Custom Object Strategies in HubSpot: Building Industry-Specific Data Models for Specialised Businesses

 

Understanding Custom Objects: Beyond the Basics

Custom objects in HubSpot allow you to create entirely new data categories with their own properties, associations, and workflows. Think of them as additional tabs in your CRM that can be connected to your standard objects.

For example, while a standard HubSpot setup might track contacts and companies, a pharmaceutical company might need to track clinical trials, research protocols, or regulatory submissions—none of which fit neatly into the standard object model.

Key Benefits of Custom Objects:

• Industry-specific data modelling: Structure your CRM to match your unique business processes
• Comprehensive relationship tracking: Create associations between custom and standard objects
• Enhanced reporting capabilities: Generate insights specific to your industry metrics
• Streamlined workflows: Automate processes around your specialised data
• Improved user adoption: When your CRM speaks your industry's language, teams use it more effectively

Industry-Specific Custom Object Strategies

Strategy 1: Healthcare and Life Sciences

Example Implementation: A medical device manufacturer using custom objects to track:

• Products: Individual devices with regulatory status, clinical evidence, and pricing tiers
• Clinical Studies: Research initiatives linked to specific products
• Regulatory Submissions: FDA/CE mark applications with milestone tracking

By implementing these custom objects, the sales team can quickly access product-specific clinical evidence when speaking with physicians, while the regulatory team maintains visibility into approval timelines.

Implementation Tip: Create properties within your Product custom object that track regulatory status in different regions, allowing for territory-specific sales enablement.

Strategy 2: Financial Services

Example Implementation: A wealth management firm using custom objects to track:

• Investment Portfolios: Collections of assets with performance metrics
• Financial Products: Specific offerings with eligibility requirements
• Client Reviews: Scheduled assessment meetings with compliance documentation

This structure allows advisors to see a client's complete financial picture while ensuring compliance requirements are met and documented.

Implementation Tip: Use calculated properties to automatically determine client portfolio performance and trigger workflows for quarterly review scheduling.

Strategy 3: Real Estate Development

Example Implementation: A commercial real estate developer using custom objects to track:

• Properties: Physical locations with specifications and availability
• Leases: Agreements with terms, renewal dates, and escalation clauses
• Maintenance Requests: Service tickets specific to properties

This model allows the leasing team to see occupancy rates across properties while the maintenance team manages service requests efficiently.

Implementation Tip: Create a dashboard that visualises lease expirations across your property portfolio to proactively manage renewals.

Best Practices for Custom Object Implementation

1. Map Your Business Process First

Before creating custom objects, thoroughly document your business processes and the data relationships they require. Ask:

• What unique entities does your business track?
• How do these entities relate to contacts, companies, and deals?
• What properties need to be tracked for each entity?
• Who needs access to this information and how will they use it?

2. Plan Your Associations Carefully

Associations between objects determine how data flows through your CRM. Consider:

• One-to-many vs. many-to-many relationships
• Which object should "own" the relationship
• How associations impact record visibility and permissions

3. Leverage Custom Object Workflows

Custom objects can trigger and be affected by workflows, enabling automation specific to your industry:

• Automatically update regulatory status based on submission dates
• Trigger renewal processes when leases approach expiration
• Schedule required maintenance based on equipment installation dates

4. Design for Scalability

As your business grows, your data model needs to accommodate increasing complexity:

• Create properties with standardised naming conventions
• Document your custom object structure thoroughly
• Consider future reporting needs when designing associations
• Use property groups to organise information logically

Real-World Success Story: Custom Objects in Action

A specialised equipment leasing company could implement custom objects to track:

• Equipment Assets: Individual machines with maintenance schedules and depreciation tracking
• Lease Agreements: Terms, payment schedules, and renewal options
• Maintenance Logs: Service history specific to each asset

This would allow the sales team to see equipment availability, maintenance history, and lease terms all in one place, making it much easier to provide accurate information to customers.

Implementation Roadmap

Ready to implement custom objects for your specialised business? Follow this roadmap:

1. Discovery Phase: Document your business processes and data relationships
2. Design Phase: Create a schema for your custom objects and their properties
3. Development Phase: Build your custom objects in HubSpot (or work with a partner)
4. Migration Phase: Transfer existing data into your new structure
5. Training Phase: Ensure your team understands how to use the new model
6. Optimisation Phase: Refine based on user feedback and evolving need

Custom objects represent one of HubSpot's most powerful features for specialised businesses. By thoughtfully designing your data model to reflect your industry's unique requirements, you can transform HubSpot from a generic CRM into a tailored business system that speaks your language.

The most successful implementations start with a clear understanding of your business processes and carefully consider how custom objects will integrate with your existing HubSpot setup. When done right, custom objects don't just store additional data—they enable entirely new workflows, insights, and efficiencies specific to your industry.

 

Whether you're in healthcare, financial services, real estate, or another specialised field, custom objects can help you build a CRM that truly reflects how your business operates—creating a single source of truth that drives better decision-making across your organisation.