Pipedrive-to-HubSpot migration: everything you need to know

As your business evolves, you may find yourself outgrowing your current customer relationship management system (CRM). Perhaps you started with Pipedrive – a popular CRM tool for sales teams – but now you need to move to a more robust solution, such as HubSpot.  

There can be many fears around a large technical migration like this, such as:  

• The team being able to keep their work life as normal as possible through the change 
• Retaining key data and avoiding duplicates 

• Suitable training for all team members to feel confident using the new platform.  

However, with the right preparation, platform migration can be a seamless process. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about migrating from Pipedrive to HubSpot. 

Why migrate from Pipedrive to HubSpot? 

While Pipedrive is a great CRM tool for customer relationship management, it has limitations when it comes to marketing automation and customer service management.  

HubSpot, on the other hand, offers a complete suite of tools for marketing, sales, operations and customer service, making it a more comprehensive solution for growing businesses. Forbes Advisor ran a comprehensive comparison of the two platforms and concluded: 

‘HubSpot works for all types and sizes of organizations… The free plan covers the essentials, while the paid plans scale with you as your business needs grow. Plus, HubSpot’s extensive all-in-one marketing suite offers functionality that Pipedrive doesn’t deliver.’ 

By migrating from Pipedrive to HubSpot, you’ll be able to: 

• Manage all aspects of the customer journey in one place 
• Automate your marketing and sales processes 

• Provide better customer service with a unified view of customer data 
• Get more detailed insights and analytics on your sales and marketing efforts. 

If you’ve decided to make the move, you’ll be wondering what the steps look like to ensuring a successful migration. Find out more below… 

Step 1: Evaluate your data 

Before you start the migration process, you’ll need to evaluate the data you have in Pipedrive and determine what needs to be transferred to HubSpot. This includes: 

• Customer and contact data 
• Deals 
• Notes 
• Tasks 

• Any other custom fields you’ve created. 

To do this, create a spreadsheet or document that lists all of the data you have in Pipedrive and needs to be migrated. This will give you a clear understanding of what you’re working with, and help you avoid any data loss during the migration process. 

Step 2: Map your data 

Once you’ve evaluated your data, you’ll need to map it from Pipedrive to HubSpot. This involves identifying the corresponding fields in HubSpot for each field in Pipedrive. For example, if you have a “Phone Number” field in Pipedrive, you’ll need to map it to the “Phone Number” field in HubSpot.  

Sometimes these fields are called slightly different things, so careful vigilance is needed to ensure properties are mapped correctly. To make this process easier, use a mapping tool like Import2 Wizard or Datadeck. These tools will automatically map your data fields and ensure that everything is transferred correctly. 

Step 3: Export your data from Pipedrive 

With your data mapped, it’s time to export it from Pipedrive. To do this, go to the “Settings” menu in Pipedrive and select “Export data”. Choose the data you want to export (contacts, deals, notes, etc.) and select the file format (CSV or Excel). 

Once you’ve exported your data, check the file to ensure that everything has been exported correctly. If you have any issues, go back and adjust your mapping and try again. 

Step 4: Import your data into HubSpot 

With your data exported from Pipedrive, it’s time to import it into HubSpot. To do this, go to the “Contacts” menu in HubSpot and select “Import”. Choose the file you exported from Pipedrive and select the correct import options (e.g., update existing records, ignore duplicates). 

Once you’ve imported your data, you’ll once again need to run the appropriate checks to ensure everything has been moved and mapped correctly.  

Step 5: Clean up your data 

During the migration process, you may have discovered that you have some duplicate or incomplete data. Now is the time to clean it up – no-one wants to begin with unclean data when embarking on a new CRM.  

Start by identifying any duplicates in your contact, company and deal records. Merge the duplicates and ensure that all of the data is accurate and up-to-date. Next, review any incomplete data and fill in any missing fields. This will help ensure that your data is accurate and complete in HubSpot. 

Step 6: Set up your integrations 

If you were using any integrations with Pipedrive, such as with your email marketing tool or accounting software, you’ll need to set them up again in HubSpot (unless you’re replacing those tools with HubSpot’s native tools).  

Check the HubSpot App Marketplace to see if there are any integrations available or contact your integration provider to see if they have a HubSpot integration. Alternatively, you could speak to SpotDev about your integrations – how to ensure your old ones still work with HubSpot, and any new custom-coded integrations you might be interested in adding. 

Step 7: Train your team 

Now that your data has been migrated, it’s important to train your team on how to use HubSpot. Provide them with training materials and resources, and set up a time for a training session to walk them through the new system. This will help ensure that your team is using HubSpot correctly and efficiently. 

In conclusion, migrating from Pipedrive to HubSpot can be a complex process, but with the right preparation and tools, it can be a seamless transition. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you’ll be well on your way to a successful migration and be able to take advantage of all the benefits that HubSpot has to offer.  

Alternatively, you might want to speak to a consultancy with experience in migrating UK businesses from an existing CRM to HubSpot. If you’d like to find out how SpotDev can help with your Pipedrive-to-HubSpot migration (or any other migration!) contact us below: 

Speak to a SpotDev expert about your migration