Criteria turn “the right kind of company” into something that can be checked. If your product only makes sense for poultry farms above a certain size, or distributors with a cold chain, say so as a criterion. The AI team then looks for evidence on each company’s own sources before it can be contacted.
Required or preferred
Each criterion has an importance level:
- Required: needs evidence The company can only be contacted if its own sources show it meets this. New criteria start as required.
- Preferred: guides research It steers the search and the score, but a company that does not show it can still be contacted.
Use required criteria sparingly. Every required criterion narrows the list, and a fact a company does not publish stays unverified.
Add criteria to a campaign
- Open Campaigns and select the campaign.
- Find What makes a good prospect? and select Edit criteria, then Add a criterion.
- Write the Description and scope. Be specific: “Operates at least one cold-storage warehouse in Malaysia” is checkable; “is a serious company” is not.
- For a number, fill in Minimum (optional) and a Unit, such as employees, locations or birds.
- Choose required or preferred.
- Select Save criteria, or Save and research now if the campaign is running.
A campaign can have up to 12 criteria.
Examples of useful criteria
- “Distributes chilled or frozen food to hotels or restaurants” (required).
- “Has at least 3 retail locations” with a minimum of 3 and the unit “locations” (required).
- “Lists halal-certified products on its website” (preferred).
- “Exhibited at a regional trade show in the last two years” (preferred).
Each one describes something a company would normally show on its own website or listing.
How evidence is checked
For each company, research reads up to five public pages from its own sources and gives every criterion one of three results:
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Met | A quote on a page that was actually retrieved shows the criterion is satisfied. |
| Not met | The sources show the company does not meet it. |
| Unverified | Nothing found either way. A missing fact is never assumed to be met. |
A result only counts if its quote really appears on the retrieved page. For minimums, the app compares the number itself and checks the unit matches, rather than trusting the AI’s reading. Each result links to View source with the date it was checked.
What happens when a required criterion isn’t confirmed
- New candidates are not saved. They appear under the status Not selected by research if you want to see what was turned away.
- Leads already saved (for example, after you add a criterion) are held and marked Needs a criteria check. Sending, follow-ups and WhatsApp are all blocked until they pass. Use Check criteria to research them again.
Saving criteria holds every unsent lead in that campaign, clears its drafts and rebuilds the search plan for the next run. Researching again also rechecks saved and previously rejected companies. It does not send anything.
Watching the results
The campaign page keeps a running total, such as Evidence so far: 12 met · 3 not met · 9 not proven yet. If “not proven yet” dominates, your criterion probably asks for something companies rarely publish. Make it preferred, or rewrite it around something visible on a website, such as a product page, a certification logo or a list of branches.
Need help with something not covered here? Email wilson@communication21.com or use Help & glossary in the app.