How to import Marketing Data values using file upload

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Do you use Invoca Marketing Data fields, but sometimes capture that data through a proprietary or third-party system that isn’t integrated with Invoca? If so, you can still send that data to your Invoca account using Marketing Data File Upload.
 

Gathering your source data

Your first step is to export your call data from your third-party system into a CSV or spreadsheet file. Since this phone call data needs to connect to your call records in your Invoca account, please make sure you are only uploading data about calls that Invoca drove. If you need help exporting this data, please refer to your third-party system’s documentation. 

You can choose between the following datasets to upload to your Invoca account:

• New call records containing Marketing Data
• Corrections to previously tracked phone calls, adding or updating the Marketing Data values on those call records

Formatting and uploading your Marketing Data

1. Log in to your Invoca account and select Signal in the gray menu ribbon.
2. In the Upload Signal Records tile, click the Upload button.
3. Click the Download Template button and click “No, I am only uploading Signals and/or Marketing Data”. Then, click to download a spreadsheet file (.xlsx format) formatted to help you upload your call records back to your Invoca account accurately.
4. Open the Signal file upload template spreadsheet. In row 11 of your template spreadsheet, note the first three columns titled “transaction_id”, “call_record_id”, and “call_start_time”. These three columns are used as unique identifiers to match the call record from your third-party system with the associated call record in your Invoca account. You only need to fill in one of these columns for each of your call records.
   • transaction_id: The ID of the transaction (call leg) being reported on.
   • call_record_id: The ID of the complete call being reported on.
   • call_start_time: The start time does not have to be exact since clocks will not be perfectly synchronized. We will pair this record with the closest match in your Invoca account. “See the Additional tips for reporting properly formatted data” section below for descriptions of supported timestamps.
    
   Providing precise call records:
   Of the three unique identifier columns, “call_start_time” is the least precise. If you fill more than one unique identifier column, Invoca will always match records based on “transaction_id”, then “call_record_id”, then “call_start_time”. If you only fill in “call_start_time”, we strongly recommend you also fill in either the column “calling_phone_number” or “duration_in_seconds” to provide more precise records.
   
    
5. In row 11 of your template spreadsheet, scroll right until you reach blank columns. Enter the exact Partner (API) Name of each Marketing Data field you’ll be reporting on in a new column. 
6. Enter your call record data into the template spreadsheet:
   • Each line of your spreadsheet will update one phone call record with values for each Marketing Data field in your Invoca account. In each row, add the unique call identifier information for that phone call call as detailed in Step 4
   • In each column you named in Step 5, enter the data value for the phone call for that Marketing Data field. 
7. When you are finished entering your call records into the template spreadsheet, save the spreadsheet file as a Microsoft Excel file or .csv file.
8. Return to your Invoca browser window. In the Upload New File menu, click the cloud icon. Find your newly saved spreadsheet file including your call records and select it.
9. Select your time zone from the drop-down menu. When you are finished, click Upload and Preview.
10. Next, Invoca checks your spreadsheet for errors. If your spreadsheet does contain errors, look for how to resolve those errors in the “Troubleshooting errors in your Marketing Data file upload section” below. Otherwise, click Proceed to apply your newly uploaded Marketing Data records into your Invoca account.

That’s it! As soon as you click Proceed, Invoca will display a status bar indicating the progress of your upload. Once the entire file is processed, you can view the results of the upload in the upload history table. 
 

Troubleshooting errors in your Marketing Data file upload

If uploading your Marketing Data doesn’t work correctly on the first try, that’s okay! If any errors result from your file upload, you’ll see an error message with a link to download the error results, so that you can see which row(s) of the spreadsheet caused the error, with explanations of how to correct them. 

Some file upload errors are caused because the data in the spreadsheet doesn’t match a format Invoca can read. For help resolving these errors, see Additional tips to format data in your Signal File Upload spreadsheets.

If you’d like more help troubleshooting errors in your Marketing Data file upload, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly Customer Success team by clicking the Contact Support button below.
 
 

Related:
• Importing call conversions via Signal file upload 
• How to create a custom Marketing Data field 
• Additional tips to format data in your Signal File Upload spreadsheets