As a HubSpot Growth Consultancy, we regularly receive questions from website visitors and prospects about the platform, its benefits, and why we advocate it over other Marketing Automation platforms and Content Management Systems: “Can I hold my blog in HubSpot?”, “What are the benefits of using the HubSpot CMS over WordPress?”, “Why should I use HubSpot's workflows?”. All of these questions have, of course, been answered numerous times by numerous people, but one of the more difficult questions we receive is:
“How long does it take to set up HubSpot?”
And our response is, yes you guessed it... "it depends".
But let’s be bold; if your HubSpot setup doesn’t involve anything out of the ordinary or ridiculously complex, i.e. you don’t require 87 custom HubSpot templates (I mean, we can do that – but that’s beside the point) or need a custom integration built into the website, then it should take no longer than 12 weeks to get HubSpot up and running.
You might be thinking: “What? Up and running in just 12 weeks? No way.”
It’s entirely possible – and as we have implemented quite a few HubSpot portals, we have been able to create a process that works.
It takes us just 12 weeks to fully implement and configure a HubSpot platform for a customer in line with their specifications. The setup process includes educating the customer about Inbound Marketing & HubSpot, developing a timeline plan to show what will be done and by when, running buyer persona workshops & lead management workshops, installing tracking codes, setting up content settings, setting up domains, building landing pages, integrating the CRM, excluding traffic from analytics, writing content, designing eBooks, and much, much more – all of which you can find here.
All of this allows us to set up our client’s HubSpot portal for success – and because we have done it so many times, we can have it configured and completed in no time at all.
If you are doing it yourself, however, and it’s your first HubSpot rodeo, it will take a little longer. You also need to bear in mind that all of the work you do will need to be reviewed, approved and signed off by the rest of your team before anything can move forward.
When it comes to the implementation of a platform as large, sophisticated and powerful as HubSpot, it’s important to break it down into manageable chunks – and our 12-week plan can help – but outside of the pure technical installation of the platform, there are a few things you can do to make the project as easy as possible – and we follow these steps to the letter.
Have a plan
As outlined in our blog on setting up HubSpot in twelve weeks, it’s important that you have a plan in place. We would recommend that you have a 12-week rolling plan in the form of a Gantt chart. Gantt charts are great; they allow you to illustrate your project schedule and put your strategy on paper in a format that everyone can understand. Include all of your deliverables and avoid going into too much detail - stick to the essentials to avoid it becoming overwhelming! As you complete a part of the project, review, refine and polish that aspect then move on to the next!
Delegate responsibilities
You can’t do it all alone. HubSpot – once configured correctly – is easy to use and will help to scale your marketing and sales activity. However, getting to that position requires a team of people who are ready to learn the platform and read the technical documentation. With this considered, refer to your timeline plan or Gantt chart and delegate the most important aspects to members of your team. By assigning responsibilities, you keep people accountable for certain parts of the project. If there has been no progress, you know who to talk to in order to get it back on track!
Have a process in place
To streamline your HubSpot setup and ensure that the same level of quality assurance is applied throughout, things need to be done procedurally. Break your tasks down into the individual components that need to be done to complete that tasks.
For example, a written blog is one deliverable, but includes all of these components:
- Conduct keyword research to identify blog topics
- Identify keywords in line with your buyer personas and their pain points
- Use keywords to brainstorm working blog title(s) and synopsis
- Submit blog title(s) and synopsis for review
- Edit blog title(s) and synopsis based on feedback
- Write out the full blog and keyword optimise the copy
- Submit blog for secondary review
- Edit blog based on feedback
- Submit blog for final review
- Edit blog based on feedback and upload to CMS
Once you've done this once, twice, or three times, you'll get a better idea of how long each one takes. We actually call this part of the EAT, SLEEP, WRITE, REPEAT process which should always be improving! 😊 (Our content team love it!)
The process here reflects the most efficient way to go from A – your initial keyword research – to Z – the uploading of the blog to your blogging platform.
This kind of approach to your HubSpot implementation activities will allow you to get things reviewed and approved quickly. As your colleagues settle into the process you will find that everything is being done to specification and only slight changes need to be made.
Review progress on a regular basis
If you have put a clear process in place, the review period is a chance to see what aspects of your HubSpot setup could be made better. By reviewing on a regular basis you can get a fresh insight into what needs to be done or changed, as well as see how your individual activities come together as part of the wider HubSpot build. You will likely be changing things every day throughout the week – but by reviewing regularly you can keep on top of those changes and make sure your HubSpot setup is moving in the right direction.
We frequently run 'HubSpot Healthchecks' on our own marketing and sales activity, to see what we're doing well, what needs to be improved, and also where we aren't making the most of the tool.
Interested in a HubSpot Healthcheck for your HubSpot portal?
Book some time with one of our HubSpot team here and they'll let you know the process!
Lastly - get SH*T done
Before you think our mantra is a bit “gung-ho”, our other mantra is ‘Think it. Do it. Optimise it.’ The thinking behind this mantra is that ideas alone are no good unless you execute or act on them and then improve them. Do you have an idea? Great, think it through properly and do it. Once you’ve done it, do it again but this time a little better. Each time you use everything you learn to improve your idea.
And funnily enough, HubSpot gives you all the tools and data you need to make improvements every step of the way.
Get all the important elements mentioned above in order, and just get out there and do it! When it comes to implementing a platform like HubSpot, procrastination can set in – especially if you have not delegated responsibilities or held anyone accountable. Getting started as early as possible will give you more time to rectify things as you go and ensure that your business’ HubSpot portal is up and running as soon as possible. Do your homework – but don’t over-brainstorm. Bridging the divide between idea and implementation is where many projects stumble but as you have a clear timeline plan (Gantt chart) in place (or so we hope), you should be in a good position. Go, go, go!
