Managing customer data is a major part of any business. And it can also be a major headache. A well-organized CRM helps your team stay aligned, work more efficiently, and make decisions based on accurate (and easily accessible) information. But if your data lives in an outdated or overly complex system, it can be difficult to keep things running smoothly.
The good news? It’s never too late to move to a platform that actually works for your team. In this post, we’ll walk you through a full HubSpot migration—with practical tips for what to do before, during, and after your migration—so you can avoid common pitfalls and start strong.
HubSpot Migration Checklist – Beginning, Middle, and End
Let’s dive into the HubSpot migration checklist. The process can take a few weeks—or longer—depending on your team size and the complexity of your data, so it’s important to plan ahead and give yourself enough time.
Pre-Migration Tips
- Get buy-in from your team: Get feedback from the sales and marketing teams about what works (and what doesn’t) in your current CRM. Explain how HubSpot will help them work more efficiently.
- Assign a project manager: Assign an internal or external project manager to steer the ship. They’ll keep the HubSpot migration on track, ensure communication across teams, and prevent missed details.
- Audit and clean your data: Before migrating anything to HubSpot, take some time to review your current CRM data. That means identifying duplicates, removing outdated records, and correcting inconsistencies. Cleaning your data now means fewer problems late, including making a smoother onboarding process for your team.
- Map your fields: Review your current CRM’s custom fields and decide how they’ll map to HubSpot properties to keep reports and workflows accurate.
- Back up your data: Unexpected things can happen – even during a data migration. That’s why it’s always smart to have a backup. Export your current CRM data and store it securely before starting your HubSpot migration. This will give you peace of mind – and a helpful fallback if anything goes wrong.
- Decide what to migrate (and what to leave behind): Not everything needs to make the trip. Take this opportunity to streamline. Skip old contacts or abandoned deals that don’t serve your current goals.
During Migration Tips
- Use HubSpot import tools wisely: HubSpot offers multiple import tools to help with your CRM migration. Find the one that’s right for you – and be aware of formatting and file sizes. Use CSVs for batch uploads, and make sure headers match your mapped fields to avoid misalignment.
- Rebuild essential tools and pipelines: Your pipelines, automation workflows, and custom reports probably won’t automatically transfer. So give yourself time to recreate them manually in HubSpot, ensuring they align with your new data structure.
- Integrate your tech stack: Connecting your existing tools (email platforms, task managers, etc.) allows HubSpot to become the digital headquarters for your sales and marketing activity. You can use HubSpot’s App Marketplace for more common integrations, but you may also need custom integrations to fill in the gaps.
- Maintain security and compliance: If you’re migrating sensitive customer data, make sure you're compliant with GDPR and other privacy laws. Limit data access to essential team members during the migration and record the process as you go, in case of a future audit.
- Document your process: It may seem tedious, but documenting field mappings, import files, and issues will help with troubleshooting, onboarding, and scaling later.
Post-Migration Tips
- Verify (and spot-check) your data: Once your data is in HubSpot, run checks to confirm everything transferred properly. Test random contact records, look into pipeline stages, and ensure email opt-ins, notes, attachments, and all necessary elements are still intact.
- Enable automations and workflows: Once you’ve confirmed that your data’s in place, enable automations like lead scoring and task assignments to ensure your team stays organized without adding more manual work.
- Train your team: Even the best CRM won’t help if people don’t know how to use it. Give hands-on training specific to each of your teams and how they’ll be using it. Don’t assume they’ll figure it out.
- Monitor performance (and adjust as needed): Keep an eye on key metrics like contact engagement, pipeline velocity, and team adoption over the first few weeks. And don’t be afraid to make a change if it’s warranted. Use HubSpot’s dashboards and custom reporting to fine-tune your setup as you go.
How to Find a Partner to Help You Migrate Your CRM
Not all CRM partners are created equal – especially when it comes to something as nuanced as a HubSpot CRM migration. Look for a team with hands-on experience that goes beyond just technical know-how. The right partner should not only understand how to set things up in HubSpot, but also know how to align the migration with your business goals and processes.
If you’re wondering what a successful migration looks like in action, here’s how we helped the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) streamline their operations. They moved from siloed tools like DocuSign and DonorPerfect to a centralized HubSpot system. Now they track registrations, donations, and marketing in one place—proving that the right partner makes a big difference.
Set Your HubSpot Migration Up for Success
Migrating to HubSpot CRM is a smart move—but only if it’s done with care. With the right plan, a clean dataset, and a team that’s ready to adapt, your HubSpot migration can be the start of smoother processes, better alignment, and smarter growth. Use our HubSpot migration checklist as your roadmap, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us at CRO:NYX Digital for a partner who’s done it all before.