Webinar recap with guest speaker: Chloe Washington, Chief of Staff to the CMO at HubSpot
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In this webinar, Chloe Washington from HubSpot discusses the challenges with their spreadsheet-reliant planning and budgeting methods. She details how implementing Uptempo transformed these processes, enhancing operational efficiency and budget management, and shares insights on effective change management and strategy execution at HubSpot.
HubSpot Marketing’s complex planning cycle is a dynamic and evolving process, supporting 500+ marketers. It kicks off with executing strategies developed in the previous planning season and quickly moves into reviewing and refining both short-term and long-term strategies by Q2. By Q3, they’re already strategizing for the next year, highlighting the cycle’s rapid pace. The process is not rigid; it allows for adjustments based on actual performance. For example, if a strategy from Q1 isn’t working as expected, they consider modifying or re-timing it, rather than rigidly sticking to the original plan.
A key aspect of this cycle is the emphasis on continuous iteration and feedback. The process involves looking back at what has worked or not, analyzing budget performance, and avoiding tunnel vision. This reflective approach ensures that plans remain relevant and effective.
Kickoff and execution of agreed upon strategy from previous planning season
Review and refine the company’s short-term and long-term strategy
Strategic planning and goal planning for the next year begins
Alignment on strategic planning and budgets for the next year
HubSpot Strategy and Planning Process
Collaboration and communication are central to HubSpot’s planning. Chiefs of staff, including the Chief of Staff to the CMO, work closely with counterparts in other departments to align marketing with the company’s overall direction. This collaboration extends within the marketing team, which is not a monolith but a collection of diverse groups with distinct directions. Ensuring alignment and effective crossfunctional collaboration within marketing and with other departments like sales, customer success, and product engineering is crucial.
HubSpot also employs a top-down planning approach informed by the company’s broader strategy. This approach is complemented by lateral communication, ensuring alignment across different teams and departments. The planning process is not just about setting goals but also about ensuring that various teams work cohesively towards the common objectives of the organization. This inclusive and communicative approach to planning and execution is integral to HubSpot’s success.
Chloe Washington defines her role of a Chief of Staff to the CMO at HubSpot as a strategic position that requires a broad understanding of the company’s operations. She is a connector of different departments and a key advisor to the CMO, providing crucial insights into the company’s strategies and operations.
Chloe handles a significant amount of budgeting in her role. Whether she’s executing the budget or managing the spend, it was always a difficult process for her. Her main struggle was finding a single source of truth among the myriad of spreadsheets created by different sub-teams within her large organization. This leads to confusion over budget changes, version control issues, and frequent over or underspending. This inefficiency takes up valuable time that should be focused on marketing.
Chloe wanted an online financial management platform for marketers, a comprehensive tool for planning and budgeting with automated reconciliation and integration. With no experience in implementing such a tool, she started by researching if it even existed, diving into online resources and G2 grids. Determined not to repeat the same chaotic process next year, she embarked on a listening tour across different organizational levels, emphasizing the importance of understanding pain points and what’s in it for each stakeholder. This approach involved modifying her presentation based on feedback to ensure it resonated with everyone, from finance teams to entry-level marketers.
She understood the necessity of training and was upfront about the initial time investment required. To facilitate this change, Chloe sought out ambassadors and enthusiasts within the organization who shared her excitement and could influence their peers. She was open to feedback, even if it challenged her plans, aiming to create just the right amount of disruption that would ultimately make everyone’s work life better. Her approach was tailored to different levels within the organization, addressing senior members’ concerns about team time allocation and front-line employees’ apprehensions about training and day-to-day impacts. Chloe’s goal was to show how the change would bring positive impacts, improving efficiency and decisionmaking across the board. Ultimately, HubSpot Marketing selected the Uptempo marketing planning solution.
Chloe implemented Uptempo using a “ripple effect” approach, starting with top-down communication from VPs of marketing to individual contributors, to avoid overwhelming the team with changes. She created a core team, including enthusiastic ambassadors, and established a comprehensive communication system through Slack, a wiki for FAQs, and regular updates in Asana. Training and flexibility were key, as seen in her compromise to allow a team to retain their spreadsheet longer.
The implementation of Uptempo involved continuous training and process adjustments, particularly in finance and accounting. Initially, some processes remained manual to facilitate the transition for the team, focusing on long-term benefits. Chloe’s strategy ensured a manageable level of disruption and emphasized the importance of a reasonable approach to change, considering the team’s workload and the human side of change management.
Chloe’s task of providing information for her CMO, which previously could require several four weeks, multiple spreadsheets, and copious meetings, can now be accomplished in just a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the request.
Customer satisfaction is a key indicator of success, and for Chloe, her primary customers were the marketing team members. They experienced tangible results in terms of improved budget management, evident through metrics like over and underspend. However, much of the success was also measured by the direct improvements in the marketers’ day-to-day experience. Something they could immediately feel.
For example, a leader requiring a last-minute budget report for the previous month no longer had to go through the cumbersome process of creating a slide deck or exporting data to a spreadsheet. Instead, it was just a simple screenshot from Uptempo.
Many enterprise marketing teams are still stuck using outdated methods like PowerPoints and spreadsheets. This hinders their ability to stay current and respond effectively to market changes or provide up-to-date insights to their leadership team. Learn more about HubSpot’s choice, the Uptempo marketing planning solution.
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