DATA TYPES
The following data types can be imported into Bluecore in addition to the data that is already being collected through your Bluecore website integration:
Data Type | Description |
This data type consists of customer email addresses and related attributes for each customer included in the file (i.e. gender or zip code). This is useful to provide deeper segmentation capabilities based on your existing CRM data that cannot be captured on your website. | |
This data type consists of your product IDs and related attributes for each product ID in the file (i.e. subcategory name). This is useful if certain product details are not available on your website for Bluecore to capture. | |
This data type consists of customer email addresses that have unsubscribed. This will be referenced in order to determine email eligibility prior to deployment of email communications. | |
This data type consists of customer email addresses that have opted-in. This will be referenced in order to determine email eligibility prior to deployment of email communications. | |
This data type consists of purchase data including the product ID and additional product attributes. | |
This data type consists of groupings of unique coupon or promo codes to be distributed to eligible customers with Bluecore. | |
This data type provides a mapping between a customer's unique identifier and their email address. |
FILE REQUIREMENTS
Files sent to Bluecore must be compliant with the following requirements in order to ensure complete and accurate ingestion into the Bluecore platform.
FORMAT
All data must be delivered in a flat file CSV format (i.e., Excel XLSX files are not supported).
All files must be UTF-8 compliant.
All files must contain header row which define the columns within the file and detail records which represent the values that can be associated with each header row.
Header row cannot start with a number or contain any special characters other than underscores and must be less than 30 characters in length.
DATA TYPES
When date/timestamps are included in a file, these detail records must be in one of the following formats:
MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM (e.g., 06/12/2018 15:36)
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS (e.g., 2018-06-12T15:36:16)
UNIX timestamps (e.g., 1528832176)All times are interpreted as being in the UTC time zone.
DATA HYGIENE
Delimiters
It is expected that data will be represented using delimiters to signify the end of each field and each record row.
Ideally, the fields are COMMA delimited and records are Control Line Feed delimited.
The client is responsible for ensuring that the data within the fields do not contain delimiters, or any characters that are part of text qualifiers.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Files cannot contain credit card related data
CAN-SPAM/CASL Compliance
The client is responsible for ensuring any email addresses supplied and indicated in the data feed as opted in are as applicable.
FILE NAMING CONVENTION
The filename should follow the naming convention and format requirements described below:
Format: All lowercase, and no spaces or special characters used in the name
Naming Convention: <company_name>_<data_type>_<date>.csv
Example: bluecore_productdata_2016-02-03.csv
FILE UPLOAD LOCATION
Your CSM will provide credentials for accessing Bluecore’s Secure FTP server where files will need to be uploaded prior to import by Bluecore.
CUSTOMER DATA IMPORT
Customer Data feeds sent to Bluecore must include a header row for each column in the file, followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The only required field for Customer Data file import is Email Address (email). Bluecore can support up to 20 arbitrary attributes associated with each Email Address included in the file. Below is an example of a compliant customer data file including filename, header row, and detail records:
Example Filename
mycompany_customerdata_2016-02-03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
PRODUCT DATA IMPORT
Product feeds sent to Bluecore must include a header row for each column in the file followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The required fields for Product/Catalog data files include the Product ID (id), and at least one subsequent attribute (column). Bluecore can support up to 20 arbitrary attributes (e.g., name, price, category, etc.) associated with each Product ID included in the file. Below is an example of a compliant product data file, including filename, header rows, and detail records:
Example Filename
mycompany_productdata_2016-02-03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
UNSUBSCRIBES/OPT-INS IMPORTS
Customer Unsubscribe/Opt-in feeds sent to Bluecore only require a single header row followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. Both the unsubscribe and opt-in feeds follow the same process, so please consult with your CSM to ensure the file represents the type correctly. The only required field for Customer Data file import is Email Address (email). Below is an example of a compliant customer unsubscribe file, including filename, header rows, and detail records:
Example Filename
mycompany_unsubscribes_2016-02-03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
PURCHASE DATA IMPORT
Purchase data feeds sent to Bluecore must include a header row followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The required fields for purchase data files include Order ID (order_id), the unique order ID of the purchase, Email Address (email), Created (created) this identifies the day of the purchase (please use one of the accepted date formats as described above), Total (total) is the sum of the purchase price of all the products purchased including taxes (must be in the number format without commas and currency symbol), and Products (products) are the IDs of all the products bought as a part of the purchase and separated by a pipe character.
Example Filename
mycompany_purchasedata_2020-02-04.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
EMAIL LIST IMPORT
Email list data feeds sent to Bluecore must include a header row followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The only required field for Email list import is Email Address (email). Any email uploaded through this option whose status is not available in the Bluecore platform will default to a known email. To upload emails as opted-in, please use the opt-ins list upload option.
Example Filename
mycompany_emaillist_2016-02-03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
COUPON IMPORT
Coupon feeds sent to Bluecore must include a header row followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The required fields for Coupon Data files are Bank Name (bank_name), as this uniquely identifies a collection of coupons within the Bluecore platform and the unique Coupon Code (code) that will be distributed to eligible customers.
DO
Use lowercase letters and number only
Use dashes or underscores in the middle of the name only
Keep bank_name length less than 40 characters
Keep coupon code length to less than 100 characters
DON'T
Use capital letters in the bank_name
Start or end bank_name with anything other than a number or lowercase letter
Include more than 5 unique bank_names in a single file
Below is an example of a compliant coupon data file including filename, header rows, and detail records.
Example Filename
mycompany_coupondata_2016-02-03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
OPAQUE IDENTIFIERS IMPORT
Opaque Identifiers provide a mapping between a customer’s unique identifier and an email address. Opaque Identifiers feeds sent to Bluecore require a header row followed by the specific detail records that should be imported by Bluecore. The required fields for Opaque Identifiers files are Email Address (email) and Customer ID (customer_id). Below is an example of a compliant Opaque Identifiers file, including filename, header rows, and detail records:
Example Filename
mycompany_opaque_identifiers_2017_10_03.csv
Example Header and Detail Records
