Switching CRM Systems: How to Avoid Data Loss During Data Migration

For many companies, switching CRM systems is inevitable sooner or later. Outdated systems, rising license costs, a lack of automation capabilities, or insufficient integrations are common reasons for switching to a modern CRM solution like HubSpot.

But while the benefits of a new CRM are quickly apparent, one crucial aspect is often underestimated: data migration. If contacts, activities, emails, or important customer data are lost during the migration, it can have a significant impact on sales, marketing, and customer service.

The good news: With structured planning, data loss can be almost entirely avoided. At the same time, a CRM migration offers the ideal opportunity to improve data quality in the long term and take the entire CRM system to a new level. Many of the following recommendations are based on best practices from our CRM migration white paper.

Why does data loss occur during a CRM migration in the first place?

Many companies view a migration as merely an export and import process. In practice, however, it is significantly more complex.

A CRM system consists of more than just contacts. It also includes, among other things:

• Companies
• Deals
• Tickets
• Activities
• Email histories
• Notes
• Attachments
• Users
• Workflows
• Pipelines
• Forms
• Custom Properties (Custom Fields)

Different data models often exist between two CRM systems. Properties have different names, data types differ, or certain functions no longer exist in the new system at all. If these differences are not addressed early on, gaps, duplicate records, or incorrect mappings can result.

The Most Common Causes of Data Loss

In our work as a HubSpot agency, we repeatedly encounter the same mistakes:

Incomplete mapping

Every field from the old CRM must be uniquely mapped to a field in the new system. If custom properties are overlooked or mapped incorrectly, information is permanently lost.

No test migration

Many companies migrate all their data in a single step. A test migration using a small data set is much safer. This allows errors to be identified and corrected early on, before thousands of records are affected. Our white paper also recommends conducting several test phases before the final migration.

Historical data is overlooked

It’s not just current contacts that are important. Activities, notes, attachments, or email histories are often needed so that sales and customer service teams continue to have the full customer context.

Missing Integrations

CRM systems are usually closely integrated with marketing, ERP, ticketing, or e-commerce systems. If these interfaces aren’t taken into account, data silos can form, or processes may no longer function as expected after go-live.

How to Avoid Data Loss During CRM Migration

A successful migration begins long before the actual data import.

1. Document all data sources

First, a comprehensive inventory should be conducted.

This includes, for example:

• CRM
• Marketing software
• Newsletter systems
• ERP
• E-commerce platforms
• Forms
• Zapier or Make integrations
• Custom databases

A complete migration can only take place if it is known where data is generated and how it is interconnected.

2. Carefully plan data fields

Before the migration, the following should be determined:

• Which properties will be transferred?
• Which ones can be omitted?
• Which new properties are needed?
• Which data types will change?

Older CRM systems, in particular, often contain hundreds of individual fields, many of which haven’t been used in years. As an experienced CRM agency, we’re aware of this and know what to look out for.

A migration is therefore not simply a copy-and-paste task, but a redesign of the data structure.

3. Perform multiple test migrations

A test migration saves a tremendous amount of time later on.

During this process, the following are checked, for example:

• Field mappings
• Duplicates
• Date formats
• User assignments
• Relationships between contacts and companies
• Pipeline assignments

The actual migration should only take place once all results are correct.

Use the CRM migration as an opportunity for data cleanup

Many companies carry over all their legacy data into their new CRM. While this changes the system, the underlying problems remain.

Our recommendation is therefore: Use the migration to perform a comprehensive data cleanup.

Remove Duplicates

Duplicate contacts are among the most common problems in CRM systems.

They skew reports, complicate the work of the sales team, and can result in customers being contacted multiple times.

Before the migration, duplicates should therefore be identified and merged.

Validate email addresses

Especially in the B2B sector, contact persons change regularly.

Email addresses that no longer exist impair deliverability and can even damage the sender domain’s reputation in the long run.

Solutions like ZeroBounce allow you to identify and remove invalid, temporary, or risky email addresses even before the migration.

As a result, the new CRM starts off with significantly higher data quality.

Review Outdated Contacts

Not every data record necessarily needs to be carried over.

Ask yourself, for example:

• Is the contact still active?
• Is there even still a business relationship?
• Is there valid consent for marketing?
• Has the contact not been used for years?

This often results in a significant reduction in the data set.

Modernizing Properties and Data Structures

Over the years, many companies have accumulated multiple fields with nearly identical meanings.

Examples:

• Industry
• Industry
• New Industry
• Customer segment
• Segmentation

A migration is the ideal time to consolidate such structures and introduce consistent naming conventions.

This makes subsequent analyses significantly easier.

Don’t simply carry over old processes

Workflows and automations should also be critically reviewed.

Often, processes have been expanded over the years without ever being fundamentally overhauled.

Instead of migrating every workflow, it’s often worth completely rebuilding the automations and adapting them to the capabilities of the new CRM.

Quality assurance before go-live

Before the final migration, you should verify that all data has been transferred correctly.

This includes, among other things:

• Number of contacts
• Companies
• Deals
• Activities
• Attachments
• Pipelines
• User Permissions
• Dashboards
• Reports
• Automations

Marketing, Sales, and Service should also test the new CRM using real-world use cases.

The old system should only be taken offline once all core processes are functioning properly. Running both systems in parallel for a few days can help identify potential issues early on and minimize risks.

Case Study: Salesforce to HubSpot

During a CRM migration for Travador, an extensive Salesforce setup was migrated to HubSpot.

In addition to contacts and companies, custom fields, pipelines, attachments, and historical activities also had to be migrated.

Before the actual migration, duplicates were first removed and data quality was improved. This was followed by several test migrations before all data was transferred in stages.

The result was not only a modern CRM system but also a significantly leaner system landscape with lower licensing and maintenance costs, as well as improved data quality.

Conclusion—CRM Migrations Without Data Loss

A CRM migration should never be viewed as merely a data transfer. Rather, it is an opportunity to rebuild the foundation for sales, marketing, and customer service.

With careful planning, multiple test migrations, and comprehensive data cleansing, data loss can be largely avoided. At the same time, companies benefit from higher data quality, more efficient processes, and a CRM system that supports future growth.

Those who also use the migration to remove duplicates, validate email addresses, standardize data structures, and modernize outdated processes will not only launch with a new CRM—but with a significantly better data foundation.