Is There Phone Number Chaos in Your Salesforce Org? Consistency Matters!

Have you ever stared at your Salesforce^® org, scratching your head over a jumble of phone numbers that look like they came from different planets? One's got parentheses, another's dashed like a secret code, and some might have non-numerical notes for extensions and such. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.

Inconsistent phone number formats in a Salesforce org can turn what should be a smooth sales and customer success landscape into a frustrating obstacle course. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s dive into the headaches they cause and the benefits of better data quality if you use the right tools to fix the problems. One of those tools is the Data Quality Helper app, and we’ll show you step-by-step how to make these problems go away for good.

Problems from Phone Number Inconsistency

• Duplicate Data Nightmares: Sometimes when merging records you discover the same contact is listed twice because one phone number has a "+1" and the other doesn't? Salesforce treats these as different entries, leading to bloated databases and missed opportunities for clean deduplication. Tools like automatic formatting in the UI help, but what happens when data comes from imports or integrations?
• Import and Integration Headaches: Bringing in data from spreadsheets or other systems? If phone numbers aren't standardized, you might hit errors during uploads. For instance, Salesforce expects a certain format, but your CSV file might have a mix of dashes, spaces, or even extra characters like extensions that throw everything off. This is especially tricky with international numbers, where country codes and local formats vary wildly.
• Search and Usability Issues: Searching for a contact by phone? Good luck if the formats don't match up. Numbers without proper formatting might not display correctly or even become clickable links in tasks and views, slowing down your team and leading to frustration. Plus, Salesforce stores numbers without formatting but displays them locally, which can create inconsistencies for users in different regions.
• Overall Data Dirtiness: Inconsistent phone fields contribute to broader "dirty data" problems, like inaccurate reporting or failed automations. It's like having a puzzle with pieces that almost fit but don't quite, leaving your org less efficient and more error-prone.

Benefits of Boosting Phone Number Data Quality

Improving phone number consistency can transform your Salesforce org into a well-oiled machine. Here are some game-changing benefits:

• Sharper Deduplication and Cleaner Data: By standardizing formats, you make it easier to spot and merge duplicates automatically. No more hidden twins in your database, which means more accurate customer profiles and less clutter. This directly boosts your segmentation efforts, helping marketing, sales and customer teams target the right folks without overlaps.
• Smoother Sales and Customer Interactions: Imagine click-to-call working flawlessly every time, or automations firing off without a hitch. Standardized numbers improve communication reliability, reducing errors and letting your team focus on building relationships instead of fixing data. It even enhances customer experience by ensuring quick, accurate outreach.
• Efficiency Gains Across the Board: With consistent data, searching, reporting, and integrations become a breeze. Your teams save time, avoid miscommunications, and get real-time insights that drive better decisions. Plus, it helps in fraud prevention by filtering out invalid numbers more effectively.
• Easier Management and Scalability: AI-powered tools can now standardize contacts on the fly, resolving inconsistencies in emails addresses and phone numbers for seamless management. As your org grows, this foundation keeps things scalable and reliable.

In short, tidying up those phone numbers isn't just about neatness—it's about empowering your users and growing a thriving business.

Dialing in the Data Quality Fixes

If your Salesforce org is plagued by phone number pandemonium, it's time to take action. The Salesforce-native app, Data Quality Helper, is the perfect tool for the job. It’s available for free installation from the Salesforce AppExchange. Start with its uniquely flexible validation rules designed for data repair and cleansing. These rules take advantage of RegEx-based commands to provide the phone fixes. (Check out this use case that details the steps to take, “USE CASE: Ensuring All Salesforce Phone Number Fields Are Consistent in Format.”)

Then you can further improve your data’s quality with the app’s duplicate detection and resolution rules to customize the merging of records, further surpassing Salesforce’s default functionality.

And that’s not all the app can do. Its archival and data storage management capabilities are unmatched—you can create a storage strategy unique to your company’s needs.

The payoff? A happier team, delighted customers, and a Salesforce org that works for you, not against you.