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Case Study

Ignite Reading Builds a Scalable, Strategic CRM Roadmap in HubSpot

Ignite Case Study_Thumbnail

28K
+

Company records reviewed and reclassified

130
+

Active HubSpot users aligned across 6+ departments

12
+

Months of CRM roadmap delivered and approved
INTEGRATE & IGNITE:

From Reactive CRM to Strategic Growth Engine

Ignite Reading logo used in CRM optimization case study

The Client

 

Ignite Reading is a mission-driven organization delivering virtual one-on-one literacy tutoring to K–5 students across the United States. Partnering with schools and districts, they served over 20,000 students in 2024, addressing the national literacy gap at scale.

As Ignite expanded, nearly every department adopted HubSpot Sales, Partnerships, Academics, CX, Marketing, and Ops. But adoption was reactive and unstructured: the Company object became overloaded, reporting was unreliable, and data governance practices couldn’t keep up with growth.

The Challenge

  • Reactive CRM Growth: HubSpot was heavily used but poorly configured. Company records were stretched beyond their design, views were messy, and reporting lacked trust.
  • Data Hygiene Issues: Nearly 20% of company records were uncategorized. Duplicate entries, inconsistent field completion, and unclear ownership reduced data accuracy.
  • Confusion Around Associations: Relationships between districts, schools, and project terms weren’t defined—making it impossible to report accurately on coverage or engagement.
  • Limited Team-Based Views & Ownership: Cross-functional teams lacked clean filters, SOPs, or access controls. Permissions were inconsistent and slowed adoption.
  • Unclear Prioritization: Dozens of feature requests and fixes existed, but with no unified roadmap, teams couldn’t prioritize improvements strategically.
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    Limited Control

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    Limited Control

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    Limited Control

Photo of children in a classroom representing challenges in early literacy

The Solution

Stakeholder Discovery: Deep-dive interviews across Academics, CX, Marketing, Partnerships, and Ops identified pain points and informed user stories.
 
User Story Mapping: 36+ use cases were prioritized into high/medium/low categories, ranging from ABM strategies and lead scoring to project term associations and knowledge base integration.
 
Data Model Audit:
  • Reviewed 28,527 company records
  • Identified 19.7% as “Unknown” or misclassified
  • Recommended maintaining a single company object but enforcing strict SOPs, naming conventions, and associations

Data Hygiene Action Plan

  • SOPs for record creation, ownership, and field requirements
  • Automated workflows for record assignment
  • Role-based views tailored to each team
  • Dashboards for auditing data cleanliness and associations

Project Term Governance

  • Defined relationships between districts, schools, and project terms
  • Applied association labels (e.g., Implementing Entity, Purchasing Entity)
  • Workflows to flag invalid or missing associations

Training & Enablement

  • Recommended Supered for in-app guidance, Insycle for deduplication, and Notion + Loom for SOP and training hubs
  • Delivered leadership translations and roadmap visuals to secure buy-in
Photo of children learning with a tutor representing Ignite Reading’s solution

CASE STUDY

The Outcome

Ignite Reading’s HubSpot environment was transformed from a reactive, cluttered CRM into a scalable platform for long-term growth:

  • 130+ users aligned across 6+ departments on CRM priorities

  • 28K+ records reviewed, categorized, and reclassified

  • Unified CRM structure maintained without unnecessary custom object sprawl

  • 12+ month roadmap created for ongoing evolution and governance

  • Executive buy-in secured for immediate high-priority projects

 

28k+

Records Reclassified

Full audit and cleanup of company data, reducing “Unknown” entries by 20%.

130+

Users Aligned

Cross-department adoption with standardized SOPs, views, and permissions.

12+

Months Roadmap

Strategic plan for CRM evolution, governance, and integrations.

The Tools

New Tech Stack

Marketing Hub Sales Hub Service Hub

HOW WE SET YOU UP FOR SUCCESS

Next Steps

Aptitude 8 partnered with Ignite Reading to transform HubSpot from a reactive system into a strategic growth engine. By auditing 28K+ records, delivering a 12-month roadmap, and aligning 130+ users, the engagement established a scalable foundation for long-term adoption and clarity. With this framework in place, Ignite can confidently pursue its mission, helping every student nationwide read at grade level.





About Aptitude 8

Implement. Integrate. Optimize.

Aptitude 8 is a technical consulting firm that helps companies make their business process, and the tools they use to deliver it, a competitive advantage. In today's business environment, the experience your customers have when buying from you is just as important as what you're selling. We build it better.

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