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HubSpot for Associations

Unify your member experience, operations, and insights with HubSpot

Associations are ready to grow, but disconnected tools, legacy AMS platforms, and manual processes are standing in the way.

This page is your guide to how HubSpot can help.

Case Study Badge (3)

Intro

We surveyed and interviewed 253 association decision-makers across the U.S. to understand their most pressing challenges and where technology is helping or holding them back.

What we found: Associations are struggling to connect fragmented tools, retain and engage members, and extract value from aging AMS systems. Yet despite these hurdles, they’re confident in their mission and motivated to grow.

That’s where HubSpot comes in.

 

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A Flexible Data Model Built for Associations

Map your membership, programs, and engagement

Most associations rely on a mix of AMS platforms, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools to track member relationships, event participation, renewals, and more. But these siloed systems make it hard to get a clear picture of your members or to act on that data in real time.

With HubSpot, you can create a custom CRM data model tailored to your association’s needs. Whether you manage individuals, companies, or both, HubSpot lets you track every member’s journey in one place—from application to renewal.

Your data model can include:

  • Contacts: Individual members, prospects, etc
  • Companies: Organizations, chapters, or corporate members
  • Custom Objects: Programs, Committees, Events, Sponsorships, Memberships
  • Custom Properties: Membership tier, renewal date, engagement score, payment status
  • Associations: Relationships between objects (Member → Chapter, Member → Committee)
Associations Data Model (1)

Drive Member Satisfaction with Personalization

Create segmented, automated journeys that make every member feel seen

As membership bases grow and expectations for personalization rise, many associations struggle to make each member feel valued throughout their journey. In fact, 47% of associations say member satisfaction is their biggest growth challenge, underscoring the need for more tailored, consistent engagement.

With HubSpot, you can automate personalized experiences at scale, helping every member feel seen from day one. For example, a new member might receive a customized welcome series that includes access to a curated resource library and a short survey to understand their goals, all powered by behind-the-scenes workflows. The result? Stronger connections and long-term retention.

New Member Welcome

With HubSpot, you can: 

  • Trigger welcome emails and onboarding content based on membership tier
  • Send relevant content using segmentation and custom properties
  • Gather feedback with automated surveys to keep a pulse on member sentiment

Create a Single Source of Truth for Member Data

Ditch the data silos and make better decisions with a unified CRM

Association teams often struggle with siloed data spread across disconnected systems making it difficult to get a full, accurate view of their members. This fragmentation leads to inconsistencies, duplicate work, and missed opportunities for engagement. In fact, 46% of respondents still rely on manual data exports just to piece things together.

Imagine your marketing team is launching a campaign without knowing which members are actually in good standing. But, they wouldn't want to be marketing to people who haven’t paid their dues. With HubSpot as your unified CRM, all member data lives in one place, eliminating silos and allowing for real-time visibility.

Segmentation & Personalization

With HubSpot you can: 

  • Sync data across systems (like your AMS, LMS, or community platforms) using Operations Hub
  • Build a complete picture of every member, from engagement to financial status
  • Create dashboards to monitor KPIs like retention, satisfaction, and revenue in real time
  • Automate outreach, reporting, and workflows using up-to-date data from a single source

Increasing Member Retention

Proactively engage at-risk members with data-driven outreach

Churn often stems from low engagement or fragmented renewal processes and once a member is gone, it’s much harder to win them back. That’s why 38% of associations list retention as a top KPI, so staying ahead of disengagement is key.

With HubSpot, you can spot early warning signs, like when a member hasn’t opened an email or attended an event in 90 days and automatically trigger a re-engagement campaign well before their renewal date. This kind of proactive, data-driven outreach helps reduce churn and keeps members connected to your organization’s value.

In HubSpot, you can:

  • Monitor activity and flag members showing signs of disengagement
  • Build renewal workflows with personalized reminders and timely offers
  • Score members based on behavior and notify staff when action is needed
Member at Risk Flag

Streamlining Event Management

Connect registration, engagement, and follow-up, all within HubSpot

Event planning and follow-up can be a major time sink for associations, especially when managed across multiple disconnected tools. From registration to post-event emails, the fragmentation creates friction. Still, 27% of associations rely on events and sponsorships as part of their marketing and sales strategies, making it critical to get them right.

By integrating event·hapily with HubSpot, associations can centralize the entire event experience. For example, after attending a virtual conference, members can automatically receive a recap email with session recordings, a personalized survey, and links to related resources, all based on the sessions they actually joined.

ASDE Event Registration

With event·hapily + HubSpot, you can:

  • Automatically register attendees and sync participation data into contact records
  • Promote events with branded HubSpot landing pages and email campaigns
  • Trigger reminders, feedback surveys, and follow-ups based on real attendance
  • Segment contacts and personalize outreach based on past event activity

Driving Member Growth Through Smarter Acquisition

Attract and convert the right members with forms, segmentation, and automation

Acquiring new members is a persistent challenge for associations, especially when marketing resources are limited. In fact, 43% of associations report struggling with member acquisition, highlighting the need for efficient, scalable strategies. HubSpot helps teams do more with less by making it easy to attract, capture, and nurture the right prospects.

For example, an association might launch a HubSpot landing page offering a free whitepaper, then follow up with an automated email nurture series to convert interested readers into paying members. With the right tools in place, even small teams can run high-impact acquisition campaigns that fuel sustained growth.

In HubSpot, you can:

  • Build lead capture forms and landing pages for events, gated content, or free trials
  • Stay top of mind with prospects using automated email nurtures and ad retargeting
  • Score and assign leads automatically to staff or workflows for timely follow-up
Resource Form Fill

Keep Members Connected with Personalized Portals

Deliver Value with Custom Portals for Content, Events and more 

Too often, associations rely on scattered systems that make it hard for members to find what they need, whether it's resources, event info, or member benefits. Without a centralized, user-friendly portal, engagement drops between events, and the value of membership starts to fade. It’s no surprise that 45% of marketing and sales respondents cite website and portal engagement as a top KPI, signaling that the digital member experience is now mission-critical.

With HubSpot, you can create personalized member portals that serve as a single destination for ongoing value, surfacing the right content, events, and actions based on who the member is and how they engage. For example, a returning member might log in to find new training based on their committee role, an invite to a nearby event, and a short survey—triggering a thank-you email and automatically updating their engagement score.

In HubSpot you can: 

  • Deliver gated content based on membership tier or role
  • Show relevant events, resources, or volunteer opportunities using real-time data
  • Track logins and actions to trigger personalized follow-ups and engagement workflows
ASDE Member Portal HubSpot Demo

Scaling Member Programs with HubSpot CMS

Building 260+ microsites with one flexible CMS

National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) needed a better way to manage hundreds of partner microsites for its Fathering in 15™ program. Their old system was costly and hard to maintain. By moving to HubSpot CMS, they built a centralized, scalable setup that saved time and money, while still supporting personalized, white-labeled content.

With our support, NFI was able to: 

  • Launch and manage 260+ partner microsites using global modules and flexible templates
  • Apply updates across all sites with a single click using global content elements
  • Maintain brand consistency while personalizing experiences for each partner
  • Support multi-language needs and empower staff with user-friendly editing tools
Microsite Case Study

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