What happens with duplicates on list imports

[Anonymous]

We have been doing some content syndication with partners and we need to upload lists of new leads to further nurture in our environment. Before I do that, I'm wondering what happens with people who are already in our system with the same email address. Does their profile get updated/merged and or replaced?

[John_Clark1 · Accepted solution]

Hi Phil,

When you import a list the system will look at the value you map to the Email Address field, and compare that with what's already in your database.  If there is a match then any other data for that record will be appended to the existing record.  If there is an email address in you list that does not match any in the database then a new record is created.

John

[Anonymous]

Hi Phil.

In addition to what John noted, you can block field updates from specific sources.  You would manage this in the admin portion under field management.  Say you don't want first name to be updated from list uploads.  Find the field in Field Management, select Field Action and select Block field updates.  You can then select the input sources that should not cause this field to be overwritten with new data.

Thanks!

Courtney

[Josh_Hill13]

Yes, just keep in mind that if your sheet contains any data beyond email address, Marketo will either Update the Unblocked Field or Fill in the new information to a blank field. So it is possible to overwrite data for existing email addresses.

Marketo will just handle this and you will not see any information about merged data or new records created unless you look at the Static List afterward and look at the Created Date.