How to Automatically Replace Text in HubSpot Workflows (Using Custome Workflow Starter)

Purpose

The primary purpose of this workflow action is to automatically find specified text within a string (such as a property value) and replace it with different text.

For example, if a "Notes" property contains "ABC-001," you can replace "001" with "002" to get the result "ABC-002." The replaced string is returned as an "action output" in the workflow, allowing you to save it to a different (or the same) property in a subsequent action.

Use Cases

This feature is useful for automating data formatting, normalization, and the updating of specific information.

• Data Normalization: Standardizing company name suffixes, such as replacing various inputs like "Inc." or "(Corp.)" with the full "Incorporated."
• Removing Unwanted Characters: Finding and replacing hyphens "-" in phone numbers submitted via forms with an empty string (effectively deleting them).
• Updating Information: Bulk replacing old product codes or campaign names with new ones within memo fields or descriptions.
• Dynamic Text Generation: Creating custom messages by replacing parts of a base template string with other property values.

Setup and Execution Steps (As seen in the video)

The video demonstrates a flow where the text "112" within a string is replaced with "204," and the result is then saved to another property.

Step 1: Check Workflow and Trigger

• The process begins in the workflow editor.
• The trigger (enrollment criteria) is set to activate when the "Event Date" property value is changed.

Step 2: Add the Custom Action

• Click the "+" icon in the workflow to add a new action.
• From the action selection panel, choose "Custome Workflow Starter" from the "Integrated apps" section.

Step 3: Select the Action

• From the list of custom actions that appears, select "Text Replacement Action."

Step 4: Configure the Replacement Rules

• The configuration screen for "Text Replacement Action" opens.
• Base Text: Enter the source string that will be searched. You can use HubSpot property tokens to dynamically set this value from a contact or company property.
• Search Text: Enter the string you want to find within the Base Text (e.g., "112").
• Replacement Text: Enter the new string that will replace the Search Text (e.g., "204").
• After configuring, click "Save."

Step 5: Use the Replaced Result (Action Output)

• The "Text Replacement Action" only outputs the result of the replacement. To save this result to a property, a subsequent action is required.
• In the workflow, click the "+" icon after the replacement action and add a standard action like "Set property value" or "Edit record."
• Select the property you want to save the result to (in the video, this is "Message").
• In the value input field, do not use a property token. Instead, select "Action outputs."
• Expand the "1. Text Replacement Action" (the step number may vary) and select the Replaced Text output token.
• This will set the "replaced string" as the value for your chosen property.

Step 6: Verify the Final Result

• Activate the workflow ("Workflow is On") and trigger it.
• Go to the "Enrollment history" tab and open the history details for the executed contact (test@gmail.com).
• In the "Action outputs" for the "1. Text Replacement Action," you can see the VALUE is test204. (This indicates the original value was "test112," and "112" was replaced with "204".)
• The subsequent "2. Edit record" action also succeeded, confirming that this test204 value was correctly saved to the property.

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