Removing Duplicates or “De-duping”
By: Carol Robertson, Data Department Manager
January 12, 2011
There are multiple ways to remove duplicates but the most common and time-efficient way is for the data processor to use a standard name-address-zip code matching index. However, duplicates can be removed using any field of data, common to each record, i.e. an account number, a phone number, etc.
The most common types and their definitions are:
Resident- This type will result in only one person at an address receiving a mail-piece. If the address exists in the list more than once, all other instances will be removed. This means that if Mary, Joe and Jim are all on the mailing list, two of them will be removed. Unless the client is specific about which one is to receive the piece it will be basically be the first name present in the list order that remains. IMPORTANT: You do not want this selection if you are mailing to a university, hospital, business or even a carrier-routed apartment building/complex and you want each person to receive the mailpiece.
Individual- This type will result in each person who resides at an address receiving the mailpiece. This means that Mary, Joe and Jim will each receive one. Any additional instances of their records will be removed, so that Mary doesn’t receive 3 pieces and Joe doesn’t receive 2. This is especially relevant when a business is sending out a discount coupon to people, where the client doesn’t want Mary to use 3 discount coupons.
Family- This type will result in each person having a different surname receiving a mailpiece. If the Smiths and the Jones’ both share a home, then one person by the name of Smith and one person by the name of Jones will receive the mailpiece. This type of de-duping is not often used.
Company- This type of de-duping is most commonly used when the mailing is being concentrated on businesses. It is up to the client to decide, if they want only one piece being delivered, whether or not they want to mail to individuals within the company or to the general business name. An example: you receive a client’s list which contains doctors, office managers and their practice by business name (Dr. John Smith at Family Practice, Dr. Sam Jones at Family Practice, Office Manager at Family Practice, and Family Practice). Does the client want the mailpiece delivered to each of them or perhaps only to Family Practice? In this instance, we de-dupe the list by address and company name, excluding any of the redundant records, according the client’s wishes.
