Herrmann International Integrates NetSuite with HubSpot to Clean Up Corrupted Records and Syncing Problems

The Problem

Prior to the introduction of HubSpot and the Lynton team, Herrmann was utilizing NetSuite for CRM and employing a different solution for marketing automation. Herrmann had an integration in place with the other marketing automation solution, but it was clear to the Herrmann team that this integration was not working properly. Records were being corrupted; relationships were getting reclassified; contacts were moving around across accounts; and data wasn’t syncing when it was supposed to.

Before long, the Herrmann sales and marketing teams had lost trust in the integration to the point that they were eager to identify a new solution. That new solution arrived in the form of HubSpot and the Lynton team.

The Lynton relationship is truly a consultancy relationship. For me, having a partner that understands HubSpot as well as I do and understands what NetSuite can do and gets what we’re trying to do is huge! Lynton takes partnering to the next level.

— Beckie Moses, Digital Marketing Manager, Herrmann International

With no faith in their existing marketing automation solution among the Herrmann sales and marketing teams, Job One for Lynton in facilitating the move to HubSpot was building an integration with NetSuite that everyone could trust.

“It was obvious to everyone on our team that with our old system, the syncing wasn’t working properly. With HubSpot and the new integration that the Lynton team was developing, we wanted to gain back people’s trust, save time, and have better data at our disposal,” said Moses.

“Bi-directional syncing was really important for us. We wanted to be able to bring information back from NetSuite into HubSpot for customer segmentation purposes. For example, we wanted to be able to follow our customers based on product penetration -- who ordered a particular product and when was the last time this product was ordered? We didn’t have reliable, easy access to that information previously.”

The Solution

The Lynton team sat down with the Herrmann team to listen for key needs for the new integration. It was clear that at the most fundamental business level, Herrmann needed the transfer of data from HubSpot to NetSuite and vice-versa to be reliable. Beyond that, though, Herrmann was looking for a partner they could rely on to figure out the right sync logic and to be available over time to both maintain the integration and make changes as Herrmann’s needs changed.

“I’m technically able, but I’m not in an operations role,” said Moses, “so most of my job responsibilities lie beyond making sure the integration is working properly on a daily basis. Before Lynton, too much of my time each day was devoted to worrying about whether our data was syncing correctly. I could spend hours trying to track down the source of a problem. But now, if I see something that I question and I need to spend more than a couple of minutes trying to figure it out, I just send the Lynton team an email and go about my business. I know they’re on it and that they’ll solve any issues that come along.

“The Lynton relationship is truly a consultancy relationship. For me, having a partner that understands HubSpot as well as I do and understands what NetSuite can do, and gets what we’re trying to do is huge! Lynton takes partnering to the next level."

Before Lynton, too much of my time each day was devoted to worrying about whether our data was syncing correctly. I could spend hours trying to track down the source of a problem. But now, if I see something that I question and I need to spend more than a couple of minutes trying to figure it out, I just send the Lynton team an email and go about my business. I know they’re on it and that they’ll solve any issues that come along.

The Lynton team was able to come in, devise a plan, and launch the integration in 60 days. The Herrmann team presented Lynton with a solid business case but not formal technical requirements. The Lynton team advised on the best plan for integrating HubSpot and NetSuite without causing further corruption of data or duplicates within either system. This involved the intermediary step of getting the two platforms connected and allowing for reconciliation of the data and cleaning up each system before the integration was fully rolled out.

The Lynton team advised on the logic for syncing the two systems in each direction and the best approach for taking the integration live, given Herrmann’s intended use of HubSpot as its new CRM. Whereas most companies use NetSuite as the system of record to manage all sales activities, Herrmann chose to structure the relationship in the other direction: They wanted to designate HubSpot as the system of record, which required Lynton to develop a different approach to the integration.

Lynton also thoroughly and clearly documented the sync logic that supports the integration. The body of rules governing the transfer of data is complex, but the documentation clearly articulates the intent, making future alterations much easier to implement.

Herrmann International found that the reliability of the new integration allowed them to move on from worrying about the integration and actually execute on the integrated marketing capabilities that had been out of reach before their partnership with Lynton. Their ability to analyze product penetration allowed them to understand customer behaviors around Herrmann offerings and be more relevant to both their existing customers and to new prospects with their product marketing.

The newfound stability of their integration also afforded Herrmann time to go in and clean up their data, confident that the validity of the nearly 1,000 company records and several thousand contacts would be preserved throughout the bi-directional syncing delivered by the integration.

“At this point, we are poised to undertake full-funnel marketing, from social media and blogging to content offers and contact forms, to newsletters and emails, strategic lead nurturing and retargeting, and especially analytics – all the things we wanted to be doing before we engaged the Lynton team but couldn’t. They have given us back our trust in our data and the time to do our jobs!”