HubSpot: List vs. View to segment contacts and companies

When sales and marketing teams need to segment contacts or companies in HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management), the recurring question is: List or View? What do I use?

List and View seem to offer the same functionality, in fact both have very different purposes and should be used at specific times, depending on the actions you intend to take. 

You can continue reading this article to continue to learn more about the key differences to configure one or the other and significantly improve productivity and business reporting.

What are Lists?

Let's start by recalling what the List HubSpot is. They are a collection of contacts or companies based on certain configured criteria. 

This tool is very valuable because it allows you to better segment the records in your CRM, to filter the audiences you are interested in based on the communication or sales activities you wish to pursue.

The way each list works depends on the criteria you set, as well as the type:

• Static Lists.These are lists that do not change without intentional actions. 

In this type of list, records will be inserted automatically based on the criteria set, such as region or lead status, the list will not undergo updates after creation, you can add or remove contacts or companies only manually.

• Active Lists. These lists track contacts and companies that meet certain criteria based on property values or other characteristics.

The difference with the previous one is that the active list will automatically feed and update over time as some records become eligible or vice versa.

Thanks to this feature, dynamic list membership is set only by the logic applied to the relevant record filters, therefore, it cannot be changed directly.

When to use Lists?

When can I use Lists? Here are some suggestions:

• Sending email marketing to a list of contacts;

• creating a list of bounced contacts;

• recording in a workflow;

• use of membership filters in other lists and custom reports;

• creation of audience segments;

• sending customer satisfaction surveys to its contacts.

When not to use Lists?

If you try to process Lists to display sales leads or for deal reports, although technically feasible, they will not result in easy-to-read lists. 

When the main objective is simple consultation of data, it is better to operate with other tools such as Views.

Although Lists can be easy to understand, Views will provide you with data along with visual elements that will be much easier to understand and more useful.

What are Views?

Let's next look at Views, a tool that allows you to create dashboard views for HubSpot records such as contacts, companies, offers, or tickets. 

Configuring the various criteria on which the Views are based will show you the records that meet them. 

Search will be based on properties, list membership, activities, or other characteristics. You can also set up specific filtered views exclusively for you, your team, or your entire organization.

When to use Views?

When can I use the Views? Here are some suggestions:

• Comprehension of contacts ready for follow-up;

• updating or displaying sales territories by geographic locations;

• creation of cleaning lists to keep data clean and up-to-date;

• review of contact data to understand segmentation opportunities;

• block reassignment of property field information;

• dividing potential customers for sales teams;

• recording of contacts in sales sequences.

When not to use Views

Views are quite flexible, but remember, they are a tool delegated to data analysis, you cannot perform an action with them. 

Through the Views you cannot perform operations such as sending email marketing or enrollment in automation.

List vs View HubSpot: which is the better performing tool?

As you may have well understood, List and View are extremely important and useful HubSpot tools that can facilitate and improve work performance for your company's teams. 

Both are critical to support your activities within CRM for marketing and sales operations. 

In general, whenever you are looking to see a specific segment of your contacts to follow up individually or validate data, we recommend that you proceed via View, with filtered views. Instead, whenever you want to communicate with a specific group of users, you should use the Lists feature in your CRM.