Implementing Segment-Specific Uniqueness Rules in Zoho CRM

Context:

In our organization, we use Zoho CRM to manage leads divided into three main segments: Segment A, Segment B, and Segment C. Each segment has its own management hierarchy, with a dedicated head and several executives handling the leads within that segment.

Leads enter the CRM from various sources, such as manual creation, integrations with Zoho Forms, and synchronization from Zoho Social. However, we face a significant challenge with the global uniqueness rule currently set up in the CRM.

The Problem:

The global uniqueness rule in Zoho CRM validates individual fields, such as the email address. This causes conflicts when a lead belongs to more than one segment. For instance, if a lead is already registered in Segment A, the CRM blocks its registration in Segment B or C, even if the interests or associated products differ. This results in lost opportunities and inefficient manual processes to manage such cases.

Additionally, integrations with Zoho Forms and Zoho Social automatically synchronize leads into the CRM, which immediately enforces this global uniqueness rule, further complicating the flexibility we need.

We’ve explored using calculated fields or field combinations to manage this, but these are not viable solutions since calculated fields are generated after the record creation, making them ineffective for real-time uniqueness validation.

Requirement:

We need a solution where the uniqueness rule can be applied per segment rather than globally. Specifically, we want:

Segment-level uniqueness: Leads should only be unique within their respective segment. For example, the same email address should be allowed to exist in multiple segments (Segment A, Segment B, and Segment C), as long as each record belongs exclusively to one segment.
Multiple segment support: A lead registered in one segment can be registered in another segment without causing conflicts.
Integration compatibility: This logic should also apply to leads entering through Zoho Forms, Zoho Social, or other integrations, ensuring they respect the segment-specific uniqueness rule.
Centralized management: All records must remain in a single Zoho CRM instance or organization to ensure unified reporting and efficient data management.

Questions for the Community:

Is it possible to configure Zoho CRM so that uniqueness rules are applied per segment rather than globally? For example, can the uniqueness of a record be scoped to a specific segment instead of validating globally across all segments?
How can we ensure that integrations like Zoho Forms and Zoho Social respect these segment-specific uniqueness rules during synchronization?
Are there best practices or alternative approaches to implement segment-specific lead management while maintaining a centralized CRM structure.

Any insights, recommendations, or experiences you can share would be incredibly helpful. Thank you for your guidance!

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