SFMC – Creating a Data Extension For Contacts

This guide will show you how to create a Data Extension, add contacts, and sync them with TrueDialog. A Data Extension is a table that stores your contacts and their information. Before sending messages to these contacts, they need to be synced with the contacts in your TrueDialog account.

Create Data Extension

1. From the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Home Page.
2. Click Audience Builder, and in the dropdown menu, click Contact Builder.

   

3. From the Contact Builder page, click the Data Extensions tab.

   

4. Click Create to open the Create New Data Extension form on the Data Extensions page.

   

5. Enter the name of your Data Extension in the Name textbox. Note: Spaces and numbers are valid for the Name field.
6. Check the Is Sendable? checkbox.
7. (Optional) Explain in the Description textbox what this Data Extension is used for.
8. Click Next.

   

9. Make no changes to the Data Retention Policy page.
10. Click Next.

    

11. Create the Phone field.

    This field is required as part of the TrueDialog Integration and must be exactly as shown in the instructions below.

    1. Check Primary Key.
    2. Enter Phone in the Name column.
    3. Keep Data Type as Text.

       

12. Create any other fields you want for your contacts.

    In the screenshot below, First Name, Last Name, and Email are used as examples and are not required.

    1. The Data Type column must be Text for all fields you create.
    2. The  Name column can have spaces and numbers.
13. Once you are done adding fields, click Complete.

    

14. Click OK to close the Data Extension Created window.

    

Add Records

1. On the Data Extensions page, click the Data Extension you just created.

   

2. Click the Records tab.

   

3. Enter the phone number of your first contact in the Phone textbox.

   The Phone textbox supports the following formats for phone number entry:
   +12345678901
   12345678901
   2345678901
   (234) 567-8901
   234-567-8901

   

4. (Optional) Enter the rest of your contact information in the other text boxes.
5. Click Save.

   

Sync Data Extension with TrueDialog

A newly created Data Extension needs to be synced with TrueDialog to get the Opt_In status for each contact. This process will create a new column in your Data Extension called Opt_In.

1. From the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Home Page.
2. Click AppExchange, and in the dropdown menu, click TrueDialog Integration.

   

3. Click the Refresh System tab.

   

4. Set the MC/TD toggle to MC.

   With the toggle in this setting, your Data Extension will be synced with data from your TrueDialog account.

   

5. To select your Data Extension, enter its name in the Select Data Extension textbox. A list of Data Extensions will appear as you type.

   

6. Select your Data Extension from the list.
7. Click Refresh.

   

8. Wait for the Success message to be displayed.
9. From the navigation menu, click Audience Builder, and in the dropdown menu, click Contact Builder.

   

10. From the Contact Builder page, click the Data Extensions tab.

    

11. On the Data Extensions page, click your Data Extension.

    

12. Click the Records tab.

    

13. Verify that the column Opt_In has been added to your Data Extension. This column and its values were added when Salesforce Marketing Cloud was synced with your TrueDialog account.

    

Update Opt_In Status

For a contact to receive a message, its Opt_In status must be True. If you update a contact’s Opt_In status in your Data Extension, you must sync the changes with your TrueDialog account. The following instructions show you how to change your Opt_In status from False to True and then sync the changes with TrueDialog.

1. From the Records page of your Data Extension.
2. Select the record to edit.
3. Click Edit Record.

   

4. Click the Opt_In dropdown and select True.

   

5. Click Save.

   

6. From the navigation menu, click AppExchange, and in the dropdown menu, click TrueDialog Integration.

   

7. Click the Refresh System tab.

   

8. Set the MC/TD toggle to TD.

   With the toggle in this setting, your changes to the Data Extension will be synced to your TrueDialog account.

   

9. To select your Data Extension, enter its name in the Select Data Extension textbox. A list of Data Extensions will appear as you type.
10. Select your Data Extension from the list.
11. Click Refresh.

    

12. Wait for the Success message to be displayed.

    

Search Phone Numbers

Once you have entered your contacts into the Data Extension, you can search for a specific contact by entering their phone number. Salesforce only supports searching the Phone field; you must export the Data Extension and search using your preferred spreadsheet to search other fields.

1. From the Records tab of the Data Extension.
2. Enter your phone number to search for. Remember to start with 1.

   

3. Click the Magnifying Glass icon or press Enter.
4. The search results will now be displayed in the table.