HubSpot Business Units or Multiple Portals? Multi-Brand Management Explained

Managing multiple brands in HubSpot isn't just a technical challenge — it's a puzzle that can impact every aspect of your business. As some companies grow, they juggle distinct brand identities while maintaining operational efficiency. Whether you're a restaurant group with various dining concepts or a franchise operation spanning multiple states, you need a solution that keeps everything running smoothly without sacrificing brand authenticity.

Some of the options available to meet this challenge include using HubSpot Business Units or running multiple portals and syncing them with SyncSmart Portals (a product built by our sister brand, SyncSmart). While they both solve multi-brand management problems, they take fundamentally different approaches. Business Units bring everything under one HubSpot roof, while SyncSmart Portals connect separate accounts through data integration.

Let's explore how each solution could serve your business needs.

A Closer Look at HubSpot Business Units

Think of HubSpot Business Units as running a luxury hotel group. While each property has its unique character, they all share the same high standards and operational backbone. This premium add-on for HubSpot users brings all your brands together in one HubSpot portal while creating distinct spaces within your account and maintaining centralized control.

Business Units balances unity with individuality. Take a hospitality group, for example. They might manage restaurants, nightclubs, and event spaces — each with its vibe but all part of one seamless operation. Using Business Units, they can create a structure that supports this complexity while keeping things manageable.

This solution also shines in other industries. Retail and e-commerce companies use Business Units to manage distinct product lines while maintaining unified customer data and cross-selling capabilities. Manufacturing companies leverage it to oversee multiple divisions with shared customer bases, enabling streamlined communication across product categories.

Here's what makes Business Units particularly powerful for companies like this. Using this tool, your marketing team gains the ability to:

• Work multiple brands under the same account and the same ownership
• Create brand-specific campaigns while maintaining access to shared resources like campaigns, assets, and templates
• Run cross-sell promotions targeting customers across venues
• Track customer interactions across all brands in one unified database
• Generate both brand-specific and company-wide reports
• Host content on multiple domains
• Send emails with distinct subscription preferences for each brand
• And more

The technical foundation supports this flexibility through several key features:

• Custom branding kits for each unit, including logos, colors, and favicons
• Separate domain management for each brand
• Business unit-specific forms and email templates
• Unified contact database with automated business unit tracking

However, Business Units has its challenges. Before diving in, companies should consider several important factors, such as:

• The solution primarily focuses on marketing separation — sales and service capabilities have limitations. For example, while a "Business Unit" property is added to all objects (deals, tickets, etc.), they are not fully built to manage Sales or Service Hub objects across different businesses.
• Implementation could require rebuilding third-party integrations, which could become costly (note: this scenario would occur if you plan to merge several HubSpot accounts into one to manage as business units; new HubSpot accounts would likely build fresh integrations with Business Units as a consideration).
• Staff need significant training to navigate the unified system effectively, or you may need a third-party partner to maintain your system.
• Brand-specific customization options on certain out-of-the-box functionality (lifecycle stages, lead statuses, meeting types) may be limited in some areas.
  
  

SyncSmart Portals — Independent Yet Connected

Now imagine a different scenario: a Fortune 500 national, successful insurance company with independent agents across the country. Each agent runs their business but must stay connected to corporate headquarters. This is an example of where SyncSmart Portals shines.
Portals is a powerful HubSpot syncing tool that connects data between multiple HubSpot accounts. A centralized mothership-child portal structure enables organizations to share essential data while maintaining independent operations. The tool syncs core data — Companies, Contacts, Deals, and Custom Objects — between accounts while keeping each portal's marketing assets and automation separate.

Unlike Business Units, Portals takes a distributed approach. It's like building smart bridges between independent islands, allowing each brand or location to maintain its autonomy while sharing essential information. This approach has proven particularly valuable for extensive franchise operations, where maintaining independent operations while enabling corporate oversight is crucial.

Healthcare organizations similarly benefit from Portals, using it to sync data across regional clinics while preserving local autonomy in patient care. Manufacturing companies with global offices use it to maintain independent workflows while sharing essential data for corporate reporting. In both cases, Portals enables local independence while maintaining corporate oversight.

How? The magic of Portals lies in its sophisticated synchronization capabilities. When implemented effectively, it allows organizations to:

• Maintain independent operations while sharing necessary data.
• Avoid large-scale migration, keeping existing integrations and automation intact.
• Customize functionality to route leads automatically based on geographic location and capacity (note: working with a third-party vendor like the Lynton team can achieve this).
• Customize data syncing options for precise control over how data is shared.
• Enable corporate oversight without sacrificing local autonomy.
• Support separate billing requirements while maintaining data consistency.

The technical backbone of Portals enables sophisticated data handling through several key components. This includes:

• As noted, a mothership-child portal structure for organized data flow
• Customizable field mapping to maintain data consistency
• Real-time sync monitoring to catch issues before they impact operations
• Independent management of marketing automation and workflows per portal with no interruption to current workflows

However, organizations considering Portals should be aware of specific challenges. These include:

• The need to maintain multiple HubSpot subscriptions
• Separate management of marketing assets across portals (Portals only syncs data and data fields)
• Coordination requirements for maintaining consistent branding
• Strategic planning for handling data conflicts
  
  

Using HubSpot Business Units or Separate HubSpot Portals 

Choosing between these solutions isn't just about features. You must think about aligning with your business strategy and future goals. Let's break down how each solution fits different business scenarios.

Using HubSpot's Business Units

• The need or desire to keep all brands within one HubSpot portal
• A centralized marketing team managing those multiple brands
• Significant cross-selling opportunities between brands
• Shared operational processes
• A desire to consolidate technology costs
• Need for unified customer views across brands

Using Multiple HubSpot Portals

• Franchise operations requiring independence or organizations with independent locations/global offices
• Separate profit and loss requirements
• Complex compliance needs
• Plans for potential brand divestitures
• Different teams managing different brands
• The need for unified sales pipelines for consistent sales processes across portals
• Multiple brand/portal reporting requirements (Portals lets you quickly compile reports across portals for consolidated reporting)

Investment

For Business Units

• $1,000 per month add-on fee
• One Marketing Hub Enterprise subscription covering all brands
• Implementation and training investments
• Potential integration rebuilding costs

Separate Portals

• Multiple HubSpot subscription costs 
• SyncSmart licensing fees
• Implementation services fees
• Ongoing maintenance or managed service requirements
• Any long-term scaling costs as your business grow

Training and Operational Considerations for Business Units and Portals 

• Business Units may require comprehensive staff training to navigate the unified system.
• Portals allows teams to work in familiar, independent environments but may require training for team members managing the integration/sync.
• Business Units centralize asset management and templates.
• Portals maintains separate marketing assets and automations per location.

Planning for Future Growth 

While your short-term goals are important when deciding, think beyond current needs to your 3-5-year growth strategy. Consider questions like:

• Are you planning to acquire new brands?
• Do you anticipate expanding into franchise operations?
• Will you need to support international markets?
• Are there potential brand divestitures on the horizon?

The answers to these significantly impact the correct choice for your company based on your current and long-term roadmap.

Expert Guidance for Your Journey

At Lynton, we've guided organizations through this decision process in the past, helping them navigate the complexities of multi-brand HubSpot management. Our experience with both solutions means we can help you with the following:

• Evaluate your current operational needs
• Align technology choices with business strategy
• Plan for efficient implementation
• Ensure long-term success with ongoing support

Whether you're leaning toward the unified approach of Business Units or the connected independence of Portals, we're here to help validate your choice and set you up for success. Ready to start the conversation about your multi-brand strategy? Let's discuss how we can help you make the right choice for your business's future.