How to Import and Use Contact Lists in Zenchef’s Marketing Suite ?

The Marketing Suite lets you import your own contact lists to target your audiences in email and SMS campaigns. This article explains how to import a list, what happens during a send, and how to get the best results.

Summary

Import a contact list
Use imported lists in your campaigns
Understand how contacts are filtered at send time

💡 What you need to know

The Marketing Suite has a Lists page that replaces the former "Recipient Lists" section. It displays your newsletter subscribers and lets you import additional lists via CSV files.

1. Import a contact list

Access the Lists page: Go to Marketing > Lists in your Zenchef account.
Import your CSV file: Click Import contacts and select your CSV file. Make sure your file meets the format requirements.
Map the fields After importing, map your CSV columns to the corresponding fields (email address, phone, first name, last name, etc.).
Confirm consent

⚠️ GDPR reminder — Only import contacts who have explicitly consented to receive marketing communications from your restaurant. This is required under data protection regulations.

Error checking: Zenchef automatically checks for invalid email addresses, incorrect phone numbers, and duplicates. Only valid contacts are imported.
Confirm and finish: Once the fields are mapped and validated, confirm the import. Your list is ready to use.

2. Use imported lists in your campaigns

Your imported lists can be selected as the audience for:

Email campaigns
SMS campaigns

3. Contact filtering at send time

Before each send, Zenchef automatically filters certain contacts from your list. This protects your sender reputation and respects your customers' preferences.
A contact is skipped if any of the following applies:

They clicked the unsubscribe link in a previous campaign
They have not given consent to receive marketing emails (no opt-in)
Their email address has been identified as undeliverable (hard bounce)

ℹ️ The number of emails actually sent may be lower than the total number of contacts in your list. This is normal and expected — Zenchef ensures you only reach people who want to receive your messages.

Unsubscribe link: Every campaign email contains an unsubscribe link. When a contact clicks it, they are automatically removed from your future campaigns. You do not need to manage this manually.

Bounce management: Undeliverable addresses are automatically excluded from future sends. You do not need to clean your list manually.

Tips for better results

Use recent lists — if your list is old or has already been used for campaigns outside Zenchef, a significant portion of contacts may already be inactive or not opted in. Preferably import contacts collected recently.
Verify your consent records — keep a record of consent for each imported contact.
Check your send report — after each campaign, review the report to understand how many contacts were reached and how many were filtered.

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