Introduction to contacts
A contact in Voyado Engage is the unique collection of data connected to one individual. Contacts are the backbone of Engage and it is not possible to store transactions or other event data without connecting it to a specific contact in the system. During a contact's journey, the amount of information connected to them increases with every step.
Caution
When working with the contacts API - and all other Engage API endpoints - it is important to keep the API rate limits in mind to avoid a degradation of service. See more about the Engage API rate limits here.
Contact types
To track as much information as possible as a contact progresses from an unknown web user to a loyal customer, Engage uses contact types, which allow a unique data model for each phase.
A contact type's name is a handle, referring to a specific data structure. A contact type also has a display name which will be used in the UI. These display names must not be the same as the handle.
The handle Member always exists when an Engage environment is created. The handle Contact is often added too. It’s also possible to add other user-defined contact types.
Member: This usually has the richest data model, where the person has given their consent and shared their information. This can sometimes be called "Customer" in the UI.
Contact: This is mainly used for email lists such as newsletter subscribers or prospects. Typically this contact type contains only an email and some demographic data such as a country code.
Important
Sometimes Member is the only contact type. And sometimes there will be both Contact and Member. Other custom contact types can be added to suit the customer's specific needs.
The relevant contact types, along with their key values and mandatory fields, are defined in the client project and can be obtained from your Voyado Engage team.
A Contact card in Engage looks like this:
Different data models per contact type
The amount of data connected to your contact types can adjusted depending on your needs. Voyado and its partners can configure which fields should be included and can also add custom fields in the formats listed here.
Public identifier
For every contact, one or more public identifiers are defined. This is unique data for every individual that can be used to identify them in a sales interaction. A mobile phone number is often used as a public identifier. In Sweden, a person's unique Public Identity Number is sometimes used. A pure player (e-commerce) will probably use email, but this is not the best identifier for a physical store scenario, where information needs to be given quickly and easily.
Multiple lookups on different identifiers can be done on a POS system. The lookup fields used can also vary from installation to installation.
Integration key
The integration key is used to link a customer to their interactions, most commonly through transactions. It is strongly advised to use a unique numerical value such as:
contactId: The contact's unique identifier in Engage
memberNumber: The value connecting a point transaction to a contact
externalId: The contact's unique identifier in an external system
By doing it this way the data stored for a transaction can’t be linked to an individual in XML files or to API calls outside of the Voyado Engage context, increasing privacy