File drop
File drop sends a survey to a list of recipients from a CSV file, mapping the file's columns to personalisation variables. It's the fastest way to run a personalised email or SMS campaign from data you already have.
When to use it
Use file drop when you have a spreadsheet of recipients — for example an export of recent customers — and you want to send each of them a survey invitation, optionally personalised with their own data.
Sending from a file
Open File drop and follow these steps:
- Upload your CSV. The header row is detected automatically. Davies CXsmart parses standard CSV, including quoted fields and line breaks within values.
- Confirm the contact column. The email (or phone) column is guessed for you — adjust it if the guess is wrong.
- Map the other columns. Every non-contact column becomes a personalisation variable. A column named
Order IDbecomes{{order_id}}you can use in your email template. - Choose the channel — email or SMS.
- Choose a template (optional, email).
- Schedule (optional) — set a send time to queue the campaign for later, or leave blank to send now.
- Review the preview, which shows the matched rows, then send.
What you get back
The send returns a summary:
| Count | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sent | Invitations dispatched successfully. |
| Suppressed | Recipients blocked by suppression / opt-out. |
| Failed | Recipients that errored (for example, a malformed address). |
| Total | Rows processed. |
Per-recipient results let you see exactly which rows succeeded and why others didn't. As with all sends, one bad row never fails the whole batch.
Scheduling
If you set a send time, the campaign is queued and dispatched at that moment. This is ideal for sending during business hours or aligning with a customer-journey milestone.
Tips
- Column names are simplified to lowercase word characters when turned into variables, so
First Namebecomes{{first_name}}. - Always send yourself a test row first to confirm your template renders the variables correctly.
- File-drop sends honour suppression, opt-out, and the contact-frequency cap just like any other send. See Suppression and opt-out.
Next steps
- Email and SMS — templates, tracking, and recipient activity.
- Suppression and opt-out — keep file-drop campaigns compliant.