Global HubSpot implementation strategies for multinational success

In this article, we'll explore best practices for implementing HubSpot across different countries, navigate the challenges of language and cultural differences, and discuss the importance of a unified global data and reporting strategy. By the end, you'll have a clear understanding of how to use HubSpot to drive global growth for your business.

According to a study by McKinsey, companies with strong international activities grow 1.5 times faster than those that focus exclusively on the domestic market.

Companies that operate globally and have several international locations must therefore effectively reach and address different target groups in several countries and need a CRM that can fulfil their constantly changing business objectives.

One option is to use a different CRM system for each region. This approach has the advantage that each region owns and controls its own system, allowing for customised features and functionalities that meet local needs. However, this can lead to disconnected systems at a global level, making it difficult to maintain a consistent data set, resulting in inconsistent customer experiences and difficulties with global reporting and strategy implementation.

Due to these drawbacks, we advise against this approach and instead recommend a centralised CRM system that ensures cohesion and efficiency across all regions. A successful global CRM implementation strategy is key to unlocking this potential. It allows businesses to maintain brand consistency, adapt to local markets, and use data effectively across regions.

Strategic planning for a global HubSpot Implementation

Implementing HubSpot for a global enterprise involves careful planning and execution. Here’s a streamlined approach tailored for large organisations:

1. Establish a strong framework: Establishing a strong framework involves designating a global project lead who will oversee the entire implementation process across all regions. Each core region should have a regional lead to manage local activities and ensure alignment with the global strategy. This structure facilitates effective communication, risk management, regular updates, and conflict resolution across different regions, aligning HubSpot’s structure with the organisational processes and automation needs while clarifying global and regional goals and priorities.
   
   
2. Craft an effective implementation strategy: Crafting an effective implementation strategy begins with conducting a comprehensive audit in each region to understand their specific CRM requirements. Different regions may have unique processes and systems that need to be considered. This includes analysing regional data for insights, assessing local team needs, and identifying key performance metrics. Addressing operational gaps at the regional level ensures HubSpot's deployment is optimised and tailored to each location's needs, leading to a more effective global rollout.
   
   
3. Execution of implementation plan: During the execution of the implementation plan, consider a phased approach, launching HubSpot in specific regions first rather than a complete global launch. This allows for customised processes in HubSpot to ensure seamless integration with existing regional systems and workflows. Extensive, region-specific training should be provided in different languages to maximise user skills and adaptability to the new CRM environment.
   
   
4. Evaluate success and continuous improvement: During global implementation, you should continuously monitor success and improvement, which you can do by analysing performance metrics aligned to predefined KPIs at the global and regional levels. Keep in mind that different regions have different levels of success and adoption, and address these challenges immediately to optimise the system's effectiveness and achieve long-term business goals on a global scale. In HubSpot, you can use HubSpot's dashboard for real-time tracking of sales, customer engagement, and website metrics across all regions.
   
   

Effective strategic planning ensures that HubSpot is implemented seamlessly across global operations, fostering streamlined processes and maximising organisational efficiency.

Now, let's dive into strategies for implementing HubSpot across multiple countries.

Strategies for implementing HubSpot across multiple countries

Implementing HubSpot on a global scale requires careful planning and strategic decision-making. Different regions have unique needs and challenges, so it's essential to tailor your approach to each market while maintaining overall cohesion.

Find out how you can better utilise HubSpot for your global business with these six implementation strategies. 

1. Centralised vs. Decentralised Approach

When implementing HubSpot across multiple countries, you need to decide between a centralised or decentralised approach, or a hybrid of both.

A centralised approach involves managing all decisions and processes from a central location. This method ensures consistency, is easier to manage, and enforces uniform branding and messaging. However, it offers less flexibility for local markets, which can lead to inefficiencies or missed opportunities.

In contrast, a decentralised approach allows local teams to manage their own processes and decisions. This provides greater flexibility, the ability to tailor strategies to local markets, and a faster response to local trends. The downside is that it can lead to inconsistencies in branding and messaging and is more difficult to manage overall.

A hybrid approach combines elements of both centralised and decentralised methods. This approach balances consistency with flexibility, allowing for centralised control over key elements while giving local teams the ability to adapt strategies. For this to be effective, it requires clear guidelines and robust communication channels.

For large, complex organisations, a hybrid approach is often the best choice. On the other hand, smaller companies might benefit more from a centralised approach to maintain control and consistency.

2. Standardising processes and templates

Standardising your processes is vital for maintaining brand consistency and operational efficiency across different regions. 

It ensures a consistent brand image and message across all markets, rationalises the creation of marketing materials and thus reduces time and effort. It also makes it easier to monitor and comply with quality standards.

HubSpot provides a suite of tools to help you achieve this standardisation effectively.

Create reusable templates for emails, landing pages, and workflows in HubSpot

• Emails: Global templates should be designed for universal use across all regions and include your brand's colours, fonts and logos. Also develop regional templates tailored to specific regions and languages to reflect local preferences and requirements. You can store all templates in HubSpot’s template library to ensure consistent use and access by all regional teams and prevent any region from deviating from the set standards. Read more about how Huble built dynamically-populated email templates with HubSpot for Whitetail Properties.
  
  
• Landing Pages: Organisations should use HubSpot's Landing Page Builder to create and save landing page templates that comply with global branding guidelines. These global templates ensure a consistent look and feel across all markets. In addition, companies should create regional templates that are tailored to specific regional needs and preferences with localised content. By managing both global templates and regional variations, organisations can maintain brand consistency while ensuring relevance and effectiveness in different markets.
  
  
• Workflows: Organisations should create automated workflows for common marketing processes such as lead nurturing, customer onboarding and re-engagement campaigns. These workflows should be saved as templates to ensure consistency of lead management across different regions. This strategy enables the implementation of global workflow standards while allowing for regional variations to fulfil specific local requirements.
  
  

Ensuring compliance with global branding guidelines

• Brand Kit: Creating a centralised brand kit allows organisations to maintain consistency across all regions. This kit should include approved logos, colour schemes, fonts, and other brand elements, ensuring that every team has access to the same resources, which helps in preserving the brand's integrity globally.
  
  
• Guidelines: Documenting global branding guidelines and making them accessible to all teams ensures compliance with the same standards. This consistency promotes a unified brand image and helps manage brand representation in different markets. With HubSpot's document tool, you can create and share these guidelines with your teams to ensure everyone is on the same page.
  
  
• Approval processes: Establishing an approval workflow for the review and approval of materials prior to publication ensures that all content complies with global branding guidelines. This process helps maintain a consistent and professional brand image across all regions, preventing deviations and ensuring high-quality results. With HubSpot's workflow tool, you can create these approval processes to ensure that all marketing materials are reviewed and approved before they go live.
  
  

By using HubSpot's features to standardise your marketing processes, create reusable templates and ensure branding compliance, you can effectively manage and scale your marketing activities across multiple regions.

3. Localisation strategies

Implementing effective localisation strategies is crucial to appeal to different audiences while maintaining brand consistency. 

Let’s have a closer look at global implementation strategies and how to action them.

Tailoring content to local markets while maintaining brand consistency

• Tailoring content to local markets with multilingual content: Tailoring content to local markets with multilingual content is crucial for reaching and engaging diverse audiences effectively. Huble works with companies to leverage HubSpot’s multi-language content management features. This enables the creation of localised versions of websites, emails, and landing pages in different languages, which ensures content is relevant and accessible to local audiences while upholding brand integrity.
  
  
• Personalised content with smart content: Through HubSpot’s Smart Content tool, organisations can deliver personalised messaging and offers based on visitors’ locations. This capability allows companies to tailor their content to different regions while maintaining a cohesive brand voice across global markets.
  
  

Utilising local SEO techniques in global implementation strategies

• Keyword research: Conducting thorough keyword research is essential in global implementation strategies as it helps identify local search terms that resonate with target audiences in different markets. By understanding regional search behaviours and preferences, companies can tailor their content to improve visibility and relevance internationally.
  
  
• On-page SEO: Optimising websites and landing pages for local search engines involves integrating strategically selected keywords into titles, meta descriptions, and content. This approach not only boosts search engine rankings but also attracts region-specific traffic, thereby maximising engagement and conversions on a global scale. In HubSpot, organisations can use HubSpot’s on-page SEO recommendations to ensure your content meets best practices.
  
  
• Hreflang tags: Implementing hreflang tags is crucial for global SEO strategies as they ensure search engines deliver the correct language or regional version of web pages to users in different locations. This enhances user experience by presenting content in a language or dialect that aligns with the visitor's preferences, ultimately improving international SEO effectiveness. HubSpot provides tools to facilitate the implementation and management of hreflang tags, helping search engines deliver the correct language or regional version of your pages to users in different locations. 
  
  

Adapting to local regulations and standards

In the early stages of HubSpot's global implementation, it's important to work closely with your teams to understand local legal and regulatory requirements. This proactive approach ensures that everything is planned correctly and set up to comply with regional laws.

At Huble, we work with your teams in the initial stages to understand your legal and regulatory requirements before mapping everything out and making sure everything is set up correctly. 

For example, HubSpot's compliance features play an important role in aligning global marketing or sales activities with local regulations such as GDPR in Europe or CCPA in California. These tools optimise consent management, ensure compliance with data protection laws and implement secure data storage procedures that are tailored to the requirements of the respective region.

To effectively enforce compliance, you should set up workflows in HubSpot that integrate legal checks for all marketing content. This will ensure that campaigns meet local advertising standards and legal requirements before they are launched, mitigating regulatory risks and potential penalties.

By integrating HubSpot's compliance capabilities into your global implementation strategy, you not only protect yourself from legal risk, but also build trust with international audiences and regulators. This approach supports sustainable growth and facilitates successful market expansion efforts while demonstrating your commitment to data privacy and regulatory compliance.

Metrics and KPIs for measuring consistency across regions

• Custom reports: At Huble, we collaborate closely with global teams to develop custom reports in HubSpot that track the performance of marketing or sales efforts across different regions. These reports are specifically tailored to include metrics such as conversion rates, engagement levels, and lead generation, ensuring that each team and region has access to actionable insights.
  
  
• Dashboards: We also set up region-specific dashboards in HubSpot to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and compare performance across markets. This strategic approach helps us identify trends and areas for improvement at both regional and global levels.
  
  
• A/B testing: Additionally, we utilise HubSpot’s A/B testing features to experiment with different versions of content and strategies in various regions. This data-driven approach allows us to optimise localisation efforts effectively for better results.
  
  

By leveraging these capabilities in HubSpot, we empower organisations to effectively engage audiences in different markets while maintaining a consistent brand presence globally.

4. Cross-team collaboration and communication

Effective collaboration and communication between global and local teams are crucial for the successful implementation of HubSpot across multiple regions. Ideally, a global HubSpot implementation should include centralised control mechanisms to ensure consistency between regions. This ensures alignment and consistency in strategy and execution, with the project manager playing an important role in coordinating cross-team efforts.

Let’s look at some of the cross-team collaboration strategies in more detail:

• Team communication: Clear and seamless communication is vital in a global implementation strategy to foster alignment and minimise misunderstandings. The project manager should establish channels for shared communication, such as HubSpot's Conversations tool, between global and local teams. This facilitates easy communication, ensuring everyone stays informed and on the same page.
  
  
• Meetings: Regular meetings led by the project manager play a pivotal role in maintaining alignment and providing updates across dispersed teams. These meetings should be scheduled regularly to discuss progress, challenges, and strategic adjustments across regions.
  
  
• Task management: Effective task management overseen by the project manager is essential to keep projects on track and ensure accountability. Assigning tasks, setting deadlines, and monitoring progress are critical aspects managed by the project manager to streamline workflows and ensure team members are aware of their responsibilities and timelines.
  
  
• Project tracking: The project manager should oversee comprehensive tracking and management of projects across global regions. This involves monitoring project milestones, allocating resources efficiently, and maintaining visibility into project progress.
  
  
• User permissions: Defining clear roles and responsibilities is key to operational efficiency. The project manager should establish and manage user permissions to ensure each team member has access to the necessary resources for their role, enhancing security and productivity.
  
  
• Role-based training: Tailoring training programmes to specific roles is crucial for equipping team members with the skills needed for global implementation. The project manager should develop structured training programmes to ensure understanding of responsibilities and alignment with strategic goals.
  
  
• Onboarding: The project manager should oversee the onboarding process for new team members, ensuring they quickly integrate into global teams and workflows. Providing comprehensive guidance and support during onboarding facilitates rapid familiarisation with processes and expectations.
  
  
• Continuous learning: Encouraging ongoing skill development and knowledge acquisition is essential for maintaining competitiveness. The project manager should facilitate access to learning resources and opportunities for team members to stay updated with industry trends and best practices.
  
  

By prioritising effective cross-team collaboration under the guidance of the project manager and utilising HubSpot’s tools strategically, organisations can enhance communication, streamline processes, and ensure consistent implementation of HubSpot across global teams.

5. HubSpot’s features for global campaigns

Implementing effective strategies for global campaigns is essential for organisations aiming to leverage HubSpot on a global scale.

These strategies include:

• Region-specific campaigns: Tailoring campaigns to specific geographic regions allows businesses to address unique market preferences, cultural nuances, and localised needs. This approach ensures that marketing messages resonate more effectively with target audiences, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates in different regions. In HubSpot, organisations can utilise HubSpot’s segmentation and multilingual tools to tailor campaigns according to geographic regions.
  
  
• Contact and lead management across markets: Organising contacts based on geographic location enables businesses to implement personalised communication strategies tailored to each market segment. This approach fosters stronger relationships with prospects by delivering relevant content and solutions that meet regional demands and preferences.
  
  
• Lead scoring functionality: Prioritising leads based on engagement metrics and behaviour patterns helps businesses focus their resources on prospects with the highest potential for conversion in each region. Implementing lead scoring ensures efficient sales processes and improves overall conversion rates by targeting the most promising opportunities. In HubSpot, organisations should implement HubSpot’s lead scoring tools to prioritise leads based on their engagement and behaviour.
  
  
• Customised reporting and analytics: Generating custom reports allows businesses to gain deep insights into campaign performance across various regions. This data-driven approach enables informed decision-making and facilitates continuous optimisation of marketing strategies based on regional performance metrics and market dynamics.
  
  
• Region-specific dashboards: Setting up specialised dashboards provides real-time visibility into key metrics and KPIs specific to each market. These dashboards empower businesses to monitor performance trends, identify opportunities, and make timely adjustments to marketing tactics, ensuring strategies are aligned with regional market conditions and goals.
  
  

By leveraging these features, HubSpot equips businesses with the tools needed to execute targeted, data-driven global marketing strategies efficiently. This approach not only enhances campaign effectiveness but also supports sustainable growth and expansion into new international markets.

6. Global data & reporting strategy

Image source: HubSpot

A solid strategy for implementing global data and reporting is essential to ensure the consistency, accuracy and accessibility of data across all regions. This foundation supports informed decision making and effective management, which is essential for global CRM implementations.

Let’s look at those global data and reporting strategies in more detail:

• Standardised data management: Implement a standardised approach to data collection and entry processes across all regions. This ensures consistency and accuracy in your global database, regardless of geographic location or operational scale.
  
  
• Role-based data access controls: Establish role-based access controls to safeguard sensitive information while ensuring team members have access to relevant data. This helps maintain security and confidentiality while promoting data transparency and accessibility.
  
  
• Multi-portal vs. business units setup: Evaluate whether a multi-portal setup or a global setup with business units aligns better with your organisational structure and data management requirements. Consider factors such as business unit autonomy, data segregation needs, and reporting capabilities to optimise data management efficiency.
  
  
• Centralised reporting approach: Develop centralised reporting mechanisms to gain a comprehensive view of global marketing performance within HubSpot. Centralised reports enable tracking of overall progress and identification of trends across diverse regions, facilitating strategic decision-making and resource allocation.
  
  
• Integration with external reporting tools: Evaluate and select external reporting tools that align with your business needs and integrate them with your existing data ecosystem. Configure data mappings and scheduling to ensure smooth and consistent data transfer between HubSpot and external platforms.
  
  
• Local tool integrations: Integrating local tools and systems ensures seamless data flow and operational compatibility across regional markets, supporting the effective management of local marketing efforts while maintaining alignment with global strategic objectives. Organisations should identify local tools and systems used in different regions and assess their compatibility with their operational framework. By integrating local tools with HubSpot, businesses can tailor their implementation strategies to regional nuances while achieving consistency in global business objectives.
  
  
• API connectivity for data synchronisation: Organisations should develop API-based integrations that enable real-time cross-platform data synchronisation and implement data management protocols to ensure data integrity and accuracy across the enterprise. This approach enables organisations to make informed decisions based on up-to-date data while supporting scalable growth initiatives through consistent data management practices. HubSpot's API capabilities facilitate seamless data synchronisation between HubSpot and custom or third-party tools, increasing operational efficiency and maintaining the cross-platform data consistency that is critical for scalable growth and data integrity. 
  
  

By strategically implementing a global data and reporting framework, organisations can enhance cross-team collaboration, streamline global campaign management, and optimise the impact of CRM initiatives across international markets. 

Successful international HubSpot implementations

Implementing HubSpot on a global scale can be complex, but with the right strategy and expertise, it leads to significant business growth and operational efficiency.

Here are some successful international HubSpot implementations executed by Huble.

Revolutionising sales process management for Atlas HXM

Huble Digital significantly improved Atlas HXM's sales process by implementing HubSpot to streamline their multiple lead funnels into a unified system.

This transformation involved automating lead capture and qualification, consolidating pipelines, and creating custom properties to ensure consistent data capture and sales activities. 

Additionally, Huble integrated HubSpot with DealHub to manage complex pricing models and streamline document creation, resulting in enhanced efficiency and accuracy in their sales operations. The integration allowed Atlas HXM to generate tailored reports and forecasts, facilitating better decision-making and global operational efficiency. Read the full case study here.

Transforming data management for Knight Frank

Huble worked with Knight Frank to centralise their global data management using HubSpot.

The implementation included unifying disparate data sources into a single CRM, standardising data entry processes, and setting up role-based access controls to protect sensitive information. By leveraging HubSpot's automation tools, Knight Frank could manage their extensive client database more effectively, enhancing data accuracy and consistency across all regions.

The implementation of HubSpot enabled Knight Frank to generate comprehensive reports, providing insights into their global marketing performance and informing strategic decisions. Read the full case study here.

Enhancing marketing efficiency for Avison Young

Avison Young partnered with Huble to optimise their marketing efforts using HubSpot. The implementation process focused on automating marketing workflows, integrating various marketing tools, and creating a centralised reporting system.

Huble set up customised dashboards in HubSpot to track key performance metrics and provided extensive training to ensure team proficiency. As a result, Avison Young experienced improved campaign management, better lead nurturing, and a more cohesive global marketing strategy. 

The Huble team also facilitated seamless data flow between HubSpot and other platforms, enhancing overall operational efficiency. Read the full case study here.

Strategic HubSpot implementations across borders

The global implementation of HubSpot requires the management of complex tasks that go beyond the basic setup. Organisations face challenges such as adapting to different legal frameworks, managing multilingual content and ensuring cross-border data compliance. 

Working with a HubSpot partner brings expertise in these areas and ensures a smoother implementation process. A strategic approach to global HubSpot implementation not only increases operational efficiency, but also drives engagement and growth in international markets.

As organisations continue to expand globally, integrating HubSpot capabilities with careful consideration of cultural nuances is critical to sustainable success.

At Huble, we provide comprehensive support for global HubSpot implementations. We help organisations navigate the complexities of setting up and managing HubSpot across multiple regions.

Our expertise includes adapting HubSpot to different regulatory frameworks, creating multilingual content strategies and implementing robust data compliance measures. By leveraging our experience and strategic insights, we ensure that HubSpot is implemented effectively to maximise scalability, operational efficiency and impact in global markets.

Get in touch with our team today to implement HubSpot on a global scale and achieve scalability and impact.