Which action should be taken to migrate and cleanse data before migrating to Salesforce?

• A. Upload the data into Salesforce and then run the native de-dupe tool.
• B. Cleanse the data outside of Salesforce and then migrate the data.
• C. Use the Salesforce import wizard to load and cleanse the data.
• D. Use Salesforce data loader to load and cleanse the data.

Answer: (B)

Centering on data quality before moving into Salesforce is essential. Cleanse and standardize data in a staging area first, applying your business rules, validating required fields, and deduplicating records. This upfront work ensures you load a consistent, high-quality dataset, reduces post-migration cleanup, and minimizes load errors during the import.

Why cleansing outside is the best fit here: you can use dedicated ETL or data quality tools to transform formats (like phone numbers or addresses), standardize values (such as country codes or currency), and remove or merge duplicates in bulk. With a clean slate before import, the migration is smoother, and you’re less likely to create chaos inside Salesforce from bad data.

In contrast, loading first and then cleaning inside Salesforce risks introducing duplicates and inconsistent records that are harder to identify and rectify in-place, and the native load tools are primarily for moving data and mapping fields, not comprehensive cleansing. The same tools can perform some light transformations, but they’re not substitutes for thorough pre-load cleansing. Similarly, relying on an in-Salesforce de-duplication run after import can be time-consuming and may require multiple passes.

So, cleansing outside Salesforce before migration aligns with best practices for a clean, efficient data transfer.