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Using Cognism Enhance

Ivana Ilkovska

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Cognism Enhance helps you refresh and enrich your existing contact and company data using the latest information available in the Cognism database.

Upload a CSV file containing your existing records, and Cognism will compare the data against its database to identify updates such as changes to job titles, companies, email addresses, phone numbers, company information, and other available fields.

Before You Begin

Ensure that:

  • You have access to the Enhance feature.
  • Your CSV file is no larger than 16 MB.
  • Your file contains sufficient identifying information to match records accurately.

For the best results, include:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • LinkedinURL
  • Company Name
  • Business Email Address

Additional fields can also be included but are optional.

How Enhance Works

When you upload a CSV file:

  1. Cognism matches your records against the Cognism database.
  2. Matching records are identified.
  3. Updated information is prepared.
  4. The processed records are saved as an Enhance List.

  5. You can review the proposed updates before redeeming the list.

    Note: Uploading a list does not immediately consume credits. Credits are consumed only when you redeem the enhanced records.

Create a New Enhance List

  1. Open the Enhance tab.
  2. Click Enhance New List.
  3. Enter a name for the list.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Upload your CSV file.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Review and configure the field mappings.
  8. Match each column in your CSV file to the corresponding Cognism field.
  9. Click Enhance My List.

Your list is queued for processing.

Processing Time

Processing time depends on the size of the uploaded file.

As a guide, a file containing approximately 1,000 records is typically processed within a few minutes.

Once processing has completed, select Go to Lists to review the results.

Review Your Enhanced List

Open the processed Enhance List to review the results.

The summary displays:

  • Total contacts uploaded.
  • Total contacts matched.
  • Contacts with updated companies.
  • Contacts with updated job titles.
  • Updated email addresses.
  • Updated phone numbers.

To review an individual record:

  1. Locate the contact.
  2. Click View.

The comparison screen shows the original data alongside the updated Cognism data.

Redeem an Enhance List

When you are satisfied with the proposed updates:

  1. Click Redeem List.
  2. Review the number of credits that will be consumed.
  3. Click Yes, Redeem.

Once redeemed:

  • Bulk Credits are consumed.
  • Updated data becomes available.
  • The list is processed for download.

Download the Enhanced Data

After the redemption process has completed:

  1. Open the redeemed list.
  2. Click Download CSV.

The downloaded file contains the updated records.

Best Practices and Important Considerations

Following these recommendations will help you achieve the highest match rate and avoid creating duplicate records in your CRM.

Include LinkedIn URLs Where Possible

For the highest match rate, include the LinkedIn Profile URL in your CSV file whenever available.

Cognism uses multiple identifiers to match records, but LinkedIn URLs provide one of the most reliable ways to identify the correct contact, particularly when contacts have changed companies or job titles.

Use CSV Files Throughout the Enhance Process

For CRM enrichment workflows, always:

  1. Export a CSV file from your CRM.
  2. Upload the CSV file to Cognism Enhance.
  3. Review and redeem the Enhance list.
  4. Download the updated CSV file from Enhance.
  5. Import the updated CSV back into your CRM.

Avoid saving Enhance results to a Cognism list before exporting.

Use Your CRM's Unique Identifier

When exporting records from your CRM, include your CRM's unique record identifier (for example, Contact ID or Record ID).

The identifier is retained throughout the Enhance process and included in the downloaded CSV.

This allows your CRM to update existing records rather than creating new ones during import.

Avoid Creating Duplicate CRM Records

Saving enhanced contacts to a Cognism list and then exporting the list to your CRM can create duplicate records.

For example, if a contact has changed companies, exporting from a Cognism list may cause your CRM to create a new contact instead of updating the existing record.

The recommended workflow is:

  • Export contacts from your CRM.
  • Enhance the CSV file.
  • Download the enhanced CSV.
  • Import the CSV back into your CRM using the original unique record identifier.

Enhance Updates Contacts Only

Enhance is designed to enrich contact records.

If you need to update company information, use the Company Search workflow instead:

  1. Upload a CSV containing company names or company domains into Search.
  2. Review the matched companies.
  3. Download the results from the Companies tab.

This is the recommended method for enriching company records.

Improve Your Match Rate

For the best results, include as many of the following fields as possible:

  • LinkedIn Profile URL (recommended)
  • Business Email Address
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Company Name
  • Company Domain or Website
  • Job Title

Providing multiple identifiers improves match accuracy and increases the likelihood of detecting company moves, job title changes, updated email addresses, and updated phone numbers.

Understanding How Redemption Works

Before redeeming an Enhance List, it's important to understand how the redemption process works.

Redeeming Applies to the Entire List

When you click Redeem List, all matched records in the Enhance List are redeemed.

It is not possible to:

  • Redeem only contacts with updated phone numbers.
  • Redeem only contacts with updated email addresses.
  • Redeem only contacts with job title changes.
  • Redeem selected contacts within the list.

The redemption process always applies to the entire Enhance List.

Opt-Outs Are Not Excluded

Contacts included in your uploaded CSV file are processed regardless of your organisation's Opt-Out settings.

This behaviour is intentional because the uploaded file contains records that your organisation has explicitly chosen to enhance.

Unlike Search or List workflows, Enhance does not exclude contacts based on the account's Opt-Out configuration during redemption.

Review Before Redeeming

Before redeeming a list:

  • Review the proposed changes.
  • Verify the number of records that will be redeemed.
  • Confirm the number of credits that will be consumed.

Once the redemption has been confirmed, all matched records in the Enhance List are processed and the corresponding credits are consumed.

Important: Partial redemption is not supported. If you only want to enhance a subset of records, upload those records in a separate CSV file before starting the Enhance process.

Troubleshooting

Why hasn't my list finished processing?

Large uploads require additional processing time.

Refresh the Lists page and check the processing status.

Why are no updates available?

The uploaded records may not have matched records in the Cognism database.

Providing additional identifying information, such as company name or business email address, can improve match rates.

When are credits consumed?

Credits are consumed only when an Enhance List is redeemed, not when the CSV file is uploaded.

Why can't I download my list?

A list can only be downloaded after:

  • Processing has completed.
  • The list has been redeemed.

 

Get the most out of Enhance

Use this template as a guide when uploading your list of leads for the best results. Providing key data points such as a first and last name, company and email address ensures a good match rate. Other data points are optional.

 

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