Update/Overwrite/Append Data Options for Contact Property Fields

[Jems212]

Basically for each property I want 3 options to choose from:
1) Update value if blank
2) Append to value
3) Overwrite value

Sample use case(s):
Append Option: Notes Field
I have a comments field on my contact form where someone sends us a query. If that contact later submits another query I don't want to lose the previous info from my records. I want to see the new information appended to that field.  (Can't keep creating new properties and using smart properties). 

Overwrite Option 
Standard as happens curently with most fields, if a contact enters a new phone number it overrides the previous data to keep it updated with the latest information.

Update if Blank option - Lead Source
When a lead comes in, I assign the Lead Source to it, but I only want that updated if there is no previous Lead Source assigned to it. I don't want subsequent forms to overwrite the value. Smart Field(s) works only partially because if I use the API to submit forms, smart fields do not stop it from being overwritten.

Thanks 

[mike_mccarthy]

I am having a similar issue, where I do not want to lose the original lead source.  Additionally, sometimes I will do imports and when a contact already exists with a phone number property, I do not want to override it.  I know there was a way to set up by individual property options via the SFDC integration, however we are now using HubSpot Sales CRM. 

[elena52398]

Yes, Yes Yes!!!  I would like to update all my existing contacts with a specific identifier/custom property for our business, so we cam filter/sort by the custom property.

Can this be done already?

[het3ver3geet4]

We transitioned from Salesforce where this was never an issue.  There was a checkbox "do not overwrite existing data."  Easy.  Simple.  No problem.

We urgently need the ability to prevent override/over-write existing data. We import outside contact data frequently because we do webinars with partners and then share our leads.  So we're uploading new contacts at least monthly. Sometimes the contacts already exist in our database.  So naturally, we don't want to override any existing data such as lead source.  

Similarly, if our sales people go to a tradeshow/conference and come back with lists of contacts, we want to upload those into our system and make sure that fields such as the Hubspot owner do not change from the original.

You/Hubspot may be calling these "off-line sources."

[Olivia_Townsend]

YES! This is a big piece of functionality that I took for granted in Eloqua and was surprised wasn't in Hubspot. We used to use it for Lead Source Original/List Origin, and when importing client information. 

[JimHarris]

This is a huge gap in fuctionality currently that I can't believe isn't already a feature. 

It is much needed for us. We have lots of repeat business and if we get a RFQ through a form we would hate to then lose it a week later when the contact submits the same form again.

[aklymchuk]

I need the ability to append contact value...

[conorflanny]

Upvote, upvote, upvote! We need this information especially as it pertains to the lead source field. We can't have original lead sources be overwritten when that contact comes back into the system from a different lead source. It skews our data and gives an inaccurate picture of marketing/sales performance.

[Alation]

Upvote!!! Does anyone know if Hubspot is working on this yet? Such a necessary function for marketing/sales ops...

[socialshazza]

Agreed ... I opened a support ticket on this yesterday  .. we import lists from webinars and would like to add additional info into a multioption field .. imports overwrite any existing data for the additional property

[umair]

I want the hidden Lead Source on my forms to only set a value when one is not already present, over-writing the existing Lead Source is definitely a big bug. Is there a solution yet? I am thinking of using Workflows to set Lead Source if not present.

[Colin]

Marketo flat out beats Hubspot on this. 

In Marketo, one can achieve the append option by creating a workflow that prepends a cache of the description/notes field before the new description every time it's uploaded, so the net effect is that notes are appended instead of overwriting. Creating this workflow requires the ability to reference field tokens in workflows, which it looks like Hubspot doesn't allow.

For reference, here's the Hubspot article saying that you can't append or update blank fields only: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/articles/kcs_article/contacts/if-i-upload-a-csv-with-new-information-w...

[aseipp]

This is so critical and such an oversight. Please make this a feature because it is really messing with my reporting.

[Olivia_Townsend]

Eloqua also had great functionality around this--I was suprised when switching to Hubspot that it didn't exist. 

[CarolinPelz]

We are currently using if/then rules in our workflows in order to set a value only in case the field it empty, but as one cannot bring the yes & no branches back together again, the if/then trees get bigger and bigger. 

This causes us so much work! Please add this functionality!!!

[LauraFrease]

Agreed, please help to add this feature.

[vbijay]

Pardot does it well too. This is a key feature for us too and i'm surprised to find it missing in hubspot.

[Tracie]

Blocking field updates at a system level was something I guess I took for granted with Marketo. This is a pretty major flaw that I hope gets worked out soon. 

[greenhub006]

 Hey guys - do you have any update on this? We need this feature, so existing fields are not overwritten. 

[spanishgringo]

Agree. This is an issue I've been asking HubSpot to implement for almost 5 years now. I had thought with the release of the CRM they'd be able to address this issue. 

The contact notes issue (coupled with prepopulation on the forms) causes headaches for us when people have multiple engagements with a prospect over a form with a notes field.

[Abrenlla]

I am having a similar issue. We have multiple blogs we send out, and if someone tries to subscribe to a second one, it overrides their subscription to the first. It would be ideal to be able to automate the process of allowing users to subscribe themselves to multiple bogs without overriding their previous subscriptions.