Custom Objects Are Key to Turbocharging Your HubSpot

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Published on: October 29, 2022 Updated on: October 21, 2024 views Icon 1279 Views

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  • HubSpot

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Author

Gaurav Rajpoot
Gaurav Rajpoot LinkedIn

Sr. Director - MarTech

Gaurav Raajput, with 15 years of experience, specializes in B2B marketing, campaign management, marketing automation (Marketo, HubSpot, Eloqua), and sales operations (SFDC admin, custom apps). He excels in SQL, CRM integration, database management, reporting, and SDLC. His expertise includes lead nurturing, data warehousing, customer targeting, and financial reporting. Gaurav's specialties are MS CRM 3.0, business process analysis, data mining, and marketing strategy.

Article Reviewed By: Rahul Sharma LinkedIn

Table of Contents

“Custom objects are a game-changer. They provide the flexibility to store any kind of data in HubSpot, maintaining all of the power and ease-of-use that teams need to scale and grow.”

Connor Jeffers, CEO, HubSpot

Unlocking the Power of HubSpot Custom Objects for Enhanced CRM and Sales Management

Are you looking for a way to revolutionize your CRM and sales management systems? Look no further! HubSpot Custom Objects offer a game-changing solution for businesses seeking advanced customization and enhanced functionality within their HubSpot account.

What are Custom Objects in HubSpot?

Custom Objects empower businesses to create and manage unique entities tailored to their specific needs. Whether it's tracking complex deals, managing assets, or organizing client data, Custom Objects allows you to store and analyze information beyond the limitations of traditional CRM systems. With this flexibility, you have the freedom to design and structure your data in ways that align with your unique business processes.

The Benefits of Custom Objects in CRM and Sales Management

Custom Objects in HubSpot provide numerous advantages for optimizing your CRM and sales management efforts. By harnessing their power, you gain the ability to segment and filter your data in more granular ways, allowing for deeper insights and targeted campaigns. Additionally, custom objects foster better collaboration among teams, enabling cross-departmental visibility and streamlining communication. With increased control over your data model, you can refine your sales processes and align them more closely with your specific business goals.

Key Features and Capabilities of HubSpot Custom Objects

HubSpot Custom Objects offer a range of powerful features and capabilities to empower your business. From creating customizable fields and associations to building custom reports and automating workflows, this robust toolset allows you to tailor your CRM to suit your unique requirements. With Custom Objects, you can create and manage records, build relationships between objects, and gain invaluable insights into your customers and prospects. This level of customization elevates your CRM and sales management efforts, enabling you to streamline processes, boost productivity, and achieve better results.

If you are not a database administrator, then you might be hearing about custom objects in HubSpot for the first time. But when HubSpot introduced the ability to create custom objects back in 2020, it got several users jumping off of their seats. Why? Custom objects add unprecedented flexibility to the platform, allowing it to be used in new and innovative ways, giving companies the robustness they need. 

But what came as a piece of rejoicing news for developers wasn’t well understood by marketers and sales professionals. Objects are database terminology that marketers do not generally use. If you are one of those marketing professionals who have no clue about custom objects, we HubSpot geeks are here to help you. 

But first things first.

Understanding Custom Objects in HubSpot

Custom objects are a powerful feature in the HubSpot CRM system that allow businesses to organize and manage their data in a way that is tailored to their specific needs. In this section, we will explore the definition and explanation of custom objects, how they can be used to effectively organize and manage data, as well as provide examples and use cases for different types of businesses.

In HubSpot, standard objects represent predefined data of different types—Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets. Each object has distinct attributes that can be used to get data about a particular record of that kind. For each contact record added to the CRM, you can fill out the "first name" and "last name" properties of the Contact object.

Although the potential to conduct coherent and data-driven sales and marketing is excellent, occasionally, even common objects are insufficient, which is when custom objects come into play.

Custom objects imply that you can add new objects with only the information you require. Suddenly, the only thing preventing you from tying your efforts in sales, marketing, and customer support together is your creativity.

Simply put, custom objects function exactly like normal objects and operate in the same way, but they offer additional customization and flexibility possibilities. They are capable of receiving a special name, as well as unique properties and associations with other objects. 

Once they are created, they will show up alongside the regular items in the drop-down menu. Additionally, custom objects can be utilized to build fresh processes and unique single- or cross-object reports. The process of importing data is the same for both standard and custom objects. Automated email marketing can also incorporate custom object characteristics.

A. Definition and Explanation of Custom Objects in the HubSpot CRM System

In the HubSpot CRM system, custom objects are a way to create and store unique records that are not native to the platform. These objects can be customized to match the specific data structure and requirements of your business.

By creating custom objects, businesses can track and manage data that may not fit into the pre-defined objects provided by HubSpot (such as contacts and deals). This flexibility allows businesses to adapt the CRM system to their unique processes and workflows.

B. How Custom Objects Can Be Used to Organize and Manage Data Effectively

Custom objects provide businesses with the ability to organize and manage data in a way that makes the most sense for their operations. By defining custom fields and relationships within the objects, businesses can capture and store the information that is most relevant to them.

For example, a software company may create a custom object for "Bug Reports" to track and manage issues reported by customers. The object could have custom fields such as "Severity Level" and "Assigned Developer" to efficiently manage and prioritize bug fixes.

C. Examples and Use Cases of Custom Objects for Different Types of Businesses

Custom objects can be used by businesses across various industries and verticals. Here are a few examples of how different types of businesses can benefit from using custom objects:

  • A real estate agency can create a custom object for "Properties" to track and manage property listings, including custom fields such as "Listing Price" and "Property Features".
  • An e-commerce company can create a custom object for "Orders" to track and manage customer orders, including custom fields such as "Order Status" and "Shipping Method".
  • A healthcare organization can create a custom object for "Patient Records" to track and manage patient information, including custom fields such as "Medical History" and "Doctor's Notes".

These examples demonstrate how custom objects can be tailored to the specific needs of different businesses, allowing them to efficiently manage and organize their data.

Who Could Benefit from HubSpot Custom Objects?

Custom objects can be useful to any company’s CRM but they are particularly helpful for businesses that are more complex and have a unique set of requirements that would make them difficult to fill into the parameters of standard objects. 

Custom Objects Use Cases

1. Tracking Manufacturing and Delivery of Goods 

Instead of using a separate platform to create, process, and track orders, you could create custom objects that would integrate easily into your existing HubSpot workflows. Sales representatives and manufacturers could easily manage track onboarding and inventory management with custom objects.

2. Tracking Subscriptions and Memberships

If your business offers multiple forms of subscriptions and memberships, custom objects can help you keep it organized. You can create custom objects for each type of membership and associate those membership records with tickets and contacts. 

3. Managing Ongoing Contracts that Apply to Multiple Deals

Imagine that you and the manufacturer have an agreement for you to create a certain number of products each month. To keep track of your agreement with the manufacturer, you could construct a custom object named "Contracts" and use it. You could then connect it to your deals, which reflect the various product orders. This is how a custom object may be used to improve the functionality of regular objects. 

4. Compile Customer Feedback

Making a unique custom object just for monitoring feedback may be helpful even though a normal "Ticket" object is useful for tracking and handling customer service support. To track consumer response more precisely, you can associate the comments with certain offers, businesses, or appropriate custom objects. 

Best Practices for Custom Objects Implementation

A. Conducting thorough analysis and planning

Before implementing custom objects, it is crucial to conduct a thorough analysis and planning stage. This includes understanding the business needs and data requirements upfront. By doing so, you can ensure that the custom objects align with the specific needs of your organization.

Collaboration with stakeholders and end-users is another important aspect of effective implementation. By involving them from the beginning, you can gather valuable insights and ensure that the custom objects meet their expectations and requirements.

B. Designing scalable and efficient custom object structures

When designing custom object structures, it is essential to consider scalability and efficiency. One of the best practices is to create reusable custom object templates. By doing this, you can save time and effort in creating similar custom objects in the future.

Furthermore, it is important to consider future growth and data management efficiency. Plan ahead for potential expansion and ensure that the custom objects can handle increasing data volumes without sacrificing performance.

C. Optimizing custom object data retrieval and reporting

To maximize the efficiency of custom object implementation, it is necessary to optimize data retrieval and reporting. Strategies such as indexing, caching, and performance tuning techniques can significantly improve the speed and efficiency of querying and reporting on custom object data.

By utilizing indexing, you can accelerate data retrieval by creating indexes on commonly-used fields. Caching can also be employed to store frequently accessed data, reducing the need for repeated queries. Additionally, implementing performance-tuning techniques can help identify and resolve bottlenecks, ensuring a smooth and fast user experience.

Custom objects are a powerful feature in many software platforms that allow businesses to tailor their data structure to meet specific needs. With custom objects, you can create and manage unique data types that go beyond the standard objects provided by the platform.

How to create a custom object and its custom properties in HubSpot

HubSpot's custom objects feature allows businesses to create personalized objects that can be used to manage specific business processes or store unique data. In this guide, we will explain how to create a custom object and its custom properties in HubSpot.

To get started, go to the 'Settings' module in HubSpot, and navigate to the 'Objects' tab. Here you will see the 'Create Object' button, click on it to begin.

Next, choose the desired object type and name your custom object. Once done, click on 'Create Object.'

To define the custom properties of your object, select the 'Properties' tab, and click on 'Create property.' In the field that appears, choose the appropriate field type and label, and specify any additional custom properties you require.

It's important to note that setting 'Primary property' and 'Secondary display properties' is essential for visibility purposes so that users can quickly locate the information they need.

If you need to configure a 'One-to-many relationships' with other object records, then do so in the 'Object relationships' tab. And if you want to associate a contact with an object record, use the 'Associate contact' feature.

Finally, once you have created the custom object definition, save it and configure the necessary custom object settings.

Creating a custom object and its custom properties in HubSpot is easy and beneficial since it allows businesses to streamline their business operations, sales teams, and marketing campaigns by leveraging personalized objects that offer a high level of flexibility.

Using Custom Objects in Your Marketing Processes

Custom objects are just not useful when it comes to sales or as an extension to your CRM. Custom objects also make it easier to manage some of the marketing processes. How? 

For example, you regularly host webinars as part of your marketing, and you do it using a service such as Zoom. Some fixed fields are made available by the general tool integration, such as "Last Zoom event" which contains information on the most recent webinar registration; however, the problem is that this value will be overwritten the next time the contact registers for a webinar.

Custom objects allow you to add a new data point every time a contact signs up for an event or a webinar. You can also add additional information like whether or not the contact has previously participated or not. This will allow you to effectively manage your communication process toward that contact directly from HubSpot.

Integrating Custom Objects with HubSpot CRM

Integrating custom objects with HubSpot CRM allows businesses to take advantage of the available integrations and customization options. By using HubSpot API and developer tools, businesses can seamlessly integrate custom objects into their existing CRM system.

Additionally, leveraging custom objects in marketing automation and workflows enables businesses to streamline their processes and improve productivity. With custom objects, businesses can automate tasks and create personalized workflows that align with their specific needs and goals.

Benefits of Integrating Custom Objects with HubSpot CRM

1. Enhanced Data Management and Reporting Capabilities: Integrating custom objects with HubSpot CRM provides businesses with enhanced data management and reporting capabilities. This allows businesses to easily track and analyze customer data associated with custom objects, providing valuable insights for decision-making and strategy development.

2. Streamlined Processes and Improved Productivity: Integrating custom objects with HubSpot CRM streamlines processes and improves productivity. Businesses can automate repetitive tasks, eliminate manual data entry, and streamline workflows, saving time and resources.

3. Advanced Analytics and Insights from Customer Data and Analytics: By integrating custom objects with HubSpot CRM, businesses gain access to advanced analytics and insights. This allows businesses to analyze customer data associated with custom objects, uncover trends, understand customer behavior, and make data-driven decisions.

Advanced Reporting and Analytics with Custom Objects in HubSpot

Custom objects in HubSpot offer powerful reporting and analytics capabilities that enable businesses to gain valuable insights into their data. By leveraging these advanced features, you can make data-driven decisions and drive growth for your business.

A. Exploring the reporting and analytics features for custom objects

HubSpot provides a comprehensive set of reporting tools specifically designed for custom objects. These tools allow you to track key metrics, analyze trends, and measure the performance of your custom objects.

  • With custom object reporting, you can easily visualize and understand the data stored in your custom objects.
  • Filter and segment your data to gain deeper insights into specific subsets of your custom objects.
  • Use customized dashboards to monitor the performance of your custom objects and identify areas for improvement.

B. Using custom object data to generate meaningful reports and dashboards

Custom objects enable you to store and analyze data specific to your business needs. With this data, you can generate meaningful reports and dashboards that provide actionable insights.

  • Create custom reports that display important metrics and KPIs for your custom objects.
  • Visualize your data using charts, graphs, and tables to easily communicate insights to stakeholders.
  • Set up automated reports to receive regular updates on the performance of your custom objects.

C. Leveraging advanced analytics tools to gain deeper insights into custom object data

In addition to standard reporting features, HubSpot offers advanced analytics tools that allow you to dive deeper into your custom object data.

  • Apply advanced filters and segmentation to analyze specific subsets of your custom object data.
  • Use advanced metrics and calculations to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations in your data.
  • Utilize machine learning algorithms to make predictions and forecasts based on your custom object data.

Workflow Automation and Custom Objects in HubSpot

A successful business relies on efficient workflow automation processes. With HubSpot's custom objects, you can take your automation strategies to new heights.

A. Overview of workflow automation capabilities with custom objects

Custom objects in HubSpot allow you to automate various tasks within your business workflows. By defining custom properties and creating custom objects, you can tailor your automation processes to match your specific business needs.

Whether you want to automate lead scoring, deal stages, or customer interactions, custom objects provide the flexibility to streamline your workflow and enhance productivity.

B. Using custom objects in lead management and nurturing processes

When it comes to lead management and nurturing, getting the right message to the right people at the right time is crucial. With custom objects, you can easily segment leads based on specific criteria and automate personalized nurturing workflows.

For example, you can create a custom object called "Lead Status" to track the progress of leads through different stages of your sales funnel. By using workflow automation, you can automatically trigger personalized emails, tasks, and notifications based on a lead's status change.

C. Automating deal stages and customer interactions with custom objects

The progress of deals and customer interactions can greatly impact your sales cycle. Using custom objects, you can automate deal stages and streamline customer interactions to drive better results.

By defining custom objects such as "Deal Stage" and "Customer Interaction," you can create workflows that automatically move deals through different stages based on specific criteria. This ensures that your sales team focuses their efforts on the most promising opportunities.

Additionally, by capturing and tracking customer interactions with custom objects, you can automate follow-up actions, such as sending targeted content or scheduling follow-up meetings, to nurture and strengthen customer relationships.

In conclusion, integrating workflow automation with custom objects in HubSpot empowers you to optimize your business processes, enhance lead management and nurturing, and automate deal stages and customer interactions. With these powerful capabilities, you can achieve efficiency, increase productivity, and drive better results for your business.

Leveraging Custom Objects for Customization and Personalization

Custom objects in HubSpot provide a powerful way to customize and personalize your customer experiences. By leveraging custom objects, you can tailor your marketing campaigns and communications to deliver highly targeted and relevant content to your audience.

How custom objects can facilitate personalized customer experiences

With custom objects, you can capture and store additional data about your customers, allowing you to create a more complete profile of each contact. This additional data can include things like purchase history, preferences, and demographics.

By having a deeper understanding of your customers, you can personalize their experiences with your brand. For example, you can send personalized product recommendations based on their past purchases or provide targeted content based on their interests and preferences.

Utilizing custom objects to tailor marketing campaigns and communications

Custom objects enable you to segment your contacts based on specific criteria, allowing you to deliver more personalized and targeted marketing campaigns. You can create dynamic lists based on custom object properties, such as product interests or industry, and then tailor your messaging to each segment.

By using custom objects in your communications, you can engage with your audience on a more personal level, increasing the likelihood of conversion and driving customer loyalty.

Examples of successful implementations of custom objects for customization

  • Example 1: A retail company utilizes custom objects to track customer preferences and purchase history. With this data, they create personalized email campaigns showcasing products that align with each customer's interests, resulting in higher conversion rates.
  • Example 2: A software company uses custom objects to categorize leads based on their industry and needs. They then create targeted landing pages and email sequences tailored to each segment, leading to a significant increase in qualified leads.
  • Example 3: An e-commerce business leverages custom objects to segment customers based on their past browsing and purchasing behavior. They use this information to personalize their website experience, displaying recommended products and offers that are highly relevant to each customer.

These examples demonstrate the power of custom objects in driving customization and personalization, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and business growth.

Conclusion

With custom objects, HubSpot which has always been a powerful CRM for both large and small organizations, is more efficient than ever. These objects allow you to complete the flexibility and match the CRM data to your business needs accordingly. 

Looking for someone to help you create custom objects in HubSpot for your business? Growth Natives is here to help. We are a HubSpot Platinum partner and our experts will help you with everything there is to learn and gain from HubSpot. Interested? Talk to us at info@growthnatives.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Custom objects in HubSpot allow users to create and store unique types of data that are specific to their business needs. They can be used to track additional information beyond standard CRM records like contacts, companies, deals, and tickets.

Yes, HubSpot CRM is highly customizable. Users can customize properties, create custom objects, build custom reports, and integrate with other tools to tailor the CRM to their specific business requirements.

In HubSpot, objects refer to the various types of records that can be stored in the CRM, such as contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and custom objects. Each object contains specific information related to that record type.

Objects in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems are the entities used to store and manage information about customers and prospects. Examples of CRM objects include contacts, accounts, opportunities, and activities.

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