Can I import my members?
Can I import my existing member database?
We can perform a custom member import for a modest fee and agreement from your organization to a 24 month exclusive commitment to MSR. The import fee is calculated based on the developer time necessary to prep and attempt to deduplicate your data with existing MSR accounts.
While imports are possible, they tend to lead to some issues with duplicate user accounts which can create a confusing and often frustrating experience for members and organizers.
- MSR works with over 1,300 organizations, so many of the existing members in your database will likely already own an MSR account. While we try our best to deduplicate data prior to imports, this can be quite difficult.
- If a member uses a different email address with your organization versus the email address they use with MSR, a duplicate account will be created. The same is true for those with a different phone number, outdated physical address, etc.
- Over time we have found that the data in MSR tends to be cleaner and more accurate than the data we import for most organizations.
An alternative solution that many organizations have found to be successful is to use the Email Blaster tool within MSR to announce that your organization has moved event registration/memberships MSR.
- You can easily copy/paste all email addresses in your existing database to the recipient field in the Email Blaster and invite your list to check it out.
- By including a link to one of your organizations event/membership registrations, your members will be added to your new database within MSR as soon as they view the event.
- This allows members to sign-in and view your event with their existing MSR profile, thus preventing the creation of duplicate accounts and the headaches that these tend to lead to for attendees and organizers alike.
- Should a member not already have an MSR profile, they'll be prompted to quickly create one with accurate and updated data.
Import Best Practices
If the above has been considered and an import is still necessary, we recommend the following:
- Limit the number of fields you are choosing to import to the following:
- First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Physical Address, City, State, Zip Code, and Phone Number
- Clean data to the best of your ability prior to handing over your .CSV import file to MSR. Double check spelling on names and email addresses. Verify that addresses and phone numbers are all up to date and accurate. This all helps to eliminate duplicate account creation.