Case Study: Streamlining Operations and CRM Synergy for a Global Endurance Events Brand
Overview
A globally recognized endurance events organization needed to consolidate and streamline their CRM processes to support hundreds of races across dozens of business units. Leveraging HubSpot, we unified complex workflows, automated race-specific communications, and delivered a scalable operational framework—culminating in a 150+ page technical playbook for long-term internal clarity and success. This international brand manages hundreds of annual endurance events, each with unique participant data, localized communication needs, and specific logistical workflows. With operations sprawling across multiple teams and regions, managing consistency in CRM usage and communication was a growing challenge.
The Challenge
Despite investing in HubSpot, the client faced substantial complexity:
- Dozens of business units and teams using HubSpot independently
- Fragmented processes for event registration, communication, and operations
- Lack of a single source of truth for internal teams
- Manual handling of custom race details like bib assignments and wave times
- Limited cross-team synergy between marketing, sales, and operations
Without clear documentation or governance, teams were duplicating efforts and introducing risk into communications and workflows at scale.
The Strategy
We delivered a comprehensive systems streamlining initiative centered around HubSpot’s full capabilities:
- Business Unit Configuration: Standardized CRM usage across dozens of business units, aligning naming conventions, segmentation, and asset management.
- Automated Workflows: Built event-specific workflows to handle registration data, race-specific communications, and operational alerts automatically.
- Dynamic Emails with Personalization: Used HubSpot’s personalization tokens and custom properties to send automated emails containing custom bib numbers, race kits, and location details to thousands of registrants.
- Centralized Reporting: Implemented cross-unit dashboards for visibility into campaign performance, registrant engagement, and email delivery success rates.
- Governance + Enablement: Delivered a 150+ page client-specific documentation guide, mapping every asset, workflow, and dependency across the system to ensure long-term usability, scalability, and autonomy.
Execution Team
- Our agency: Project Manager, HubSpot Implementation Specialist
- Client side: VP of Sales, CFO, Project Manager, Developer, Designer, and Marketing Director
Collaborative alignment between our implementation team and key client stakeholders was critical in securing sustainable change. Cross-functional decision-making allowed for real-time adaptation and stakeholder buy-in—paving the way for a CRM system that works with the teams, not around them.
The Results
Quantitative Wins:
- 80% reduction in manual email sends, thanks to automated workflows
- 200+ hours saved per quarter across event marketing and operations teams
- 45% increase in email open rates, due to highly personalized content delivery
- 6 major business units aligned under one CRM governance model
Qualitative Wins:
- Full internal confidence in HubSpot as a scalable operations platform
- Clear handoff between sales, marketing, and event logistics with no process gaps
- A sustainable framework for future events—new team members can now onboard via the 150+ page guide
- Stronger team morale due to simplified workloads and less fire-fighting
Client Feedback
“We had a powerful platform in HubSpot, but it was tangled with complexity. This project didn’t just clean things up—it gave us clarity, confidence, and a roadmap we can actually follow. For the first time, all our races and regions are working in sync.”
Why It Matters
For organizations running large-scale, high-frequency operations, disjointed systems create more than inefficiency—they erode trust, delay growth, and exhaust teams. By transforming HubSpot from a loosely connected set of tools into a unified operational backbone, this endurance event brand didn’t just streamline workflows—they created a repeatable system for delivering excellence at scale.
The result? Faster execution, fewer errors, stronger alignment—and most importantly, the ability to grow without growing pain.