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Learning the basic CRM structure of HubSpot

This article includes brief descriptions, and some tutorial videos, to help you understand your basic CRM data like objects, records, properties and more.

The foundation of your HubSpot account is a database of your business relationships and processes, called the CRM (Customer Relationship Management). In HubSpot, the CRM includes four standard objects: contacts, companies, deals, and tickets. Each object represents a different type of relationship or process. Below, learn how to get started managing a CRM database in HubSpot. 

Understand objects, records, and properties

As you get started with the CRM, it's important to understand its main components: objects, records, and properties. In HubSpot, CRM objects represent the different types of relationships and processes your business has. Standard CRM objects include contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and any custom objects you create (Enterprise accounts only). HubSpot-defined objects, such as calls, conversations, products, and quotes, use the same object framework, which enables you to segment or report on them. A record is a single instance of an object, where you can store information and track interactions. You can also make associations between records to understand the relationships between them. Properties represent the different types of information you can store on a record. 
 
For example, John Doe is a contact record and his email address, johndoe@email.com is stored in the Email contact property. His company, Orange Inc., is a company record, which can then be associated with John Doe to show the relationship between the two. As John interacts with your sales and support teams, you can create and associate deals and tickets with John and his company.

Watch our homemade video tutorial

This particular video focuses on properties; understanding how they work and learning how to create custom properties for different records like contacts, companies, deals, etc.

 

Create and import records

Records can be added to HubSpot in a few different ways. You can manually create them or import them in bulk from other systems. When importing, you can import records from a single object (e.g., contacts) or import and associate records from multiple objects (e.g., contacts and companies). You can also use HubSpot data sync to set up a two-way data sync between HubSpot and a variety of other platforms.

Watch our homemade video tutorial

Here is a step-by-step overview of the process of importing CONTACTS into HubSpot. Keep in mind the process is virtually the same for importing other records, like companies, deals or tickets.

 

View and edit records

Each object in HubSpot has an index page where you can see all of the records within that object. On each record, you can view the information stored in each property and a timeline of all activities, including calls, meetings, emails, tasks, and notes. While many properties and activities in HubSpot will be updated and logged automatically, you can also manually edit property values and log activities. 

 

Associate records

Associating records allows you to track the relationships between records across different objects. For example, if you have multiple contacts at one company, you can associate all of them to that company. Many activities on record timelines will automatically be logged on associated records; however, you can also manually associate individual activities across records.
 

Segment records

You can use the information stored on records in HubSpot to segment your CRM database using saved views or lists. This allows you to target your efforts based on different criteria, such as region, level of engagement, etc. With saved views, you can see different groups of records at a glance from the object's home. The lists tool provides some additional criteria options and allows you to take action on segments of contacts and companies in other HubSpot tools.
 

Watch our homemade video tutorial - lists

If you want to send relevant and effective marketing emails, active lists are essential. Do you know what they are and how to use them? CJ gives us the basics. 

 

Watch our homemade video tutorial - saved filters

Quickly assess specific groups of your contacts with Saved Views in HubSpot. Here's how, and a few ideas of why this is a helpful tool in marketing, sales and customer service.

 

Manage Duplicates

HubSpot automatically deduplicates your contacts and companies when they're created through a form submission or an import. If you include object IDs in your import file, HubSpot can also deduplicate contacts, companies, deals, tickets, products, and custom objects. Where the above deduplication isn't thorough enough, you can also manually manage possible duplicates if you're a user in a Professional or Enterprise account by using the duplicate management tool to deduplicate contacts and companies.
 

Watch our homemade video tutorial - saved filters

Have you discovered duplicate records in your HubSpot CRM? In this video, CJ shows you how to merge duplicates without messing up your data.