If you're trying to run smarter B2B campaigns, the last thing you want is a messy contact list. This guide is for marketers, sales teams, and anyone who wants to actually use their CRM, not just brag about having one. Here’s how to import and segment contacts in Trellus so you can stop blasting generic emails and start sending stuff people care about.
Why It Matters
Look, segmenting isn’t just about feeling organized. It’s how you avoid sending “Hey, valued customer!” emails to people who have never heard of you. With Trellus, importing and segmenting is pretty straightforward—but you’ve got to do it right from the start, or you’ll end up with more headaches later.
Step 1: Get Your Contact List in Order
Before you even open Trellus, do yourself a favor: clean up your data.
What to check: - Duplicates: Merge or remove them. Trellus does some deduping, but it can’t read your mind. - Missing info: Fill in important fields (email, company, job title, etc.). - Consistent formatting: Dates, phone numbers, and names should all follow the same convention. - File type: Trellus accepts CSV and Excel files. Stick with CSV if you want fewer surprises.
Pro tip: If your data is a mess, you’ll spend twice as long fixing it once it’s in Trellus.
Step 2: Prepare Your Import File
Now, structure your CSV so Trellus can actually read it.
Key columns to include:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email
- Company
- Job Title
- Industry (optional, but handy)
- Any custom fields you’ll want for segmentation (e.g., region, lead source, status)
What works:
Short, clear headers. Avoid stuff like “FNAME” or “Contact_Email” unless you want to do extra mapping later.
What doesn’t:
Hidden columns, weird characters, or extra tabs. Trellus can choke on these, and you’ll be stuck troubleshooting.
Step 3: Import Contacts into Trellus
Here’s how to actually get your contacts in:
- Log in to Trellus.
- Go to the “Contacts” section (usually in the main nav).
- Click “Import” or “Add Contacts.”
- Upload your CSV file.
Trellus will show you a preview and ask you to map columns. Don’t just auto-match everything. Double-check that “Email” matches to “Email,” and so on.
Got custom fields?
You’ll need to create them in Trellus first, or map them during import. Don’t skip this—you can’t segment on a field that doesn’t exist.
Watch out for:
- Import errors: Trellus usually tells you what’s wrong. Common culprits: blank emails, duplicate entries, unsupported characters.
- Field mismatches: If you see “Unmapped Fields,” fix them now. Otherwise, you’ll lose data.
Pro tip: Import a small sample first. That way, if something’s off, you haven’t just loaded 5,000 broken records.
Step 4: Tag and Segment As You Go
Don’t wait until after import to think about segmentation. The best time to tag contacts is during the upload.
Ways to segment in Trellus: - Tags: Simple, flexible, and you can apply multiple tags per contact (e.g., “SaaS,” “Enterprise,” “Webinar Attendee”). - Lists or Groups: Great for static segments (e.g., “2024 Q2 Prospects”). - Filters/Smart Segments: Use saved filters based on fields (like industry, company size, recent activity).
What works:
- Use broad tags for big buckets (“Customer,” “Prospect”) and specific tags for campaigns (“Attended Jan Webinar”).
- Create a consistent naming scheme. If you have “UK,” “uk,” and “United Kingdom,” pick one.
What doesn’t:
- Tag overload. If you create a new tag for every little thing, you’ll end up with chaos. Keep it simple.
- Relying only on static lists. Use dynamic segments (filters) so your groups update automatically as data changes.
Step 5: Build Segments for Targeted Campaigns
Now the fun part: actually building segments you can use.
To create a segment in Trellus: 1. Go to the “Segments” or “Filters” section. 2. Choose your criteria (e.g., Industry = “Healthcare” AND Company Size > 200). 3. Save the segment for reuse in campaigns.
Use cases that work: - Industry-based: Target all “Fintech” companies with a relevant case study. - Engagement-based: Send a nudge to anyone who opened your last email but didn’t click. - Lifecycle stage: Separate “Prospect,” “Customer,” and “Churned” so you’re not pitching the wrong offer.
What to ignore:
Don’t bother with segments you won’t use. “All contacts in zip code 90210” sounds fancy, but if you only sell in three states, who cares?
Step 6: Test Before You Send
This step gets skipped a lot, and that’s when mistakes happen.
How to test: - Pull up a sample of each segment—do the contacts make sense? - Spot-check a few records. Are the right people in the right buckets? - Send a test email to yourself or a colleague (with live data) before blasting out to 5,000 people.
Pro tip:
Set up a “Test” tag and segment. Add yourself and a few teammates to every import. That way, you can see exactly what the contacts will experience.
Step 7: Keep It Clean and Iterate
Contacts aren’t static. People change jobs, companies merge, and data goes stale.
How to stay on top: - Set a monthly reminder to review your segments. - Remove or merge old tags. - Clean out bounces and unsubscribes. - Update segmentation rules as your campaigns evolve.
What works:
Automate cleanup where you can, but don’t trust software to do it all. A quick manual review is worth the five minutes.
Real Talk: What Trellus Does (and Doesn’t) Do For You
- Good: Trellus makes importing and basic segmentation pretty painless. The interface is straightforward, and real-time filters are useful.
- Not-so-good: It won’t fix bad data, or magically know how you want to organize your contacts. Bulk actions can be clunky if you have thousands of contacts and dozens of tags.
- Ignore: Hype around “AI-powered segmentation” unless you’ve actually seen it work for your use case. Most of the heavy lifting is still on you.
Wrapping Up
Don’t overcomplicate things. Start with a clean list, segment by what actually matters to your business, and build from there. The best campaigns start with the basics: good data and clear segments. If you mess up, fix it and move on. The real trick is just to start—and then keep it simple enough that you’ll actually keep using it.