One of the challenges faced by customers looking at switching from Salesforce to HubSpot is how to import historic emails. The preservation and migration of data is one of the key pain points when deciding whether to move at all.
In this post we look at the 2 main ways to achieve these and the pros and cons of each:
Automatically import your emails to HubSpot
If you have several years of data in Salesforce then the best way to get that data into HubSpot is to use an import tool such as Threads. Rather than connecting directly to Salesforce, Threads connects directly to your email account. This means that it is compatible with any email client (including Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail).
Threads works by automatically scanning your email inbox and then logging copies of any emails sent or received with your HubSpot contacts. Better still, it will use the original date and time stamp so you can see exactly when you last communicated with that contact. You can also use Threads to log new interactions.
One of the key benefits of Threads is that it will only import historic email that is associated with your HubSpot contacts. This means that if you are looking to cleanse your contact database as part of your migration, you can exclude emails from old or inactive customers.
Threads can also connect to inboxes of ex-employees so vital emails are not missed. Threads’ free trial allows you to import the last 30 days of your historic email for free so you can quickly establish if this is the option for you.
Manual Import Using The HubSpot Bcc Forwarding Address
For customers with only a limited amount of data, you can manually forward your historic email to HubSpot using the bcc forwarding address. This will associate the email with your contact record.
The main disadvantage to this method is that the emails are not registered on the timeline with the original date or time stamp. This can make it difficult to see a full chronological history of your previous interactions. The other main issue is that you will need to actively locate the emails in the first place. This may post a challenge if emails have been filed, archived or deleted.
Each HubSpot user has an individual forwarding address under Settings. Note that you will not be able to forward emails in a bulk or automated way using this method.