By: Emma Wadani on January 15th, 2025

Migrating from Marketo to HubSpot: 5 Key Considerations for B2B Marketers

As marketing automation platforms continue to evolve, many B2B marketers are making the switch from Marketo to HubSpot for its user-friendly interface, robust inbound tools, and seamless integrations. However, the transition between systems can come with its own challenges, particularly when migrating critical data, preserving workflows, and ensuring your marketing engine continues to run smoothly. In order to provide practical advice for a seamless transition, we’ve provided insight into common questions our clients face when migrating from Marketo to HubSpot.

1. How do we migrate our existing lead data, contact records, and engagement history from Marketo to HubSpot without losing any information?

Migrating lead data and engagement history is one of the most delicate parts of any marketing platform transition. Marketo and HubSpot organize data differently, which means a clear strategy is essential to maintaining data integrity.

The first step is to map Marketo’s data fields to HubSpot’s structure. For instance, if Marketo has custom fields like “Lead Score” or “Product Interest,” you must ensure these are replicated properly in HubSpot. Any mistakes during this mapping process could lead to incomplete or inaccurate records, hindering future marketing campaigns and reporting.

To avoid this, work with your technical team or a HubSpot migration expert to ensure that every contact, engagement history (emails opened, forms submitted, etc.), and lead data is correctly imported. Consider using HubSpot’s import tools, but always do a test run first to confirm that all data has migrated correctly.

2. Can we retain custom properties and fields in HubSpot that were used in Marketo?

Yes, HubSpot allows you to create custom properties, but the process isn’t automatic. Custom fields from Marketo (e.g., custom lead scoring, product interests, or unique tags) must be manually recreated within HubSpot’s CRM. The challenge is ensuring these custom properties align with HubSpot’s data structure without disrupting your workflows.

First, assess which custom fields from Marketo are essential for your business and create corresponding properties in HubSpot. Some Marketo fields may need to be adjusted or redefined based on HubSpot’s capabilities.

A thorough audit of your custom properties will help ensure they’re accurately transferred so you don’t lose valuable data that could impact segmentation, personalization, and reporting in the future.

3. What happens to historical data such as lead scores, lifecycle stages, and campaign performance metrics?

Preserving historical data is critical to maintaining continuity and making data-driven decisions. However, lead scores, lifecycle stages, and campaign performance metrics are tracked differently in HubSpot compared to Marketo.

Lead Scores: Marketo and HubSpot both offer lead scoring, but their scoring models work differently. You’ll need to carefully review how your lead scoring is set up in Marketo and adjust it for HubSpot’s framework. For example, you may need to recreate the scoring criteria in HubSpot, ensuring that past scores are translated meaningfully into the new platform.
Lifecycle Stages: Lifecycle stages in HubSpot (e.g., Subscriber, Lead, MQL, SQL) may differ slightly from the stages used in Marketo. During migration, you’ll need to align your current Marketo stages with HubSpot’s lifecycle stages to ensure a smooth transition and accurate reporting.
Campaign Performance Metrics: Historical data like campaign performance (opens, clicks, conversions) can be exported from Marketo and manually imported into HubSpot, though some campaign history may not transfer seamlessly. Be sure to map important campaign data before migration and leverage HubSpot’s reporting tools to ensure you capture similar insights in the new platform.

Carefully planning how to handle and adjust this historical data will ensure that your marketing efforts remain consistent and measurable even after the migration.

4. How will we integrate HubSpot with our CRM (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics)?

One of HubSpot’s strengths is its ability to integrate with a wide variety of CRMs, including Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. However, this integration needs to be carefully planned and executed to ensure smooth data flow between the two platforms.

Unlike some marketing automation platforms, HubSpot’s CRM is tightly integrated with its marketing tools, making it a seamless solution for many businesses. But if you’re using an external CRM like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics, it’s important to properly align your data synchronization rules so the systems communicate effectively.

When integrating HubSpot with your CRM, you must set up processes for syncing contact records, lead status updates, and deal information. Additionally, consider how your CRM and HubSpot will handle data discrepancies (e.g., duplicate records or missed syncs) and establish protocols to avoid issues. A misstep in integration could lead to mismatched data or delays, impacting both sales and marketing alignment.

5. Will all existing marketing automation workflows and triggers be transferred seamlessly, or will they need to be recreated?

This is one area where you’ll likely encounter the most differences between Marketo and HubSpot. HubSpot’s workflow builder is intuitive but operates differently from Marketo’s advanced automation tools.

While some basic workflows and triggers may be transferred directly, many will need to be reimagined to work within HubSpot’s more streamlined interface. For instance, Marketo’s powerful segmentation and conditional logic features might not map directly to HubSpot’s workflow automation.

HubSpot provides a robust workflow builder, including lead nurturing automation, customer segmentation, and email marketing. This is an opportunity to optimize workflows and streamline previously complicated processes in Marketo. However, careful planning will be required to ensure that the same lead nurturing and engagement strategies are retained and not disrupted during the migration.

A Strategic Approach to Migration

Migrating from Marketo to HubSpot requires careful planning and execution. From migrating lead data and engagement history to preserving custom fields and ensuring workflows are aligned, the transition can be overwhelming. However, with a strategic approach and the right agency partner to support your migration process, you can ensure your marketing efforts are uninterrupted.

By focusing on key areas such as data integrity, custom properties, historical metrics, CRM integrations, and workflow automation, you’ll be able to transition from Marketo to HubSpot with minimal disruptions and position your marketing team for success.