Add as Subscriber + Update Data Extension

Question

I would like to use both Web Collect and DEManager at the same time.

All my leads currently come in via DEManager so I can kick off a journey. When the journey sends an email, these contacts are added to a publication list. The DEManager has fields for:

• Email
• First Name
• Last Name
• Form Name

The form name is the primary field off which I route people via journey builder.

Right now, if that person goes to unsubscribe, their First Name and Last Name are empty. In the data extension, these fields are populated. It seems the data never gets from the data extension to the contact field.

How can I update contact fields so that they match the data extension fields?

e.g.

Contact First Name = DE First Name

I need this to happen automatically.

Answer 1

It sounds like the subscription/unsubscribe is being handled immediately already via your current process. So, what I would then do is create an automation that does a data extract of your DE, File Transfer to move this to your FTP import directory (or subdirectory) and then an import activity to import this into your preferred list or all subscribers. This will update the attributes from your DE to those in All Subscribers.

1. Data Extract: You would choose 'Data Extension' as the type of extract and then insert the external key of your DE as well as a file name and file type. This will then extract your DE into the safehouse.
2. File Transfer:This will allow you to transfer the extracted DE file from the safehouse to the desired FTP location (Recommend Import directory or a sub directory of Import). By moving it, you can then allow it to be targeted by an import activity.
3. Import Activity: You can then use your extracted DE file to import into All Subscribers to update the attributes inside of All Subscribers and corresponding lists. Make sure to correctly map the field names to ensure all is passed as required.

You would then add these activities into a 'Scheduled Automation' inside of Automation Studio. I would recommend the schedule to be daily to allow for a lower resource draw. This means that once every day all the attributes matching the fields in your DE will be updated.

You technically can have this run as short as once every hour, but keep in mind the available resources are limited per account - which can cause your entire instance to run slower and potentially cause time-outs on some of your processes.