Duplicate contacts are not accepted in Connect.

Every time a new contact is added, a check is performed to identify if that contact already exists in the database. If the contact exists, an update is performed to the existing record rather than a brand new record being created.

How the platform checks for duplicates

The Email Address and/or Mobile Number field is used to check for duplicates. All other fields (eg: Name, Address, DOB etc… are ignored for duplicate checking).

If a new record has a mobile number or email address that matches an existing record, an update is performed.

If a new record has a mobile number AND email address that does not match an existing record, a new contact with those details is created.

How are updates performed

New data is always treated as primary. When performing an update, the new data overwrites the existing data. Any existing data that isn’t part of the new record remains as-is.

Example Scenario:

Existing Record:
Name: Andrew Email: andy2@sproutsend.com Mobile: +6149090898 DOB: 20/12/1934

New Record Added:
Name: Andy Email: andrew@meandu.com Mobile: +6149090898 DOB: N/A

Updated Record in Sprout (duplicate is matched against mobile number):
Name: Andy Email: andrew@meandu.com Mobile: +61417125725 DOB: 20/12/1985

The Name & Email of the new record have overwritten the previous existing data. Since the new record did not provide a new DOB, the old DOB value remains.