Setting Up Standard and Custom Fields in the Dashboard

Standard Fields

Oomiji provides a set of standard fields that are commonly used (shown below). These fields are built into every Dashboard and cannot be deleted or renamed. Note that the Primary Interest field is included as a standard field. See more at Primary Interests: Foundational to Segmentation.

• Email
• First name
• Last name
• Primary Interest
• Source
• Country
• City
• State
• Region
• Postal code
• County

Custom Fields

Custom fields allow you to capture additional information beyond the standard fields. To be most successful, when defining custom fields, first review the data you already collect and note what you are missing. Next, consider what information would be useful for segmenting, analyzing, and contacting your customer. Custom fields typically describe who your customers are, not dynamic data such as past purchases.

There are a few paths to making Custom Fields. They both lead to the same place. 

To create a custom field:

1. Click Database
2. Click "View Contact Fields"
3. Click "Create Custom Field" in the upper right corner

You can also reach this screen through Database > Customer Database > Custom Fields > + Create Custom Field. 

Common examples mentioned include demographic data such as:

• Gender
• Date of birth (especially relevant for industries with age restrictions, such as wine and spirits)
• Education
• Employment

When requesting information from your audience, we encourage you to avoid requesting information that may feel overly intrusive (for example, net worth) and to only request information that will be actionable and used in your activities. Generally, be mindful of subscriber privacy.

Choose the Correct Field Type

When creating a custom field, you must select a field type. Different field types support different segmentation behaviors. Selecting the appropriate type ensures your data can be segmented as expected.

Available field types include:

• Text works best for open-ended responses such as a favorite product or preferred language. Segments using Text fields can filter by Contains, Begins with, or Is exactly.
• Numeric works best for whole numbers or quantities, such as number of purchases or a rating score.
• Date works best for calendar dates such as Date of Birth or membership start date. Segments using Date fields can filter by Before, After, or Between.
• Time works best for time-of-day values, such as preferred contact time.
• Yes/No works best for binary attributes such as "opted in to SMS" or "VIP member."
• Selection (select one) works best for controlled lists where the customer should choose one value, such as membership tier or region preference. When entering answers for Selection, make sure to hit Enter after every option.

Once you have configured all the fields you want to collect, you are ready to either import your existing list or create a landing page to start collecting information from new customers

Why This Matters

Defining standard and custom fields upfront helps structure the data stored in your Dashboard and determines how that data can later be segmented and analyzed.

Field setup → data collection → segmentation

Want to Learn More?

To learn how to collect Primary Interest data from customers using landing pages or conversations, see Primary Interests: Foundational to Segmentation.

For a walkthrough of the segmentation step, see Building & Managing Segments