact is created, and no record of this contact's import attempt.
   • Flag as Dupe - the contact will be created but flagged as a possible duplicate. You will find a link on the Client Dashboard to view and compare possible duplicates and decide if you will merge them or leave them separate.
8. De-Dupe Status - If flagging duplicates, you can have the new possible duplicate contacts placed in a separate workflow status to be sorted later.
9. De-Dupe Type - Allows you to select what contacts you wish to run the de-duple check against. You may select "All Contacts", "Enrolled", or "Not Enrolled".
10. Assigned Intake Form - Allows you to select which intake form's required fields should be validated for leads from this data source. If no form is assigned, all intake forms will be checked (current behavior).

* Required
** Recommended

Configuration (Type-Specific)

Web Form Setup

1. After saving your Data Source as a Web Form, a POST URL will appear in the upper right of the page.
   

2. Provide this to the other side of the Data Source (i.e. Lead Vendor, Marketing Source, Web Site). The POST URL is a unique identifier, and for each source, a new data source should be created so that they can be managed separately.
3. To create a contact using the Post URL from the example image above, your Post should look like this:

https://client.forthcrm.com/post/cefeaa16310d57106b453c4106e715e4c95a69d9/?FirstName=John&LastName=Smith

4. From the example of the POST URL above, expect to receive a contact lead named John Smith. For further information about testing your data sources, see our Help Center article on Testing Data Sources
5. Ask to have a test lead sent using Key-Value Pairs.
6. When finished, click Save Data Source. The Data Source is now ready to accept HTTP Postings and update contact records.

CSV Import Setup

1. In the Import New Contacts from CSV section, click Choose File and select your CSV (Comma Delimited) formatted file from your local drive.
   

1. Leave the remaining items as is. If the CSV file has been set up correctly, you should not need to change other options here.
2. Click Save Data Source in the navigation bar.
   
3. After saving the data source, the Import New Contacts from the CSV section will be replaced with the Import Another File section and an Import Fields section (see example image below).
   

Field Mapping

1. Once a test post is received (Web Form) or a file is uploaded (CSV Import), the Import Fields section will populate with the incoming data keys/headers.

2. In the Import Fields section, select the fields from within the CRM to map to the column headers from the CSV file. The dropdown menu starts with Standard (system) fields. 
3. If you scroll down, you will find the CRM's Custom Fields and other additional options, such as adding data as a note on the contact if you do not wish to save the information to a field.
4. If you make a mistake, and wish to start over, click Clear all at the top right of the section.
5. In the example below, we mapped "fname" to "First Name", "lname" to "Last Name", "phone" to "Home Phone", and "email" to "Email".
   
6. If you don't want to create a field, you can map data to Add as Note.

Start Merge (Imports Only): Once mapped, click Start Merge to begin the import. You will receive a notification when the process is complete.

Note: Co-applicant fields cannot be mapped during initial creation; use Custom Fields if this is required.

Automation and Notifications

These optional settings apply to both Data Source types to automate your workflow.

Assignment Options

1. Go to the Assignment Options portion of the page and select the checkbox next to Assigning On. This allows leads to be worked on as soon as they are received into the CRM.
2. Alternatively, select the checkbox next to Public to make the incoming contacts visible to all users. 
3. All users selected in the interface will be assigned new contacts via a “Round Robin” method.

Assigning On - Check the box to activate further assignment (lead distribution) options you will set. Public - Check the box to make leads public to all users. Public leads do not follow sharing options that may limit what contact users can see. The contact can be made "Private" from the edit contact page (Client Dashboard). Company - Select the company to which to assign the lead. This affects what users are displayed in the next option: "Primary Assigned To". Primary Assigned To - Select the user to whom you want leads assigned. Select multiple users by holding down 'CTRL' while clicking on the users. If multiple users are selected, leads will be distributed evenly. Additional Company Assignment - Add secondary company assignments by company type. Go to the Admin Tab > Companies, and select the company to edit and change the option for "Company Type". Role Assignment - Assign users secondarily by role. For the role to be available, you must make it assignable. Click here for more information. Team Assignment - Select the team(s) you want leads assigned to. Notification - Select an email template to send to the "Assigned To" person. The email template category must be set to "Notification" to appear.

Notifications and Auto-Responders

Send Notifications: This section allows you to email notifying parties when a contact is created. This section is not based on assignments, and any individual specified here will receive the associated e-mail message. 

1. First, select a template from the Template dropdown menu.
2. Select the users to notify. 
3. Add other email addresses in the More People text field to notify non-CRM users. For example, use this to send a confirmation email to lead vendors to confirm you have received a lead they provided.
   

Creating an Auto-Responder: The Auto-Responder can send a message to the newly created contact upon creation. You may do this when the Data Source is linked to a form on your website to confirm that you have received the contact information and will follow up with them shortly.

1. Select the Email On checkbox to activate the feature.
2. Select an option from the E-Category dropdown menu. This email template type has been applied to a template from the E-Marketing tab.
3. Select a campaign from the Template dropdown menu.
4. Select a sender you wish the message to come from using the Sender dropdown menu. 
   

• Web Form: Highly recommended for "Thank You" messages.

WebHooks

Use the WebHooks section to automatically "post out" lead data to third-party tools (like a dialer or specialized email software) the moment the lead is created in the FORTH CRM. You may do this as part of the Data Source to post leads into a phone dialer campaign so new leads can be contacted as soon as possible. 

For more information on setting up WebHooks, visit our Configuring Webhooks article.

Once everything is set up to your specifications, scroll up and click Save Data Source in the navigation bar.

Using Gravity Forms with WordPress

1. Add a WordPress filter to post the form data from Gravity into the CRM.
2. Add a hidden input to your form with your 'thank you' page URL (see example below).

<input name="returnurl" type="hidden" value="http://your_domain_name_here.com/thankyou" />

For a more detailed explanation of the process, see this article on Gravity forms.

Spam Prevention

Consider adding the following hidden input to your Web Form to prevent spamming:
<input type="hidden" name="emailemail" value="" />

Troubleshooting

• Mapping Errors: If fields appear blank after an import, check that your CSV headers match the mapping exactly and contain no hidden spaces or other formatting errors.
• Web Form Failure: Ensure your vendor is not sending data in JSON or XML format.
• Suspended Accounts: All data source posts are automatically halted if an account is suspended and resume once reactivated.

Assistance

For more information, please contact our Support team at support@setforth.com.