HubSpot Deduplication with Koalify

Let’s be real—managing duplicate contacts in your CRM is frustrating. Even if you start with clean data, duplicates inevitably sneak in as your business grows—whether through form submissions, imports, or different touchpoints. As we move through marketing in 2024, this problem isn’t going anywhere, but luckily, we have found the right tools to solve this challenge.

HubSpot’s built-in deduplication tool is helpful when dealing with a handful of contact records. However, the moment you start handling thousands of contacts—or when you begin to build more complex contact records—you need something more powerful.

That’s why we’ve partnered with Koalify, a data management tool that goes beyond HubSpot’s native deduplication features. Whether you’re managing a high-volume CRM or just trying to get a handle on an account that’s grown unwieldy, Koalify simplifies the process of identifying and merging duplicate contacts, saving you time, frustration, and potentially costly mistakes.

Duplicate contacts can do more than clutter your CRM. They can lead to inaccurate data, skewed reports, and wasted marketing efforts. These issues can grow quickly if left unchecked, especially as your business expands. Managing duplicates early helps prevent misdirected campaigns and unreliable insights.

In this post, we’ll dive into why contact duplicates are such a big problem in HubSpot, how they affect your CRM performance, and how Koalify can help you stay ahead of the game in 2024 and beyond.

The Duplicate Contact Problem: Bigger Than You Think

Everyone knows duplicates are a hassle, but let’s break down why they can really throw a wrench in your CRM and marketing efforts. It’s not just about clutter; it’s about accuracy and performance.

Duplicate contacts create unnecessary clutter, undermine data integrity, and lead to lost opportunities. Each duplicate can cause miscommunication, inaccurate reporting, and inefficiencies that ripple across your marketing and sales efforts.

If you’re not managing your duplicate HubSpot records, you’re not just creating more work for yourself—you’re actively hurting your marketing campaigns, sales reporting, and overall customer relationship management. You’ve made an investment in the HubSpot platform, and allowing duplicate records to build up can hurt the return you get on the marketing and sales platform.

Here’s exactly how duplicate contacts wreak havoc on your HubSpot CRM—and why ignoring them can cost you:

• Double (or triple) email sends: Your contact might sign up for your newsletter with a personal Gmail address and later download an eBook with their work email. When your contact receives multiple copies of an email, it’s more than annoying; it can really hurt your brand credibility. This can look unprofessional and even potentially mark your emails as spam.
• Incorrect campaign segmentation: HubSpot campaigns use segmentation to target the right people. When your CRM is cluttered with duplicate records, it becomes easy to send the wrong message to the wrong person, diluting the impact of your marketing strategies.
• Skewed metrics: When duplicates compromise your data, metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and engagement tracking get muddled. This can result in misleading insights, which can lead to poor decision-making.
• Confused attribution: Contact attribution relies on accurate records to track which marketing efforts drive results. Your reports can overstate or completely miscalculate performance when duplicate contact records exist. Over time, this impacts your strategy, making it harder to prove what’s working.
• Cluttered, inefficient CRM: The longer you ignore the issue, the more disorganized your HubSpot portal becomes. Over time, this impacts your sales team’s ability to access the correct information, leading to missed opportunities.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Most HubSpot users face the challenge of HubSpot deduplication, especially as their CRM scales. Fortunately, we now have Koalify to help fix these issues.

Why HubSpot’s Native Tools Aren’t Enough in 2024

HubSpot’s deduplication tool is a decent starting point if your CRM is still relatively small or your duplicate contacts are easy to spot. A quick scroll through your contact list can allow you to spot two contacts with the same email address.

However, duplicates become harder to identify manually as your contact database expands. A growing CRM means more complexity, with multiple touchpoints, varied email addresses, and similar contact details that can slip through the cracks.

But let’s face it: once your CRM starts growing, things get complicated fast. What happens when your contact uses three different emails across their interactions? Or what if you have two contacts with the same name but different job titles?

That’s where HubSpot’s native deduplication tool hits its limits. It works fine for simple scenarios, but you need something more robust when your CRM scales. This is where Koalify steps in to fill the gaps.

Introducing Koalify: A Solution for Managing HubSpot Duplicates

Koalify is designed to handle duplicates efficiently and automatically without the manual labor that HubSpot’s built-in tools often require. Whether managing a few thousand contacts or a massive CRM, Koalify streamlines the deduplication process, giving you cleaner data with minimal effort.

Here’s what makes Koalify different—and why it’s our go-to HubSpot data management solution for 2024

1. Comprehensive Duplicate Analysis

One of the first things Koalify does is run a free scan of your contacts to identify duplicates. It doesn’t stop at finding them; it also gives you insights into how these duplicates are created, who owns them, and when they entered your system.

You can use HubSpot views or reports to dig deeper into:

• The source of duplicates (e.g., form submissions, manual imports, etc.)
• The time frame when duplicates were created helps you identify trends and root causes
• Record ownership so you know exactly who is responsible for each contact

This is a game-changer for businesses with large CRM databases. Instead of painstakingly merging one contact at a time, you can merge hundreds of records in minutes without compromising accuracy.

2. Seamless HubSpot Integration

Koalify was built to integrate perfectly with HubSpot, so you don’t have to switch between tools or learn a new system. The interface is designed to feel native to the HubSpot portal, meaning it’s as if you’re using an extension of the CRM you’re already familiar with.

Koalify is available directly in the HubSpot App marketplace. No complex logins or third-party apps clutter your desktop—just a simple, clean interface that works within HubSpot.

3. Bulk Merging Made Easy

If you’ve ever tried to merge duplicates manually in HubSpot, you know it can be time-consuming, especially if you’re dealing with hundreds or thousands of contacts. Koalify changes that by enabling bulk merging, allowing you to efficiently handle large volumes of data.

Here’s how it works:

• You can add the ‘Merge Duplicate’ action into your HubSpot workflows, streamlining the entire process.
• Automate the deduplication by using lists or criteria you define, like matching contacts with the same company name or similar phone numbers.

This is a game-changer for businesses with large CRM databases. Instead of painstakingly merging one contact at a time, you can merge hundreds of records in minutes without compromising accuracy.

4. Flexible, Custom Deduplication Rules

One of the biggest pain points with HubSpot’s native tools is the lack of flexibility. Typically, HubSpot relies on email addresses as the unique identifier for contacts. You face barriers when you need to match contacts based on other fields, like names, phone numbers, or company names.

With Koalify, you have complete control over the contact deduplication criteria. You can set custom rules to identify and merge duplicates based on various fields, ensuring your CRM stays clean and accurate. For example, if you’re running a B2B campaign, you can prioritize matching by company name or industry, ensuring that your deduplication strategy aligns with your business goals.

5. Automatic Deduplication with Best Practices

One of our favorite features about Koalify is the ability to leverage workflows to either continually deduplicate records or use workflows to bulk merge multiple contacts or companies. This feature is a powerful way to proactively manage duplicates and reduce time spend on administration. 

However, we recommend starting slow. Don’t dive in with overly complex rules; you don’t want to risk merging the wrong contacts. Koalify makes this process easier by allowing you to focus on the most common duplicate issues first. For instance, you can start with matching contacts by email addresses, then gradually introduce more complex rules like phone numbers or job titles.

6. Pre-Built Tools to Prevent Errors

Nobody wants to make mistakes when merging contacts, especially when it could mean losing critical data. Koalify provides pre-built lists, reports, and views highlighting common duplicate issues before you begin the merge process. This means fewer errors, less risk, and a much smoother deduplication process overall.

Koalify’s error prevention tools ensure your merges are accurate, reducing the chance of incorrectly merging contacts and helping you avoid costly mistakes.

By understanding where your duplicate contacts are coming from, you can address the underlying issues and prevent them from becoming an even bigger problem in the future.

Getting Started with Koalify: It’s Easier Than You Think

Getting Koalify up and running is simple. Visit their website, click Start Free Trial, and follow the step-by-step guide to link it to your HubSpot account. Once you’re connected, everything operates directly within HubSpot, with no external apps or complicated setups. It’s all right there, where you need it.

Koalify can fit in as one segment of an overall HubSpot CRM optimization plan. You’ll see the greatest returns on your marketing and sales strategies by making the most of your HubSpot portal.

Take Control of Your Data in 2024

Managing duplicates is one of the most critical tasks in keeping your CRM clean, efficient, and helpful. In 2024, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming or stressful.

As your business grows, so does the complexity of your data. If left unchecked, duplicate contacts can quickly lead to disorganization and inefficiencies that drain time and resources. A clean CRM is essential for accurate reporting and effective marketing.

With Koalify, you get a powerful tool that simplifies the process, provides deeper insights, and helps prevent duplicates from bogging down your CRM. Koalify offers the automation, flexibility, and accuracy you need to keep your HubSpot data pristine, whether you’re dealing with a few hundred or a few thousand contacts.

Ready to optimize your HubSpot data? Contact the team at Vaulted today, and we’ll work with you to integrate Koalify into your CRM strategy. Let us help you streamline your data management for success in 2024 and beyond.