7 Ways for Sales Teams to Track Feature Requests in Hubspot CRM

Hubspot CRM has great functionality, ideal for fast and lean sales teams that don't want the overhead of a huge, complex CRM that they need to heavily customize. It's tightly integrated with marketing and support workflows, which provides a nice solution for SaaS teams.

If your sales team uses Hubspot CRM, the odds are high that you have valuable voice-of-customer feature requests locked up there. Requests might be captured in deal notes, win/loss data, emails exchanged with prospects, or other places.

There's no doubt your customer experience and product teams would love to get ahold of those requests to incorporate into their product planning sessions.

We've identified seven ways to track feature requests from Hubspot CRM, which we share below.

Tip: Savio helps B2B SaaS Sales, Customer Success, and Customer Support teams track product feedback that lands in HubSpot. Learn more.

Structured Feature Requests

But a quick note first: for feature requests to be useful to your CX and product teams, they need to be structured. That means you'll need to separate some basic information into different fields (like customer name, email address, customer words, URL, etc.).

With this small amount of effort, your voice of customer and Product teams will be able to do things like:

• See your most popular feature requests

• See all the requests a customer (or account) has asked for

• Go read the full note in Hubspot for more context

The good news is that the seven solutions below all involve lightly structuring your requests so they're useful to your product and CX teams!

Tracking track Feature Requests from Hubspot is tricky (but there are several solutions)

Hubspot's a bit tricky. Their API doesn't have ways to get certain data out of the tool that you might like. For example, one way you might track a feature request is by creating a Deal Note:

But Hubspot doesn't have a great way of exporting Deal Notes via an API, so you can't use Zapier or other tools that can slurp those requests from Hubspot automatically. Same thing goes for a bunch of other ways that you might track feature requests.

That said, here are seven ways we've found that you can track feature requests that are put into Hubspot.

Note: This article covers only Hubspot CRM explicitly. While it doesn’t cover the Hubspot Service Hub, many of these methods, like the Google Chrome Extension, could still work.

7 ways for Sales teams to track feature requests captured in Hubspot CRM

Here are seven ways to track requests that land in Hubspot CRM:

1. Cutting and pasting to a spreadsheet

2. Posting feature requests to a channel in Slack

3. Track lost deal reasons somewhere via Zapier

4. Track lost deal reasons using #Product

5. Use a Chrome Extension to track feature requests from Hubspot

6. Use Hubspot automations to send Requests to Savio

7. Use Zapier to connect Hubspot properties to Savio

Note: Each of these involves sending them somewhere—to a spreadsheet or feature request tracking tool.

1. Cutting and pasting to a spreadsheet

The first way to track feature requests sent to Hubspot CRM is to cut and paste them into a spreadsheet. We recommend using Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel Online, as your whole team can collaborate on the same sheet.

You'll want to set up a sheet with five columns:

• Customer

• Email

• Feedback

• Feature Request

• URL

It'll look something like this:

The pros of this method are:

1. You can set it up quickly

2. It's cheap

3. Your whole team can participate

4. You can capture feedback stored in any Hubspot CRM field (deal note, Closed (Lost) reason, etc.)

The cons:

1. It's highly manual, which means it often doesn't happen

2. It requires switching back and forth between two tools

3. It provides decent but limited sorting and filtering options, especially for attributes like customer journey stage or customer segment

2. Post feature requests to Slack and track them from there

If you use Slack, it's probably the hub of your company. One common way to track feature requests in Slack is to share them in a channel called something like "customer feedback".

One benefit to this approach is that anybody on your team who subscribes to the channel can see them.

To take this approach is simple. You cut and paste the request and share it in Slack:

The downside to this approach is that these requests are often lost in the "stream" of Slack messages.

Pros:

• If you already post feedback to Slack today, keep your existing process

• Anybody in Slack can track feature requests this way

• Track feature requests from any tool, not just Hubspot CRM

• Visibility to rest of team about what customers are asking for

Cons:

• Feature requests are a stream of data that disappears into the Slack void

• Feature requests are unstructured. You can't identify how many people want a request, or what requests Joe (or Acme Corp) want.

Turbocharging Slack to track Hubspot CRM feature requests

You can turbocharge sharing feature requests in Slack with a tool like Savio.

When you post in your designated "customer feedback" channel, you can also choose to track it in Savio:

Use Savio’s Slack integration to quickly push feedback into your Savio vault.

Using Savio to track Hubspot CRM feature requests posted to Slack means you can keep your existing "customer feedback" channel active. But it also means you centralize them in a tool that you can use to tally up the most popular requests, etc.

Pros:

• Structured requests mean you can count your most popular requests, see which requests specific customers or accounts want, etc.

• If you already post feedback to Slack today, keep your existing process

• Anybody in Slack can track feature requests this way

• Track feature requests from any tool, not just Hubspot CRM

• Visibility to rest of team about what customers are asking for

Cons:

• Slightly manual process

• Modest monthly fee

3. Track closed (lost) reasons using Zapier

Hubspot CRM has a Deal property field called Closed (Lost) Reason. You fill it out with the reason a deal is lost. When companies lose deals because of a missing feature, it's important to track and send this info to a Product Team so they can close the feature gap.

Thankfully, if you track feature requests in this field, you can send them to a spreadsheet or feature request tracking and feedback tool like Savio with Zapier. Here's how.

First, set up a Zap with the trigger set to "New Deal Property Change in HubSpot":

Then, choose "Closed Lost Reason" as the trigger field. This ensures that this Zap will fire when Closed Lost Reason is updated on a deal:

You've now got a Zap that will fire whenever the "Closed Lost Reason" property on a deal is updated. At this point, you'll want to send the Closed Lost Reason to where you're tracking feature requests. Here's how you can store that information in the above Google Sheet.

Set up Google Sheets as the recipient of your data:

Due to a limitation with Hubspot CRM's API, the ONLY relevant piece of info you can get out of Hubspot is the Closed (Lost) Reason:

You can't get the customer's name or email.

Note: If you're sending this info to a Spreadsheet, you only get Closed Lost Reason and the Deal Name. You can also build the Deal's URL. If you use Savio, you'll also be able to capture the person's name and email address.

Pros:

• Automatable.

Cons:

• Because of the way the API is structured, you can only get Closed (Lost) Reasons and Closed (Won) Reasons

• Similarly, you can't get related structured information like customer name, email, or Hubspot CRM Deal URL

• Google sheets has decent sorting and filtering capability, but it’s limited

4. Track Closed (Lost) reasons using #Product

Because of Hubspot's API limitations, we don't recommend using Zapier to track Closed (Lost) Deal reasons from Hubspot CRM. Instead, it’s better to use Savio to automate the process. This also requires less setup because you don’t need to use Zapier as a third-party integration.

Also, you get the power of Savio to help you easily prioritize feature requests using data like MRR, customer plan, and more. That way, you can easily see what to build next to further your business goals.

First, set up the Hubspot integration with Savio. Once you do, anytime you type a note in the “Closed Lost Reason” or “Closed Won Reason” notes field, include “#Product”.

When you include that “#Product”, the note will be sent to your Savio feedback inbox, where you can triage it.

Note: Using this method, Savio can’t automatically fill in the person who gave you the feedback. So, it’s helpful to have your Sales team include the name of the person who gave the feedback in the closed lost reason.

Pros:

• You don't need to leave Hubspot CRM to track feature requests

• It’s easy—closed lost and won reasons are stock fields

• Your whole team can track requests—they don’t need a Savio login to submit requests

Cons:

• This only works for closed deals you lost or won

• There is some triage effort

• It’s a slightly manual process

• There’s a modest monthly fee

5. Use a Chrome Extension to track Feature Requests from Hubspot CRM

Using a Chrome Extension to track feature requests provides a nice balance between capturing all the key information and taking the time to structure it.

Using a Chrome Extension means you'll need to use a service like Savio, which centralizes all your customer feature requests from tools like Hubspot CRM (along with Intercom, Help Scout, Zendesk, and others).

Here's how it works.

First, you would download the extension (full instructions here). When you're on a page in Hubspot CRM that has feedback you want to track—whether it's a deal note, Closed (Lost) Reason, or received email—you're able to use the Savio Chrome Extension.

Just highlight and copy the customer feedback, open the Chrome Extension, and paste the feature request's details in:

The feedback will be sent to Savio, where your customer experience or product team will assign it to the "Slack Integration" feature request and thus add one more vote to that request:

They'll also be able to:

• See your most popular feature requests

• See all the requests a customer (or account) has asked for

• Go read the full note in Hubspot for more context (by clicking the "View in Source App link")

The Chrome Extension is a powerful tool to track feature requests from Hubspot CRM (and any other web-based tools you use).

Pros:

• Don't need to leave Hubspot CRM to track feature requests

• Tracks and structures all feature request data

• Your whole team can track requests

• You can use it on any website—not just Hubspot

• You can use this with Hubspot CRM, the Service Hub, and any other web app

Cons:

• Need to use Google Chrome browser

• Slightly manual process

• Modest monthly fee

Note: Looking for a Chrome Extension to track product feedback or follow up on customer issues from HubSpot? Take a look at Savio's Chrome Extension.

6. Hubspot feedback automations

The above methods make it easy to send feedback from Hubspot to a central place. But sometimes your Sales reps get busy and forget to actually take the time to do it. You can help them remember by making “Closed lost reason” a field that they must fill out to close the deal. Then, you can set up an automation to automatically send that field to Savio as feedback.

The win is that your Sales reps will always provide feedback on why a deal was lost, and if that feedback is related to your product, it will go directly to Savio.

You can set this up in three steps.

First, you’ll create a new property called “Closed lost reason type” so that you can distinguish between losing a deal because of your product and losing a deal for another reason (say, cost or competition). You can find instructions for creating this property in our knowledge base.

Next, make it mandatory to provide the reason you lost a deal (instructions here). Your sales team will get a notification that they must add feedback when they try to close a deal.

Finally, configure Hubspot to send the feedback to Savio automatically. You can do this using their automation features (instructions here).

Once you’ve done those three steps, you’ll have the following system:

• Your Sales team will have to give reasons for losing a deal.

• You’ll be able to distinguish product-related reasons from other reasons.

• When you get product-related reasons for losing a deal, that feedback will be sent to your Savio vault automatically.

Pros:

• Don't need to leave Hubspot CRM to track feature requests

• Tracks and structures feature request data

• Your whole team can track requests in Hubspot in real-time

• It ensures your Sales team won’t forget to include reasons for losing a deal

Cons:

• There is some initial setup required in Hubspot

• Only applies to closed lost reasons

• Only applies to feedback when a deal is closed

• You need the right plan or add-ons to use automations in Hubspot

• Modest monthly fee—see Savio’s pricing

7. Create a product feedback property and send its contents to Savio automatically with Zapier

Our last method was actually suggested to us by a customer (thank you for sharing!). It works like this: you create a property in Hubspot dedicated to feedback, and then you connect that property to Savio. Anytime your team puts notes in that property, it gets automatically sent to Savio.

Here’s how to set it up.

First, create a property for contacts to hold your product feedback (instructions here).

Next, set up your Zap. We’ve already set a template up—you can find it in the public Zap directory here. Or, you can do it manually (instructions here). You’ll want to set the trigger as a change in contact property…

… and the resulting action to be creating feedback in Savio.

When it’s all set up, all you have to do is type some feedback or feature requests into the product feedback property you created.

It will automatically get sent to Savio as feedback.

Pros:

• Automatable

• Don't need to leave your Hubspot account to track feature requests

• Tracks and structures feature request data

• Your whole team can track requests in Hubspot

• You can track all kinds of feedback, not just closed lost reasons

Cons:

• There is some initial setup required in Hubspot and Zapier

• Not an all-in-one solution—you need a third-party integration

• Modest monthly fee

Tracking feature requests from Hubspot CRM

Hubspot CRM's a great tool to drive a software company's sales process. Plus, it's a great repository of customer feedback that your customer experience and product teams can mine. With a few small process changes, you can track feature requests from Hubspot CRM in one of seven ways:

• Manually into a spreadsheet or other app

• In Slack (manually or using Savio)

• From closed lost reasons property to a spreadsheet or other app using Zapier

• From closed lost reasons property to Savio using #Product

• With a chrome extension

• Using Hubspot automations

• From a product feedback property to Savio using Zapier

If you want to track feature requests from Hubspot CRM with a Chrome Extension or track feature requests with a Slack integration, you can use Savio.

Savio centralizes your feature requests so founders, customer experience, and product management teams can delight customers, reduce churn, and drive upsells.

Learn more about Savio here.

Last Updated: 2023-03-05

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