Both Salesforce administrators and regular users are troubled by duplicate records. While Salesforce comes with some tools that help users deal with duplicate issues, usually, the out-of-the-box functionalities fall short. In this article, we will tell you about the Salesforce deduplication capabilities that come with a Salesforce subscription and why it’s not enough to cleanse your data. 

What Deduplication Capabilities Does Salesforce Offer? 

Before we take a look at Salesforce’s deduplication limitations, let’s first explore what it can actually do. Salesforce duplicate management consists of the following components: 

  • Matching rules – Salesforce allows users to create their own definition of duplicates by creating matching rules. These rules will be used to compare future records and mark them as duplicates or not. 
  • Duplicate rule – This rule only goes into effect if the user is either creating or editing a record. It alerts the user that they’re about to create a duplicate and can block them from doing so. 
  • Duplicate job – While this is a very useful feature, it only comes in the Unlimited edition. Each matching rule you create will be performed individually, and when everything is done, the system provides you with a set of records suspected of being duplicates. 

Now that we know the Salesforce duplicate management capabilities let’s take a look at why they are not enough. 

The Limitations of Salesforce’s Deduping Capabilities 

One of the biggest issues that Salesforce on its own does not deal with is the never-ending process of grappling with the specter of duplicates. Every time a user discovers a duplicate, they tell their Salesforce administrator about it, who will proceed to create a new matching rule to try and solve the problem. However, when we think about all of the possible variations of “fuzzy duplicates,” we see that it’s not possible to account for every possible scenario. It’s just not sustainable, especially since the volume of data continues to expand. So it’s like you are on this wild goose that doesn’t lead anywhere. 

Also, when we look at a lot of the third-party apps available on the AppExchange, we see that they don’t really fix this problem. They simply augment the rule-based deduplication capabilities of Salesforce by allowing users to create more rules, but they don’t solve the underlying problems of “fuzzy duplicates” and new potential duplicates coming in through imports.

Another big limitation of Salesforce is that it only allows you to merge three records at a time. Imagine if you have hundreds of thousands or even millions of records and you have large volumes of duplicates. Think about how long it will take you to merge all of the duplicates and how much money this will cost in terms of wasted time and resources. What some companies try to do is run an Apex script to solve this problem, but then you still run into the issue of “fuzzy duplicates” we mentioned earlier. This means that your Salesforce administrator will have to constantly adjust the script or create a new one altogether.  

Finally, let’s take a look at the issue of cross-object deduplication. Your duplicates are not limited to just one object, i.e., records, contacts, accounts, etc. They are scattered all over various objects. Therefore you need to have the capability to dedupe across all of the objects, which is something Salesforce does not offer. Furthermore, a lot of companies create custom objects which are any objects other than leads, contacts, and accounts. Salesforce by itself will not be able to dedupe those either. 

How Can You Overcome These Limitations? 

Since the Salesforce duplicate management capabilities are fairly limited, you need to look for solutions on the AppExchange that can help you overcome the limitations talked about earlier. However, since there are so many solutions out there, here are some steps you can take to find one that’s right for you: 

1. Conduct a Data Analysis

Not all solutions can handle all objects and entry points. The first step is to list all the objects you need to deduplicate. Also, note if you only need deduplication within those objects or also cross-object (leads with contacts, for example) and how the records for those objects enter your system (import, manual, API, web to lead). Mark custom objects.

2. Analyze Your Processes 

Think about how you would like the duplicate management process to work. Are you looking for something that will only clean up your duplicates one time, or would you like periodical cleanups? Who will be in charge of making sure that all of the deduplication processes are running the way they should be? 

3. Try Out Each Tool

Pretty much all tools on the AppExchange offer a free trial. Some trials might be longer than others, but they are usually enough to give you an idea of whether or not a particular tool is easy to use and whether or not it can handle your unique needs. 

4. Tool Implementation 

Once you have selected a tool, it’s time to put it to the test in a sandbox environment. Rule-based deduplication apps usually require a lengthy setup process and might even require you to download files to your computer. Be prepared for this and think about whether or not this provides your users with a good experience. 

5. Maintenance 

This is what we talked about earlier with having to constantly adjust the matching rules. Think about how much time this is going to take and whether or not this is an effective way to cleanse your data. There are some machine learning-based deduplication solutions available that do not require you to set up any rules and do all of the maintenance work for you. 

Find the Solution That’s Right for You

Ultimately, every company has its own unique needs, and it will need to find a tool that works for them. Having said this, you want to find a product that will help you resolve the underlying issues that cause duplicates, and machine learning-based tools are the ones that are best at doing that. 

By admin