To successfully onboard HubSpot Marketing Automation into your organisation, it’s crucial to align the platform with your business processes and ensure it supports your growth objectives. Many organisations encounter challenges when there’s a disconnect between HubSpot’s setup and their actual workflows. Here’s a structured 6-week roadmap to guide your rollout:
1. Define Stakeholders and Training Needs – (Week 0-1)
Identify all stakeholders who will interact with HubSpot—not just the marketing team. This can include the executive team (for reporting dashboards) and finance (for account management).
Assess each stakeholder’s intended use of the platform and their specific training requirements.
2. Nominate a HubSpot Super User/Advocate (Week 0-1)
Appoint one person as the primary HubSpot expert. This individual should be trained across all relevant features and act as the liaison with HubSpot or your onboarding partner.
The super user will oversee implementation and keep the team updated on new platform enhancements, such as AI-driven tools.
3. Prepare Contacts & CRM Data. (Weeks 2-3)
Use the onboarding as an opportunity to clean and enhance your data. Tools like ZeroBounce can help validate and cleanse old records.
Organise your data in Excel first, tagging leads by ideal customer profile and sector, before importing into HubSpot.
Avoid rushing to upload all data or connecting the CRM until you’re clear on your sync requirements.
4. Map HubSpot Lifecycle to Your Sales & Marketing Process (Week 4)
Customise HubSpot’s lifecycle stages to reflect your sales and marketing pipeline, from initial contact to customer.
This mapping enables clear visualisation and reporting for stakeholders, ensuring everyone understands pipeline status and progress. Ensure you map all migrated data into these stages.
5. Start Using HubSpot Early (Week 5-6)
Don’t wait for a perfect setup. Begin using core tools (like the email feature) for real campaigns as soon as possible.
Early hands-on use will help your team learn the platform and uncover the best ways to integrate it into your workflows.
6. Iterate and Adapt
Recognise that onboarding HubSpot is an ongoing process. As you use the platform, refine your setup and processes to better fit your organisation’s evolving needs.
“Rather than go for a full install and using ALL the features, get to grips with the platform using real instances – like using the email tool to send out your next email rather than waiting for a 3 month implementation complete.”
This approach ensures HubSpot is tailored to your business, supports your processes, and scales with your pipeline, minimising disruption and maximising value from the outset.
At resourceful, we have in-house specialists that are experts on every Hubspot hub – get in contact to learn more: