The useful answer is: take more than names, email addresses, and phone numbers. Ask for customer identifiers, channel preferences, consent records, and people who must not receive messages. Then check whether the new provider can import and use each field. Access to a contact record does not, by itself, establish permission to market to that person.
A good restaurant marketing customer data export should let you answer two questions for each channel: who is this guest, and what evidence and restrictions travel with that contact? If either answer is unclear, keep that contact out of the relevant campaign while you investigate.
List the data needed to continue a campaign
Start with one campaign you expect to run after the move. A birthday email, a dining-room promotion, and an SMS offer may need different information. Write down the audience rules, the channel, and the exclusions before asking for a file.
For an email promotion, you might need an email address, a stable customer ID, a language preference, a marketing status, and a record of when and how that status was collected or changed. For an SMS campaign, ask for the equivalent phone and SMS-specific fields. Do not assume an email permission applies to text messages.
Group your requested fields into four buckets:
- Identifiers: customer ID, email address, phone number, and the fields used to match duplicate records.
- Preferences: preferred language, location, interests, and channel choices, where collected.
- Consent evidence: channel, status, collection or change time, source, and the wording or version associated with the choice, where available.
- Restrictions: unsubscribes, opt-outs, bounces, and other suppression records, with their channel and effective time.
Ask whether a current status is all the export contains or whether it also includes a history of changes. A field marked “subscribed” can be useful, but it may not explain which channel it covers, when it was set, or what the guest was told. Those details affect what you can confidently carry forward.
If you also use loyalty data to choose an audience, request the fields behind that rule separately. A points balance, an earned reward, and a reward a guest can actually redeem are not necessarily the same thing. Ask both providers how balances, expiration dates, and redemption status would be represented. Do not assume a marketing contact import also transfers the loyalty account.
Compare the export with the destination import
Ask for a sample export and a field guide before committing to a move. A CSV file may be easy to open, but the format alone does not tell you whether the file contains usable consent evidence. Ask whether related records arrive in separate files and how they link back to a customer ID.
Compare these details with the destination provider’s import requirements:
- Access and timing: Who can request the export, how is it delivered, and can you obtain an updated copy close to the transition?
- Field meaning: What does each status value mean? Does a blank mean no choice, unknown, or something else?
- Timestamps: Are dates and times included with a time zone? Can the destination preserve them rather than replacing them with the import time?
- Suppression: Are opt-outs and bounces exported separately? Can the destination import them as restrictions without making those contacts eligible to receive messages?
- History: If a guest opted in and later opted out, can you see both events and identify the latest applicable status?
Test how the destination matches records. Two rows can share an email address, or one person can have different addresses across systems. Ask what happens when an imported opt-out conflicts with an existing active contact. Agree on the rule before importing; otherwise a duplicate or an older record could obscure a newer restriction.
Ask about secure delivery, who can download the file, and how long the export remains available. Limit access to the people doing the migration and agree on how temporary copies will be handled. A useful export is not just a file you can download; it is one you can interpret and transfer with appropriate controls.
Work through fictitious rows before importing
The following is a hypothetical example. A restaurant wants to move an email promotion to a new provider. The team has a sample export with three fictitious contacts. The destination can import email addresses and email suppression status, but the owner has not yet established whether it can preserve the consent source and timestamps as usable fields.
The table maps each row to a decision for this email campaign. “Hold” means exclude the contact from the campaign until the missing detail is resolved; it does not mean delete the record.
| Sample record | Exported fields | What needs attention | Campaign decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest A, ID A01 | Email; email opt-in; timestamp; signup source | Confirm the source describes the choice and that the destination preserves these details. | Consider for the email audience only after that check. |
| Guest B, ID B02 | Email; status “active”; no channel or timestamp | “Active” could describe an account rather than email marketing permission. | Hold; ask for the field definition and underlying record. |
| Guest C, ID C03 | Email; earlier opt-in; later email opt-out | Import the later restriction and retain its effective time if supported. | Suppress from the email campaign. |
Guest A illustrates why an address plus a status may still need a destination check. If the new system accepts the address but discards the source and timestamp, the owner should resolve how to retain and use that evidence before including the contact. The example does not establish that Guest A may receive every future campaign or a text message.
Guest B should not be converted into an email opt-in merely because “active” sounds favorable. The source provider may be able to explain the field or supply a separate event history. If it cannot, the restaurant needs a separate decision about that record rather than guessing during import.
Guest C shows why a suppression file matters as much as a contact list. Importing only the earlier opt-in would omit the later opt-out. Check whether the destination applies the restriction to the right email address and whether it keeps the effective time. If the provider stores suppression separately, link it to the correct record before any live campaign.
Run similar checks for the actual fields that drive your campaigns. For example, if a segment depends on location or language, confirm what a blank value means and how the destination handles it. A list may import successfully while producing a different audience from the one you intended.
Confirm export rights and validate the import
Get the operational details in writing before you select a replacement. Ask the current provider:
- Which customer, preference, consent-event, and suppression fields can an authorized owner export?
- Are all locations and channels included, and are historical changes available?
- Are there fees, access limits, or a deadline for requesting an export after the account ends?
- Can the team provide a field dictionary, sample files, and a way to connect separate files by customer ID?
Then ask the destination provider what it can import, which fields it uses for audience selection, and which it can store only for reference. Ask how it handles duplicates, conflicting statuses, unsubscribes, and later updates. If a field cannot be imported, decide where the record will be retained and how the team will use it before sending anything.
Use fictitious records for a dry run in a test environment. Check the mapped fields, segment counts, and suppression results without sending a guest message. Then review a small authorized import with the destination’s controls in place before considering a live campaign. A successful file upload is not enough: inspect the resulting records and confirm exclusions. For questions about contract rights or legal treatment of marketing records, consult a qualified adviser.
Next step: Take your field list and a fictitious sample to the Fleksa restaurant marketing automation team. Compare the export and import workflow, campaign controls, and current availability for your restaurant before deciding what to move.
Frequently asked questions
Is a customer email list enough to move marketing providers?
Usually, an address alone does not explain channel preferences, consent history, or suppression. Request those records and confirm how the destination will use them before including contacts in a campaign.
Should unsubscribed contacts be included in an export?
Ask for the records needed to preserve their restrictions. The destination should be able to apply an unsubscribe as a suppression, not treat the imported address as a new marketing opt-in.
Can loyalty data move with marketing contacts?
That depends on the providers and the fields they support. Ask separately about customer matching, balances, expiration, and redeemable reward status; a contact import does not establish that loyalty accounts have transferred.
