Data is at the core of any effective customer relationship management strategy. Yet as powerful as data can be, it can also weigh down systems, obscure essential insights, and hinder user productivity if it isn’t managed with precision. In HubSpot CRM, managing data isn’t just about clearing clutter; it’s about creating an environment where you can easily find the information that matters most, ensure data accuracy, and maximize system performance.
In this post, we’ll cover essential data management practices, from archiving old records to standardizing formatting for consistent data, and introduce our Object Archiver workflow action, which brings automation into your archiving strategy. With a few thoughtful steps, your HubSpot CRM can remain the clean, organized hub it’s meant to be—ensuring data is always working in your favor.
Why Data Management Matters in HubSpot
Good data management ensures that the information in your CRM is actionable, accurate, and accessible. A well-managed CRM means fewer hurdles for users, better insights for decision-makers, and increased confidence in the data powering your business strategies. Without consistent management, even a powerful CRM like HubSpot can fall prey to data bloat, inaccuracies, and inefficiencies that sap productivity and reduce the system’s value.
Some of the most impactful benefits of an organized HubSpot CRM include:
- Enhanced productivity
With a streamlined CRM, users can find the data they need quickly without being bogged down by irrelevant records. This can be especially helpful for teams handling high volumes of contacts and companies in their daily work. - Increased system performance
A CRM cluttered with outdated or duplicate records can suffer from reduced performance. Archiving and cleaning up inactive records keeps HubSpot responsive and efficient. - Improved data quality and accuracy
Standardized data is easier to use, interpret, and analyze. When phone numbers, locations, and other key properties follow consistent formats, reporting becomes more reliable, helping decision-makers build effective strategies. - Better compliance and security
Clean, well-organized data minimizes the risks associated with holding on to unnecessary or outdated records, which can become a liability for privacy and security. - Reduced costs
Even if a contact is inactive by any measure, it will still count toward you Marketing Contacts threshold if it is marked as a Marketing Contact. Updating contacts to Non-marketing Contact when they're no longer considered active is the bare minimum.
Core Practices for Effective Data Management
Implementing a sustainable data management process in HubSpot involves several core practices that address both active and archived data. By following these best practices, you can keep your CRM lean and focused without sacrificing access to important information.
1. Regular Archiving of Inactive and Test Records
Not every piece of data needs to stay in view forever. Over time, test records, outdated leads, and inactive accounts can accumulate, cluttering the CRM and making it harder for users to focus on relevant data. One solution is to establish a systematic approach to archiving, allowing records to be removed from active lists and views but retained for future reference if needed.
Using an automation tool like our Object Archiver workflow action simplifies the process. Object Archiver allows you to define specific criteria—such as records inactive for a certain time period or those created for testing purposes—and archive them automatically. This ensures data management remains consistent and doesn’t rely on manual clean-up, freeing up valuable time and reducing human error.
2. Standardizing Data Formatting Across Properties
Consistency in data formatting may seem like a small detail, but it has a big impact on data accuracy and usability. Standardizing data for commonly used properties—such as phone numbers, states, and countries—reduces errors, improves reporting accuracy, and makes it easier to integrate with other systems that rely on precise data formats.
Consider the following steps to maintain consistency:
- Create custom formatting rules: HubSpot offers custom property options, so use these to create drop-downs or set specific input formats for key properties. This ensures that data entry follows the same pattern across all records.
- Automate standardization: HubSpot workflows can also help with standardizing data. For instance, you can use workflows to correct formatting errors, such as converting country names to a two-letter abbreviation or adding a country code prefix to phone numbers.
- Educate your team: Data entry practices are best maintained with clear guidelines. Educate your team on preferred data formats for phone numbers, addresses, and other critical fields to avoid discrepancies at the source.
3. De-Duplication to Reduce Data Redundancy
Duplicate records can lead to inconsistencies, confusion, and reporting inaccuracies. A well-maintained CRM requires regular checks for duplicates and a strategy to manage them. HubSpot offers a built-in duplicates tool, but here are some tips to make de-duplication more efficient:
- Set up regular audits: Regularly reviewing records to catch duplicates helps keep your database clean. Setting up a quarterly or monthly audit can help your team catch duplicate entries before they become a problem.
- Use automations for merging records: HubSpot workflows can also be designed to help merge duplicates by setting rules on common fields, such as email addresses or contact names, reducing the need for manual intervention. Insycle can be a particularly helpful tool in this tactic.
4. Data Enrichment for Better Customer Insights
Not all CRM data comes directly from customers or prospects; sometimes, enrichment can fill in critical details that improve lead scoring, segmentation, and personalization. Data enrichment can help provide a fuller picture of each contact and company in your HubSpot CRM.
HubSpot’s integrations with data providers make this possible, enabling your CRM to automatically pull in additional details about a contact or company. Enrichment can cover everything from industry information and company size to lead details, helping you build a robust dataset without manual input.
5. Automating Data Hygiene Workflows for Consistency
Consistent data hygiene practices are easier to maintain when automated. HubSpot’s workflows allow you to set up rules and actions that trigger based on data changes or specified criteria. For example, workflows can help you:
- Update incomplete records by requesting additional information through automated follow-up emails
- Set expiration dates on certain data fields, prompting you to review or archive records when they’re no longer relevant
- Automatically reassign leads based on geographic location, industry, or account status to ensure they’re properly categorized
By using these automations, you can ensure that your CRM remains clean and organized, allowing users to focus on high-impact activities rather than manual data tasks.
Object Archiver: Automate Your Data Archiving for Maximum Efficiency
While there are many methods to maintain data quality, archiving can be a particularly effective way to reduce clutter and ensure your CRM is always primed for performance. The Object Archiver workflow action, part of our Magic Workflows | Object Archiver app, brings automation and consistency to this process. Here’s how it works:
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Define your criteria for archiving:
Set up your preferred archiving conditions, such as records inactive for a specific period or those created solely for testing purposes. These criteria can be customized to meet your data retention policies. -
Seamless workflow integration:
Object Archiver integrates directly with HubSpot workflows, meaning it automatically archives records without disrupting ongoing tasks. This ensures that the archiving process remains hands-off and efficient. -
Keep inactive records accessible:
Archived records are still available in HubSpot, just out of the main view, making it easy to retrieve them if needed while keeping active data front and center.
Maintaining a Clean CRM: An Ongoing Commitment to Data Quality
The power of data lies in its accuracy and accessibility. While implementing best practices for formatting, deduplication, and automation can drastically improve data quality, it’s essential to treat data management as an ongoing practice. Regular audits, updates to archiving criteria, and a commitment to user education are all part of building a CRM that remains a valuable asset.
With our Object Archiver workflow action, standardizing data practices, and a few simple habits, you can transform your CRM into a streamlined, effective tool that empowers your team and drives business insights. Good data management isn’t just a checkbox—it’s an investment in your organization’s efficiency and your CRM’s potential.