How to Remove Duplicate Contacts in Spreadsheets, Email, and Databases
When any business collects contact information in spreadsheets, email programs, or databases, it inevitably
ends up with duplicates. A couple of problems with duplicate contacts are:
- When you send letters or emails to your contacts the same person might receive more than one copy.
- You don’t have an accurate count of your contacts.
There are two basic approaches to identifying duplicate contacts.
The simpler approach treats duplicates as containing exactly the same data in certain fields or cells.
For example, these would be considered duplicates:
| First Name |
Last Name |
Address |
| Robert |
Kelso |
1400 East Avenue |
| Robert |
Kelso |
1400 East Avenue |
Microsoft Excel has a built-in function for finding and removing such duplicates.
Microsoft Outlook has a function for preventing the entry of duplicates like these.
CRM software products often include deduplication functions. Examples of such software include
Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.
The sophisticated approach takes into account variations in people’s names, addresses, and phone numbers.
The simpler approach to duplicates would treat these as two different contacts:
| First Name |
Last Name |
Address |
| Robert |
Kelso |
1400 East Avenue |
| Bob |
Kelso |
1400 E. Avenue |
The sophisticated approach would treat these as duplicates.
It’s easy to find good guides on how to use the built-in deduplication functions in popular software by
doing web searches. You can also likewise find sophisticated third party tools.
In some cases it will be good enough to use the built-in deduplication features of a software product.
But in many cases you should use a third party tool that can identify variations in spelling and typos.
I would look for these features in a third party tool:
- Preempting duplicates from getting entered by hand or imported.
- Allowing reversal of actions.
- Keeping records of changes made.
- Using techniques for verifying addresses via connections to web data sources.
- Well designed for ease of use.
If you have a custom database or data stored in something for which there is no tool available you can
hire a programmer consultant to create one for you.
You should also have a policy in place for preventing the entry of duplicate information into your data
sources, and for periodically removing duplicate information.
Do you have any questions you'd like to ask about this topic? Feel free to email me at
ron@thedatatamer.com .
I'll answer your questions at no charge or obligation to you.
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