To keep your CRM clean, it is recommended to regularly remove duplicate contacts by merging them into one contact. The duplicate contact's attributes are added to the master contact only if this this attribute was still empty in the master contact's file. Related objects, such as groups, orders and transactions will also be moved to the master contact and be appropriately deduplicated. This approach ensures that no information gets lost.
Warning: Merging contacts is irreversible.
Check if a contact has potential duplicates
In the file of a contact you can click on the three dots right next to the contact's name. The number right next to Merge contacts indicates the number of potential duplicates. Click on Merge contacts to view the potential duplicates and to continue the merge process.
Finding all contacts with potential duplicates
To make sure you have removed all duplicates from the CRM, you can request an overview of all contact's that (still) have at least one potential duplicate. Go to Community > Contacts and click on the three dots right next to the title and select Find duplicates. The overview will show all contact's with at least one potential duplicate contact. Click on a contact to view the potential duplicates and to continue the merge process.
Assessing the potential duplicates
In the overview of potential duplicates it is your responsibility to assess whether a contact is a true duplicate or false positive. The 'Match based on' indicates why One Community decided that the two contacts might be duplicates. It can contain the following values:
- E-mail: If the e-mail is the same in both contacts.
- Title: If the full name (or title in the case of organisations and teams) is the same in both contacts.
- Address: If the ZIP code, house number and addition are the same in both contacts.
- IBAN: If the contacts have at least one IBAN in common.
All comparisons are performed case insensitive.
If the two contacts are a true duplicate you can merge them by clicking on the three dots right of the row and selecting 'Merge into contact'.
Hiding false potential duplicates
If you think that a contact has been incorrectly marked as a potential duplicate, then you can hide this match. To do this click on the three dots next to the match that has been listed below 'Contacts that are similar to ..' and click on 'Hide'.
Merging two duplicate contacts
If you found a true duplicate contact in the list of potential duplicate contacts, then you can click on the three dots next to matched contact and click on 'Merge into contact. If you want to merge the contact with a contact that has not been automatically detected by One Community, you can click on 'Merge with contact' and select the duplicate content yourself.
Finally, One Community will show you what is going to happen. Click on 'Confirm' to merge the two contacts into one contact (the duplicate contact will be deactivated). This action cannot be undone.
