Identify duplicates between leads and contacts modules

Identify duplicates between leads and contacts modules

Edition: Enterprise | Industry: Travel | Feature: Workflow rule and Functions

Scenario
Joshua Baker is a sales manager at an online travel agency that offers customized tour packages. The agency has a webform on its website through which interested people inquire about tour packages. Qualified inquiries (leads) are converted as contacts and a new deal is created. However, during this process, some duplicates are created in the database. For example, Kane Wilson inquired about and purchased a tour package last summer. Now, though he is already a customer in the database, when he makes another inquiry through the webform, his details are again captured as a new lead.  

Requirements
Joshua wants to:
  1. Identify the duplicate entries among customers and new inquiries
  2. Merge the duplicate entries
Solution
The webform captures the new inquiries in the Leads module and the customers (converted leads) in the Contacts module. Joshua creates a checkbox field named "Duplicates" in the Leads module.
 
1. Identifying duplicates between Leads and Contacts modules
The deduplication tool can identify duplicates within a single module, but you can use a custom function to do it across multiple modules. So, in this case every time a new lead enters through the webform, a record is created in the Leads module and a custom function checks for duplicates in the Contacts module. In case a duplicate is found, the Duplicate checkbox field is marked.

a. Create a Custom Function to check the duplicate entries.
  1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions.
  2. Write the below function in the Deluge Script Editor.

    relcont = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Contacts", "(Email:equals:" + email + ")");
    relcontsize = relcont.size();
    if (relcontsize>0)
    {
    update = zoho.crm.updateRecord("Leads", leadid.toString(), {"Duplicate":true});
    }

  3. Click Edit Argument.
  4. Set the arguments to be used in the script. 

  5. Click Save.
 b. Create a workflow rule       

Module
Leads
Rule Name
Duplicate check
When to execute
Record action > Create
Condition
All leads
Actions
Functions > Duplicate 


2. Merging the duplicate records
In the Leads module, create a list view to filter the duplicate entries (Criteria: Duplicate is Selected). During Lead Conversion, you can either merge it with the existing contact or create a new contact. 



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