Transforming Marketing
Planning at Hubspot

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.

Budgeting and planning can be is painful

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.

“The entire plan has run off of a gigantic Spreadsheet, sometimes with multiple versions, which probably can’t be found easily by anyone.”

The search for a solution

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.

“When I started all of this, I wanted to aim for just the right amount of disruption. I wanted people to reflect and say, ok, I feel the change, I have more time to do other things. It did take me a little bit of time to get it.”

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.

“The version control was a mess, and this was not something that was unique to HubSpot.”

The Implementation

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.

How do you measure success?

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.