When merging contacts, currently the ‘most recent value’ is retained in the post-merge record. This is not always the value that is desired to be retained. The Solution:
Ability to pre-select a setup of properties that should always be reviewed prior to merging contacts (an Admin global set up, not a user-specific)
When in the merge function, these select properties show for reviewing the retained value.
When reviewing the pre-merge properties, the ability to map the desired value to be retained for each of the properties is key
This will be different for each Hubspot customer so the ability to customize what properties to include in a pre-merge scenario is important
The allowed number of properties to include in the review should be a reasonable number to make the function manageable yet flexible enough to be useful - so maybe 15-20 max
Not every property is relevant to review when merging as some properties should retain the most recent value. This customization for an Admin to set will allow for the review of the most critical information.
A default property example would be:
Contact Owner
Other examples:
For our company we have a list of product integration-specific properties that affect list memberships and workflows… so all of those I would be interested in reviewing on merge
Custom properties we use for reporting cohorts
Custom properties we use for form submission date recording
etc.
Other ideas that are around merging and should be considering IF/WHEN work is done on the merge feature: Merge permission setting
This is one of our major bugbears as well. This is causing us HUGE, MASSIVE headaches, which is why we’ve been trying to avoid merging wherever possible.
As much as we love HubSpot, we had hierarchical control over specific properties in the previous CRM we used and all of the commercial RDBs I have used in the past 20+ years have had hierarchical control, so it feels like we’ve almost gone back to the 20th century within HubSpot in this regard.
We’ve looked at external apps but we’re already paying for Enterprise everything within HubSpot and so really don’t expect to have to pay more to get 21st century functionality for merging records.
I’m currently working on a project to define a block of primary properties on a primary contact/company record that we will set and compare against the general ones used on a day-to-day basis to detect when one or more properties change unexpectedly and ensure we never lose priority information due to HubSpot’s failing in this regard. These primary properties will be only set on the primary contact record so should never be overwritten by a merge but Workflow will detect when there are differences after a merge for these key properties against the primary values.
Definitely agree with this - and for Companies as well as Contacts.
It’s also not obvious that only the most recent record is saved - we’ve just discovered this is the case in the process of unravelling some of the problems it’s created. That info is buried fairly deep in a support article rather than being flagged at the point of merge.
Echoing the need for this.
Would be nice to have the ability to set up rules for merged property mapping similar to the rules with properties in the Salesforce integration.
For example:
- “Prefer primary contact unless blank”
- “Prefer most recent value”
- “Prefer original value”
Specifically, the original value would be useful for properties we are using to capture the “Original” value of that get overwritten in merges with more recent values.
HubSpot has launched a public beta (Settings > Product updates) which solves quite a few of the mentioned points in this request here:
Data Quality
Property Control in Record Merges
March 6, 2025
What is it?
You can now select which properties will be retained on the final record when merging records, giving you unprecedented control over your data consolidation process.
Why does it matter?
As businesses grow, managing duplicate records becomes increasingly complex. By providing granular control over property selection during merges, this new tool allows users to maintain data integrity with precision.
It offers the flexibility to tailor the merge process to specific business needs, ensuring that every data consolidation aligns perfectly with your organization’s data management strategy.
How does it work?
To access this functionality, customers should navigate to a record page within HubSpot. Customers will now see a new modal when they attempt to merge, replacing the previous version.
This enhanced interface allows you to review the properties of records side-by-side and select the winning properties for your final, merged record.
By choosing which data points to keep, you can ensure that the most accurate and up-to-date information is preserved during the merge process.
Hi everyone! My name is Hallie, and I’m a Program Manager on our CXM Team. We are marking this as ‘Delivered’ because this feature is now live. You can read more about it in this comment here.
