Here's what's happening to your duplicate contacts on March 18, 2024

On March 18th, 2024, we're releasing an update for the messaging Hub that includes the new Contacts V2 feature. As part of this update, the Hub will automatically merge your duplicate contact records with the view to streamline your contacts list, improve data integrity, and enhance the clarity and functionality of your contacts list.

Who's Affected?

Duplicate contacts are identified when there's more than one contact record with the same phone number. This means that any Hub users that have multiple contacts that share the same phone number but may have different associated contact names, location, contact groups, or custom field entries etc. will be merged into a single contact record. The merge will also apply to contacts that have identical contact names, location, groups and custom fields. 

How Contacts Will Be Merged

For identical duplicate contacts, one single record will be created, retaining existing data points.

For more nuanced cases, we'll be utilizing a sensitive merge approach that includes preserving (up to) the five most recent alternative data entries for each of the following fields:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Location
• Custom Field 1
• Custom Field 2
• Custom Field 3

These will be stored in the auto-created corresponding custom fields named:

• altFirstName1, altFirstName2, AltFirstName3, etc.
• altLastName1, altLasttName2, altLastName3, etc.
• altLocation1, altLocation2, altLocation3, etc.
• altCustomField1_1, altCustomField1_2, altCustomField1_3, etc.
• altCustomField2_1, altCustomField2_2, altCustomField2_3, etc.
• altCustomField3_1, altCustomField3_2, altCustomField3_3, etc.

FAQs

• What happens if there's identical duplicate contacts belonging to different groups?
  The contacts will merge into one single record while maintaining associations with all groups.
• What if there's different family members sharing the same phone number?
  The contacts will merge into one single record while retaining individual family member's name identifiers in the corresponding alternate custom fields, e.g. altFirstName1, altFirstName2, etc.
• What happens if there's typos or manual data entry errors?
  The most recently updated contact will become the primary record and any variations in names due to typos will be preserved in the corresponding alternate custom fields, e.g. altFirstName1, altLastName1, altFirstName2, altLastName2,etc.
• What happens when there's duplicate contacts with identical phone numbers but different first and last names?
  The most recently updated contact will become the primary record and different combinations of first and last names will be preserved in the corresponding alternate custom fields, e.g. altFirstName1, altLastName1, altFirstName2, altLastName2,etc.
• What happens if duplicate contacts are present across different sub-accounts? 
  The merge will be carried out separately within each sub-account, ensuring that each sub-account retains the contact profile. It will not happen across sub-accounts.

How to Use Contacts Post-Merge

Once the merge is complete, you can access and manage your contacts with the following considerations:

• Reviewing Alternative Data - Check the custom fields altFirstName1, altLastName2, etc., to view any additional names associated with the contact.
• Correcting Information - If any discrepancies are found in the primary contact fields, use the alternative entries in custom fields to correct the information.
  

  Note - if you have a large volume of contacts and you'd like to review and correct any discrepancies and alternate data, the quickest and easiest way to do this is to export your contacts into a CSV file, make the necessary corrections/changes, and then import your contacts back into the Hub.

• Contacting Individuals in Shared Groups - Utilise group-specific messaging to identify the context for each contact within shared phone numbers.
• Dynamic Content - Use custom fields to include alternative data in your messages.
  Contact Segmentation: Use a combination of default and custom fields to create a dynamic audience segment.
• Contacting Support - For any complex situations or if you notice missing critical data, please reach out to our support team for personalized assistance using the link in the footer below.