A Step-by-Step Guide to Performing a Contact Rollback in Keap Using a Delta Export File

Data integrity is paramount for any business leveraging a CRM like Keap. While Keap provides robust features, unforeseen data anomalies, accidental deletions, or erroneous mass updates can occur. When such incidents arise, a precise contact rollback using a delta export file becomes an invaluable recovery mechanism. This guide will walk you through the process of intelligently reversing unwanted changes, ensuring your contact data remains clean, accurate, and actionable. We approach data protection with a strategic mindset, understanding that proactive measures and swift recovery plans are essential for maintaining operational efficiency and customer trust.

Step 1: Understand the Need for a Delta Export Rollback

Before initiating any rollback, it’s crucial to fully grasp what a delta export entails and why it’s your go-to for surgical data correction. A “delta” signifies a change—specifically, the difference between two states of your data. In Keap, a delta export allows you to identify only those records or fields that have changed since a specific point in time, or to export a specific subset of data. This precision is vital for a rollback, as it prevents overwriting good data with old information. We utilize this method to isolate the problematic changes, ensuring that only the affected contacts or fields are targeted for correction, thereby minimizing disruption and risk to your overall database integrity.

Step 2: Identify the Point of Data Corruption and Scope

The first practical step is to pinpoint exactly when and how the data corruption occurred. Was it a specific date after a botched import? A mass tag application that went awry? Understanding the timeline and the scope of affected contacts or fields is critical. If you know, for example, that an email address field was accidentally updated for a specific segment of your database between Monday and Tuesday, your rollback strategy will focus on restoring that particular field for those contacts to their Monday state. This precise identification avoids broad, potentially damaging interventions, allowing for a focused and efficient recovery process.

Step 3: Export the “Good” Data Prior to Corruption

To perform a rollback, you need a snapshot of the data *before* the corruption took place. This is your “good” data. If you have a regularly scheduled Keap data backup strategy in place (which we highly recommend and can implement for you), you can retrieve a full export from just before the incident. If not, and you can isolate the specific contacts and fields affected, you may need to export just those segments. The goal here is to get a CSV file that contains the correct values for the fields that were erroneously changed. Ensure this export includes the Keap Contact ID for each record, as this unique identifier is essential for matching and updating existing contacts.

Step 4: Prepare Your Delta Rollback File for Import

Once you have your “good” data export, you’ll need to prepare it for re-import into Keap. This involves creating a new CSV file that *only* contains the Keap Contact ID and the specific fields you wish to roll back to their previous, correct values. Remove any columns that are not directly involved in the rollback to prevent unintended updates to unaffected fields. For example, if only email addresses and phone numbers were corrupted, your rollback file should only have ‘Contact ID’, ‘Email’, and ‘Phone Number’. Double-check your formatting and ensure all data types align with Keap’s requirements to prevent import errors and ensure a smooth rollback.

Step 5: Perform the Rollback Import in Keap

With your precisely prepared delta rollback file, navigate to Keap’s import section. Choose the option to “Update existing contacts” and map your CSV columns to the corresponding Keap fields. Crucially, ensure that the ‘Contact ID’ column is correctly mapped to Keap’s Contact ID field – this tells Keap exactly which contact records to update. Review the import settings carefully before execution. Initiate the import, and Keap will update only the specified fields for the identified contacts, effectively rolling them back to their correct state. This targeted approach ensures minimal impact on your broader database.

Step 6: Verify the Rollback and Data Integrity

After the import is complete, it is imperative to verify that the rollback was successful and that data integrity has been restored. Select a sample of the contacts that were part of the rollback and manually check their records within Keap to confirm that the affected fields now display the correct, pre-corruption data. You might also consider running a segment or report based on the criteria that identified the initial corruption to ensure that those anomalies are no longer present. This verification step is non-negotiable, providing the assurance that your Keap database is once again accurate and reliable for your ongoing business operations.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: The Definitive Guide to Automated Keap CRM Data Protection & Instant Recovery