The A-Z of HubSpot implementation onboarding

With a tool as heavy-duty as HubSpot, you better believe there are a great deal of settings that need to be sorted before you’re up and running. 

HubSpot requires a bit of work to set up, but don't let that put you off. It really depends on the level of integration and there are some parts of HubSpot which you can start using immediately like email and social.

Here’s the A-Z of HubSpot implementation and onboarding. 

A - Agencies: how can they help?

Despite the popularity of HubSpot, a lot of marketers are in need of support when it comes to adopting the platform and managing it effectively. That's why many agencies, like us, have dedicated themselves to becoming experts in HubSpot. 

If you’re all-in on HubSpot but you need someone to do most of the heavy lifting for you, then head over to the HubSpot Partner Directory so that you can get help from a certified agency. Working with a HubSpot partner agency makes implementation far quicker and simpler, plus helps ensure your long-term business goals are made the priority.

B - Buyer personas

Buyer personas are absolutely integral to HubSpot implementation. A Buyer persona is a semi-fictional creation of your ideal customer. By collecting and using information about your target market, you can create detailed profiles of the types of customers you’ll deal with. 

We recommend using a few well thought out personas to start with during the onboarding stage. If you understand your audience’s ambitions, attitudes and priorities, you can create content that will resonate with them. Going in blind without that understanding is going to waste your time, resources and likely raise questions from the boss on why conversion rates are so low. 

You can learn more about what to include in your buyer personas here and there’s a free template to get you started. 

C - Can I implement HubSpot myself?

We understand you want to get started with HubSpot as soon as possible, but you need to make sure it’s implemented correctly. It means that you’ll get to start building your marketing campaigns sooner and getting more leads through the door.

It’s best practice to familiarise yourself with the HubSpot surroundings early on, regardless of which department you work for. Whether you’re stuck picking between agencies or you’re still weighing up the pros and cons of going to an agency or keeping everything in-house, it all depends on what resources you have to enable the set up of HubSpot properly.

For more information when it comes to implementing HubSpot, check out our complete guide to guarantee a successful deployment.

D - Don’t forget HubSpot CRM.

HubSpot’s CRM software has loads of amazing benefits and the best thing about it is that it’s absolutely free.

Connecting your inbox will allow you to automatically log emails sent from your inbox to the contact’s record in the CRM. Integrating your email with HubSpot’s CRM is well worth doing. As well as saving you a great deal of time, it’ll also ensure that all of your email activity is stored in one easy to use place.

A CRM isn’t complete until you’ve got a database full of contacts. The next step in the setup of your account is to undertake a contact import. HubSpot put together a really helpful article which offers guidance on how to connect your inbox to their CRM.

E - Email templates, open-rates and automation.

HubSpot’s email offering helps you gain deep insights into your prospects. You’ll also get the right information to the right people at the right time by automating your emails. 

You can send these emails to your contacts when your leads are most interactive with their inbox. This is a massive contribution toward your email open rates.

You can receive notifications when prospects and leads open your emails and this is all automatically updated within HubSpot. This is really helpful as you get to see when and how recipients interact with your emails, then use that information to improve your future marketing efforts.

Email marketing is a great way to build your brand's credibility which, in turn, should result in an increase in sales-ready leads and more deals being closed.

F - Filters.

No one likes having their time wasted and HubSpot’s filters will make sure yours isn’t. When you set up custom saved filters, you can quickly and easily see which contacts, companies, deals or tickets meet the criteria you’ve set at any given time. 

This, in turn, empowers you to build engaging and meaningful relationships with the customers who mean the most to you. There are hundreds of different filters which you can use to create segmented lists. There are tips on how to create and customise your own filters in this HubSpot article.

G - Goal setting.

Having SMART goals before you start is essential, otherwise you don’t really know what you’re working towards.

SMART is an acronym that describes the most important characteristics of each goal. The acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. You should use each of these characteristics when measuring the success of the goals that you set.

You can discover more about the ins and outs of SMART goals and setting your own here. 

HubSpot has also put together a SMART goals template which you can utilise. 

H - HubSpot onboarding option.

If you’re looking to use HubSpot but don’t know where to begin, we offer full onboarding services. 

We’ll help set up HubSpot and train you on all the impressive features that HubSpot offers. Our onboarding differs from other agencies in that it’s more customised to what you’re looking to achieve.

We are experts in all the HubSpot ‘hubs’- Marketing, Sales, CRM, Service and CMS. Our 70+ successful client roll-outs (the most of any UK HubSpot partner) are a testament to this.

I - Integrations.

HubSpot Connect is an integration program with a simple purpose - to connect all of the tools you use and keep them in one place so you no longer need to constantly log in and out of different platforms. This is brilliant when you’re just getting started as there’s no need to move things over manually.

HubSpot is able to integrate with over 300 different platforms. All of these integrations can be really beneficial to your business. Here are just a few of our faves: 

• Seventh Sense.
• DataBox.
• Aircall.
• Vidyard.
• SurveyMonkey.
• AdRoll.

You can see the full breakdown of integrations compatible with HubSpot in the directory.

J - Just get started.

When it comes to onboarding HubSpot, there’s no better time like the present to get started. There are tonnes of resources like blogs, podcasts and events to get you clued up. The platform is very broad but there are lots of helpful content on the web which will help you become a master of HubSpot.

From free courses and videos to certifications and blogs, here are some of our favourite resources which explain how HubSpot works.

K -  KPIs.

At Digital 22, we tend to avoid the vanity metrics that businesses tend to obsess over. We don’t focus on likes, retweets, blog post views or even how big your email contact database is. 

The metrics we tend to focus on are more top-level aspects. We even use Databox to gather the most crucial KPIs that actually matter.

We’ve previously created a blog about the important KPIs inbound marketing reports should include. If you want to read and find out what you should be tracking, head over to this blog.

L - Lead scoring.

So you need to figure out who’s actually interested in your products and services. That’s where HubSpot’s lead scoring will help. Lead scoring should be a priority for you and your business to make sure you’re getting the right leads through from day one. There’s even a helpful FREE HubSpot lesson to get you started. 

Understanding how lead scoring works is crucial to achieving success using HubSpot and acquiring leads that are a good fit for your company. Check out this blog for the best practices when it comes to lead scoring in HubSpot. 

M - Measuring. 

One of the things that most attracted you to HubSpot was probably the measurability of the tool. Being able to clearly see leads coming in and the contribution of the campaigns is a motivating factor to keep you on track.

However, don’t forget to annotate Google Analytics when you launch a campaign as that’s a really useful piece of information. Getting Analytics and HubSpot to broadly match up will mean you can trust your data and use it to make decisions.

N - New features.

HubSpot adds amazing new features every year and we're always at INBOUND to hear about them.

In 2019, we did a roundup of what we learnt and you can read about all the new features and updates here. These new updates are great for helping you grow better. This is on top of all of the other amazing offerings already available in HubSpot.

O - Opt-ins.

After you import your contacts database into HubSpot’s CRM, be sure to upload your Do Not Email or Opt-Out list too. This is a list of people who have unsubscribed from your email communications and won’t appreciate your latest product release or newsletter. 

P - Planning your first HubSpot campaign.

About to start your very first inbound marketing campaign? Make sure you don’t forget the 4 Ps.

Persona: Spend time creating marketing personas that represent your ideal customer. (See B for buyer’s persona)

Purpose: Catching your prospect in their time of need is a large part of the way inbound marketing works. This is something you can really centre your campaign around.

Promotion: Now that you know who you're trying to reach and why they’d be interested in your offers, you need to plan out where you’d like to place your content for discovery. Do some research on where your audience is ingesting their content.

Period: How long will you run your first campaign? Setting a time period will offer you an opportunity for reflection so you can make any adjustments before starting your next one.

Q - Questions?

Whether you’re implementing HubSpot for the first time or just wanting to make sure you’ve ticked all the onboarding boxes, you’re bound to have some questions. With a platform as extensive as HubSpot, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have any.

As a Diamond Agency Partner, here at D22 we know a thing or two about the platform. We’ve onboarded lots of clients, all sizes and sectors, so we’re here if you need some guidance and advice. If you have any queries, feel free to reach out and we’ll do our best to help!

R - Reports dashboard

Start by building custom dashboards so you can start reporting on the data from integrated apps. 

To get started quickly. you can customise a report from our library of commonly used reporting templates. If you’re feeling frisky, you can build your own custom report from scratch and take your pick from pie charts, bar charts, doughnut charts and area charts.

With just a click, you can easily change chart types and visualise your data exactly how you want to. 

S - Sales Hub.

The Sales Hub enables the set up of the Marketing Hub to be seamless, meaning teams are aligned from the offset. You can see who visits your website in real time, how often they visit, and which pages they're most interested in.

You can simply follow up with the right leads, with the right message, at the right time.

It’s the all-in-one sales software your team will actually use. You can start for free and upgrade as you grow.

T - Tracking code.

Install a tracking code on every page as this lets you take advantage of all of HubSpot’s features and most importantly, makes the entire software work. It’s a tiny piece of JavaScript code that gives you access to valuable insights.

(Btw, if you’re a HubSpot Basic customer or you’re hosting your website with HubSpot, the tracking code is automatically installed on your HubSpot site).

U - Users.

Adding users to your HubSpot platform is easy to get started and is something you can do by yourself. All you need to get going is the name and email address of each person you’d like to make a user in HubSpot. This allows you to set up the account admin too. 

HubSpot allows you to give different users different levels of access: 

• HubSpot User - the user has access to all of the fantastic HubSpot tools and you can edit their permissions to make them an admin. 
• Super Admin - not just a cool title, the user has automatic access to all tools and settings too.
• Blog Author - the user has access to the blog tool only and can save articles as drafts, but can’t publish them. 
• Blog Publisher - the user has access to the blog tool but can also save and publish articles

However, while this is a great feature overall, it can be confusing to set up. A HubSpot partner agency will be able to help you with this.

V - Video.

You might not have thought about using video in your marketing strategy, but trust us when we say that it’s about time you seriously started to think about implementing it. 

With HubSpot, it’s easier than ever. The HubSpot Video feature helps us to execute video strategies for you, matching how people are consuming video today. The more authentic, relevant and personal these videos are, the more attention your business will get.

For more information on HubSpot's inbound video features, check out this blog. Or, if you want to learn just how important video is and we actually do it, there’s another blog you might find useful here.

Alternatively, you might want a full breakdown of what inbound video is. If that's the case, we've got a fantastic one-stop resource...

W - Why HubSpot?

There’s a reason HubSpot reigns supreme when it comes to inbound marketing. You wouldn’t be reading the A-Z of Hubspot implementation onboarding if you weren’t already bought in. However, I’m going to tell you a few more reasons why you should be using this platform.

• All-in-one marketing, sales and service software.
• Easily integrated with many other platforms and apps.
• Simplistic and detailed reports at your fingertips.
• Unbeatable support and fast live chat solutions.
• Unmatched sales and marketing alignment.

Need a little more convincing? Here are 30 more reasons to persuade you.

X - X reasons why you need a blog.

There are plenty of benefits to blogging and you should start adding content to your website as soon as possible. It helps drive traffic to your website, convert that traffic into leads and it continues to help your business grow and attract new customers months (and even years) after publishing. 

Most importantly, it helps your business establish itself as an authority in the industry. 

HubSpot makes blogging simple. There are preset templates available so all you need to do is add your content in. Our blog at Digital 22 is written and published by all members of the team - that’s how easy it is. 

Y - Your marketing package.

HubSpot’s marketing basic package is limited, we know that, but it has its advantages. You can easily build effective emails and utilise the conversational marketing tools to support your first successful inbound marketing campaign. Learn about running a successful inbound marketing campaign with the basic package here.

For those on the larger side, we’d always recommend upgrading to one of the bigger packages. The costs are higher, but it’s a good investment for inbound marketing success. 

Z - Zapier.

Zapier allows HubSpot to be connected to over 1,000 apps meaning you can focus on other important parts of onboarding. Your apps can be linked and the data shared - with no code required as time-saving "Zaps" are easy to set up.

You can find out more about how Zapier's time-saving workflows can improve your productivity here. Realistically, you’re not going to be able to dedicate all your time to implementing HubSpot, so maybe it's time to look for some expert help to make it smoother. 

Talk to an expert Agency about your Hubspot implementation and onboarding.

While you’re focusing on getting acquainted with the HubSpot platform, you’re spending less time on other areas of your business. That's where an award-winning agency like Digital 22 can help. We’re a Diamond HubSpot Partner and we certainly know our way around the platform.

If you have any questions about getting your HubSpot set up properly or you’re looking for an external partner to organise it for you, speak to our team via the button below.