HubSpot Ideas

Jems212

Update/Overwrite/Append Data Options for Contact Property Fields

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 

139 Replies
JoeDavies
Top Contributor | Elite Partner

This definitely should be a feature - as well as selective use of existing data at the field level rather than only on a field as a whole.

It also looks weird/confusing/creepy to the user if they come back to submit a 2nd form and the message they wrote last time pops up!

Boon
Member

A good CRM should be able to allow new entries submitted in the same field. For B2C companies, we usually record a lot of conversations with our prospects. I suggest new messages could be automatically synced from "messages" field, and recorded under "Notes" in contacts timeline. 

Vicky
Member | Gold Partner

Yes, it is absolutely must have! I need to save all the options of the property that existed ever. Could not find the way to do it.

Is there any news on this idea??

kyle2
Participant

Upvote. This is a critical flaw with hubspot right now.

BB1
Top Contributor

Hi Everyone - definately sounds like an important capability, hoping Hubspot will roll it out asap.

 

Meanwhile, I think a simple workaround can be as follows;

 

1. Add an extra field for each of thos you don't want overwritten, for example Lead Source, make Lead Source Temp.

2. Map the import to Lead Source Temp

3. Create a workflow - if field Lead Source is blank, copy Lead Source Temp to Lead Source.

 

You can do a similar thing for fields to append, make Notes Temp, then make a workflow - if Notes is not blank, append Notes Temp to Notes, if blank - copy Notes Temp to Notes.

 

How does that sound for now?

JoeRoberts
Participant

 Even in List imports it would be great to have the option to not update any fields if the contact is already in the system.

 

Give you the option to either overwrite existing contact's data or ignore them from the import. Assumed this would be out of the box functionaliy.

Zsofia
Member

Upvote! 

trevorfox
Participant

Immutable hs_analytics_souce, hs_analytics_souce_1, hs_analytics_souce_2 fields are helpful to understand the first touch. But allowing leadsource to be updated when it already set shifts attribution to secondary touches.  That is really misleading.

TimBrown
Member

 Hubspot - how have you not made this change yet? It is basic data management.

 

Please prioritise this improvement!!!

TimBrown
Member

Furthermore, we ideally should be able to turn on a feature that allows us to manually check updates to data to make sure good data isn't being overridden with garbage. For instance, it would be good to be able to review all data that has filled in a form form and review it. At the moment, all I can see is if we do that manually for each form. Should be able to select any form. Can do last modified but that could include uploads.

lilybond
Contributor

The inability to do this is really throwing me for a loop.

 

We used this option constantly in Marketo to append notes so we could create a clear log of history for sales reps. Can the ability to append a text property PLEASE get added???

jmonahan
Participant

Thank you BB1 for the good idea - it is apparently the best solution available to us for now. 

 

I am also looking for a way that my form will update the field ONLY if it is blank. I do not want it to override. 

BrianSchmidt
Member

Agree this is needed.

 

It was a very useful feature in Eloqua - used it all the time! 

TimBrown
Member

I have a solution for this. It is an integration in Hubspot called Insycle - which is available from the integrations marketplace. I had a demo yesterday and it does exactly what is needed and updates live straight back into Hubspot. https://www.insycle.com/.

StephanieB
Contributor | Elite Partner

Oh my gosh yes use Insycle for this! It integrates absolutely seamlessly with HubSpot and is so freaking quick. I am amazed by how quickly you can do things like this. It updates in real time and you can click the contact and open it right in HubSpot. Plus, you can preview your changes before actually pushing them live in things like merging contact records. It does what you're looking for and a ton more too. I'm in love with this tool. https://www.insycle.com/.

rtruncale
Top Contributor

So we'd have to pay for an integration for something that should already exist in the tool. Doesn't seem right...

SecureWorld
Contributor

HubSpot, are you listening to your customers?! How long will it take you to add this pretty simple functionality that your competitors offer?

jamabryan
Participant

Newer user to Hubspot and very surprised it just overwrites the property and no option to append! So needed... 

BB1
Top Contributor

I tried insycle but it did not work for us - maybe because we hve tons of contacts and companies. Anyone here use Insycle for 400k or more contacts? If yes - how is your experience? How long does it take to do queries?

 

Thanks!

robinsonjn22
Participant | Partner

This is so critical. Used to have this functionality in Act-On before we moved to HubSpot. Expecially important when you're dealing with large enterprise companies