Spotler has a couple of special data types for fields. For example, Mobile number (Mobiel nummer) and Zip code (Postcode).
These data types have additional validation to make sure the data is correct. Especially handy if you allow customers to change their own profiel information in Spotler.
Invalid errors
But these can also fail the synchronization from Dynamics 365 CRM to Spotler. Why?
- Mobile number (Mobiel nummer)
These field only accepts Dutch mobile numbers for now. Giving it anything else like a local number, like 0320 – 799 807, will give an error and the contact will not be synchronized.
If you want to send SMS messages from Spotler, the number in this field is being used, that’s why the validation is strict. - Zip code (Postcode)
For zip code the same thing applies it only accepts Dutch zip codes. Anything else will fail the synchronization of the contact.
The error looks something like:
Invalid value [0320-799807] for MobNrProperty [INVALID_PROPERTY]
Ignoring is often the best solution
In Dynamics 365 CRM doesn’t have out-of-the-box validation for mobile phone numbers and zip codes, so users can fill in all kinds of invalid information. This bad data is being synchronized to Spotler and will fail.
But what if you don’t use Spotler for sending SMS messages? Most customers don’t use this feature, so they are annoyed when a contact doesn’t appear in Spotler, just because it failed on a bad mobile phone number.
The same applies for zip codes. If a contact has a good email address, we want to have him in Spotler, so we can send mailings to it. A failing zip code most of the time doesn’t matter. Especially customers that have international contacts will have this problem.
So, we changed this behavior in the connector! We validate within the connector if it’s a valid mobile phone number or zip code. If it isn’t we will skip (empty) this field, but still synchronize the contact to Spotler!
Hopefully this will result into more contacts in Spotler that you can engage with!