The challenge
A leading creative education institution was struggling with a fragmented digital ecosystem. Their marketing stack consisted of WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and a WordPress website, all running in isolation. This created data silos and made it nearly impossible to connect the dots between marketing efforts and actual results.
Although the organization drew more than 2,000 website visitors weekly, they had no reliable way to capture this traffic and convert it into contacts. Their marketing strategy leaned heavily on brand recognition, but without a system for nurturing leads, they were missing out on significant growth opportunities.
At the same time, the leadership team was eager to automate. They wanted to create workflows that could segment and follow up with students or event participants automatically. However, their existing setup made even simple automation overly complex. A specific pain point was integrating customer data from WooCommerce purchases—something that required advanced workflows they weren’t sure HubSpot could handle.
To make matters more complicated, the internal team was small. While motivated, they were trying to learn a new platform while managing day-to-day operations. Without a structured onboarding process, they struggled to gain traction.
The approach
Our onboarding approach focused on project-based learning. Rather than overwhelm the team with theory, we rolled up our sleeves and built a working campaign together.
Hands-on training
We walked the team step-by-step through building landing pages, emails, and workflows. By the end of the call, they had a live test campaign ready to capture and nurture leads.
Mapping the buyer’s journey
We worked together to design a clear funnel, showing how visitors could be guided from initial interest to enrollment or event participation.
Strategic integration guidance
We created a plan to connect WooCommerce and other third-party tools into HubSpot, ensuring data could flow into a single, central hub.
Technical coaching
From configuring subdomains to troubleshooting with hosting providers, we helped the team navigate the technical details while keeping momentum.
The emphasis was on showing real progress quickly, while also building the confidence and skills they’d need to continue independently.
The results
- A functional, automated marketing system: With their first campaign live, they had a centralized hub in HubSpot and a roadmap for scaling future campaigns.
- Improved lead capture: They now had a clear system for converting anonymous website visitors into contacts, with forms and automations that made it easy to follow up.
- An empowered team: The marketing assistant emerged as a champion of the platform, while leadership gained confidence that HubSpot could support their long-term goals.
- A roadmap for growth: With workflows, campaigns, and integrations in place, they had a clear next step for scaling their marketing, enrollment, and event strategies.
Why it worked
This project highlights the power of combining hands-on training with a strategic framework. Instead of relying on siloed systems, the client gained an integrated hub that gives them visibility, automation, and scalability. By addressing their immediate technical concerns and demonstrating HubSpot’s potential in real time, the onboarding process shifted their perspective—from uncertainty to confidence.
They are now positioned to expand their reach, engage more website visitors, and manage their marketing efforts with greater efficiency.
