BlueConic CSV Connections
BlueConic offers several connections that support bi-directional data transfer to and from other systems via CSV files. We support a range of authentication steps that depend on the system you're connecting to. For details on setting up and running these connections, see their individual Knowledge Base articles:
This article provides a deep dive into how these CSV connections export BlueConic data to other systems. Additional resources:
See individual connection pages for details on authentication and setup.
CSV-Based Connections: Setup and Troubleshooting for tips on authenticating and troubleshooting the connection setup process.
CSV-Based Import Connections for tips on how data imports work via CSV files.
Exporting BlueConic profile data via CSV Connections
The process to export profiles is more straightforward compared to importing profiles. In general, exports are used to expose the BlueConic collected data to an external system (for example a BI tool) or to export profiles from a segment to a system that doesn’t have a dedicated named connection.
Incremental exports
It is a best practice to do an incremental export, which is the default. BlueConic will determine the start time of the last successful run and compare this to the last modified profile property: a profile is taken into account when it is part of the segment AND has a last modified date later than the start of the last run. This last modified property is set automatically when there is a profile update. Note: it’s not triggered when a timeline event is added / changed. Using incremental exports leads to shorter run times and less data to handle on the other side.
If you cannot use an incremental export (for example because the other system expects a full dump), you have to enable the checkbox:
Using this approach for very large segments may impact efficiency.
Using export data processors
Export data processors can be used to filter or manipulate the data just before it’s being exported. For example, if you want the PII data to be pseudonymized, you can use the “Pseudonymize PII” data processor, which automatically looks at the profile properties which are marked as PII and pseudonymizes these. The mechanism for data processors works in a similar way as for import data processors. However, in the mapping you have to select “processor value” to have access to the extra fields made available:
Note: This only counts for extra data points added by export data processors. If the profile property value is manipulated before export (for example, the pseudonymize use case), you can just select the “Profile property” option.
Frequently used export data processors
See the full list of data processors BlueConic offers out of the box. Additional data processors are also available; contact BlueConic Support to have them added to your tenant.
Generate recommendations data processor
As an alternative for open time recommendations, you could determine the recommendations on export and add the selected fields to the CSV file.
Combined timeline and profile export data processor
In some cases, you might want to combine timeline data and profile data in one CSV.
Note: When you have multiple (nested) events, the profile data will be exported redundant to each line.
Group properties data processor
You can use this data processor to export group data that is connected to the exported profile, for example household information.
Exporting timeline events
When the export of timeline events is selected, extra files will be created, because there is a one-to-many relation. Let’s say the export is configured to export to sample_export.csv and order events (event type id order) are exported, the following files are created:
sample_export.csv containing the columns from the mapping
sample_export_order.csv containing the profile ID, event ID, event date, and all properties of the main event (so basically the order properties)
sample_export_order_product.csv containing the profile ID, event ID, event date, and all properties of the nested event (so basically the orderline properties)
Multiple values are joined based on the multi-value separator (as defined in the “file and field handling”). Note: If a data processor is filtering for timeline events, only the matching timeline events will be exported.
Resources
Contact BlueConic Support if you need assistance with CSV-based connections.