Save Responses and Update Contact Data Using Campaign Manager

Save Responses to a Data Field

Campaign Manager allows you to capture a contact’s reply and store it in a custom field. This data can then be used for segmentation, follow-up messaging, personalization, or reporting.

When should I use the “Update Contact” feature?

Use this feature when you want to:

• Collect structured responses (yes/no, interest, intent)

• Store answers for future messaging or filtering

• Track engagement or progression through a campaign

Avoid using this when:

• You expect long, unstructured conversations you don’t plan to standardize

• Responses won’t map cleanly to a field

Before you begin

You must have a field created before setting up your message.

• Go to Programs > Manage Fields

• Click Add New Field

• Choose the appropriate field type:

  • Boolean → TRUE/FALSE values

  • String → open-ended responses

  • Other types as needed

For more details, see: Create and manage custom fields

Two ways to save responses

There are two common ways to store replies. Choose the one that fits your use case.

1. Save a specific value (mapped responses)

Use this when responses fall into defined categories.

Example:

• “Yes” → saved as TRUE

• “No” → saved as FALSE

This requires a separate branch for each expected reply.

2. Save the exact response (free text)

Use this when you want to capture what the contact actually typed. This will require a string field.

Example:

• “Psychology” → saved as “Psychology”

Branching is usually not required.

How to Set Up Your “Update Contact” Nudge

1. Create your nudge

• Go to the Campaigns tab

• Select your program

• Click Create Nudge

• Give your message a clear, unique name

  • If part of a series, consider numbering (e.g., “1 – Application Campaign”)

• Select your audience and delivery time

• Compose your message and include a clear question

• Click Done

For more details, see: [How to create a nudge in campaign manager]

2. Add an update action

• On your message, click + Add

• Select Update Contact

• Name the action based on the outcome

  • Example: “Set Interest Check” or “Save Major Interest”

3. Choose your audience

Decide which contacts should be updated:

• Anyone who replies

• Or a specific segment (e.g., first-year students only)

4. Select your trigger

Choose when the update should happen:

When previous message is sent
Use this to track message delivery or status, not replies.
Example: set a field like reminder_sent = TRUE once the message is delivered.

When contact replies
Use this to capture and act on responses from your contacts.

You can choose how replies are handled:

• Any reply
  The response will be saved regardless of what the contact sends.

  • Best for open-ended questions

  • Typically used when saving the exact response to a string field

  • Branching is usually not required

Example: “What major are you interested in?” → saves whatever the contact types

• Replies with any of these keywords (comma-separated)
  The response will only be captured if it matches one of your specified keywords.

  • Include all expected variations of each response

  • This ensures replies are correctly recognized and processed

Example keywords:
yes, y, yeah, yep, no, n, nope

For a full list of common variations, see: [Keyword reference guide]

5. Configure the field update

• Select the field you want to update
  (The field must already exist)

• Set the value:

  • For Boolean fields → choose TRUE or FALSE

  • For String fields → enter a value or save the exact response

Examples

Example 1: Tracking interest (yes/no)

Message:
“Are you still interested in moving forward with your application? Reply YES or NO.”

Setup:

• Field: interest_check (Boolean)

• YES branch → TRUE

• NO branch → FALSE

Example 2: Capturing major interest

Message:
“What major are you interested in?”

Setup:

• Field: major_interest (String)

• Save exact response

Best practices

• Ask clear, specific questions
  (“Reply YES or NO” works better than open-ended prompts)

• Match your field type to the expected response

• Plan how you’ll use the data before collecting it

Watch of for these common errors!

• Field not created before setup

• Selecting the wrong field type

• Forgetting to create branches for each response

• Missing keyword variations, leading to uncaptured responses

• Asking unclear questions that lead to inconsistent data

What can I do with this data?

Once saved, response data can be used to:

• Build targeted audiences

• Trigger follow-up messages

• Personalize outreach

• Export and analyze responses

To export this data, download your contacts and locate the corresponding field column.