Resonate Data Append Process - How It Works

One significant advantage of Data Append is its quick and simple workflow. The end-to-end process involves 6 steps.

1. Scoping and planning

• Resonate will work with you to scope out your unique needs for the Data Append project. You will need to:
  • Identify the type of ID to match against (Hashed Emails, MAIDs, Postal Address/ZIP11, IP Address)
  • Determine the number of records in your file
  • Select your clusters or attributes from Resonate’s Attribute Clusters
  • Choose a delivery frequency of monthly, quarterly, biannually, or annually. We recommend at least quarterly refreshes

This phase also includes guidance on best practices for data preparation and cleansing (e.g., hashing emails or formatting addresses) to maximize match quality and attribute completeness. 

2. Data Preparation

Following the guidance on best practices for data preparation, this stage is used to clean, standardize and format your CRM file to maximize match rates and data quality, which includes: 

Hashed email preparation:

• Ensure lowercase, no whitespace, alphanumeric hashes
• Use Resonate's email hashing script to avoid formatting issues

Postal address standardization:

• Include full Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, State, ZIP (ZIP4 or ZIP11 preferred)
• Use CASS or address validation tools to clean addresses

De-duplication: Only submit unique, high-quality records.

Suppression:

• Remove records missing key fields
• Records lacking consent
• International records (Resonate only processes U.S.)
• Business addresses and P.O. Boxes

File format: CSV with UTF-8 encoding, clean headers, no special characters

Name the file: Follow the file naming convention: <clientname>_<Segment>_<yyyymmdd> 

• Example: Clientname_ResonateAppend_20250201.csv 

3. Delivery kick-off

During this phase, the file upload location is provided. 

• Resonate will provide you with options available for you to send us your input data. Our preferred method is accepting your data via Snowflake data share. We do have box.com, AWS or SFTP as an option if Snowflake data share does not work for you.

  • • For Snowflake follow Snowflake Steps for Data Append

    • For Box or AWS use Data Append File Formatting instructions to prepare your file and send it to us

    • For SFTP follow Data Append - Resonate SFTP Setup

4. Pre-validation

Pre-validation is an optional step where you submit a small test file—typically 5,000 to a maximum of 10,000 records—before delivering your full CRM dataset. This allows Resonate to check that your file is properly formatted, IDs are usable, and estimated match rates meet expectations. It helps catch issues early, reducing delays and ensuring a smooth, high-quality enrichment process.

Make sure the sample file reflects your broader dataset and includes properly hashed emails (using Resonate’s script) or fully formatted addresses. Remove duplicates, exclude low-quality records, and follow Resonate’s naming and formatting conventions. Treat this sample as if it were the final file—fully cleaned, complete, and ready for enrichment.

5. ID matching and data Append

During this phase, Resonate will perform matching processes and will append your agreed upon attributes including privacy aware redactions.

Resonate will provide three file outputs as the deliverables for Data Append:

• The Append File
• Key Definitions File
• Summary Report.

You can reference the Summary Report to QA your data processing and ensure the files merged successfully.

• For Single ID append: We will deliver within 10 to 14 business days.
• For multi-ID append: We will deliver within 14 to 17 business days.

6. File delivery, merge, and analysis

Merge the files and load into your desired applications. We recommend using your data science or analytics resources who can help ingest these files into your internal tech stack.

You will be merging the two files from Resonate. You are now ready to slice-and-dice the data to understand your customers better than ever before.