Congrats on your decision to implement HubSpot. Here at Growth Spurt, we’re self-certified HubSpot nerds and big fans of the software! 

That’s because HubSpot is well-known for its robust platform of marketing, sales, customer service tools, operations, and commerce tools and we’ve seen firsthand the opportunities for growth and efficiency it can bring to businesses. 

However, before you jump in and start generating results with HubSpot, you need to set it up right. Some companies choose to implement it themselves, whereas others bring in a HubSpot Solutions Partner to manage the implementation for them.

If you’ve stumbled upon this article, you’re likely interested in seeking the help of an expert and curious about what to expect for costs. 

Unfortunately, most implementations are unique and therefore the answer is “it depends.” However, we’ll help you get a clear understanding of the factors that influence the cost and share some price ranges so you know what to expect.

What is the Typical Range for HubSpot Onboarding Costs?

Onboarding costs can vary significantly and we’ll get more into what can drive the price up later in this article. 

In general, a HubSpot Implementation should be somewhere in the range of $3,000-$7,000.  

The variation in costs is influenced by factors such as the number of hubs being implemented, the chosen tiers of those hubs, desired integrations with other tools, and the complexity of the goals requiring advanced setups.

What Are the Different Components of a HubSpot Implementation?

An implementation can be broken down into these core components:

• Stage 1: Discovery: In the discovery stage, the focus is on understanding your goals with the platform. We’ll cover what features you need, explore your marketing strategy that the tool will support, and more. 
• Stage 2: Basic Setup: This stage focuses on setting the foundation of your HubSpot platform. It includes tasks like getting your customized brand kit set up, creating your email templates, and other basic features and setup tasks.  
• Stage 3: Data Mapping and Importation: The third stage is all about getting your existing data into HubSpot. If you’re decommissioning a legacy database, this exercise will include exporting your data from the old platform and importing it into HubSpot. Often this includes data mapping exercises, creating custom properties, and data migration. In some cases, a CRM isn’t going away and the process will involve integrating it with HubSpot.
• Stage 4: Personalization: Once your foundational setup is complete and data’s been brought into HubSpot, then we can invite your users into your portal and start customizing it to their preferences. HubSpot enables you to personalize lots of areas in the platform like contact records, views, dashboards, and more. Note: Customization options may be limited based on tier.
• Stage 5: Team Training: Now comes the fun part, diving in and learning how to use the software. We’ll train your team to ensure their success on HubSpot.

What Factors Can Impact the Cost of Implementation?

Here are some of the common factors that will impact the cost of a HubSpot implementation:

• Number of Hubs: The cost of a HubSpot implementation can be influenced by the number of Hubs included in your project. Each additional Hub adds complexity to the setup process, requiring more time from the implementation team.
• Subscription Tier Level: Higher-tier plans offer more features and capabilities, requiring more extensive setup and configuration, which in turn increases implementation costs.
• Complexity of Integrations: The complexity of integrating HubSpot with other systems such as your CRM system, e-commerce platform, or accounting software can impact implementation costs. More complicated integrations may require custom development work or additional configuration time, leading to a higher cost.
• Data Cleanliness: Trust me – you don’t want to bring bad data into your new HubSpot environment. If your customer data is messy or inconsistent, it may require extensive cleanup and restructuring before importing it into HubSpot. Data cleansing efforts can increase both the time and resources needed for implementation, thereby raising costs.
• Sophisticated Customizations: Implementations involving sophisticated customizations, such as advanced workflow automations, often require specialized expertise. Custom workflows like this are generally not part of an implementation, however, they can be added and provide significant value for an added cost.

What are the Hidden Costs and Additional Fees to Watch Out for?

Nobody likes a hidden fee! Although there are no “hidden fees” in the traditional sense, there are some common issues I’ve seen come up around pricing.

The biggest one is around the number of contacts. HubSpot’s pricing is partially based on the number of marketing contacts you have in your database. During the discovery phase, make sure to take the time to understand exactly how many contacts you’ll be moving over. Knowing this ahead of time will avoid surprises down the road.

The second biggest issue to come up around pricing is misjudging the HubSpot subscription tier you need to support your goals. There’s a big difference between HubSpot Starter and HubSpot Professional – both in terms of pricing and functionality. It’s always a good idea to do your research to understand which level will suit you best. This is also something we’ll cover in greater detail during the Discovery phase. We know these products well and are happy to help you determine your best fit.

Finally, HubSpot charges a one-time onboarding fee when you purchase a Pro or Enterprise subscription to Marketing, Sales, or Service Hub. The cost varies by Hub and tier.

If you purchase HubSpot from a HubSpot Solutions Partner, like Growth Spurt, they can waive this fee under the assumption that you’ll be working with the partner to implement HubSpot for you.

HubSpot Implementation Across Various Hubs

The HubSpot platform offers 6 hubs:

1. Marketing Hub
2. Sales Hub
3. Service Hub
4. Commerce Hub
5. Operations Hub
6. CMS Hubs

How does the number of Hubs impact the price of implementation? Are some Hubs more expensive to implement than others? Is it cheaper to implement multiple Hubs?

The implementation process differs based on the specific hub being utilized. For example, Operations Hub doesn’t come with as many setup tasks as Marketing Hub or Sales Hub. 

Companies leveraging multiple hubs will benefit from economies of scale, reducing overall implementation costs. This is because the Hubs are designed to work together and the proper setup of one will lead to time savings when setting up the others.

How Long Does it Take to Implement HubSpot?

There are a number of factors that go into the timeline for implementation, however, 3-4 weeks is the average for most. 

Onboarding, a more intensive version of implementation that includes defined objectives and goals and more intensive training will take much longer. An average timeline for a HubSpot Onboarding project is around 3-4 months and pairs the implementation up with onboarding training for your team.

What are Some Time-Saving Strategies for Implementations?

No two HubSpot implementations are exactly the same. That goes for the timelines too. In my time doing this, I’ve noticed a couple of tricks that can shave days, weeks, and sometimes even months off of project timelines.

1. 1. Come In with Clean Data: If you’re entering the HubSpot implementation with existing customer data from Mailchimp, Salesforce, or something else, you want to make sure that you remove any inconsistencies, duplicates, or old/inaccurate contacts before you import them into your fresh, new HubSpot CMS. Bad data can really slow a HubSpot implementation down.
   2. Prioritizing Availability: To save time, be available for meetings, even on the fly. Being available to meet with your implementation partner within a day or two will help speed things along. 
   3. Preparing Passwords and Access Rights: When setting up your implementation, your partner will require access to the tools you want to connect like social media, ad accounts, your website, etc. Sometimes this can be a hectic part of the project for some companies. I’ve heard it all from “Our old IT guy has the password to our domain registrar and he’s no longer with the company or answering our emails.” To, “The owner’s nephew is the one who set up the password for the company Facebook and he’s at college.” During the Discovery stage, we’ll work with you to develop a list of the passwords and access rights needed for the project. Taking the time to track it all down during this phase will keep things on track.
   4. Train Your Implementation Team Before Getting Started: HubSpot’s online academy is loaded with certification courses on how to use the software. Encouraging every member of your team involved in the implementation to take the course associated with the Hub(s) being implemented ensures everyone is speaking the same language and helps avoid misunderstandings between your in-house team and your agency partner.

Case Study: Let’s Explore a Real-World HubSpot Implementation Project

So, what does this all look like in practice? Here’s a great example from a New Jersey-based company that specializes in maintaining and operating machinery for food manufacturers.

While traditionally a sales-driven organization, new interest in building a marketing strategy led to their investment in HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter. They were particularly interested in HubSpot’s email marketing and social media management tools.

Challenges:

• Limited Marketing Experience: Being new to digital marketing, the company needed a marketing automation tool that’s easy to learn and use.
• Expansion Goals: The company aimed to expand its client base beyond its current geographical reach in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
• Integration Complexity: Integrating HubSpot Marketing Hub with their Salesforce implementation.

Solutions:

• Marketing Hub Tier Needs Assessment: The Growth Spurt team conducted a thorough analysis of the company’s goals and evaluated whether the Starter tier aligned with their needs. It was found that HubSpot’s social media tools and workflow automation were required so Marketing Hub Pro was a better fit for their business.
• Setup and Training: We provided comprehensive setup assistance and training sessions to familiarize the team with HubSpot.
• Integration with Salesforce: Our team collaborated with the IT team to integrate HubSpot Marketing Hub with Salesforce. This effort ensured marketing and sales data remained synced for accurate reporting and attribution.

Results:

The result? The client said they couldn’t be happier with the service they received. They appreciated Growth Spurt’s deep understanding of HubSpot and our team’s open communication throughout the onboarding process. 

The company now says, “We feel completely set up for success in using HubSpot marketing to continue to grow our business.” 

The Details:

This implementation with the added onboarding process, training, and Salesforce integration took roughly 2 months to complete and came to a grand total of $7,500. 

Conclusion:

HubSpot is a powerful and flexible platform, but it needs to be set up right to unlock its full potential. Growth Spurt has a proven track record of success in helping companies avoid painstaking trial and error, so they can get straight to attracting, engaging, and delighting their customers. We’re excited to help you see similar results.