Quick Tip: Standardizing Contact Data With The E.164 Normalization Step (Ref: Twilio)
One of the most frequent (and frustrating) reasons for CRM duplicates or failed SMS campaigns I have observed isn't complex logic failure—it is simple formatting inconsistency. A user enters (555) 123-4567 in a web form, another source sends 555.123.4567, and your enrichment tool expects +15551234567.
When these variations hit your database, they break the unique identifier logic. The result is fragmented customer profiles, failed API calls to messaging providers like Twilio, and inaccurate attribution.
Here is a specific method to solve this upstream: The E.164 Normalization Step.
The Standard
To ensure interoperability between marketing automation (HubSpot, Customer.io) and infrastructure (Twilio, Plivo), data must be standardized. The industry standard is E.164. It formats telephone numbers into a single string: [+] [country code] [subscriber number including area code].
The Implementation
Instead of relying on complex Regex formulas that often miss edge cases, I recommend inserting a dedicated formatting node immediately after the trigger (e.g., Typeform submission) and before any CRM lookup or creation step.
- Ingest Raw Input: Accept whatever the user types (spaces, dashes, parentheses).
- Parse & Validate: Use a library wrapper (like Google's
libphonenumber, available in most automation tools like Make or n8n) to parse the string based on the user's IP country code or a default country selection. - Format Output: Force the output to E.164 format.
- Inject: Map this standardized value to your CRM's "Mobile Phone" field.
| Input (Raw) | Issue | E.164 Output |
|---|---|---|
| 06 12 34 56 78 | Contains spaces, lacks country code | +33612345678 |
| (415) 555-0199 | Non-numeric characters present | +14155550199 |
| 447911123456 | Missing entry prefix (+) | +447911123456 |
The Benefit
By enforcing this standard at the entry point (the "Air Lock"), you ensure that your unique keys are truly unique. This allows your growth stack to deduplicate contacts effectively and ensures 100% compatibility with SMS gateways without requiring transformation downstream.
References
- Twilio: Formatting International Phone Numbers (E.164) - https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-e164
