CRM migration is quite similar to moving houses – only looks easy on the outside. You have made your choice and it’s time to migrate your precious data to a new customer relationship management (CRM) platform. No big deal, right? Just upload a few files and you’re good to go. If only it were that simple!
Data migration is often the trickiest part of implementing a new CRM system. One tiny misstep could lead to data corruption, lost records, or complete chaos during a CRM migration.
Don’t want that headache? Then keep reading this guide on how to migrate your data smoothly for a CRM migration.
Why is CRM Data Migration So Tricky?
First, let’s discuss why CRM data migration presents such a challenge during CRM transitions. Even if your current and new systems are from the same vendor, their underlying data structures could be completely different. Trying to map data fields from one system to another rarely goes smoothly during a CRM migration.
According to a study by Bloors Research, nearly 84% of organizations encounter significant issues when migrating CRM data.
The most common challenges include:
- Data mapping and transformation errors during CRM data migration
- Data quality issues like duplicate records impacting CRM data migration
- Prolonged system downtime during the transition for CRM migration
There’s also the question of data quality. Over years of use, your existing CRM likely accumulated duplicate records, incomplete entries, obsolete data and other grotty stuff. Industry estimates suggest a loss of $700 billion per year for businesses due to poor data quality.
Salesforce found that, on average, only 10% of contacts have complete information. Around 20% of records are useless. Nearly 75% need updates and over 25% are duplicate entries. Do you really want to port that cruft into your shiny new system during a CRM migration? Didn’t think so.
Then we have the dreaded possibility of downtime as you cut over to the new environment during a CRM migration. Sales teams living without access to contact details and opportunity pipeline? Marketing crews unable to execute campaigns? Customer service reps flying blind on case histories? For most companies, that’s simply unacceptable during a CRM migration.
An ITIC survey shows that 98% of businesses loses over $100,000 for every hour of CRM downtime. With CRM data migration projects often stretching for 12-24 hours, that potential downtime cost is significant.
A CRM Migration Project Plan is Mission-Critical
The key to a smooth CRM data migration starts with having a bulletproof CRM migration project plan and executing it flawlessly. Here are some tips to put you on the right track for a CRM migration:
1. Clean Up Your Act First
Remember that grotty data we mentioned? Don’t migrate that mess – take time to scrub your records beforehand for a CRM migration. Use tools and services to identify and merge duplicate entries, fill in incomplete fields, and purge obsolete information. Start with a fresh, consolidated data set before your CRM migration.
2. Map Fields Obsessively
Work closely with your new CRM vendor to understand how fields and objects from your old system will map to the new environment during a CRM migration. No two CRM data structures are identical, so careful mapping is crucial for CRM data migration.
The following table illustrates how tricky this mapping process can be for CRM data migration:
| Old CRM Field | New CRM |
| Company Name | Account Name |
| Primary Contact | Multiple Contact Roles (Decision Maker, Influencer, etc.) |
| Address Line 1 | Billing Street, Shipping Street |
| Product Interest | Multiple Product Categories |
3. Adopt a Phased Rollout
Going for a “big bang” total transition during a CRM migration? Well, don’t. That’s just asking for a spectacular downtime disaster. Instead, migrate your data over in phases – first accounts, then contacts, then opportunities, etc. Validate each phase before moving to the next during a CRM migration project plan.
This phased approach allows you to spot and correct issues before the entire database is impacted during CRM migration.
3. Do Test Runs Galore
Speaking of validation, be sure to do extensive testing and dry runs before each production migration cycle for your CRM migration project plan. Use sample data sets to vet your mapping, transition scripts, and processes. Identify and resolve any issues before they impact your real system during a CRM migration.
4. Don’t Forget Related Data
Remember that your CRM is likely integrated with other backend systems like marketing automation, customer service apps, billing platforms and more during a CRM migration. Their data will need to be mapped and migrated appropriately too as part of your CRM migration project plan. Leave no dataset behind during a CRM migration!
5. Lean on Vendor Expertise
Working with an experienced implementation partner can be a huge assist during CRM data migration. They’ve done this countless times before and know all the potential pitfalls and gotchas to avoid during a CRM migration project plan.
HubSpot CRM Migration Made Easy
When it comes to HubSpot CRM migration, the challenges remain the same as any other CRM data migration project. You need to meticulously map data fields, cleanse existing records, manage integrations, and minimize downtime. It’s a complicated process that requires considerable expertise.
That’s where bringing in professional HubSpot CRM migration services can make all the difference. With experience executing countless HubSpot CRM migrations, they know exactly how to streamline and de-risk the entire process.
A professional HubSpot CRM migration service starts by analyzing your existing database inside and out. They identify all the related objects, custom fields, and third-party integrations that will need to be accounted for during the HubSpot CRM data migration. With this full understanding, they can develop tailored migration scripts and utilities.
These tools automate much of the heavy lifting for HubSpot CRM data migration. They extract and transform data from your legacy system to match HubSpot’s schemas. Intelligent algorithms catch and merge duplicate records on the fly. The tools also build out new related objects in HubSpot and populate them properly.
Using their experience with similar HubSpot CRM migrations, the service team establishes a proven phased rollout plan too. This minimizes disruption by migrating HubSpot CRM data over in manageable chunks like contacts first, then companies, then deals. After each phase, they validate data integrity before proceeding.
HubSpot CRM migration services take on all the grunt work for you. But they don’t just handle the data migration itself. They also help map your processes and use cases over to HubSpot’s features. They configure the new environment to match your requirements. And they manage change management to get teams successfully ramped on the new HubSpot CRM.
Other Common CRM Migration Options
Of course, HubSpot isn’t the only CRM platform businesses migrate to these days. Service providers offer similar migration support for other popular solutions too:
Dynamics CRM Data Migration
Transitioning from Dynamics CRM or Dynamics 365? Providers offer services to map your data bidirectionally between Dynamics and the new CRM, accounting for Microsoft’s unique data models.
Zoho CRM Data Migration
Zoho databases have their own proprietary schema that requires special handling during a migration. Experienced teams use customized Zoho CRM data migration scripts and tools to extract and rehydrate your records accurately in the new CRM.
Zoho CRM data migration scripts are designed to preserve related data too, such as interactions, process details, custom modules and more. That way, no Zoho information gets left behind when making the switch.
Whether it’s HubSpot, Dynamics, Zoho or any other CRM platform, working with a professional migration services partner is pivotal. Their expertise helps the entire CRM migration to cloud or on-premise go smoothly while minimizing costs and risks.
Making It Happen Seamlessly
Even with a perfect CRM migration project plan, the actual CRM data migration process is gnarly and time-consuming. Which is why we recommend biting the bullet and budgeting for professional implementation services for your CRM migration to cloud or on-premise CRM.
A seasoned services partner acts as your co-pilot during the entire transition. They start by understanding your current data structures, integrations, and business processes. Then they develop the migration scripts and processes tailored specifically for your environment for a CRM migration.
On migration day(s), the vendor project manages every step according to the rollout schedule for your CRM migration project plan. They run the scripts to extract, transform and load your data from the old system into the new one – handling any exceptions or errors along the way during the CRM data migration. The vendor also updates associated third-party integrations to connect with the new CRM environment during the CRM migration.
Following a successful CRM migration, the implementation team works with you to validate data integrity. They run reports and queries to check that all records transferred properly. If any corrections are needed, they quickly implement them after the CRM data migration.
