When contacts are imported into We-Connect, name fields often contain formatting issues or values that aren't real names, such as credentials like "MBA" or "PhD" appended to a name, all-caps text, placeholder values like "N/A", or a company name in the first name field. Left uncorrected, these cause personalized messages to look broken or obviously automated.
Contact Name Cleanup automatically detects and corrects these issues before any campaign messages are sent, so your outreach always reads as personal and professionally written.
Where to find it
Contact Name Cleanup is found in Campaign Settings > General Settings > Contact Cleanup.
The setting is configured per campaign.
How it works
When Contact Name Cleanup is enabled
The system automatically corrects formatting issues in contact names at the point the campaign runs. This includes:
All-caps names (e.g. "SARAH MITCHELL" becomes "Sarah Mitchell")
All-lowercase names
Extra spaces, leading or trailing whitespace
Unusual punctuation or emoji in name fields
Appended credentials, job titles, or suffixes (e.g. "James Whitfield MBA" becomes "James Whitfield")
Contacts with names that cannot be corrected automatically are flagged and placed on hold. These include names that contain only numbers, symbols, or email addresses, company or brand names used as a person's name, placeholder values like "N/A", "Test", "Unknown", or "TBD", single-character or duplicate first and last names (e.g. "Smith Smith"), and names exceeding a reasonable character limit.
Flagged contacts are not messaged. You'll receive an email notification to review and action them before the campaign proceeds.
When Contact Name Cleanup is disabled
Even with cleanup turned off, We-Connect still protects you. Any contact detected with an invalid or unrecognizable name is automatically placed on hold and you'll be notified by email to review them before sending begins. No messages are sent to contacts with unresolved name issues, regardless of this setting.
What gets flagged for review
The following are always held for review regardless of whether cleanup is enabled or disabled:
Placeholder values (N/A, Test, Unknown, TBD)
Single-character names
Numeric-only names
Symbol-only names
Names containing email addresses or URLs
Names matching company name patterns (Inc, LLC, Ltd)
Brand or product names used as a person's name
Duplicate first and last names (e.g. "Smith Smith")
Names exceeding the maximum character limit
First and last name appearing swapped
Job title or company name mapped to the name field during import
Frequently asked questions
Does cleanup apply to contacts already in the campaign? Yes. Cleanup applies at the point messages are sent, so it covers both newly imported contacts and any contacts already in the campaign queue.
Does cleanup change the contact record permanently? Cleaned names are used in campaign personalization tokens. The original LinkedIn name is preserved in the contact record for reference.
What happens if I don't review flagged contacts? Flagged contacts remain on hold indefinitely and no messages are sent to them until you action them. You can review flagged contacts from the contact list within the campaign.
Can I manually approve a flagged contact without changing the name? This depends on the nature of the flag. For contacts flagged due to an unrecognizable name, updating the name field to a valid value will release the hold. Refer to the flagged contact notification email for specific guidance on each contact.
Does this apply to CSV imports and LinkedIn-sourced contacts? Yes. Contact Name Cleanup applies to all contact sources.
Need help? Contact our support team via the in-app chat.