In this article, we'll explore how you can use HubSpot to build out a data verification process that ensures your data is up-to-date and accurate.
In today's data-driven business landscape, accurate and reliable data is crucial for making informed decisions and driving growth. However, managing and verifying data can be a daunting task, especially as your business scales.
That's where HubSpot's powerful automation capabilities come in handy.
Step 1: Define your dataset to verify
Before you start building out your data verification process, it's important to define what data you need to verify. For example, you might want to verify that a contact's email address is valid and active, or that their job title is up-to-date.
Step 2: Determining data accuracy
Once you've defined what data you'd like to verify, the next step is to define what criteria you'll use to determine its accuracy.
This is often a time frame, e.g. having a process in place that verifies data every 6 months (or which ever time frame aligns with your internal data policy).
To achieve this a custom date-picker property will need to be created for every object you'd like to verify data on, which will capture the date the data on this CRM record was last verified.
Step 3: Deciding how this data will be verified
Now you know what data you want to be verified and how often it needs to be verified consider how you are going to get this data verified.
- Is it going to be a manual task for an internal record owner to verify?
- Is it going to be an automated email tasking the contact to verify their own data?
Step 4: Set up automated data verification workflows
One of the most powerful features of HubSpot is its automation capabilities. You can use workflows to automate the data verification process, which saves time and ensures that your data is verified on a regular basis.
You can set up a workflow with re-enrolment turned on and the enrolment trigger set to enroll records where the value in 'Data last verified on:' is more than six months ago (or the verification timeframe decided upon).
Manual internal verification:
This first action in the workflow will set a task for the record owner to verify the data on the record they own. A delay action will wait until the task is marked as complete before date stamping the 'Data last verified on:' to that day.
NOTE: This option will have to be used for Deal, Ticket and Custom Object records in your HubSpot portal.
Automated external verification:
First create a HubSpot form built from the properties defined in Step 1. This form can be built using both Contact and Company properties but be sure to include the Contact property email and Company property company domain name, which HubSpot uses as unique identifiers, to allow the system to align the form submission with the correct CRM records.
Make sure to have 'Pre-populate fields with known values' turned on in the form options - this means if a contact previously visited your site and submitted a form, and HubSpot was able to store and track their cookies, any known field values can be pre-populated on the form. This option is enabled by default, learn more about pre-populated form fields.
Create an automated email with copy explaining you are reaching out to the contact for them to verify their information and a link to the verification form.
Use the 'Automation' tab on the form builder to create a workflow that data stamps the 'Data last verified on:' properties every time the form is submitted.
If you want to include a reminder email in this verification process to nudge contacts who have not completed the form within in a set timeframe, and then perhaps a second reminder to the record owner to follow-up after a further set time period, delays and further actions can be added to the workflow, referencing the value in the 'Data last verified on:' for the workflow to determine if the data has been verified since the record was enrolled in the workflow.
Step 5: Monitor and analyse your data verification process
Once you've set up your data verification process, it's important to monitor and analyse its effectiveness. HubSpot's reporting tools allow you to track the accuracy and completeness of your data, and to identify areas for improvement.
For example, you can use the contact property audit log to see when and how contact properties were changed, or you can use the contact property history report to see how your data has changed over time.
Consideration: Use HubSpot integrations to verify data
HubSpot integrates with a range of third-party tools and services, which you can use to verify your data. For example, you can use tools like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce to verify email addresses, or you can use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to verify job titles and company information. You can also use HubSpot's API to integrate with other custom tools and services that you use to verify data.
In conclusion, building out a data verification process using HubSpot can help you ensure that your data is accurate and up-to-date. By defining your verification criteria, setting up automated workflows, using integrations to verify data, and monitoring and analysing your process, you can maintain high-quality data that supports your business growth.
Author: Hannah Fisher
HubSpot CRM Platform Consultant
