Learn how to use HubSpot's Merge Contacts feature to eliminate duplicate contacts, improve data accuracy and enhance CRM efficiency.
For companies using HubSpot, it is common to have to deal with thousands of contacts in the process of ensuring customer relations. After some time, such extensions can multiply, which in essence clogs up the database clutter, distorts the analytical perception, and also delays communication.
One of the HubSpot features is the merge contacts which aids in solving this problem by merging duplicates into one contact. In this post, I will demonstrate how to do this feature and why it is important for your organization’s operations and effectiveness.
HubSpot’s merge contacts actions enable users to eliminate the duplicate contacts present attempting to keep their contact database tidy, sleek, and clean.
In cases when duplicate contacts are detected, the merge contacts option available in HubSpot allows the users to unify all the duplicate contacts into one single contact. You only indicate two records that have to be merged, HubSpot merges known properties, associated activities, and notes into one profile with a history of the merged records. This helps in the preservation of critical data and information, as they can all be found in one central location.
Typically, in the merging process, one of the contacts is chosen to be the primary contact. This primary contact record in this instance will include the most important information, which includes name, email address, and any properties that you wish to retain. The second contact who completes the information during the merge is known as a secondary contact. These secondary records and supporting information are consolidated into the master record, these redundancies and duplications routes are cleaned out in the process.
One notable benefit of the merge contacts feature in HubSpot is that it enables a user to retain historical information. All the activities including emails, notes, and plans concerning the merged contacts become part of the primary contact’s file. This guarantees that you have retained all the communication history and therefore, a clear picture of communication with the individual is always available.
The way HubSpot’s interface is designed aids in understanding the merging process. When duplicates of records are found in the database, combining them takes nothing more than selecting the records for merging and tapping the merge button. Everything else apart from this task is all undertaken by the HubSpot program and that includes the maintenance of the contact database that is accurate.
Duplicates need to be merged only once, and therefore you need to be able to find any existing duplicate records before proceeding with the process. HubSpot provides within itself some tools and methods that allow prompt determination of these duplicates:
One of the options is to search for duplicate contacts by yourself, by looking through your contact list. Try to identify the duplicate by the most often occurring features, which are name, email address, etc. This method requires a lot of time to search but may prove to be useful in small databases.
HubSpot has an automated duplicate detection option that automatically identifies duplicate contacts using specific unique identifiers such as emails or if email doesn't exist then phone numbers. Once duplicates have been located, Hubspot will inform you of such which makes it easy for you to know which contacts to merge.
From Contacts > Actions> Manage Duplicates feature, you can detect and merge all the duplicates easily.
When you are uploading contacts into HubSpot, the system does not allow any of the records to have the same email address. If this happens the system will give you an option to combine the information into one record or separate them.
Identifying duplicate contacts is the easy part. Once you have established those, the actual process of merging them in HubSpot could not be any more uncomplicated. With that said, follow the following steps to merge contacts and be sure that your database is clean all the time:
Apply the strategies indicated above in locating duplicate contacts in your Hubspot database.
If you are using HubSpot's manage duplicate option from the contacts dashboard, you can get all the duplicate contacts there.
Identify which contacts you want to merge and click on the review option on the right side of the contact.
Choose which contact is going to the ‘in’ position. This is the contact that will be maintained with basic pieces of information; this could be name, email, or any other. Rules apply to the other contacts, that is, they will become organs of this first primary record.
Be sure that all the concerned details are provided and that the intended contacts for the merge are orderly. After you are satisfied, click on the Merge button. In a single place, Hubspot brings together the many contacts, properties, and activity history along with tasks and notes, into the single primary contact account.
After you have successfully executed the command to merge, examine the primary contact's timeline to verify that relevant information was correct and has been migrated to the new record appropriately. Review the contact's properties, activities, and history to confirm that no information was lost during the merge.
Merging duplicate contacts in HubSpot has several great benefits, which in one way or another work towards creating a more organized and efficient CRM system. Let us look at some of these:
Duplication has been avoided by ensuring that all contacts have only a single up-to-date information, which helps reduce data distortions and increases the performance of the CRM.
As all the messages are stored under a single person, the way the people communicate becomes better, and all team members can retrieve all that has been done in one communication.
Duplicate entries have been eliminated to improve the quality and hence the correctness of the information that is added to HubSpot dashboards.
Duplicates require merging on high targeting attainment to achieve the results of the marketing as well as the sales units and their operations.
By lessening the duplication of work done by your team, they will instead be able to focus on more important tasks, thereby increasing productivity.
Having an organized contact database makes it easier to help customers, which is why they will be happy and stay with the company for a longer period.
The merging of duplicate contacts in HubSpot is very important for the enhancement of the general contact database. It facilitates improving data quality, following up with clients efficiently, performance evaluation, and categorization. If regular duplicate detection and merging are performed, the database in HubSpot will continue to be useful in making good decisions and improving client interactions.
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