What “merged” means in practice

A merged view means every contact is displayed on a single, unified timeline. You see messages, owners, stage, and next steps all in one place, no need to switch between multiple tabs or make guesses about where to find the latest update.

  • One golden contact: maintain a single, authoritative record for each person or company.

  • Unified activity: bring together Intercom chats, Front conversations, and email threads in one chronological stream.

  • Shared fields: access key information such as lifecycle, owner, last touch, SLA, sentiment, and NPS in a consolidated profile.

  • Enforce clear rules for your data, including specifying who can modify the records, which records should synchronize across systems, and how frequently synchronization runs.

Goal: anyone should be able to answer “what’s happening with Acme today?” in under 10 seconds using a single source.

Pick a source of truth for contacts

Select one system to act as the authoritative source for your contact data. All other platforms should read from and write to this central repository to maintain consistency and avoid confusion.

Good options without code

  • A customer relationship management (CRM) platform, like HubSpot or Pipedrive, which have strong workflow capabilities (known as pipelines) and versatile integration features (known as APIs).

  • An all‑in‑one workspace such as Routine or Notion, which offer flexible database structures and help keep cross‑team context in sync.

It’s best to use a tool that offers fine-grained permissions, customizable fields, and reliable integrations. Keep your supporting systems streamlined to reduce maintenance.

Design a simple contact schema that survives growth

Create only the essential fields needed to answer sales and success questions, expand over time as your needs evolve.

  • contact_id (a universally unique identifier, or UUID)

  • email, email_normalized

  • full_name, first_name, last_name

  • company_name, domain

  • lifecycle_stage, owner, segment

  • last_touch_at, last_touch_channel

  • intercom_id, front_contact_id

  • unsubscribed, gdpr_region

Set up no‑code pipelines: Intercom, Front, and email

This whole process can be set up through an iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service). Two reliable choices include:

  • Zapier for quick, prebuilt automation triggers

  • Make for visual, multi‑step automation scenarios

Core flows to implement

  1. New Intercom lead/user→ Find or create Contact in your CRM → Update the intercom_id field.

  2. New Front conversation→ Upsert Contact by email → Log the related activity with its thread URL.

  3. Inbound or outbound email(using Gmail/Outlook connectors) → Upsert Contact → Append a summary of the email activity.

Throttle any updates to prevent endless sync loops. Always use find‑or‑create actions instead of create only to keep records clean and consistent.

merge-customer-data-tool

Identity resolution without code

Handle duplicates using predefined rules, which can be more efficient and less error-prone than attempting to manage this through scripting.

  • Primary key: email_normalized.

  • Fallback key: domain + full_name for work/corporate contacts.

  • Flag as potential match if Levenshtein distance between names is 2 or less and domains match.

Map fields and keep them fresh

Create a clear field map so teams understand which data takes precedence during conflicts. This practice ensures everyone stays aligned, and you avoid overwriting valuable information by mistake. For example:

  • Lifecycle stage: CRM data always takes precedence. Intercom tags provide additional context but do not override.

  • Owner: The CRM’s owner mapping wins. Front teammates are mapped to owners by matching their email address.

  • NPS and CSAT: Only update if the Intercom data is newer than what exists.

  • Last touch: Refresh on any inbound or outbound message, regardless of system.

Set an automated daily job to recalculate last_touch_at using activities from the last 24 hours.

Backfill historical data the safe way

  1. Export Intercom users and leads to CSV, ensuring you capture IDs and tags.

  2. Export Front contacts and related conversation metadata into a spreadsheet.

  3. Clean your data: convert emails to lowercase, remove domains used for testing.

  4. Bulk import this cleaned data into your source of truth using “upsert” (update or insert), not just “insert”.

  5. Apply your deduplication and merge logic, then lock assigned IDs to preserve consistency.

Keep your original exports for at least 30 days, this way you can selectively rerun an import if needed.

Automate conversation syncing and summaries

Sync only what matters. Summarize conversation details instead of copying full messages so your records stay concise and focused:

  • Store essential info such as subject, channel, timestamp, assignee, and a summary of the interaction.

  • Include a direct link to the original thread in Intercom or Front.

  • Tag activities by their intent, such as demo request, pricing, or support.

Monitoring and troubleshooting

Don’t wait until support teams or sales reps report issues. Proactively monitor your syncs and automations:

  • Set up a health dashboard tracking successful runs, failures, and data lag in near real-time.

  • Maintain a dead‑letter list with records that couldn’t be upserted, so nothing slips through the cracks.

  • Send alerts when retry attempts exceed three, or when data lag grows beyond 15 minutes.

Tip: add a “synced_at” timestamp and “sync_source” field to every record for easier troubleshooting and audits.

Five quick automations to run on day one

  1. Automatically create a new contact when a fresh Intercom lead appears, and instantly assign an owner.

  2. Send a Slack alert when an email arrives from a VIP domain in your Front inbox.

  3. Automatically reopen stalled deals if a contact replies after being inactive for over 30 days.

  4. Tag contacts as “Expansion” if Intercom data indicates an increase in active seats.

  5. Route conversations tagged “pricing” directly into your sales queue for quick follow-up.

Get more ideas in this post on best automations every B2B sales team should set up.

When an all‑in‑one workspace makes more sense

Connecting several tools can work well, until it doesn’t. If your team regularly struggles with data inconsistencies or excessive field customization, it’s probably time to switch to an all‑in‑one workspace. Platforms like Routine or Notion not only centralize CRM, knowledge, and projects, but also keep all related conversations easily accessible. You’ll benefit from fewer integrations, fewer technical hiccups, and better-defined data ownership.

Checklist you can copy

  • Choose your central system of record and set clear data ownership rules.

  • Publish your contact schema and identity resolution logic so everyone is aligned.

  • Set up three essential flows: Intercom to CRM, Front to CRM, and email to CRM.

  • Backfill all data, then lock down IDs and thoroughly test automatic merges.

  • Enable monitoring, establish retry policies, and maintain a dead‑letter queue for failed records.

  • Document your privacy controls and retention rules for compliance.

  • Regularly review your field mappings and data rules with your sales and customer success teams.

Outcome: Your team can open any contact record and see everything that matters, all in one place, without writing any code.

FAQ

What does “merged view” really offer teams?

A merged view eliminates the chaos of scattered data, saving time and reducing errors. Ignoring a unified timeline can lead to miscommunication and missed opportunities.

Why choose a central system as the source of truth?

Relying on multiple systems creates conflicting information and inefficiency. Designating a single platform ensures consistency and accuracy across teams.

How can over-customization of fields be risky?

Excessively tailored fields can lead to increased complexity and confusion. This often results in cumbersome maintenance and potential data integrity issues.

Why is identity resolution crucial in contact management?

Without strict identity resolution, you risk duplicate entries and fragmented data. This undermines data reliability and hampers informed decision-making.

What are the consequences of poor automation setup?

Suboptimal automation can flood systems with errors and redundancies. Carelessly configured automations can snowball into larger operational inefficiencies.

Why is it important to map fields and refresh them regularly?

Stagnant field mappings result in outdated information, leading to mistaken assumptions and strategies. Regular updates ensure data remains relevant and actionable.

Are there pitfalls in backfilling historical data?

Improper backfill strategies can overwhelm the system and introduce inaccuracies. It's essential to meticulously clean and verify data before bulk importing.

What's the risk of not monitoring automation and sync processes?

Neglecting these processes may result in unnoticed errors, missed updates, and unaddressed system failures. Proactive monitoring is critical for maintaining data integrity.