How to Merge Contacts in HubSpot

Managing duplicate contacts in HubSpot is crucial for maintaining a clean and efficient CRM system. Duplicate contacts can lead to confusion and miscommunication, disrupting your workflow. Fortunately, HubSpot provides various methods to merge duplicate contacts, making it easier to keep your contact database organized. In this post, we'll cover manual merging, using the duplicate management tool, and automatic merging for Operations Hub users.

Manual Merging of Contacts

For those who prefer a hands-on approach, you can manually merge two contact records using the following steps:

1. Log into your HubSpot account and go to the Contacts section.
2. Click on the name of the contact you want to keep as the primary record.
3. In the left panel, click the Actions dropdown menu and select Merge.
4. A dialog box will appear. Search for the duplicate contact you wish to merge into the primary contact.
5. Once you've selected the duplicate, click Merge to combine the records.

Important: Merging contacts is irreversible. Make sure to double-check your selections before proceeding. If you merge the wrong contacts, you may lose important data.

Using the Duplicate Management Tool

For users with Professional or Enterprise subscriptions, HubSpot has a dedicated duplicate management tool to help you efficiently identify and merge duplicate contacts:

1. Navigate to your HubSpot account and click on Contacts.
2. From the Actions dropdown menu, select Manage duplicates.
3. HubSpot will display a list of potential duplicate contacts based on similar property values, including First Name, Last Name, Email address, and more.
4. Review each pair of contacts. For each set, select the primary contact and click Merge to combine them.

This tool simplifies the process of identifying duplicates, saving you time and reducing errors.

Automatic Merging of Duplicates

If you have an Operations Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription, you can set up your account to automatically merge duplicate contacts:

1. In your HubSpot account, go to Contacts.
2. Click Actions > Manage duplicates.
3. In the upper right corner, click on Auto-merge settings.
4. Toggle the Automatically merge contact duplicates switch on.
5. Choose the properties that will trigger an automatic merge.
6. Specify the merge criterion to determine which record to keep as the primary.
7. Click Save contact settings to confirm.

This feature allows HubSpot to handle duplicates based on your defined criteria, reducing the need for manual checks.

Important Considerations

Before you merge contacts, consider the following:

• Irreversibility: Merged contacts cannot be separated once combined. Be sure to confirm that you are merging the correct records.
• Data Retention: The primary contact retains most property values. If the secondary contact has unique information, it will be added as a secondary email address or value.
• Workflow Impact: Merged contacts are automatically unenrolled from any workflows. You should review these workflows and re-enroll contacts as necessary.

By managing duplicate contacts effectively through these methods, you can maintain a cleaner and more organized CRM system in HubSpot. Keeping your contacts in order helps prevent miscommunication and improves your overall productivity. The next time you notice duplicate records in your HubSpot CRM, you’ll be equipped to handle them with ease.