What Are Association Labels in HubSpot?
If you're rocking a HubSpot Pro or Enterprise subscription, you've got access to one of our favorite organizational tools: association labels. Here's the deal: association labels let you define specific relationships between your CRM objects like companies, deals, and contacts. Instead of just knowing that a contact is associated with a company, you can now specify exactly what role that contact plays. Think of it as adding context to your relationships.
For example, you might have multiple contacts at a company, but you need to know who's the main contact, who handles billing, and who's the decision maker. That's where association labels come in. They're your secret weapon for organizing and segmenting your humans based on their specific roles and relationships within your accounts.
Why You Should Care About Association Labels
Let's be honest: better organized data means better decisions. When you can quickly identify which contact is the billing contact or the primary decision maker at a company, you're saving time and making smarter moves in your sales and customer success processes. You can also filter your lists based on these labels, which means you're building more targeted workflows and campaigns.
How to Create and Apply Association Labels: Step by Step
Step 1: Navigate to Association Settings
You've got two paths here, and we'll show you both. First, the quick route: go into a specific contact record and click the "more" menu. Select "Edit Association Labels." That'll take you straight to where you need to be.
The second route is through your portal settings. Click the gear icon at the top of your HubSpot portal, then scroll down to the object you want to manage (like Companies). Select "Associations" and you're in the same place.
Step 2: Create a New Association Label
Once you're in the association labels section, you'll see existing labels. To create a new one, click "Manage Association Labels" and hit the create button. Give your label a clear, descriptive name. Examples might be:
- Main Contact
- Billing Contact
- Decision Maker
- Technical Lead
- Project Manager
Keep these names straightforward so your team instantly knows what each label means.
Step 3: Apply the Label to a Contact
Head to the specific contact record you want to label. In the associations section, find the company they're connected to. Click on that association and you'll see the option to apply an association label. Select the label that best describes this contact's role in that company. Done.
Step 4: Use Labels to Build Smarter Lists
Now here's where the magic happens. You can filter your contact lists based on association labels. This means you can create active lists that automatically pull in all your billing contacts, or all your main contacts at enterprise accounts. These lists become the foundation for targeted workflows, campaigns, and outreach strategies.
The Bottom Line
Association labels aren't just a nice to have. They're a game changer for sales and customer success teams that need clarity on their account structures. They let you work smarter, not harder, by automatically organizing your most important relationships without extra busywork. If you're on Pro or Enterprise, it's time to set these up and start using them. Your future self (and your team) will thank you.
