Which feature should a consultant recommend for a nonprofit looking to reduce duplicate records during data entry?

The recommended feature for a nonprofit looking to reduce duplicate records during data entry is Duplicate Management settings. This functionality is specifically designed to identify and manage duplicate records effectively as they are being created or updated in Salesforce. By setting up matching rules and duplicate rules, organizations can receive alerts when attempts are made to create duplicates, which helps staff correct issues in real-time before saving the record.

Duplicate Management is crucial in maintaining a clean database, especially for nonprofits, where accurate donor and constituent data is essential for effective communication and relationship-building. This feature not only prevents duplicates at the point of entry but also provides the organization with tools to evaluate existing records for redundancy.

In contrast, while Process Builder automation, Validation rules, and the Data Import Wizard have their own advantages and specific use cases, they do not focus primarily on duplicate prevention in the same way. Process Builder is used for automating business processes, Validation rules ensure data quality by enforcing certain criteria, and the Data Import Wizard is a tool for data migration but does not inherently manage duplicates during standard entry processes. Therefore, using Duplicate Management settings is the most targeted and effective approach for addressing the issue of duplicate records during data entry.