remove contact from a list any way other than manually -- when will Constant Contact add this?

[ChrisE27]

There's no way to remove a contact from a list other than manually...can't do it with zapier or automations or any workaround...the only way to do it is manually. Among other issues, this is a serious hamper to our workflow, and it also makes Constant Contact's automations ineffective for us. When will there be a way to update a contact ***including removing it from a list*** with zapier or automations or a workaround...aka any other way than manually?

[William_A]

Hello @ChrisE27 ,

While some integrations are capable of doing this, the problem is that for the vast majority of our customers, re-importing contacts without a list selection and having the result be removal from lists they're already on would cause far more disruption. 

At the end of the day it's going to require some kind of manual input, whether you're selecting the contacts to remove them, using an integration that has the capability of causing list removals, or by the contact removing themselves via an Update Profile submission.

[ChrisE27]

Thanks. Which exactly are the integrations you mention that are capable of this?

Not sure you're understanding issue...it's not updating "without a list selection." Rather, for example, a contact should be on multiple lists at times and on only a selection of those lists at others...but currently there's no way to do that other than manually, which is incredibly time consuming and ripe for human error.

It also makes Constant Contact's automations that begins when a contact is added to a list kinda useless as contacts can only go thru that automation series once (since they can't be removed and added again, which is the trigger). Presumably, other automations that repeat (like birthdays, abandoned cart, etc.) make it possible for contacts to receive that automation more than one time, but for custom automations--those that begin when a contact is added to a list--the automation can only ever happen once without a lot of manual manipulation...which is kinda the opposite of "automation," ya know?

[William_A]

Hello @ChrisE27 ,

The Salesforce integration we've developed is one of these, but beyond that the others would be 3rd party-developed ones I can't really discuss per our internal guidelines. You're welcome to check your options online for other integrations that might suit your needs for your Constant Contact account's contact management.

As far as having contacts go through the same automation over and over, we don't have any tracks for a request like that at this time. Having customers repeatedly go through the same automation series by virtue of re-adding them has historically resulted in large scale spam and unsubscribe complaints, which has resulted in damages to sending reputations for us and our customers. If you're needing your contacts to repeatedly go through the same series of emails, then I'd advise setting up multiple copies of the same automation, and manually adding your contacts to the applicable list(s) as needed.

[ChrisE27]

Thanks. 
Yup, we've "checked our options online" but obviously didn't find anything since we're still writing here asking for help. 
Kinda not cool to insinuate that our business needs are akin to spamminess.
We're also trying to accomplish our goals without having to manually do so much with what's advertised as automation, but it certainly seems Constant Contact is coming up short here.