Moving data can be a rather stressful job. The chance of data loss and disruptions to business is high, however, having the right plan in place can assist in mitigating risk and reduce your stress levels. Join us as we discuss data migration best practices from our team of HubSpot experts at Struto.
Data Migration Risks
Moving your data from any system can be risky, with potential data loss and business continuity disruptions. Evaluating the potential risks and having a well-executed plan will assist you in ensuring a smooth transition from one business platform to another. Although this article is HubSpot-specific, these tried and tested processes can be utilised as a basis of best practices for any data migration project.
Here are some of the risks to be aware of when planning your data migration:
- Data Loss or Corruption:
There’s a risk of your data being lost or corrupted during the migration process. Think of your sales leads and marketing contacts, this data is of utmost value to your business, and it would be detrimental if it were to be lost or corrupted. - Data Security:
Although HubSpot has robust security in place to protect your data, you need to ensure that you are compliant with any specific regulations and that your data it is protected from unauthorised access, breaches or other security threats pre-, mid- and post-migration. - Data Mapping and Transformation Issues:
Every CRM platform varies, and your data structures may be different in your legacy CRM system to that of HubSpot’s data structure. This could create issues with data transformation, mapping and compatibility during the migration process. - Downtime and Disruption:
Migrating data often requires downtime, during which access to data may be limited or unavailable. - Costs and Budgeting:
Costs to consider when migrating data to HubSpot include licensing fees, migration tool costs, and potential consulting or professional services fees. - Customisation and Configuration Challenges:
Replicating highly customised processes from your legacy CRM platform to HubSpot may be tricky and will require configuration or development work. - User Training and Adoption:
Poor user adoption can lead to productivity losses and inefficiencies. Having buy-in from your team is the number one priority towards a smooth HubSpot data migration. Offering the right training and objective-based onboarding plays an important role in user adoption.
Data Migration Plan – Tried and Tested Best Practices
Migrating data in HubSpot, or any customer relationship management (CRM) platform for that matter, requires careful planning and execution to ensure a smooth transition. To mitigate the above-mentioned risks, it's essential to thoroughly plan the migration process, engage stakeholders, allocate resources effectively, conduct thorough testing, and work closely with experienced consultants if required.
At Struto, we have assisted many happy customers (using our well-established best practices) with data migrations. Our proven recipe for success has data mapping, sample migration, and full migration baked into the process. Struto's data migration services are notable for their unique pricing structure. Unlike the typical flat-rate pricing which is common in the industry, Struto's data migration pricing model bases its cost on individual objects, properties, and number of records being migrated.
After plenty of trial and error, we’ve devised a process with all the right ingredients required to deploy a successful data migration to HubSpot. Moving to a new CRM affects your entire business operations and if not managed correctly, it could have a detrimental effect on your bottom line.
Furthermore, if you are new to data migrations and need a deeper understanding of where or how to begin your journey, read our article about choosing the right path for your data migration.
As mentioned above, it is vital to have buy-in from all key stakeholders. It’s also a good idea to appoint a HubSpot champion(s) in your team to drive the migration and take accountability for the process to secure a successful transition.
Here is our checklist to help you minimise business disruption while migrating data from your legacy system to HubSpot CRM:
- Thorough Data Assessment:
- Collaborate with your key stakeholders to identify all data in your legacy system that needs to be migrated.
- Determine data that can be archived or discarded. Assess data quality and cleanliness.
- Be meticulous and have a process in place for standardisation. - Data Cleansing:
- Cleanse and standardise data to ensure accuracy and consistency.
- Deploy a meticulous cleansing process to remove duplicates, correct errors, and standardise formats. - Data Mapping:
- Establish a detailed data mapping document to determine how data from your legacy system will be mapped to fields in HubSpot CRM.
- Engage with all departments to ensure mappings are accurate and comprehensive and meet your entire business operation’s needs and objectives. - Data Backup:
- Backup all data in your legacy system before starting the migration process.
- Store backups securely to prevent data loss.
- Ensure your backup system complies with your industry regulations to mitigate any breach in protecting your customers’ confidential information. - Testing, Testing, 1, 2... (and Test Again):
- Test the migration process in a sandbox environment.
- Run a sample migration, then test and review the sample before diving into the full migration. The tests will assist to identify and resolve any issues before migrating live data. Ensure that your test results meet your migration needs before leaping into the live migration.
- Validate data integrity and accuracy during testing. - Clear & Effective Communication:
- Communicate the migration plan and timeline to relevant stakeholders to manage expectations and minimise surprises.
- Send out regular updates on the progress of the migration to keep all departments on the same page and ensure efficient communication takes place. - Post-Migration Validation:
- To guarantee everything was transferred accurately, validate data in your HubSpot CRM after the migration is completed.
- Ensure that all teams conduct thorough checks for missing or incorrect data and address any issues promptly. - Data Governance:
- Establish data governance policies in your HubSpot CRM to maintain data quality and integrity.
- Define guidelines for data entry, updates, and security protocols. Ensure all stakeholders are aware of these guidelines. - Documentation:
- Keep a paper trail of the entire migration process, including data mapping, procedures, and any issues encountered.
- Save detailed records for future reference and troubleshooting. - Monitoring and Support:
- Closely monitor the performance of your HubSpot CRM post-migration to ensure smooth operation.
- Your HubSpot champion(s) should provide ongoing support to users and address any issues or questions promptly. - Post-Migration Extras to Consider - CRM Implementation, Configuration & User Training:
- Once you’ve migrated to HubSpot, be sure to provide comprehensive training to all team members who will be working with the new CRM. Choose a HubSpot partner like Struto to provide CRM Implementation services that include objective-based onboarding, configuration and training.
- Ensure users understand how to navigate the system, input data correctly, and use its features effectively. Meticulous input creates successful output.
Conclusion
By following this checklist, you can mitigate the risks involved, streamline the data migration process and minimise disruption to your business operations during the transition to your new HubSpot CRM.
Should you require any further information or a helping hand with your data migration, please feel free to reach out to our HubSpot experts to discuss your requirements.
