How to Merge Duplicate People Looking at Both Leads and Users
Your company is running into issues because the same person exists in Intercom as both a lead and a user. However, looking for duplicates in the combined pool of leads and users can't be done using Intercom's features.
Insycle's Merge Duplicates module can identify duplicate records and merge them flexibly, in bulk, using advanced master selection and data retention rules. You can deduplicate across Intercom leads and users simply by clicking a checkbox.
Process Summary
- Set rules to identify duplicates.
- Check the Include Leads checkbox.
- Review and analyze the identified duplicates.
- Choose Bulk Mode.
- Set master record selection and rules determining what field data is retained.
- Preview the changes and deduplicate your records in Intercom.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Set Rules to Identify Duplicates across Users and Leads
Navigate to Data Management Merge Duplicates, and select the Intercom database and Users record type from the top menu. Then explore the templates for an existing solution that may be close to what you need.
Step 1 looks through the records in your database examining the fields that you specify for a match.
Add a row for each field you want to compare to find a matching value. Choose fields that, in combination, give a high degree of certainty that the matched records are duplicate records.
Check the Include Leads checkbox so that Insycle will look at leads and users for duplicates and allow you to merge them into a single record.
Click the Find button and Insycle will generate a list of duplicates for you to review.
Commonly used matching fields in lead and user deduplication include:
- Name
- Companies
- Email domain
- Phone
- ID
For details on configuring the find duplicates rules, see the Setting the Criteria for Finding Duplicate Matches article.
Step 2: Analyze the Identified Duplicates
Records that have the same values in the fields from Step 1 are considered matches, whether they are all leads, all users, or a mix. When two or more records represent the same person based on your matching rules, they are clustered together into duplicate groups.
Under Step 2, each duplicate group shows the total number of records that were identified as duplicates based on your settings. For example, if you had four records for the same person, it would count as one duplicate group with four duplicate records.
In this view, each row represents a duplicate group. When you click a row, it expands and shows the records that belong to that group. The Type column indicates whether the duplicate record is a user or lead.
Explore the record data in the duplicate groups. Double-check to ensure that the fields you set up in Step 1 show what you expected.
Looking at the record details in several duplicate groups, decide the best way to determine which is the master record the other records will be merged into.
To get further context, in Step 2, click the gear icon on the right side of the title bar. Here, you can add any field in your database as a column to the duplicate group review to better understand the data inside these records. These will also appear in your CSV report.
Step 3: Set Master Record and Field Data Retention Rules
Configure Rules to Automatically Select the Master Record
The Master tab of Step 3 lets you set the rules that determine which record in each duplicate group becomes the master. Insycle evaluates your rules in order from top to bottom, and the first record that uniquely matches a rule becomes the master. If no record matches any rule, master selection fails for that group. See Choosing Which Records to Merge Using a CSV for a full breakdown of all rules and options.
Configure Rules That Determine Values to Keep
The Fields tab in Step 3 controls which field values are copied to the master record after the merge. By default, Insycle keeps the master record's values and fills any empty fields with values from the most recently updated duplicate. You can override this on a field-by-field basis for any fields that need special handling. See Keeping the Right Data When Records Merge for all available criteria and conditions.
What happens to field data that isn't in the master record? Will I lose data?
There is no need to create rules for every Intercom field - Insycle automatically handles fields without specific rules using a "fill in the blanks" approach. When the master record has empty fields, Insycle copies values from the most recently updated record in the duplicate group where that data exists. For example, if the master record's Industry field is empty but another record in the duplicate group has an Industry value, that value will automatically be copied to the master record. This means you only need to create custom retention rules for the handful of fields that require special handling rather than setting up rules for all your fields.
Step 4: Preview CSV and Merge in Intercom
Preview Merge Changes in CSV Report
Now with the filters and master record set up, you can preview how the merging would be applied. That way, you can check to ensure your configuration works as expected before the changes are pushed to your live Intercom database. The CSV report that Insycle generates includes records from all the duplicate groups.
Under Step 4, click the Review button and select Preview mode.
Click the Next button to go to the Notify screen, where you can select recipients for the email report and add additional context.
On the When tab, click the Run Now tab, select which records to apply the change to, and then click the Run Now button.
Insycle will generate a preview CSV and send it to your email. Open the CSV file from your email in a spreadsheet application.
There's a row for each record, which includes:
- The Result of the action
- A Message with details
- The Duplicate Group ID which indicates which records will be merged together
- A record Status that identifies which were picked as master and which were identified as duplicates and merged into the master. See below for more details
- All fields used to identify the duplicates in Step 1
- The Record ID, record name or email, and Deeplink to the CRM record
- The Type, indicating whether the record is a User or Lead
- All fields selected for the Master and Fields rules in Step 4. Note that if a field is used on both tabs, it will only appear once in the CSV.
- Any additional fields added to the Layout tab in Step 2.
The Status column indicates:
- Duplicate – The record is part of a duplicate group.
- Master – The master record chosen for the duplicate group based on default behavior and your Master rules. Review the selections in this row to determine whether the appropriate records are being chosen.
- Master (After) – For each duplicate group, the Master (After) row shows the values the final record will contain based on your Field rules and the default behavior.
- Error – If Insycle cannot determine which record would be the master, an error message will appear here. See the Troubleshooting section below for more details.
If everything looks good, return to Insycle and move forward with applying the changes.
Apply Changes to Your CRM Records
If everything in your CSV preview looks good, return to Insycle and move forward with applying the changes to your live Intercom data.
Under Step 4, click the Review button, and this time select Update mode.
On the When tab, you should use Run Now the first time you apply these changes to Intercom.
Save, Automate, and Schedule This Operation
Once you are satisfied with your configuration, you can save it as a reusable Template, combine multiple Templates into a Recipe, and set it to run on an automated schedule.
Tips for Bulk Merging Duplicates
- Begin with easy-to-find duplicates. Iterate through fields and rules you know will surface duplicates. Don’t expect to resolve all your duplicates by setting up and running this process once. You will need to run this process multiple times for different fields or nuanced variations.
- Save templates. Each time you get a Merge Duplicates process to run the way you want in your database, save it as a template. When you have a solid set of templates that reliably resolve most of your dupes, you can put them together into a Recipe that runs on a regular, automated schedule.
- Look for edge cases that fall outside your standard rules. These may be merges you perform manually so you can make adjustments based on what you find.
- Do some experimentation. Use the Preview mode CSV report to analyze patterns in the duplicates. Add additional fields to the CSV by clicking the gear icon in Step 2 and including them in the Layout. You may learn what is causing the duplicates and learn how to avoid having them in the first place. You may also want to explore your data in the Grid Edit module to understand what you have so you can design templates that catch all potential variations.
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out the Merging Duplicates FAQ for help with questions about merging Intercom duplicates.
Related Help Articles
- Merge Duplicates Troubleshooting
- Merge Duplicate Intercom Companies
- Deduplicate in Intercom Inbox with the Insycle App
- Intercom Merge Duplicates Overview
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