Maximizing HubSpot Integrations: How to Retain Client Data Using a Hybrid API Approach

Introduction

When it comes to integrating HubSpot with other apps, marketers and developers often rely on HubSpot's robust API. However, there is a significant challenge: direct API integrations can cause you to lose essential client or browser data, such as information on how a contact found your website—whether through organic search, paid keywords, or direct traffic. This data is vital for making sense of your marketing efforts and optimizing campaigns.

As a HubSpot integration expert with years of experience, I have discovered a unique, hybrid approach that retains all client data while integrating HubSpot with third-party apps. In this article, I’ll walk you through this innovative technique, explain why it's crucial for your marketing data strategy, and provide real-life examples of how it can be implemented effectively.

The Problem with Traditional HubSpot API Integrations

HubSpot provides an API that allows developers to connect it with virtually any other system, such as a CRM, eCommerce platform, or marketing automation tool. However, when integrating apps using only HubSpot’s API, you risk losing critical client-side data because the HubSpot API does not capture browser-based information. This data includes:

• Source Tracking: Information on how a contact arrived at your site (e.g., organic search, paid ads, social media).
• Original Referrer Data: Which site or ad led a contact to your page.
• Session Data: Actions taken during a user’s visit, including pages viewed, time spent, and interactions.

Without this information, your marketing analysis can become incomplete, leading to misleading conclusions and suboptimal decisions.

The Hybrid API Integration Approach: Retaining Client Data

To solve this problem, I developed a hybrid API integration approach that combines HubSpot’s tracking script with API calls. Here’s how it works:

1. HubSpot Tracking Script First: Use HubSpot’s tracking script to create a new contact when someone fills out a form or takes an action on your website. This script captures all browser data, including source and session information.

2. Follow Up with API Calls: After the HubSpot tracking script has created the contact (with all client-side data intact), use the HubSpot API to enrich that contact with additional information from your third-party app (e.g., CRM data, eCommerce purchase details, or custom fields).

By adopting this method, you get the best of both worlds—retaining all valuable browser data while also enriching the contact profile with external data. This creates a more complete picture of your contacts and allows for more accurate marketing analytics.

Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing the Hybrid Integration

Step 1: Implement the HubSpot Tracking Script

The HubSpot tracking script is a powerful tool that automatically captures client data such as:

• Referrer URL
• UTM parameters (e.g., source, medium, campaign)
• Visitor behaviors (e.g., pages viewed, time on site)

How to Set It Up:

• Add the HubSpot tracking script to your website’s header. This can be done directly in the HTML of your site or via a tag manager like Google Tag Manager.
• Ensure that your forms or conversion actions are set up correctly to trigger the creation of a new contact in HubSpot.

Real-Life Example: A B2B SaaS company, "TechFlow," uses the HubSpot tracking script to capture data from prospects visiting their website. When a visitor downloads an ebook or registers for a webinar, the HubSpot tracking script creates a contact and stores all browser information, such as the referrer and UTM parameters.

Step 2: Use HubSpot API to Enrich Contacts with Additional Data

Once the contact is created by the HubSpot tracking script and all browser data is captured, you can use the HubSpot API to add or update more specific information about the contact. This is useful for adding data from other systems such as:

• CRM Data: Add details like sales pipeline stage, lead score, or sales owner.
• eCommerce Data: Include purchase history, average order value, and cart abandonment details.
• Custom Properties: Add any additional properties specific to your business needs, such as preferred contact method, industry, or subscription level.

How to Set It Up:

• Develop an API script that triggers when an action occurs in your third-party app (e.g., a new purchase in an eCommerce store or a lead moving to a new stage in a CRM).
• Use the HubSpot Contacts API to update the contact record with this new data.

Real-Life Example: "TechFlow" integrates their CRM with HubSpot using the API. When a contact's stage changes in the CRM, an API call updates the corresponding contact record in HubSpot. This way, they can see both the contact’s marketing journey and current sales status in one place.

Step 3: Ensure Data Sync and Quality

To maintain data integrity and consistency, it's essential to regularly check and ensure that all data is synced correctly between HubSpot and your third-party apps.

Best Practices:

• Error Handling: Implement error-handling logic in your API scripts to manage failed calls or data mismatches.
• Regular Audits: Perform regular data audits to ensure data accuracy and consistency between systems.
• Data Cleaning: Use HubSpot’s data cleaning tools or third-party apps like Insycle to manage duplicates and ensure that your data remains clean and actionable.

Real-Life Example: "GreenWorks," an eCommerce company, noticed discrepancies between their eCommerce data and HubSpot contacts. They implemented a routine audit system to identify any synchronization issues and corrected them, leading to more accurate and actionable marketing insights.

Why This Hybrid Approach is a Game Changer for Your Marketing Data

Integrating HubSpot with other apps using only the API can result in a loss of valuable client-side data, which limits the effectiveness of your marketing analysis. By employing the hybrid approach:

• Preserve All Data: Capture essential browser and session data to understand where your contacts are coming from and what actions they take.
• Enrich Contact Records: Enhance contact profiles with detailed information from other systems, providing a 360-degree view of each lead or customer.
• Optimize Marketing Efforts: With complete data, you can make more informed decisions about where to allocate your marketing budget and which channels are driving the most value.
• Improve Personalization and Targeting: Use detailed data to segment your audience more effectively and deliver highly personalized marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

The hybrid API integration approach is an innovative and effective way to integrate HubSpot with other apps without losing valuable client data. By first using the HubSpot tracking script to create contacts and capture browser data, and then enriching these contacts with the HubSpot API, you can achieve a more comprehensive and insightful view of your marketing performance.

This method not only simplifies implementation but also ensures that your marketing data remains complete and reliable, allowing you to optimize your efforts and drive better results. If you want to take full advantage of HubSpot's capabilities and integrate it seamlessly with other tools while retaining critical data, the hybrid approach is the way to go.