The first rule is the simplest and the most broken: one person, one record. Duplicates fracture someone's history across two or three cards, so you never see the full picture and you risk messaging them twice.
Use tags to describe, not to clutter
Tags are short labels you attach to a contact to capture something true about them: how they found you, what they're interested in, where they are in their journey.
A small, consistent set of tags beats a sprawling one. Decide on categories and stick to them:
- Source — referral, website, event, social
- Status — lead, active, past, paused
- Interest — the service or program they care about
Custom fields for the details that matter
Tags answer yes-or-no questions. Custom fields hold specifics: date of first visit, referring practitioner, preferred contact time. Capture only the fields you'll actually use to make a decision or personalize a message.
Smart lists keep the list working for you
A smart list is a saved filter that updates itself. "Active patients tagged hormone-health who haven't been seen in 90 days" is a smart list, and it's also a re-engagement campaign waiting to happen.
Keep it clean over time
Set a quarterly rhythm: merge duplicates, retire tags you no longer use, and archive contacts who asked to leave. Fifteen minutes every few months keeps the whole system trustworthy.
Next step
Pick three tags and two custom fields you'll commit to this week, then build one smart list from them. When you want help importing and cleaning an existing list, request a guided trial and we'll do the first pass with you.