If you’re running outbound campaigns or sales ops, you know messy prospect lists cause headaches—bad data means wasted emails, missed deals, and a lot of manual cleanup down the line. This guide’s for anyone using Amplemarket who wants to keep their prospect database tidy without losing their mind to busywork.
Let’s skip the fluff and get into the steps that actually help you manage and clean your data in Amplemarket, plus some honest advice about what’s worth your time (and what isn’t).
1. Understand What “Clean” Means (and Why It Matters)
Before you start clicking around, get clear on what a “clean” database looks like for your team. It’s not about perfection—it’s about usefulness. Here’s what matters:
- No duplicates: One prospect = one record.
- Accurate contact info: Emails, phones, and names are current.
- Segmented lists: You can easily filter by industry, persona, or whatever matters to your outreach.
- No dead leads: Out-of-date or bounced contacts are removed or flagged.
If you’re chasing flawless data, you’ll never finish. Focus on “good enough to run campaigns without embarrassing mistakes.”
2. Get Familiar with Amplemarket’s Database Tools
Amplemarket isn’t a full-blown CRM, but it gives you plenty of features for managing prospects:
- Prospect List Import & Export
- Bulk Edit and Delete
- Custom Fields and Segments
- Filtering and Search
- Data Health Flags (e.g., bounced emails, unsubscribes)
Pro tip: The UI changes from time to time, so don’t waste hours searching for a button that moved—if you can’t find something, hit their knowledge base or support chat.
3. Importing Prospects Without Creating a Mess
Most databases get messy at the import stage. Here’s how to do it right:
a. Prep Your CSV
- Standardize columns: Make sure “First Name,” “Last Name,” “Email,” etc., are consistent.
- Check for duplicates: Use Excel’s “Remove Duplicates” or Google Sheets’ unique filter.
- Fill key fields: Don’t upload blanks for critical info like email or company.
- Tag your upload: Add a custom field or tag (e.g., “May 2024 Import”) so you can track where new records came from.
b. Use Amplemarket’s Import Wizard
- Map fields carefully: Double-check that your columns match Amplemarket’s required fields.
- Preview before confirming: Most mistakes happen here—slow down and skim the preview screen.
- Set up segments: Assign new imports to a segment. This makes cleanup easier later.
c. Avoid These Common Mistakes
- Don’t upload your entire CRM or LinkedIn export without cleaning it first.
- Don’t ignore Amplemarket’s duplicate warnings (“skip duplicates” is your friend).
- Don’t import a list you wouldn’t want your CEO emailing by accident.
4. Regularly Clean and De-Duplicate Your Database
Even with careful imports, junk sneaks in. Here’s how to keep your Amplemarket database clean over time:
a. Find and Merge Duplicates
- Amplemarket flags obvious duplicates (same email, same LinkedIn URL).
- Use the search and filter tools—search by domain or name to catch less obvious dupes.
- Merge records or delete extras. If you’re unsure, archive the record rather than delete.
b. Remove Unresponsive or Bad Contacts
- Amplemarket auto-flags bounced emails and unsubscribes. Don’t keep emailing them.
- Set a monthly calendar reminder to review and clean “hard bounces” and “unsubscribes.”
- Consider removing prospects who haven’t engaged after X number of touches (set your own threshold).
c. Keep Segments Up to Date
- Review your segments—are they still relevant? Archive ones you don’t use.
- Move stale prospects (no activity in 6+ months) into a “Dormant” segment for possible re-engagement or deletion.
5. Use Tags and Custom Fields the Smart Way
Don’t go wild with custom fields just because you can. Here’s what actually helps:
- Use tags for campaigns, sources, or notes (“Q2 Webinar,” “Inbound,” “CEO Referral”).
- Set up key custom fields that actually matter for targeting—like “Seniority” or “Tech Stack.”
- Don’t create a new field for every random data point—stick to what’s actionable.
If you’re the only one who understands your tagging system, it’s too complicated. Keep it simple enough that a new rep could jump in and know what’s what.
6. Exporting and Syncing with Other Tools
If you’re syncing Amplemarket with Salesforce, HubSpot, or other CRMs, get this right:
- Check your mapping: Make sure fields in Amplemarket match up with your CRM fields. Otherwise, you get garbage in, garbage out.
- Set up rules for overwriting data: Decide what happens if Amplemarket and your CRM disagree. Usually, your CRM should be the “source of truth.”
- Export regularly for backups: Stuff happens—download your lists every month or so just in case.
Don’t rely on “auto-sync” to fix everything. Manual checks catch problems before they snowball.
7. What to Ignore (Mostly)
You’ll see lots of advice about “enriching” your data with every possible detail—Twitter handles, office size, shoe size (kidding). Here’s what’s usually not worth it:
- Over-enriching: More fields = more places for errors.
- Chasing perfect data: It’ll never happen. Clean enough is enough.
- Manual data entry: If you’re typing in every record by hand, you’re wasting time.
Focus on what actually moves the needle for your outreach. The rest is noise.
8. Set a Simple Maintenance Routine
You don’t need a big process—just a quick routine:
- Monthly: Archive bounces/unsubscribes, tidy up segments, export for backup.
- Quarterly: Review custom fields and tags, merge duplicates, prune dead leads.
Put it on your calendar. Five minutes a week is better than an hour every quarter in panic mode.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Overthink It
A clean database isn’t about perfection—it’s about being able to run campaigns confidently without embarrassing mistakes or wasted time. Use Amplemarket’s tools, keep your system simple, and update your process as you go. The less time you spend cleaning, the more time you have for actually selling.
You’ll never have perfect data, but you can definitely have useful data. Keep it simple, review often, and don’t make this harder than it needs to be.