HubSpot Ideas

grayson

Customizing "log activity" in HubSpot CRM

Hi HubSpot Development Team, 

 

I recommend revisiting the idea to customize log activity in HubSpot Sales. I would like my team to track "Direct Mail," and I've seen others asking about logging texts and in-app messaging. 

 

Thanks for considering!

Grayson 

HubSpot Updates
Delivered
January 17, 2024 09:25 AM

Hi all a couple of years ago, we released 7 new logged activity options based on what we saw in this post. Could you please submit this short form if you still have a logged activity type that isn't being supported? Thank you!

kman_1-1705511699748.png

 

 

Re: Customizing "log activity" and Task type in HubSpot Sales - changed to: Idea Submitted
December 20, 2018 05:36 AM

Hi everyone, I'm going to update this idea as 'Idea Submitted'. To be fully transparent, the mistake was mine in interpreting these discussions as the need to customize Call & Meeting types - this feature was in beta and is now live (details below).

 

However, I understand that the need here is to identify, track and report on custom activities. I have made a note of this change and demand and will be taking this to Product, I know this is something they are aware of and reviewing but I do not have any further update at this time. To set expectations the next report I bring to the Product team will be early January. 

 

I apologize for the miscommunication here and will endeavor to get you an update on this idea. 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

How to set custom call and meeting types:

 

How it works

  • Navigate to Settings > Sales > Call & Meeting Types.

  • Click “Enable Call and Meeting Types.”

  • Add your types.

 

Inline image 1

  • Then, when you’re logging an activity from a record in your CRM, simply click “Select Call Type,” and choose your desired type.

Inline image 2

 

What about reporting?

With the update, call/meeting type is now represented in two pre-built reports within the report library, and can also be used to build custom reports.

 

The two pre-built reports look like this, and live under "Prospecting:"

  • Call and meeting totals (by type). Holistically, are there trends in the types of calls/meetings your team is having?

  • Call and meeting leaderboard (by type). This report shows you the total number of meetings and calls each of your reps are having, by type. Did one rep have more pre-qualification calls, while another had more demo calls? Use this report to find out.

 

In addition to the pre-baked reports, Reporting Add-on or Sales Professional users can create custom reports using the Call/Meeting Type data.

 

 

251 Replies
mcpaha
Contributor

I think you do not understand the need here...

 

We have goals for sales reps for make calls / meeting also with new and existing customer. If I cannot register those acticities to get measurement then how can I check does my reps reaching their goals? As a Sales Director I do not have time to check every call/meeting note is that new or existing customers but instead of that I want build a KPI dashboard to see that -> and if needed more detailed information - then I am drilling into notes/memos.

 

This is a question of sales strategy how I want my reps diving their week time - how much time they are using with existing customer and how much trying to get new ones. If you know better way to check that - plz let me know...

 

For example this can be done with Pipedrive what we used in the past.

report.PNG

 

Here "Puhelu" (blue line) is a call for a existing customer, "Tapaaminen" is a meeting with existing customer and Puhelu (uusi asiakas) is a call to a new customers that we do have existing contract but trying to get one... So now I have immediatly idea that this rep used his time mainly with existing customer but didn't have a single meeting with new customer (just trying to get meetings with calls).

VagaeNatus
Key Advisor

@mcpaha when I said you need to look at the contact level if he is new or existing, I meant you need to report on the contact level. 

 

Example: count activities with type = phone, related to a contact that has a lifecycle stage = customers ===> that would give you the phone calls made to existing customers and can be achieved with cross-objects reporting (Reports > Accross data set > Choose Activities and Contacts).

 

What this feature request is about being able to activities type, in order to have more than the existing ones. Activities types (in real life) can be phone, email, whatsapp message, meeting, sms, etc.

mcpaha
Contributor

I understand what this feature request is about.. But if activities types are customized then it is decision of HS user what kind of activity types the want to use (and get reports & dashboards) based on types... So could be also answer to me if there will be more types and name of types would be free to write. 

danyelb
Contributor

How does one join this Beta?

roisinkirby
HubSpot Product Team

Hi everyone, I'm going to update this idea as 'Idea Submitted'. To be fully transparent, the mistake was mine in interpreting these discussions as the need to customize Call & Meeting types - this feature was in beta and is now live (details below).

 

However, I understand that the need here is to identify, track and report on custom activities. I have made a note of this change and demand and will be taking this to Product, I know this is something they are aware of and reviewing but I do not have any further update at this time. To set expectations the next report I bring to the Product team will be early January. 

 

I apologize for the miscommunication here and will endeavor to get you an update on this idea. 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

How to set custom call and meeting types:

 

How it works

  • Navigate to Settings > Sales > Call & Meeting Types.

  • Click “Enable Call and Meeting Types.”

  • Add your types.

 

Inline image 1

  • Then, when you’re logging an activity from a record in your CRM, simply click “Select Call Type,” and choose your desired type.

Inline image 2

 

What about reporting?

With the update, call/meeting type is now represented in two pre-built reports within the report library, and can also be used to build custom reports.

 

The two pre-built reports look like this, and live under "Prospecting:"

  • Call and meeting totals (by type). Holistically, are there trends in the types of calls/meetings your team is having?

  • Call and meeting leaderboard (by type). This report shows you the total number of meetings and calls each of your reps are having, by type. Did one rep have more pre-qualification calls, while another had more demo calls? Use this report to find out.

 

In addition to the pre-baked reports, Reporting Add-on or Sales Professional users can create custom reports using the Call/Meeting Type data.

 

 

mitchellkp
Top Contributor

HubSpot can become a powerful ABM tool with custom activities and some reporting looking at accounts + contacts + activities.

nataliewickham
Participant

Yes! We would like "Other" "Direct Mail" and "LinkedIn Message" as options.

NCO
Top Contributor

Please please push to make customizable activities a thing @roisinkirby

Hubspot is so good at so much, but lagging behind in so many critical areas. I want to see the company succeed and am a huge brand advocate, but software deficiencies like this make it difficult to defend when comparing against other CRM's.

 

Additionally, I completely understand and tell myself all the time that your team must get hundreds of product requests and fulfilling them all is virtually impossible. What's beyond discouraging though is that this thread is closing in on 2 years old, has 135 upvotes, and does not appear to have made any headway. The Hubspot support team is trained to tell users to submit a product request on the community board and upvote other existing posts - but its threads like this that give me (and I imagine many others) zero confidence in this idea's forum capability to bring change. There have been other ideas threads that I've come across over the last year or so and are closing in on 2+ years (like this one discussing the implementation of freezing headers) which I still can't believe have not been corrected and add my ill will towards the ideas forum.

 

It's tough because I imagine a combination of both timing and logistics doesn't allow you to satisfy all of your user's concerns and ideas, but I just wish we'd see more out of the product team in response to these threads. As I said, I so strongly believe in the Hubspot value prop and want nothing more than its continued success but at some point, there needs to be stronger emphasis placed on product growth and incorporating the feedback of the day-to-day users.

 

I hope we can get this product update - along with many of the others closing in on 2+ years old - implemented early on in 2019.

 

Best,

Noah

St0pTheInsanity
Participant

Thank you for the update, @roisinkirby

 

I have read where there is a suggestion that activities do not need to be customizable as long as you add certain types.

That's a bit short-sighted as each industry, their vocabulary, and each single user is unique.

 

I myself am a speaker and author, and need to scan my logs very quickly for books and direct mail sent, speaking gigs boked, and so forth.

 

Thanks for bringing this to the team.

hbuchman
Member

 It would be great if they could ad "text message" as an option as well!

shannonemilie
Participant

 100% for this. Texts are a common way of communicating lately and we need to add this feature so we can distinguish how the prospects are contacted

 

the option 'message' would cover texts and all social media messaging 

drewspi
Contributor

Yes, please. Adding custom activity types will help our team track and measure all types of communication/outreach efforts. 

Csutphin
Member

Yes! We would love to have the option to customize the drop down menu. We would especially like "Log a Text" or "Log a Message" as an option! 

LR-CPH
Participant

This would be so useful for LinkedIn Messages or Social Media channel interaction with prospects/customer. Looking forward to seeing this option available!

SeanMcProperty
Participant

Would love to track Direct Mail, SMS/WhatsApp and Social Media Messaging

Fraser
Participant

Definitely in favour of this, it would help me hugely to have an "Initial Outreach" task type that could then be filtered out so as not to get in the way of more pressing, warm leads. These could then become the focus once the more pressing tasks have been completed.

thinkfuture
Member

Weighing in here - would love to be able to track the most popular social media engagements - ESPECIALLY LinkedIn. I do a ton of contact via LI and adding that would be awesome. 

HeadHunterSthlm
Member

My company would also benefit immensely from this.

WendyMitrovich
Participant

This is a great idea and I could definitely make use of this feature too.

Sbstn
Member

Would be great to customize the log type.