Switching marketing automation platforms is a major decision for any business, especially when moving from a system like Pardot to HubSpot Marketing Hub. While both platforms offer powerful features, they are designed differently, which means the transition is not a simple one-to-one migration. Instead, you’ll be re-platforming—rebuilding assets, adapting processes, and optimizing your marketing efforts for a new, more advanced system.
This guide will walk you through the process of re-platforming from Pardot to HubSpot, outlining what you can automate, what requires manual recreation, and how to ensure a smooth transition for your marketing team.
Why Re-Platform to HubSpot?
Before diving into the process, let’s address why so many businesses are choosing to re-platform from Pardot to HubSpot:
- All-in-One CRM and Marketing Integration: HubSpot’s seamless integration between its CRM and marketing tools is one of its strongest advantages. Whether you’re using HubSpot’s CRM or another CRM, the connectivity is intuitive and robust.
- Improved User Experience: HubSpot’s tools, like the drag-and-drop editor for emails and landing pages, offer a much more user-friendly experience than Pardot, enabling teams to build and customize with fewer technical hurdles.
- Enhanced Analytics and Reporting: HubSpot’s advanced reporting capabilities allow for deeper insights into marketing performance and customer behavior, helping teams refine their strategies more effectively.
Now that we understand the "why," let’s break down the "how."
Phase 1: Discovery & Planning
Before re-platforming, you need to establish a clear plan. This phase is essential for understanding what assets need to be rebuilt, how to optimize them, and how to get everyone involved.
1. Set Clear Goals for Re-Platforming
Define your goals for moving from Pardot to HubSpot. What do you want to achieve? Some common reasons for re-platforming include:
- Improving automation workflows
- Enhancing lead scoring and nurturing
- Accessing better reporting and analytics
Set measurable goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of the transition, such as conversion rate improvements or increased lead quality.
2. Conduct an Asset Audit
Assess the current state of your Pardot setup. Take stock of all campaigns, workflows, lists, and assets that will need to be re-platformed.
- Campaigns: Review both active and legacy campaigns. Identify what is still valuable and what can be retired.
- Assets: Take inventory of all email templates, landing pages, and forms.
- Data: Examine how your contacts, lists, and lead scoring models are set up. This is a great opportunity to clean and refine your data.
Key Outputs from Discovery & Planning
- Clearly defined goals and success metrics
- A list of Pardot assets to be rebuilt in HubSpot
- A clean, organized database for migration
Phase 2: Data & Asset Re-Platforming
Unlike a simple migration, re-platforming from Pardot to HubSpot means that not all assets can be automatically transferred. Some will require manual rebuilding within HubSpot to take full advantage of its capabilities.
1. Data Clean-Up
Before transferring any data, take the time to clean and organize your contact lists. This will ensure that only relevant, accurate data moves into HubSpot, improving performance and reducing clutter.
Key steps include:
- De-duplicating contacts
- Normalizing data fields (standardizing phone numbers, names, etc.)
- Removing outdated or inactive contacts
2. What Can Be Transitioned vs. What Needs to Be Rebuilt
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what elements can be transferred to HubSpot via API or third-party tools, and what will need to be manually rebuilt to fit within HubSpot’s environment.
| What Can Be Transitioned via API/Integrations |
What Needs to Be Manually Rebuilt |
| Contacts, Leads, and Accounts: HubSpot’s API can transfer contact and lead information, including custom fields. |
Email Templates: Pardot email templates need to be rebuilt using HubSpot’s editor, which supports drag-and-drop and custom HTML. |
| Static and Dynamic Lists: Lists can be mapped and recreated using HubSpot’s list-building tools. |
Landing Pages: Pardot landing pages can’t be directly transferred, but can be recreated in HubSpot’s landing page builder. |
| Custom Fields & Properties: These can be imported, but you may need to map them manually to HubSpot properties. |
Workflows/Automations: Automations must be manually rebuilt in HubSpot, but its workflow builder offers more flexibility and simplicity. |
| Engagement History: While email history (opens, clicks) cannot be fully migrated, some contact activity can be synced with some third-party tools. |
Forms: Pardot forms need to be manually rebuilt in HubSpot using its form builder, though HubSpot’s forms are easier to manage and integrate with workflows. |
3. Lead Scoring & Grading
Pardot’s lead scoring models will not automatically transfer to HubSpot. This is a great opportunity to revisit and improve your scoring model, leveraging HubSpot’s advanced tools for scoring based on engagement, behavior, and demographic information.
Phase 3: Asset Re-Platforming
With your data and models ready to go, it’s time to start re-platforming your marketing assets. Since this isn’t a simple migration, you’ll be rebuilding many of your key assets manually in HubSpot.
1. Rebuild Email Campaigns
Pardot email templates cannot be directly transferred to HubSpot, but HubSpot’s email editor makes rebuilding easier. Take this chance to refresh outdated designs and optimize for improved performance. You can either use HubSpot’s drag-and-drop functionality or code custom HTML.
Best Practice: When rebuilding, consider incorporating A/B testing and personalization tokens to enhance engagement.
2. Recreate Landing Pages
Similarly, Pardot landing pages need to be manually rebuilt in HubSpot. This is a perfect opportunity to refine the design and optimize for conversion.
- Use HubSpot’s landing page builder, which allows for flexible design and improved mobile responsiveness.
- Ensure all forms and workflows tied to the landing pages are correctly integrated into HubSpot.
3. Manual Rebuild of Workflows
Pardot automations, such as drip campaigns and lead nurturing workflows, will need to be recreated in HubSpot using its workflows tool. HubSpot’s interface is more intuitive, allowing for better customization and segmentation.
Pro Tip: Use this re-platforming phase to simplify and optimize workflows. Remove any redundant steps and improve your lead nurturing sequences.
4. Forms & CTA Rebuild
Forms are a crucial part of the customer journey. Pardot forms must be recreated manually in HubSpot, but the good news is that HubSpot’s form builder is straightforward and offers better integrations with your workflows and lists.
Phase 4: CRM Integration & Setup
Once your assets are re-platformed, it’s time to focus on technical setup—especially integrating your CRM and any third-party tools you use.
1. Integrate Your CRM
If you’re using HubSpot’s CRM, great—everything is already connected. If you’re using another CRM, like Salesforce, you’ll need to set up a bi-directional sync. This ensures that data flows seamlessly between your CRM and HubSpot.
Key steps:
- Field mapping: Ensure that custom fields in your CRM align with HubSpot properties.
- Data sync: Set up bi-directional data sync for contacts, leads, and opportunities.
2. Configure Third-Party Integrations
Reconfigure any third-party integrations that were connected to Pardot, such as webinar tools, social media platforms, and analytics systems. HubSpot’s marketplace offers pre-built integrations for many popular tools, making this process more straightforward.
Phase 5: Testing & QA
Once your data and assets are re-platformed, you’ll need to thoroughly test everything to ensure it works as expected.
1. Test Data Accuracy
Make sure all contact records and lists are correctly transitioned and that no data is missing. Cross-check contact fields, custom properties, and lead scores to ensure accuracy.
2. Test Automations & Workflows
Test each workflow by running dummy contacts through the system. Make sure that triggers, actions, and sequences function as intended.
3. Test Emails, Forms, and Landing Pages
Before going live, send test emails to ensure deliverability and proper formatting. Submit test form entries to verify that leads are being correctly routed and tracked. Finally, make sure your landing pages load properly and are optimized for conversions.
Phase 6: Training & Rollout
Re-platforming to HubSpot requires a new set of skills and processes. Proper training and a structured rollout plan are crucial for ensuring your team can fully leverage HubSpot’s features.
1. HubSpot User Training
Hold training sessions to familiarize your team with the essentials, such as:
- How to create and send emails
- Managing and optimizing workflows
- Reporting and analytics
Ensure that both your marketing and sales teams are comfortable with the new tools and processes.
2. Rollout Strategy
Decide on a rollout strategy. You can either roll out HubSpot all at once or take a phased approach, gradually introducing the new platform to different teams or functionalities.
Phase 7: Post-Re-Platforming Optimization
After your re-platforming is complete and HubSpot is live, the next step is ongoing optimization. This will ensure you get the most out of HubSpot’s capabilities.
1. Monitor Performance
Track the KPIs you set during the planning phase to measure the success of your re-platforming. Review performance metrics such as lead quality, email engagement, and conversions.
2. Regular Optimization
Schedule periodic reviews of your workflows, landing pages, and reports. As your team becomes more familiar with HubSpot, look for ways to streamline and further optimize your processes.
Pro Tip: Partner with a HubSpot agency like ThinkFuel for ongoing support and optimization, ensuring your team makes the most of HubSpot’s powerful tools.
Conclusion
Re-platforming from Pardot to HubSpot is a strategic opportunity to not only migrate your data but also refine and optimize your marketing processes. With careful planning, manual rebuilding of key assets, and thorough testing, you’ll set yourself up for success in HubSpot.
At ThinkFuel, we specialize in helping B2B companies seamlessly transition to HubSpot. If you’re ready to re-platform and take your marketing efforts to the next level, contact us today to learn how we can help.
