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Deliverability Letter

Fields

Fields are custom data attributes you store on each person. While Bento has built-in fields like email, you can create any field you need to store additional information about your audience.

What is a Field?

A Field is a key-value pair attached to a person. The key is the field name, and the value is whatever data you want to store. Fields let you capture and use information specific to your business.

Examples of custom fields:

  • company_name: "Acme Corp"
  • plan_type: "enterprise"
  • lifetime_value: 2500
  • signup_date: "2024-01-15"
  • favorite_color: "blue"

Built-in vs Custom Fields

Bento has several built-in fields:

  • email (required)
  • first_name
  • last_name

Everything else is a custom field you create. Custom fields appear automatically when you first set them on a person.

Setting Field Values

Fields can be set through multiple channels:

  1. Bento Forms: Collect field data directly from form submissions
  2. API: Send field values when creating or updating subscribers
  3. Flows: Set or update fields as automation actions
  4. Imports: Include field columns in your CSV uploads
  5. Manually: Edit fields on individual profiles
  6. Integrations: Connected platforms can sync field data

Field names are case-sensitive. "Company" and "company" are different fields.

Field Data Types

Fields in Bento are flexible and accept various data types:

  • Text: Any string value
  • Numbers: Integers or decimals for calculations
  • Dates: ISO format dates for time-based filtering
  • Booleans: True/false values

Using Fields in Emails

Fields power personalization in your emails. Using Liquid syntax, you can insert field values directly into your content:

Hey {{ visitor.first_name | default: "there" }},

Your current plan is {{ visitor.plan_type }}.

The default filter provides a fallback when a field is empty.

Using Fields in Segments

Fields are powerful filters for building segments:

  • lifetime_value greater than 1000
  • plan_type equals "premium"
  • signup_date is after January 1, 2024
  • company_name contains "Inc"

This lets you target precise groups based on stored data.

Fields vs Tags

Both store information, but serve different purposes:

Use Fields when:

  • The data has a specific value (not just yes/no)
  • You want to use it in email personalization
  • The value might change over time
  • You need to filter by ranges or specific values

Use Tags when:

  • It's a simple binary categorization
  • You just need to know if something applies
  • You're grouping by membership in a category

How Fields Connect to Other Concepts

Fields work throughout Bento:

  • People have fields on their profiles
  • Segments filter by field values
  • Emails use fields for personalization
  • Flows can set, update, or check field values
  • Forms collect field data from visitors

Rich field data makes your marketing more personal and targeted.