How to Download Contact Data for Bulk SMS or EDM

This guide explains how to download contact data from Dealer Studio to use for bulk SMS or email marketing campaigns (EDMs).

Sending Bulk SMS Directly from Dealer Studio

Before exporting data, note that Dealer Studio lets you send bulk SMS directly within the system.

1. Select the contacts you want to include.
2. Follow the three-step campaign builder to create your SMS campaign.
3. Review and send the message.

Important: Marketing Consent

Every contact record contains an “Opt in to Marketing” field. This field is important for compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles and spam regulations.

• Contacts must have opted in to receive promotional messages.
• If you try to send an SMS to a contact who has opted out, Dealer Studio will display a warning.

Always make sure marketing consent is respected before sending campaigns.

Exporting Contact Data

If you prefer to run your campaign through an external SMS or EDM platform, use the Reports feature to export your contacts. Reports let you filter the data so you only download contacts relevant to your campaign.

Note: The one-click “Export to CSV” option has been removed from the Contacts menu. Reports is now the way to export contact data.

Before You Start

• Permission: You need the contacts:manage permission. Without it, the Reports option is disabled. The standard Manager role includes this permission.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Reports require 2FA to be set up using an authenticator app, a verified phone number, or a passkey. An email code at login does not unlock Reports.

Steps

1. Go to CRM → Contacts.
2. Click the split button and choose Reports (columns & filters).
3. Click New Custom Report.
4. Set your columns and filters (see below).
5. Click Generate.
6. When the report row shows as complete, click Download to get the CSV file.

Generated files are removed after 7 days, so download yours promptly or generate it again later.

Example Filtering Strategy

A common approach is to export contacts who:

• Have opted in to marketing
• Are currently active in the sales process

For example, include statuses such as:

• New Contacted
• Test Drive Complete

Exclude statuses such as:

• Delivered
• Contract Signed
• VIN Assigned

You can also filter by customer type (Personal or Commercial), lead source, tags, and other contact attributes.

A new contact report includes these columns by default:

• ID
• First and last name
• Email
• Phone
• Postcode
• Business name
• Contact type
• Source
• Created at
• Opt in to marketing
• Tags

Vehicle make and model aren’t included by default. To add them, tick the optional primary_car_make and primary_car_model columns.

Using the Data in an EDM or SMS Platform

Before uploading the file to your email or SMS platform:

1. Confirm the Opt in to Marketing column is filtered to true/yes.
2. Remove any contacts who have not consented to marketing communications.

This keeps your campaign compliant with Australian privacy and spam regulations.

✅ Tip: Filtering your report before you generate it saves time and ensures your campaigns only target relevant, compliant contacts.