To merge, or not to merge...?

[AdamLPW]

Hi all,

I've recently had an ex-customer contact me, having left their previous firm late last year.  As my inbox is integrated, HubSpot has set up a new record for him under his new firm, which is all good.  

The question is: do I merge in the data from his previous record under his previous firm, and old email address.  This record is currently still sat in our CRM and opted out of email...

I've come across this before, and can't remember what I opted to do.  Interested to hear community consensus!

[KTownsend · Accepted solution]

Hi! 

Does the new contact record have all of the same information about the customer? I.e. first name, last name, phone number and more?

If so, I personally don't think I would merge them - it's not possible to unmerge contacts in HubSpot, so I think i'd leave it just to be safe! 

[IRayner]

If your situation is a high-touch relationship, I disagree with the other comments. Your relationship is with the person, you want to maintain the history of that relationship regardless of where they were when you were interacting with them. Let's say you are taking them out for dinner - you would want to know which place you went to last time. You don't want to have to rely on some note, or remembering they were at a different company and go look up a different contact. If, however, they are just one of hundreds of names on a list and you barely know them, it probably doesn't matter.

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @AdamLPW, and thanks for tagging @sharonlicari!

I'd recommend not merging these contacts. The old contact record is likely associated with information and activity specifically with that contact's role in the old company.

I'd update the old contact record accordingly (Lifecycle stage is Other, Lead status is Left company) and keep the new record that was created through the inbox. If there is any information that can be carried over, I'd update these fields manually.

To avoid confusion, I'd pin a note on the new record, including a link to the old record and vice versa.

Hope this helps!

[AdamLPW]

Hi @karstenkoehler,

As ever, you're a treasure trove of useful suggestions!

I'd already updated lifecycle stage and lead status for the old contact.  Can't believe I hadn't thought of the idea of pinning a note with a link to the new contact.  Great idea and gives me the best of both worlds - easy access to the old record; colleagues will instantly know that the two are one and the same.

Thanks for your input.  Case closed!

😀

[KTownsend · Accepted solution]

Hi! 

Does the new contact record have all of the same information about the customer? I.e. first name, last name, phone number and more?

If so, I personally don't think I would merge them - it's not possible to unmerge contacts in HubSpot, so I think i'd leave it just to be safe! 

[AdamLPW]

Hi @KTownsend,

Thanks for replying.  

Yes, the new record has all of the above.  

I was thinking the same, but what I'd lose is (of course) historic email correspondence, phone, and meeting details.  And deals, but less important for me.

This leaves me in a situation where I have a contact record connected to a company for which they no longer work, which is taking up space in my CRM (minor, I know, but I'm **bleep** about housekeeping!) and also factually incorrect.

I guess there are pros and cons of each approach.  As you say: once merged, the records cannot be unmerged.  

Thanks for your response, but I'm still very much on-the fence!

Can anyone convince me one way or the other?

[sharonlicari]

Hi @AdamLPW 

I agreed with @KTownsend, I'm wondering if someone has a different opinion!

Hey @Josh @karstenkoehler @Phil_Vallender what would you advise in this case?

Thanks & Happy Friday!

Sharon