Best Practices for HubSpot CRM Optimization in 2024

Competing in the property management industry requires more than just standard-issue Property Management System (PMS) software. Getting ahead and staying ahead of the competition requires implementing and utilizing a complete Customer Relationship Management solution that picks up where your PMS falls short. 

For this, we choose HubSpot CRM, with its robust features and easy-to-use interface, it is a powerful tool designed to help businesses streamline operations and maximize efficiency.

The real magic happens when you invest in the detailed work to optimize HubSpot to align perfectly with your business goals, enabling you to improve lead management, boost overall performance, and drive growth and profitability. 

For property management companies, where managing owner and tenant communications, lease renewals, and lead generation are daily challenges, a customized and optimized CRM, fully integrated with your PMS, is the fastest path to running a profitable property management company.

In this blog, we’ll explore the best practices for HubSpot CRM optimization, offering insights into how you can leverage this powerful tool to take your business to the next level in 2024 and beyond.

Best Practices for Optimizing HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a powerful tool for property managers. No doubt! However, to truly leverage its full potential, it needs to be tailored to your property management firm's unique needs.

For our property management clients, we focus on optimizing their portals to improve operational efficiency and reduce wasted effort and expense. Here is how we do it.

Customizing Fields and Properties to Fit Your Business Needs

Every business is unique, and your CRM should reflect that. We start by customizing fields and properties in HubSpot to capture the most relevant information for your operations. For property management companies, this might mean adding custom fields for property types, lease terms, or owner details. Customizing these fields ensures that your team has access to all the necessary data to manage owners, leads, and tenants effectively.

Setting Up Automation and Workflows

Automation is one of HubSpot CRM’s most powerful features. By setting up automated workflows, we can streamline processes such as lead nurturing, follow-up emails, and task assignments. For example, property management companies can automate the process of sending out renewal notices or follow-ups with potential tenants, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks. Automation not only saves time but also reduces the likelihood of human error.

Regularly Cleaning and Updating Your Database

A clean database is a productive database. Regularly auditing and cleaning your HubSpot CRM ensures that your data is accurate and up-to-date. This includes removing duplicate entries, updating outdated information, and ensuring that all contact records are complete. For property management companies, maintaining a clean database is crucial for effective marketing and lead management.

Using Segmentation for Targeted Marketing

Segmentation allows you to tailor your marketing efforts to specific audiences. In HubSpot CRM, we can segment your contacts based on various criteria, such as location, property type, or engagement level. This enables you to send more personalized and relevant marketing messages, increasing the chances of conversion. For example, you could segment your contacts to send targeted emails to potential owners looking for specific types of management services in a specific area of town you serve. 

Integrating HubSpot with Other Tools and Platforms

HubSpot CRM becomes even more powerful when integrated with other tools and platforms. Whether it’s integrating with your property management software, accounting tools, or docu-sign solutions, integration allows for seamless data flow and improved operational efficiency. 

By integrating HubSpot with your property management software through an API, like Propertyware or Appfolio, our PMOS solution synchronizes tenant data seamlessly. This makes it easier to automate key tasks such as tracking lease renewals, facilitating the rent collections process, and streamlining owner and tenet communications.

Tips for Keeping Data Clean and Reliable

Maintaining data integrity within HubSpot CRM ensures your system remains efficient and reliable. Here are some tips to help you keep your customer data clean and accurate.

Implementing Data Validation Rules

Data validation rules help ensure that the information entered into your CRM is accurate and consistent. By setting up validation rules in HubSpot, we can prevent common data entry errors, such as incorrect email formats or missing required fields. This is particularly important for property management companies because they rely on accurate data to manage tenant communications and marketing campaigns.

Regularly Auditing Data for Duplicates and Inaccuracies

Over time, your CRM database can become cluttered with duplicate entries and outdated information. Regularly auditing your HubSpot CRM for duplicates and inaccuracies is essential to maintaining data integrity. Use HubSpot’s built-in tools to identify and merge duplicate contacts, and make it a habit to review your database periodically to ensure all information is up-to-date.

Process Documentation and Training Team

Even with the best tools and systems in place, human error can still happen. Documenting your processes and training your team members on best data entry practices helps minimize errors and maintain data integrity. Ensure that everyone on your team understands the importance of accurate data entry and follows standardized procedures when inputting information into HubSpot CRM.

Using Automation to Reduce Manual Data Entry Errors

Automation in property management isn’t just about streamlining workflows—it’s also essential for reducing manual data entry errors. With our PMOS solution integrated with your PMS, you can automate tasks for events like tenant move-outs and property make-ready, lease renewals, and lead assignments. When processes are managed via automation, you save time and gain piece mind knowing you are mitigating the negative impact that human error can have. 

Let's Talk Case Studies

Optimizing your CRM can lead to significant improvements in business performance and bottom-line results. Let's take a closer look.

Optimizing HubSpot for Property Management: A Case Study

Already enjoying strong domain authority and traffic, our client sought to further enhance its digital presence by migrating to the HubSpot CMS and implementing marketing automation strategies. 

The Challenge

Property management companies often struggle with disjointed marketing efforts, inefficient lead tracking, and difficulty in personalizing communication with diverse stakeholders. This leads to missed opportunities, lower occupancy rates, and reduced profitability.

The Solution: Optimized HubSpot CRM

An optimized HubSpot CRM allows property management companies to execute more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. By leveraging HubSpot's powerful features, we can transform their operations and marketing efforts.

Key Optimization Strategies:

1. Advanced Contact Segmentation
   • Segment contacts based on criteria such as:
     • Property type preferences (e.g., apartments, single-family homes, commercial spaces)
     • Budget range
     • Neighborhoods
     • Lease term preferences
   • Result: Enables highly targeted marketing campaigns
     
     
2. Personalized Content Creation
   • Develop content tailored to specific segments:
     • Custom property listings based on preferences
     • Neighborhood guides for different areas
     • Rental market reports for investors
   • Result: Increases engagement and positions the company as a trusted advisor
     
     
3. Automated Marketing Workflows
   • Implement workflows for:
     • Follow-up emails to engage potential investors
     • Lease renewal reminders
     • Seasonal maintenance tips
   • Result: Ensures timely, relevant communication without manual effort
     
     
4. Lead Scoring and Nurturing
   • Develop a scoring system based on:
     • Engagement with emails and website content
     • Property viewing requests
     • Application starts
   • Result: Helps prioritize high-potential leads for the sales team
     
     
5. Integration with Property Management Software
   • Sync data between HubSpot and property management platforms
   • Result: Creates a unified view of all tenant and property interactions

By optimizing their website and creating high-converting landing pages, they achieved a 35% growth in overall website traffic. Even more remarkable was the 626% increase in landing page traffic, driving a significant boost in lead conversions. Additionally, their blog traffic saw a 50% growth, further amplifying their content's reach and engagement. 

Overall, this optimization led to a 38% increase in total traffic, demonstrating the power of a well-executed HubSpot CRM and CMS strategy.

Why This Matters.

An optimized HubSpot CRM empowers property management companies to reach potential investors and tenants with messaging that resonates, leading to higher engagement rates, better ROI on marketing efforts, and ultimately, more doors under management and leased properties. By leveraging data-driven insights and automation, companies can not only improve their marketing effectiveness but also enhance overall operational efficiency and tenant satisfaction.

Revolutionizing SFR Property Management: An Automation Success Story

Company Profile

• Single-family Residential (SFR) Property Management Company
• Portfolio: Over 900 properties
• Tenant Base: 1,700+ tenants

The Challenge

Our client, a leading single-family residential property management company, faced significant operational hurdles in two critical areas:

Rent Collection:

• Manual processes were time-consuming and inefficient
• High staff requirements led to inflated payroll costs
• Large volume of manual communications (3,900+ per month)
• Frequent evictions due to ineffective collection processes

Lease Renewals and Expirations:

• Excessive manual work (over 303 hours monthly)
• Repetitive communications with owners and tenants
• Inefficient use of staff time and resources

These challenges were impacting the company's profitability, staff productivity, and overall operational efficiency.

The Solution: Comprehensive Automation

We implemented our advanced Property Management Operating System, PMOS,  to streamline their rent collection and lease renewal processes.

Rent Collection Automation:

• Automated calls, texts, and emails to tenants
• Intelligent follow-up system based on tenant response or lack thereof
• Integration with payment systems for seamless processing

Lease Renewal Automation:

• Automated reminders for upcoming lease expirations
• Customized renewal offers based on tenant history and market conditions
• Streamlined communication process with both tenants and property owners

The Impact

1. Rent Collection Department
   

   Staffing Optimization:

   • Before: 4 full-time staff members
   • After: 1 full-time staff member
   • Annual Payroll Savings: $165,000 (from $220,000 to $55,000)

   
   Communication Efficiency:

   • Before: 3,900 manual communications per month
   • After: Fewer than 250 manual communications per month
   • Reduction: 93.6% decrease in manual communications

   
   Eviction Prevention:

   • Monthly Savings: $7,500 to $12,000 from avoided evictions
   • Annual Savings: Up to $144,000
   
   

   Total Annual Savings for Rent Collection: $309,000

2. Lease Expirations and Renewals Department
   

   Time Efficiency:

   • Manual Work Eliminated: Over 303 hours per month
   • Monthly Payroll Savings: $9,090
   • Annual Savings: $109,080
     
     

   Total Annual Savings Across Both Departments: $418,000

Why This Matters.

By embracing automation, our client transformed its operations, achieving remarkable efficiency and cost savings. The successful implementation of rent collection and lease renewal processes demonstrates the potential of technology to revolutionize property management. This case study underscores the importance of innovative solutions in scaling operations while maintaining high service standards in the competitive SFR market.

Specific Benefits for Property Management Companies

HubSpot CRM optimization offers a range of specific benefits for property management companies, making it an invaluable tool in the industry. Let’s explore a few.

Improved Lead Management

Optimized CRM systems allow property management companies to capture and manage leads more effectively. By customizing fields and automating lead nurturing workflows, companies can ensure that potential tenants are engaged at every stage of their journey. This not only increases the chances of conversion but also reduces the time and effort required to manage leads manually.

Enhanced Communications

Communication is the key to successful property management, and HubSpot CRM optimization can significantly improve how you communicate with tenants. Automated workflows can handle routine communications, such as lease renewals, maintenance updates, and payment reminders, ensuring that both clients and tenants receive timely and consistent messages. This improves overall client satisfaction and frees up your team to focus on more complex tasks.

Streamlined Marketing Efforts

An optimized HubSpot CRM allows property management companies to execute more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. By segmenting contacts and using personalized content, companies can reach potential tenants with messages that resonate. This leads to higher engagement rates, better ROI on marketing efforts, and ultimately, more occupied properties.

Better Data Management and Reporting

With optimized CRM practices, property management companies can ensure their data is accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible. This enables better reporting and analytics, allowing companies to make informed decisions based on real-time data. Whether it’s tracking lead conversion rates, monitoring tenant satisfaction, or analyzing marketing campaign performance, having reliable data at your fingertips is crucial.

Experience All the Benefits of HubSpot with Geekly Media

We specialize in helping businesses unlock the full potential of HubSpot CRM with sales strategies, inbound marketing, automation, and more. Our expert team provides tailored HubSpot Optimization Services designed to meet the unique needs of property management companies. Whether you’re looking to improve lead management, enhance communication, or streamline your operations, we’ve got you covered.

Key Benefits

1. Financial Efficiency: Significant reduction in operational costs, leading to improved profitability.
2. Time Management: Dramatic decrease in manual work hours, allowing staff to focus on high-value tasks.
3. Improved Tenant Experience: Consistent and timely communications lead to better client and tenant satisfaction.
4. Reduced Evictions: Proactive and efficient rent collection resulting in fewer costly evictions.
5. Scalability: Ability to manage a large portfolio with minimal staff increase.

Download our HubSpot Optimization Checklist and start optimizing your HubSpot CRM for better performance today!