As a marketing technologist at GK3 Capital, one of my most important responsibilities is setting up HubSpot accounts for new clients. This is a key part of our onboarding process for new clients.
The term “HubSpot implementation” is a misnomer as I see it. It implies that configuring HubSpot has an endpoint. We see HubSpot implementation as a never-ending process. There are always ways to improve a HubSpot setup as campaigns progress and new client needs emerge.
That said, the initial HubSpot setup in the first month of a client’s retainer is absolutely critical for the long-term success of a client. These efforts create the foundation for organized and effective marketing efforts. The sooner onboarding is completed, the sooner the client can hit the ground running with their first marketing campaigns.
Most new clients are curious to know what setting up a HubSpot account entails, and they should be! Assuming that HubSpot is their central source for storing contact information and managing marketing efforts, it's important to understand how it is configured at a high level. While explaining all the steps needed for onboarding certainly helps to paint a picture, it's helpful to see all the steps laid out.
In this post, you can learn GK3’s approach to setting up HubSpot accounts for new clients, with a step by step look at how we do it.
To effectively set up and manage HubSpot, GK3 needs access to a few key platforms. It’s up to you, the client, to share access with GK3 to the following platforms:
Once access is granted, it's time to configure the HubSpot portal. To start, a few basic settings in HubSpot must be configured.
Under Account Defaults, we start by adding the company name, domain, address, and time zone. The Brand Customization section is where we can upload the company logo and brand colors so that all future marketing assets can be stylistically consistent.
In the files section of HubSpot, we typically set up folders to store blog images, content offers, CTAs, general site images, and header and footer images for emails.
When correctly embedded on a website, the HubSpot tracking code tracks user behavior on the website. For instance, HubSpot can report on how long a visitor has spent on the website, the number of pages the contact has viewed, and which pages a contact has viewed.
This is valuable information that can be used for sales intelligence, and marketing automation.
The HubSpot tracking code is important for reporting on website traffic in HubSpot. However, it’s also important to make sure that HubSpot landing page and web page traffic is reported on in Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These two platforms have slightly more sophisticated reporting capabilities, so it can be useful to have HubSpot web asset data documented in these platforms in addition to HubSpot.
Landing pages for capturing leads, blog posts, and email marketing are all core parts of a holistic digital marketing strategy.
These assets need to be configured in your domain name registrar (DNS). This involves creating subdomain DNS records to host blog posts and landing pages. The typical subdomain setup that we implement goes as follows:
Additionally, the email-sending domain needs to be authenticated in your DNS as well. Authenticating the email-sending domain means verifying that the domain listed as the sender of an email is actually owned and controlled by you. This helps to improve the deliverability of your email marketing campaigns.
To do the DNS configuration, GK3 Capital will work closely with your IT team. If you don’t have an IT team, GK3 Capital can assist with the right DNS access.
Standardized marketing templates make it easy to create new marketing assets quickly in a consistent format.
GK3 Capital typically sets up the following templates:
We create these templates closely following the client’s style guide. The goal is to align these templates with the client’s website as closely as possible. That said, we will incorporate the same brand colors and fonts used on the client’s website when building these templates.
We create a few default workflows in all HubSpot accounts to ensure data hygiene and organization. Some of the purposes that these workflows serve include:
Additionally, we set up standard reporting to track website sessions, email marketing performance, form conversions and other key marketing engagements.
Finally, it’s time to add contacts to HubSpot if there aren’t any contacts in the account already. There are a few ways to do this.
If you are currently leveraging another CRM we can perform a data migration to move information from your old CRM into HubSpot.
Alternatively, we can import contacts from databases like Discovery Data or Fintrx.
Once your contacts have been added to HubSpot, you’re in a good position to begin your marketing and sales efforts.
Setting up a HubSpot account is crucial in ensuring a smooth and effective marketing strategy for our clients at GK3 Capital. We create a strong foundation that supports long-term growth by carefully configuring each element—from account settings and integrations to automation and reporting.
Our structured onboarding process ensures that every client can leverage HubSpot’s full potential from day one, helping them manage their contacts, track performance, and optimize marketing efforts efficiently.
If you're considering HubSpot or have questions about optimizing your current setup, our team is here to help. A well-configured HubSpot account isn’t just a tool—it’s a powerful engine for driving business success.