Context

When using HubSpot company field values in Unify audiences (such as Number of Employees), you may notice discrepancies between the values shown in HubSpot and those appearing in Unify. This can occur due to how Unify handles multiple linked HubSpot company records for the same organization.

Answer

Unify handles company data from HubSpot in the following ways:

• Data syncs from HubSpot to Unify every 15 minutes (may take longer during high-volume updates due to API rate limits)

• Unify automatically consolidates company records based on domain redirects - if multiple domains redirect to the same destination (e.g., subsidiary.com redirects to parent.com), Unify treats them as the same company

• When using HubSpot company filters in an audience (both inclusion and exclusion filters), Unify will match a company if ANY of its linked HubSpot records match the filter criteria

• When there are duplicate contact records (same email across multiple records), Unify checks if ANY associated record meets the filter criteria for inclusions, and if ANY associated record meets exclusion criteria, the contact will be excluded regardless of other records

• Company-level exclusions automatically exclude all people associated with those companies - when you exclude companies in an audience, Unify excludes not only the company records but also every contact associated with those companies. This can result in much higher excluded counts than expected if the excluded companies have many associated contacts. If you only want to exclude specific contacts at certain companies (not everyone at the company), use a People-type exclusion instead of a Company-type exclusion.

• Unify cannot overwrite existing HubSpot fields after the initial sync - once a field has been written to HubSpot, Unify will only update Unify-specific data fields, not standard HubSpot fields like owner assignments

When a company exists in HubSpot but doesn't appear in Unify yet, this is expected behavior - companies typically appear within 15-30 minutes of being created or updated in HubSpot.

Domain Normalization and Company Record Prioritization

The following details explain how Unify normalizes domains and prioritizes company records when multiple HubSpot records exist for the same organization.

Domain Normalization Rules

• When a subdomain doesn't resolve, Unify extracts the base domain (e.g., sykes.monzo.com becomes monzo.com).

• Domains redirecting to third‑party services (like Microsoft365) are normalized to those service domains.

• Acquired companies' domains are linked to their parent company only when domain redirects are configured (e.g., when oakwoodbank.com redirects to b1bank.com). If domains don't redirect to each other after an acquisition, Unify will treat them as separate companies.

Company Record Prioritization

• When multiple HubSpot company records exist for the same organization, Unify prioritizes the account with more associated contacts.

• If contact counts are tied, the most recently modified account is chosen.

• This can sometimes result in outdated or incorrect company names being displayed if an older subsidiary record has been modified more recently than the current parent company record.

Additional Cleanup Recommendations

• Clean up duplicate or outdated company names directly in your HubSpot CRM rather than trying to fix them in Unify.

• Review linked records in your source CRM and remove or update faulty domains that cause incorrect company associations.

• For acquired companies that aren't automatically linked in Unify, update the relevant fields (such as relationship status or company name) directly in your source CRM on both the acquired company's record and the parent company's record to ensure exclusion rules and filters work as expected.

HubSpot Record Merge Sync Issues

When HubSpot records are merged, there's a specific technical limitation where the changes may not automatically sync to Unify even with an active integration running. This can cause field value discrepancies to persist beyond the normal 15‑minute sync window, requiring manual intervention from support to run a cleanup script to properly sync merged records.

When to Contact Support

If you've recently merged records in HubSpot and field values still don't match after 30–60 minutes, contact support for a manual sync of merged records rather than waiting for the automatic sync to resolve the discrepancy. This is a known limitation that requires backend intervention to resolve.

Best Practice for Post-Merge Workflows

After performing HubSpot record merges, proactively contact support to run the cleanup script rather than discovering sync issues later when building audiences or analyzing data. This prevents downstream issues with audience accuracy and reporting discrepancies.

HubSpot Field Visibility Requirements in Unify

When HubSpot fields don't appear as filter options in Unify audiences, this is typically due to field visibility requirements that differ from value discrepancy issues.

Field Filtering vs. Column Display

• HubSpot fields that sync to Unify can be used in audience filter conditions even if they don't appear as displayable columns in the audience view

• To use a synced HubSpot field for targeting, create audiences or lists using the field in your filter conditions rather than expecting it to appear as a column

Field Availability Requirements

• Wait at least 30 minutes after creating a new field in HubSpot for it to sync and appear in Unify's filter options

• Ensure at least one record has the field populated with data - empty fields won't appear in the dropdown menu

• Note that Unify cannot process multi-select picklist fields - only single-select fields are supported for audience filtering

• Unify's native web activity fields (such as "Last Web Activity") can only be populated by Unify's own web tracking and cannot be filled with data from external providers syncing through HubSpot

Troubleshooting Missing Fields

1. Verify the field has been populated with data in at least one HubSpot record

2. Check if the field is a multi-select picklist (not supported)

3. Allow sufficient sync time (30+ minutes) after field creation

Best Practices

To ensure accurate filtering:

• Use "Unify Company" filters instead of "HubSpot Company" filters when possible (e.g., use "Unify Company | Employee Count" rather than "HubSpot Company | Employee Count")

• Allow sufficient time for data sync when creating workflows dependent on HubSpot field updates

• To sync field changes from Unify back to HubSpot for existing records, export the affected records and re-import them into Unify, which will trigger a fresh sync to HubSpot

• Be aware that duplicate contact records can cause unexpected audience results - if you have the same email across multiple contact records with different field values, any record meeting exclusion criteria will exclude the contact from the audience, even if other records would qualify for inclusion

• Note that HubSpot lists are not currently supported as filter or exclusion options in Unify - use individual field-based filters or CSV uploads as alternatives

• When testing audiences with your own contact record, be aware that the Internal Employees exclusion is enabled by default in new audiences, which will filter out internal contacts even if they match all inclusion criteria. Temporarily disable this exclusion during testing, or use non‑internal test contacts instead.

Workflow Timing Issues with Company Field Values

When building workflows that depend on company field values, you may encounter situations where workflow nodes use outdated or incorrect values even though Unify displays the correct data in the interface.

Root Cause

Company enrichment processes may complete after workflow execution begins, causing workflow nodes to reference outdated field values that existed at the time of workflow trigger. This creates a timing mismatch where the Unify interface shows enriched data while active workflows operate on pre‑enrichment values.

Solution

Add a 10‑15 minute delay at the beginning of workflows that depend on company field values. This buffer ensures that company enrichment processes complete before workflow nodes evaluate field conditions or use field values for personalization.

Implementation Best Practice

Place the delay as the first step in any workflow that:

• Uses company field values in conditional logic

• References company data for personalization

• Makes decisions based on company attributes that may be subject to enrichment

Example: If Company A acquired Company B, and both have separate HubSpot records that Unify has linked, an exclusion filter for “churned customers” will exclude Company A from your audience if Company B’s HubSpot record shows a churned status, even if Company A’s record shows an active status.

Duplicate Contact Records with Different Email Addresses

Common Scenarios

• Personal vs company email domains (e.g., john.smith@gmail.com and john.smith@company.com)

• Subsidiary vs parent company emails (e.g., carl.henry@fidelity.com and carl.henry@fmr.com)

• Different domains for the same organization after acquisitions or rebranding

• Multiple work emails for the same person across different business units

How This Affects Audience Results

When duplicate contact records exist with different email addresses, Unify may evaluate one record over another when applying audience filters. If the evaluated record lacks qualifying field values while another record for the same person has them, the person may be unexpectedly excluded from audiences.

Resolution Steps

1. Identify duplicates in your source CRM – look for records with similar names but different email domains

2. Merge duplicate records – consolidate all relevant field values onto a single record in your source CRM

3. Verify field population – ensure the surviving record has all necessary field values populated

4. Allow sync time – wait for the merge to sync to Unify (15-30 minutes)

Prevention Best Practices

• Implement data hygiene processes in your CRM to catch duplicates during record creation

• Use consistent email domain policies for employees

• Regularly audit for duplicate records, especially after acquisitions or domain changes

• Train teams to check for existing records before creating new ones