Error when trying to merge duped email address contacts - One from SFDC one from Marketo

[Benjinc]

Im trying to merge contacts with the same email address. The contacts were originally added in Marketo, they have since been added in SFDC, creating duplicates in Marketo. 

Selecting the SFDC contact as the lead as per below

I get the following error - "Merge failure, unable to perform merge operation in natively-synced CRM."

Do we need to update settings on the SFDC end to allow the merge to take place? If so what?

Thanks!

[Jo_Pitts1]

@Benjinc ,

if both records are in SFDC, then you'll need to merge them in SFDC.

If one records is in SFDC and one in Marketo, you'll need to make the SFDC record is the one that is retained (although I thought Marketo did that automatically).

Regards

Jo

[Zoe_Forman]

@Benjinc as @Jo_Pitts1  it depends where your records are situated.

If both records are in Marketo then could look at the records Activity Logs and see which has the most relevant details in the Activity Log - and that may be the record you want to keep.

Often you need to do this lead by lead - not one 'winner' format for all.

[Benjinc]

Thanks both.

1 record is MKTO only one is in SFDC and MKTO

I am trying to merge the Marketo only record into the SFDC one, when I receive the error

[Zoe_Forman]

OK @Benjinc a couple of things to look at - do you have a smart list and/or alerts in Marketo for Duplicate leads?

SFDC is not seeing a duplicate, so what is different between these two leads in Marketo?

Is the first/last name different from the shared email?

Using the email address, can you identify both records in Marketo - look and see where the difference is, also look at the lead source (list upload v form fill)

How many of these duplicates do you have?

Without more information, this isn't a single-line answer, but we will get there for you!

[Zoe_Forman]

@BenjincHave you spoken with your CRM team to see what rules they have in place in SFDC around Duplicates?

Some companies allow duplicates, others avoid them.

Remember Marketo works on email as a unique ID, SFDC can use email/lead name/Company or Account.

You could sync the lead in Marketo into SFDC and then delete the one in SFDC and in turn MKTO, depending on how your CRM team and Marketo Admin have agreed and set up rules.

[Jo_Pitts1]

@Zoe_Forman, slow down!!!  @Benjinc has said that only one record is in SFDC/Marketo, and one record is Marketo Only.

Typically, when merging in that situation, the Marketo only record will happily merge into the SFDC record.

@Benjinc , can you take a step back and try merging two Marketo only records and see what result you get please.

[Zoe_Forman]

@Jo_Pitts1- cooling my boots!

What I have found with Duplicate sis if I don't **bleep** the cause in the bud, they bloom fast.

@Benjincgo back to basics, as Jo mentions.

[Benjinc]

Thanks both.

Sadly we're already riddled with dupes from our SFDC instance!  This is a rare case where we've accidentally created some (thanks to an enthusiastic rep), so they're ones Im hoping I can actually deal with.

Go try merging a couple of Marketo only dupes, as recommended

[Katja_Keesom · Accepted solution]

Hey @Benjinc ,

The root cause is actually simple, but little known. It is not the checkboxes in the pop up of your screenshot that dictate which record is the surviving record, but that is determined in an earlier step. When selecting the two records you want to merge, YOU NEED TO SELECT THE SFDC RECORD FIRST. The pop-up to select surviving fields has no influence on that.

In general, when you have many dupes like this it might be worthwile to use a more automated way to run your deduplication. You can do something yourself via the API, but I have also ones or twice taken a temporary license for a tool like Ringlead to perform the task in a controlled way.