Data can enter Evergrowth through multiple channels:
When potentially new records are about to be created, Evergrowth runs a de-duplication process to ensure your repository does not become cluttered and bloated.
The goal of this de-duplication is to reuse (and update) an existing record whenever possible, and only create new records when no reliable match exists.
What Happens When Data Enters Evergrowth
Every time Evergrowth receives new Account or Contact data, it follows the same high-level flow:
Normalise & Standardise key fields so equivalent values and identifiers can be easily compared & matched
Look for existing records in the workspace that matches the incoming data
If one exists, reuse (update) that record
Otherwise, create a new one if no match is found
This process always happens before any new Account or Contact is created.
Important context as you read the rest of this article:
Matching only happens inside your Evergrowth workspace
Evergrowth prevents new duplicates, it will not automatically merge or delete records that are already duplicated
This is to prevent silently making updates to your CRM or 'removing' records you might wish to keep separate
What Evergrowth Does (and Doesn’t Do)
Before we get into rules, here’s the most important distinction:
✅ What Evergrowth does
Prevents new duplicate Accounts and Contacts from being created
Reuses & updates existing records when a match is found
Updates and enriches existing records safely
❌ What Evergrowth does not do
Automatically merge existing duplicate records
Delete or clean up duplicates already in your workspace
If duplicates already exist, those need to be handled manually or with help from support.
How Evergrowth Normalises Incoming Data
Normalisation is a simple process where Evergrowth takes values and strips away any irrelevant details so just the core elements of the field remain.
This is good for clean data, but also means that 2 versions of the same value will not be stored, just because of a stray forward-slash
Company Website Domains (Accounts)
When an Account comes in, Evergrowth converts the domain into a consistent format before comparing it to existing Accounts:
For example:
example.com
HTTP://WWW.Example.com/path?x=1
example.com/
All of these are standardized and stored as:
Linkedin URLs (Contacts)
When a Contact includes a LinkedIn profile URL, Evergrowth removes query strings and regional prefixes so the profile can be matched reliably:
This allows Evergrowth to recognize the same person even if the URL format varies across sources.
How Evergrowth Decides a new record already exists
This assessment takes place after normalisation, when Evergrowth can more confidently check whether the record is actually new - or whether the format of the domain/linkedin url is just slightly different
Account matching
Evergrowth checks whether an Account already exists in the following order:
Option 1) Account name and domain* both match
*i.e. the normalised version domains match, when compared
Option 2) Domain matches*, even if the name is different
*This has to be an exact match for complete confidence
This ordering reflects how Evergrowth evaluates confidence.
Domains are treated as the strongest identifier because company names can often vary, while domains rarely do.
When an Account is Matched
When Evergrowth detects the Account being imported already exists it:
Does not create a new accounts
Add any tags from the import to the existing Account
The Account's already present tags will not be affected
Updates any fields & owners for the existing Account
Contact matching
Contacts are only matched within an Account, not globally, across your whole Evergrowth repository.
That means Evergrowth only looks for duplicate Contacts among Contacts already associated with the same Account.
This avoids incorrectly merging people with the same name who work at different companies.
When Evergrowth processes a Contact for a specific Account, it checks:
LinkedIn URL match (after normalisation, of course)
First name + last name match, within that Account
If a LinkedIn URL is present, it always takes priority because it’s the most reliable identifier for a person.
When a Contact is matched
When a matching Contact is found during an import, Evergrowth:
Reuses the existing Contact record
Merges in new tags
Updates or adds additional fields from the source
Overwrites the owner only if configured to do so*
Pictured above: the setting which can be enabled for Account & Contact CSV imports
Summary Decision Tree For CRMs
When synchronising with CRM databases, Evergrowth has additional rules to check whether it should create new CRM records, or find existing records and connect them with the Evergrowth version.
The below flowcharts explain how Evergrowth decides if a new record already existin the the CRM (and should links and update the existing record) or completely new (and should create a new record).
Contact Decision Process Diagram
Contact Decision Process Diagram
Account Decision Process Diagram
Account Decision Process Diagram
Decision Tree for SalesForce Leads
Decision Tree for SalesForce Leads
Additional Safety Measures for CRM Syncs
Aside from the logic applied to every record being sync'd to your CRM, Evergrowth also has the below rules:
Conflicting Sync Prevention
Multiple sync requests for the same record are processed one at a time, preventing accidental duplicates from simultaneous operations.
Automatic retry with verification
If CRM is temporarily unavailable or busy, the system waits and searches again before retrying, ensuring no duplicates are created during the interruption.
Link protection
Each Evergrowth record can only be linked to one CRM record, preventing the same data from being synced to multiple places.
Imports from different sources
Although data can enter Evergrowth in different ways, the matching logic detailed above is always applied
What changes is how much context Evergrowth already has when the data arrives
CRM sync (inbound leads & recycling dormant leads)
When syncing from a CRM, Evergrowth will first check whether the CRM record is already mapped to an Evergrowth record.
If no direct mapping exists, Evergrowth falls back to the matching from above:
Domain and name matching for Accounts
LinkedIn URL or name matching for Contacts (within the Account)
If your CRM already contains duplicates, multiple CRM records may map to the same Evergrowth record. Evergrowth does not attempt to clean up or merge those CRM duplicates, for you
FYI: In this scenario, your Evergrowth record will show a link to the most recently sync'd CRM record
Data Explorer imports
Accounts imported through Data Explorer are processed the same way as CSV imports:
Domains are standardized
Existing Accounts are reused when a match is found
New Accounts are created only when no match exists
Chrome extension
When creating Accounts or Contacts via the Chrome extension:
Accounts are found or created using domain and name matching
Contacts are found or created using LinkedIn URLs first, then name matching within the Account
If enrichment fails and manual details are entered, the same matching rules still apply.
CSV uploads
For CSV uploads, Evergrowth always:
Finds or creates the Account first
Then finds or creates the Contact within that Account
As long as domains and LinkedIn URLs are consistent, CSV uploads will reuse existing records rather than creating duplicates.
Pro Tip: How to Minimize Duplicates in Practice
To get the most reliable behavior from Evergrowth’s matching logic:
Always verify you're providing a correct domain for Accounts
Include LinkedIn URLs for Contacts whenever possible
Keep your CRM reasonably de-duplicated (especially Accounts and domains)*
Avoid creating Accounts without domains unless absolutely unavoidable
*In our experience, this is the single biggest blocker to success.
Of course it can feel like boring admin. But once your CRM is reasonably de-duplicated—especially at the Account and domain level—your Evergrowth workflows for inbound follow-ups and automated recycling become significantly more reliable and efficient.
💡 If CRM cleanup feels daunting, many teams use their included "Expert Hours" to audit domains, resolve duplicates, and set this up correctly, so Evergrowth’s automations work as intended going forward
Additional Reading 📚
📖 Bulk Imports - Learn how to Bulk Import Account & Contact records
📚 CRM Integrations - Learn how to configure a 2-way sync between Evergrowth and your CRM
📖 Chrome Extension - Learn how to install and use the Evergrowth Chrome Extension for prospecting while browsing LinkedIn