Removing contacts who have replied to an email via an email alias.

[JTyler2]

Hello HubSpoters.

I have a newly successful email campaign, where our CTA was to reply to our email, rather than a click/download etc. 

While I have been enjoying the response rate (25%!) I now have the issues of a LOT of replies to work. I want to use some Automation whether in HS or third-party, but I have run into an issue regarding Unsubscribes/deletion. 

About a fifth of the replies that ask to be removed are from email aliases, and because of that, HS creates a new contact (with the email alias as the new unique identifier) 

I can work the new/alias email address automatically, however the issue is the old/other email address that is still marked as a Marketing Contact - the contact will have 'was sent email X' with a 'replied to email X' but the actual reply will be associated with a new contact and I cannot use the inbox to work. The main issue here is, would it be a breach of GDPR to only suppress/remove the new email/alias - I would assume it would be, and if not, still not great company ethics. 

Any help on how to resolve would be appreciated! 

[PamCotton · Accepted solution]

Hey @JTyler2, welcome to our Community.

You can manage replies from email aliases by merging the duplicate contacts in HubSpot to maintain a single record. Ensure you address unsubscribe requests by suppressing or deleting the original contact, not just the alias, to comply with GDPR and ethical standards. Consider using third-party tools for automation if needed. Always keep track of how data is managed to maintain transparency and compliance.

Kindly,

Pam

[Dgmeinsider]

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@JTyler2 Liteblue usps wrote:

Hello HubSpoters.

I have a newly successful email campaign, where our CTA was to reply to our email, rather than a click/download etc. 

While I have been enjoying the response rate (25%!) I now have the issues of a LOT of replies to work. I want to use some Automation whether in HS or third-party, but I have run into an issue regarding Unsubscribes/deletion. 

About a fifth of the replies that ask to be removed are from email aliases, and because of that, HS creates a new contact (with the email alias as the new unique identifier) 

I can work the new/alias email address automatically, however the issue is the old/other email address that is still marked as a Marketing Contact - the contact will have 'was sent email X' with a 'replied to email X' but the actual reply will be associated with a new contact and I cannot use the inbox to work. The main issue here is, would it be a breach of GDPR to only suppress/remove the new email/alias - I would assume it would be, and if not, still not great company ethics. 

Any help on how to resolve would be appreciated! 

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To address your email campaign issues while ensuring GDPR compliance and maintaining ethical standards, consolidate contacts in HubSpot by merging duplicates to handle replies and unsubscribes from email aliases properly. Set up automation to manage and update primary contact records, and ensure all related contacts, including aliases, are suppressed or deleted in accordance with GDPR. This approach helps maintain compliance and respects user requests for removal. For further assurance, consider consulting with a data protection officer or legal advisor.

[PamCotton · Accepted solution]

Hey @JTyler2, welcome to our Community.

You can manage replies from email aliases by merging the duplicate contacts in HubSpot to maintain a single record. Ensure you address unsubscribe requests by suppressing or deleting the original contact, not just the alias, to comply with GDPR and ethical standards. Consider using third-party tools for automation if needed. Always keep track of how data is managed to maintain transparency and compliance.

Kindly,

Pam

[JTyler2]

Hi @PamCotton , thanks for he help!

I was thinking the merging of contacts would be the best solution, but is there a way to do this automatically? With 2 UIDs, what do I use to merge? Also the fact that there is multiple variations i.e. it could be first.last@company.com w/ alias first@company.com or it could be name@company.co w/ alias name@company.co.org etc. or any combination of these (and more!) 

If there is a 'has replied to email AND email address is 90% similar then merge' function, or something that I'm missing, I'd appreciate any knowledge on how to move forward, Thanks! 

[Jonas_De_Mets · Accepted solution]

@JTyler2 jumping in here as we have created Koalify a plugin to simplify deduplication in HubSpot. You can create custom filters to identify duplicates in your HubSpot portal. I don't think we cover your use case completely but happy to discuss how we can enable this.

https://youtu.be/Ohfm53fED7A