Duplicate person records occur when two or more records in your account share the same email address, External ID, or name. Understanding how duplicates form and how Feathr handles them helps you maintain clean data in your account.
How Duplicate Records are Created
Duplicates typically occur in three scenarios:
1. Conflicting External IDs with matching emails. When you import a contact with one External ID, then later import the same email address with a different External ID, Feathr creates two separate records. For example, importing josie@example.com with External ID "12345" and later importing josie@example.com with External ID "54321" results in two person records for the same individual.
2. Adding External IDs to existing records. When you import a list containing External IDs for contacts that already exist in Feathr without External IDs, duplicates may temporarily appear. If the email addresses match, Feathr's overnight deduplication process automatically merges these records, consolidating the record without an ID into the one with an ID.
3. Multiple imports without External IDs. If you import lists multiple times without External IDs but with matching email addresses, duplicate records may be created initially. Feathr's automatic overnight process detects these duplicates and merges them, leaving a single consolidated person record by the next day.
Integration-created duplicates. Integrations like iMIS or Raiser's Edge NXT can also create duplicates if the ID field being mapped changes, causing the External ID in Feathr to differ from the original value.
How Feathr Handles Deduplication
Feathr runs an automatic overnight deduplication process that detects and merges duplicate records based on matching email addresses. This process happens automatically without requiring any action from you. However, this only works when:
- Email addresses match exactly between records
- At least one duplicate scenario (described above) is detected
Records with the same email address but different External IDs will not deduplicate automatically. These require manual intervention.
Resolving Duplicate Records
For single duplicate records: If you have duplicate records with matching emails but conflicting External IDs, you can manually remove the External ID from the incorrect record. Navigate to the person record, edit the External ID field, and delete the incorrect value. Once removed, Feathr's overnight process should merge the records.
For multiple duplicate records: If you discover you have many duplicate records in your account, don't try to fix them manually one by one. Reach out to the Feathr Support Team for assistance with bulk deduplication.
For integration-related duplicates: If you're experiencing duplicates caused by integration ID mapping changes, contact the Feathr Support Team. We can help identify the source of the issue and assist with deduplicating affected contacts.
Best Practices for Preventing Duplicates
- Use External IDs consistently across all imports when possible.
- Map the same ID field in your integrations. Avoid changing which field serves as the External ID.
- Import fresh contact lists regularly and let Feathr's automatic deduplication maintain clean records.
- Review integration mappings before connecting external systems to ensure ID fields are configured correctly.