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Understanding HubSpot Workflows and Automation Limitations

Key Constraints in Free and Starter Versions of HubSpot and Practical Solutions

Overview

The Free and Starter versions of HubSpot come with certain limitations in automation capabilities, which are reserved for higher-tier subscriptions. This article aims to outline these key constraints and offer practical solutions to help you maximize your CRM experience despite these limitations.

Key Limitations and Solutions

  1. Automatic Property Updates:

    • In the Free and Starter versions, users cannot automatically change properties such as Lifecycle Stage or Lead Status based on other property values. This automation feature is only available in Professional and Enterprise plans.
    • Solution: To work around this limitation, consider using third-party automation tools like Zapier or Make for integration solutions that can help automate these updates.

  2. Manual Property Management:

    • To effectively manage your data, it’s advisable to create custom properties within contact or company records. Utilizing dropdown properties can help you manually track sources or statuses accurately.

  3. Company Associations:

    • While you can associate child companies with parent companies through workflows, it's important to note that this feature's availability may vary, as it is still under development.

  4. Contact Segmentation:

    • Take advantage of the Lists feature to segment your contacts according to their interests. You can implement a multi-checkbox property to collect user preferences, especially after events.

  5. Managing Notes and Next Steps:

    • In the Free version, you can create a multi-line text property for "Next Steps" in deals. Additionally, it’s helpful to pin important notes at the top of the deal record to ensure visibility.

  6. Transition from Excel to HubSpot:

    • If you are moving from Excel, consider using ticket pipelines to manage reference requests more effectively. For advanced tracking options, if you are on an Enterprise plan, you can create custom objects.

  7. Feedback and Feature Requests:

    • To help improve the platform, users are encouraged to submit feature requests via the HubSpot Ideas section. You can advocate for enhancements, such as changes to workflow-based subscriber opt-in statuses.

Conclusion

Although the Free and Starter tiers of HubSpot present certain limitations in automation functionalities, you can still optimize your CRM usage through manual processes, custom properties, and third-party applications. By understanding these restrictions and available workarounds, you can enhance your HubSpot experience and make informed decisions about leveraging the tools at your disposal.