Got a contact database in HubSpot that looks as old as the Yellow Pages? It's time to spice it up with custom properties. Whether you're a CRM expert or a total beginner, this article will show you how to create, configure and customize your contact properties to get the most out of them. And, best of all, you don't need to be a developer to do it.
Why customize HubSpot properties?
More data, more impact!
Personalized properties are the key to enriching your CRM and improving your marketing strategies. Imagine: instead of just having your contacts' first name and email address, you can also find out about their last purchase, their interests or even their communication preferences. With this, you're equipped to create ultra-personalized campaigns that really speak to your leads.
The benefits of CRM customization
The whole point of personalizing your contacts' properties is to better understand their needs and behaviors. The more you know, the more accurately you can segment them, and the more effective your marketing actions will be. As Petyr Baelish said in Game of Thrones, “Knowledge is power. In HubSpot, it's even truer! You can create properties for just about anything (except maybe their favorite food, unless you're in the food business, of course).
How do I create and define a custom property in HubSpot?
Step 1: Access your HubSpot settings
The path to customization starts in your HubSpot account settings. Click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner, then head to the Properties tab. This is where the magic happens. You can choose the object on which you want to add or modify a property - be it contacts, companies or even custom objects.
Step 2: Create a new custom property
Ready to create? Once in the Properties tab, simply click on Create a property. Give your new property a simple, clear name, such as “Interest in new products”. Then choose the type of property: text, checkbox, date, etc. You can also add multiple options to further segment your contacts. Basically, you make your CRM as precise as a Swiss watch.
What information should you add to your custom properties?
Information that counts
One of the classic mistakes is wanting too much information about your contacts. No, you don't need to know their favorite pet (unless you're in the pet business, of course). Focus on data that can really help you improve your campaigns. For example: their stage in the buying cycle, their last purchase, or their level of interest in a product or service.
The importance of relevant information
There's no point in collecting tons of data if it doesn't help you personalize and segment effectively.
Choose properties that enable you to better understand your contacts and improve your CRM campaigns. If a contact is in the “evaluation” phase of the buying cycle, you won't send the same offer to them as to a loyal customer who has already bought from you several times.
Using personalized properties in your CRM campaigns
Email personalization and automation
Personalized properties aren't just for storing information. They're also useful for automating your marketing campaigns and sending super-targeted emails. With HubSpot workflows, you can create automations that are triggered based on the value of a property. For example, a follow-up email after a contact has filled in a registration form or downloaded a white paper.
Dynamic segment creation
Another big advantage of custom properties is the ability to segment your contacts in real time. HubSpot lets you create dynamic lists based on property values. If a contact has shown interest in a specific product, you can send them an ultra-personalized email, or add them to a specific campaign to increase your chances of conversion.
How do I modify or delete an existing custom property?
Modify properties to stay relevant
Sometimes, certain properties just aren't as useful as they used to be. No problem! Just go back to HubSpot settings and modify the property in question. You can change the field type, add options or even change the name. The idea is to keep your properties up to date so that they continue to serve your purposes.
Removing unnecessary properties
If a property has become totally obsolete, you can delete it. Be careful, this is an irreversible operation, so make sure you don't need it later. In most cases, it's better to modify than to delete, unless you're absolutely certain that the property has outlived its usefulness. Please note that properties created natively by HubSpot cannot be deleted.
Integrating custom properties with other tools
Connecting your properties to your ecosystem
Once you've created your personalized properties, all that's left to do is integrate them with your other marketing tools. For example, you can synchronize your properties with analytics tools like Google Analytics, or with web forms to further enrich your contact data. HubSpot offers integrations in spades, so you've got everything you need to optimize your CRM campaigns.
Collaboration with other departments
The advantage of having an enriched CRM is that your teams can collaborate more effectively.
Customized properties let you share relevant data with sales, support or even development teams. Imagine the product team knowing exactly which product your leads are most interested in, thanks to the properties you've configured. You've come full circle!
Continuous optimization with custom properties
The world of personalized properties never ends. To truly optimize your CRM, you need to test, analyze and adjust your properties regularly.
HubSpot allows you to monitor performance in real time and see which properties are bringing the most value to your strategies. If a property isn't delivering the expected results, change it or replace it with a new one. That's the beauty of CRM: it's always in motion.
Creating dynamic pages with CRM objects
Now we come to the magic side of HubSpot: the creation of dynamic pages based on CRM objects.
Imagine you've got a CRM full of data on your customers or products. With HubSpot, you can transform this information into dynamic web pages without having to manually recreate each page. It's as if each product sheet or contact had its own dedicated, automatically generated page.
And bonus: everything updates as soon as you modify the data in your CRM!
How does it work?
Creating these dynamic pages is fairly straightforward. Here are the main steps to follow:
- Prepare your CRM object: First of all, you need to define what type of CRM object you're going to use (a product, a contact, etc.). Each object will have specific properties (such as a name, price, description, etc.) that you can use to generate the pages. You need to make sure that these properties are filled in and ready to be displayed on your website.
- Create a detail module: Once your object is ready, you'll need to create a custom module to display the details of each record. For example, if you sell cars, you'll have a module that displays information such as the make, model and price of each car.
- Create a list module: Next, you'll need to create a list module to display all your registrations on a single page (such as a list of all available cars). This allows visitors to see all products or contacts at a glance.
- Associate your modules with a dynamic page: Once you've created your modules, you add them to a page via the HubSpot page editor. You then select the CRM object as the data source, and HubSpot automatically generates the dynamic pages from your CRM records.
In short, this feature is ideal for companies wishing to display a product catalog, contacts or any other information stored in their CRM. Pages are updated automatically as soon as the CRM object is modified, greatly simplifying content management.
A few points to note
- You can create up to 10 dynamic pages per CRM object.
- HubSpot limits content search index updates to 50,000 per day.
- Each dynamic page uses the object's properties to generate metadata such as title, slug, description and so on. Make sure the values are unique and well filled in.
In terms of user experience, this is great, and it's also an incredible time-saver for the development team. No need to code everything manually!
Why enrich your database with custom properties?
In a nutshell, using custom properties in HubSpot is the key to enriching your contact base, optimizing your marketing strategies, and creating a unique experience for your website visitors. Thanks to these properties, you can segment, automate and personalize your campaigns with surgical precision.
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