Why and How to Keep Your Salesforce Org Clean of Duplicates

Author

mirketa

June 21, 2017

Introduction

Customer data is the soul of an organization. Quality data is priceless and acts as a driver of high productivity and sound decision-making. Managing both quantity and quality has always been a challenge. As data volumes grow rapidly, the quality often declines, posing a serious challenge in maintaining database sanctity. This challenge of avoiding data duplicity and keeping Salesforce orgs clean is faced by almost every company. While it may seem like a trivial issue, the impact duplicates have on business processes is significant.

All marketing, service, and sales activities revolve around the customer database. Here are some business impacts caused by duplicate data:

Increased costs for marketing campaigns, especially for businesses investing in Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation.
Bombarding the same customers with repeated information, leading to a degraded brand image.
Reduced operational efficiency and confusion among sales reps during request processing.
Poor customer service experiences and badly informed business decisions.
Increased challenges in database maintenance and during Salesforce data migration efforts.

What Causes These Duplicates?

Human error: Sales reps manually entering the same data.
Multiple sources capturing identical information.
Lack of instruments like Duplicate Rules or Matching Rules to restrict duplicity.

How to Keep Your Salesforce Org Clean:

Map All Data Entry Points: Consider every way customer data enters your CRM system: manual entry by sales reps, bulk uploads, web-to-lead forms, and integrations through AppExchange partners or chatbot integration tools.
Mandatory Fields and Validation: Keep a mandatory field like phone number or email on key customer-related objects (Leads, Contacts, Accounts). Use Salesforce configuration services to set up Duplicate Rules and Matching Rules. For custom fields, ensure “Do Not Allow Duplicates” is enabled.
Picklist Field Management: If using picklist fields, ensure they are restricted picklists. This is essential for organizations using integrations with external systems like Salesforce IoT developers or Salesforce app development teams.
Monitor External Data Sources: Organizations leveraging Salesforce managed services or Salesforce consulting partners must regularly monitor data inflows to quickly detect and address anomalies.
Clean Data Imports: During bulk data uploads or migrations, ensure that the data is pre-scrubbed for duplicates. This is especially relevant for Salesforce implementation companies and Salesforce database administrators managing legacy transitions.
Define Lead Sources Clearly: Whether using the Salesforce Sales Cloud or Service Cloud, defining your lead sources avoids confusion when leads come in from multiple channels.
Sales Team Discipline: Instruct sales reps not to save incomplete forms. Cloning records should not be a standard practice—disable the Clone button in layouts if necessary.
Track with Reports: Use Salesforce’s standard reporting tools to identify duplicate records. Businesses using Salesforce CRM consulting services can create custom reports to align with specific workflows.
Use a De-duplication Tool: Given large data volumes, some duplication is inevitable. Use a tool like Duplicate Search and Merge (DSM), an efficient AppExchange solution, to automate deduplication. Companies often work with Salesforce consulting companies or hire Salesforce programmers to integrate such tools efficiently.

A Team Effort, Not a One-Time Fix

Keeping your Salesforce Org clean is an ongoing effort. Engage your remote Salesforce administrators, consulting agencies, and Salesforce professionals to maintain high data standards. Businesses in sectors like Salesforce for financial services or Salesforce retail also benefit greatly from clean, reliable databases.

Conclusion

Salesforce automation tools in 2024 continue to revolutionize business processes by streamlining operations, reducing manual effort, and enhancing efficiency. Whether through Salesforce Flow Builder, Process Builder, Apex, or Einstein Next Best Action, these tools support scalable automation. Integrating Salesforce consulting services ensures your org stays clean and optimized. Embracing automation and maintaining clean data is not just about efficiency—it’s a long-term strategy for innovation and business growth.

All the best in keeping your Org clean!