One of the first steps to getting started in Nimble is migrating your contact data. Whether you are uploading contacts from an existing CRM, Outlook, or other sources, you can usually extract those contacts to a CSV file and use our Import Wizard to upload them to Nimble. Once you've added your contacts, you can begin using all the features available to help you segment, track and engage more authentically with your customers.
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We built the CSV Import Wizard as an in-app utility, allowing you to load any CSV file into Nimble and then match the fields for import. Upload the file into Nimble, match the fields, and let our Wizard do the rest!

Chapters:

Organizing your CSV file

Getting Started with the Wizard
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Before jumping into an import, organizing your CSV file is a necessary step for success. We will cover the following:

To ensure you start with a clean database of contacts, it would be best to check your CSV file for any duplicates before running an import. You'll want to do this from within Excel. If you are unsure of how to check for duplicates in Excel, watch this quick video for the steps: Find Duplicates in Excel 2010 & 2013

Importing contacts and companies in the same file is easy and will save you time with having to create two separate CSV files and perform two separate imports.

If your file contains both contacts and companies, this will require some formatting.

In your CSV file, place company names on the same row as contacts. This will assure that contacts and companies are automatically matched once imported.

See example:

If you would like to apply field values such as phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc to both contact and companies, then you will need to copy your companies and paste them below your contact data. You can then copy and paste information from the contact fields and paste it beside the companies. Or you can enter new information that pertains specifically to that company.

See example:

Domains in Nimble can only apply to companies. Therefore, if you are uploading domains to a company record, you must treat this the same as applying the information to companies.

First, create a header titled "Domain" in your CSV file. If you have contacts at the top of your file, you’ll need to leave the domain fields blank until you reach the companies below contacts. An example can be seen in the screenshot.
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Domains must also be formatted without HTTP://.” or “WWW.”. Therefore, your domain should look like this ex. “nimble.com”.
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While putting together your CSV file to import addresses, you will need to input the data in a particular way to ensure it is automatically mapped during the import process. If you would like to manually map the fields, this is also an option but to save time during the mapping process, you can take the steps below.

In your CSV file, create a column for each of the following:

If you have multiple addresses for a single contact or company, then you will need to enter it as Work Address 2 - City, Work Address 2 - State, etc.

Or Work Address 3... or Work Address 4... you get the idea!

Other address modifiers you can use are Home or Other. You can also create an Address using custom fields. These will need to be entered the same way to be automatically mapped.

If you have data in your CSV file that does not correspond with a field that already exists in Nimble, you can create custom fields from your Settings >> Data Fields page, and then match those fields in our Import Wizard!

Learn more in our support article here: Custom Data Fields
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Our CSV Import Wizard also offers the option to create custom fields from within the Wizard itself! Simply click the dropdown next to a field you wish to map to Nimble, and select "Create New Field":

The "Custom Field Manager" will appear providing you with a quick and easy way to add any new tabs or fields.

Some fields may require you to enter specific values for a successful import. Here is the list of possible values for the CSV import:

You may now import social profiles along with other contact information when importing a CSV file to Nimble! For more information, please see our support article here: Importing Contacts' Social Accounts via CSV File

Here's the hierarchy we have for field headers, dictating which field values appear at the top of contact records in Nimble.
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​Phone modifiers:
1. Main
2. Work
3. Mobile
4. Home
5. Work Fax
6. Home Fax
7. Other
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​ Email modifiers:
1. Work
2. Personal
3. Other
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​Address modifiers:
1. Work
2. Home
3. Other

4. Create custom fields to support an alternative address modifier such as "Mailing Address" or "School Address"
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​Fields that will be overwritten:
Single-value fields: Name, Title, Company, Description, custom fields - Nimble will overwrite these fields with the data from the CSV field.
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​Fields that will be appended:
Multi-value fields: phone numbers, addresses, websites...etc. - Nimble will append new data from the CSV into the record.

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Now that your file is organized, you can start the import process. We will cover the following in this section:

To get started, click your avatar in the top right-hand corner and choose Import Contacts. Once here, select "CSV" from the list of Quick Connects.
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When adding your CSV file to Nimble, you may select your existing data source. Under "Select Mapping" choose "Default data sources".

By default, we support - ACT!, Base CRM, Capsule, HighRise, InsightLy, LinkedIn, Nutshell, Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, PipeDrive, ProsperWorks, Salesforce, Sugar CRM, Yahoo Mail, ZoHo.

You may also choose from a mapping you have already saved from a previous import! Learn more here: How to Save CSV Import Mappings

If you are importing from another source or from a proprietary spreadsheet, simply click "Next" to skip this step and proceed to the next screen.
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Now on the "Field Matching" page, you'll be able to match the fields within your CSV file with the existing fields in Nimble.

If you have unique fields within your CSV file, you will need to also create them within Nimble. We'll cover how to do this later in the article.

The "Column name" column on the left will contain fields from your import file, while the "Nimble field" column enables you to find and match corresponding Nimble fields.

In each row, find the corresponding fields to match by searching the field selection.
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On the third page of the import process, you will see overwrite options. If this is your first time running this import then you can simply skip the merging steps.

However, if you are bulking updating your existing contacts with the information in the CSV file, then it is important to be mindful of your merging options.

Under "Overwrite Options" you have the following options:

Next, you will have your merging options. It's important to note that we merge contacts automatically based on email address. We merge companies automatically based on domain.

"People - Fields to merge on" - If your contacts do not have an email address then you can choose to merge on name when email is not available.

"Companies - Fields to merge on" - If your companies do not have a domain then you can choose to merge on name when domain is not available.

By choosing the correct merging options, you will avoid duplicates and have better-organized contacts.

On the third page of the import process, you'll also get the option to choose the contact owner and the privacy. To learn more about contact privacy, take a look at the following: Nimble Contact Privacy Feature

If you consider your contacts to be Leads, you can import them directly to your Leads Pipeline. Learn more about this here: Nimble Lead Pipeline Feature

Lastly, you will have the option to apply Tags on this page. Tags are a quick and easy way to organize your contacts right from the get-go. You can use the Tag section on this page to group all contacts in the CSV file or create a Tag column within the CSV file to apply tags to certain contacts.

For more information about this feature, please take a look at the following: Tags Overview

The final results: 

​If you have any questions, please write us at care@nimble.com, initiate a chat from this FAQ, or join one of our Nimble Onboarding and Best Practices sessions, held every weekday at 9 AM PT.