Merging profiles in 360Alumni

Keeping your alumni database clean helps you maintain an accurate count of contactable alumni and improves Email Marketing deliverability, open-rate reporting, and engagement reporting. Merge duplicate profiles carefully so each person has one complete, accurate record in your 360Alumni alumni engagement CRM.

How members request a merge

If a member finds that they have two profiles, they can submit a merge request from their account menu, located in the navigation sidebar under their profile name.

Review merge requests

Only a data manager should merge profiles. A merge is not reversible and transfers engagement and financial data. It may also affect integrated systems.

1. Go to Admin > Records > Merge Requests.
2. Review the pending request.
3. From the more options menu on the row, Select Merge to compare both profiles, or select Not a Duplicate if the records belong to different people.
4. If you select  Merge to review the pair and determine that the profiles should remain separate, you can go back to the request and mark it as Not a Duplicate.

Choose the Record Info data to keep

The merge screen displays both records side by side. In the Record Info section on top, use the radio button in each row to choose the value that will remain on the retained profile.

1. Review each field with different values and select the value you want to keep.
2. Turn on Show All Fields to see fields that do not have differences.
3. If the member recently created a new profile and set a new email address and password, usually retain the newer profile, including its Date Created and Date Activated. This allows the member to continue signing in with the credentials they just created.
4. Keep notes of any changes you may need to make to the resulting profile after the merge. 

Review Profile Data before merging

Further down the merge page, review the Profile Data section. This includes object data such as secondary email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, custom objects, and information stored in custom fields.

1. Review the data from both profiles.
2. Delete any values that should not remain on the final profile.
3. Confirm that the selected profile and field values are correct.
4. Click Merge Records.

What happens after a merge

The profile you do not retain is deleted, and its engagement history is transferred to the retained profile. Related financial transactions are also updated to reflect the merged record.

Because merging changes alumni database management data, engagement history, and potentially connected systems, and cannot be reversed, use caution when merging records.

Related articles

• Importing profile data into your 360Alumni community
• Exporting profile data from 360Alumni
• Reviewing user profile updates in 360Alumni
• Creating & assigning tasks on member profiles