HubSpot Marketing Automation: Our Favorite Features (+ How To Use Them)

76% of businesses now use marketing automation, up from 51% just a few years ago. 

Over two-thirds of B2B companies that have yet to implement the technology plan to do so within the next 12 months.

The true power of marketing automation lies in its ability to create personalized experiences at scale. Whether it's sending targeted content when a customer requests it or crafting multi-channel journeys that adapt to each prospect's behavior, automation puts your contacts in the driver's seat while saving your team countless hours. And that's just the beginning of what it can do.

In this updated guide, we'll explore how HubSpot's marketing automation can transform your organization from the inside out, highlighting our favorite features and practical ways to implement them for maximum impact.

 Understanding HubSpot Marketing Automation Basics

Companies have been using automation to boost productivity and revenue for decades. Since marketing automation can lower fixed and variable costs, margins widen and profits grow. 

And it’s not just for large-scale operations— creating a marketing and sales productivity system (MSP) impacts the bottom line for brands of all sizes. 

Marketing automation isn’t just about sending emails on autopilot — it’s about scaling personalized, data-driven interactions across your entire customer journey.

HubSpot’s marketing automation tools help businesses streamline repetitive tasks, nurture leads more effectively, and drive higher ROI without requiring manual effort at every step. When done right, automation turns your marketing from reactive to proactive, ensuring the right message reaches the right person at the right time.

Related Read: The 5-Step Startup Marketing Strategy Fueling Massive Growth

One of the biggest advantages of automation is its ability to improve ROI across multiple channels. By leveraging workflows that guide prospects through tailored email sequences, targeted ad retargeting, and behavioral-triggered content, businesses can move leads down the funnel with precision. 

Beyond ROI, automation increases team productivity by eliminating manual, repetitive tasks. Marketers often waste hours segmenting email lists, scheduling follow-ups, or logging lead interactions. HubSpot’s automation takes care of these processes, so your team can focus on strategy, content creation, and campaign optimization rather than getting stuck in admin work. 

The key is understanding the difference between repetitive tasks and strategic work:

• Repetitive tasks — like sending confirmation emails, updating CRM records, or qualifying leads — should be automated
• Strategic work — like crafting compelling messaging, analyzing campaign data, and refining customer personas — requires human insight

Like marketing AI, HubSpot’s marketing automation doesn’t replace marketers; it frees them up to focus on high-value initiatives that drive real growth.

HubSpot Marketing Automation: Sequences and Workflows

HubSpot offers two types of automation: sequences and workflows. Both will help you create a robust sales and marketing process that will save your team time, letting them focus on growth rather than repetitive tasks.   

HubSpot Sequences

You’ll need a Sales or Service Hub Professional to use sequences. This tool is geared toward sales professionals who regularly follow up with prospective clients. 

If your brand has reps who are on the phone and deal with clients regularly, implementing sequence automation can help them gauge client interest, making sure they invest time in the right folks. 

How Sequences Work:  

• Follow-Up Emails: With sequences, you can send automatic follow-up emails triggered after certain events occur. This could be a series of emails sent to move a prospect through the sales process. 
• Follow-Up Tasks: Following up is time-consuming. In addition to sending automatic emails, sequences allow you to cue up tasks for your team, like make a call at a specific time or other to-do list items. An example is a reschedule request if a customer missed a meeting or updating a spreadsheet.   
• Pre-Made Sequences: HubSpot gives you a range of pre-made templates, making it easy to compose a thoughtful email cue. A few examples are product demo requests, conference follow-ups, and appointments. They’re also customizable, allowing you to modify each message, number of emails, and delivery duration. 

• Unenrolling from a Sequence: HubSpot allows you to set the case, or set of variables, that will end the sequence. If a prospect books a follow-up call, the sequence will stop. The system won’t barrage the prospect and leaves them in control of the next interaction. 

HubSpot Workflows

To use workflows, you’ll need Marketing Hub Professional. There are many ways to create email automation using workflows. Let’s explore examples for each hub. 

How Workflows Work:

• Enrollment trigger: Refine the audience for a trigger, like high-engagement leads visiting a pricing page. 
• Create follow-up action: Choose how the workflow will respond to an action. HubSpot gives you flexible options like sending an email, creating deals, tasks, or tickets. 
• Branching: Use conditional logic—if/then statements to map out what happens when a prospect engages or does not engage. 
• Life Cycle Update: When a lead engages, the workflow automatically changes the lead's life cycle stage within HubSpot. It can also generate a task for the sales team to follow up with that lead.    
• Follow-Up Flow: When a lead doesn’t engage, you can craft a follow-up email that will be sent out 48 hours later.
• Workflow Activity: HubSpot keeps track of workflow history within every lead contact page. This allows your team to review the engagement from email automation and follow-up activities.
• Automated Email Campaigns: Unlike sequences, workflows send an entire email series over a given time. This makes them useful for building buzz around product launches or automating an on-going webinar campaign.
• Service Tickets: Workflows allow you to create support tickets that are automatically sent to the right team member. 

With this in mind, let's jump into our list of top automations and how we use them.

Our Favorite HubSpot Marketing Automations for this year

1. Intelligent Lead Nurturing Workflows

What it does: Automatically moves leads through your funnel based on their behavior and engagement levels.

How to set it up:

1. Navigate to Automation > Workflows
2. Create a new workflow with enrollment criteria based on form submissions, website visits, or other lead actions
3. Build email sequences and lead nurturing campaigns with personalized content that adapts based on engagement
4. Add conditional branches that change the journey based on how contacts interact

Pro tip: Use HubSpot's visual editor to create workflows in real-time. Whether you're building simple follow-up campaigns or complex multi-channel journeys, the drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to visualize and refine your automation.

2. Smart Contact Segmentation

What it does: Dynamically groups contacts based on behavior, demographics, and engagement levels.

How to set it up:

1. Create Smart Lists based on criteria like lead score, email engagement, or lifecycle stage
2. Use these lists as enrollment triggers for targeted campaigns
3. Set up automatic list updates as contact properties change

Pro tip: Combine multiple criteria to create hyper-targeted segments that receive truly personalized content. For example, target high-value leads who've visited your pricing page twice in the last week but haven't booked a demo.

For example, create a Smart List of high-intent leads. Use this list to trigger email nurtures, sales alerts, or even ad retargeting campaigns.

3. Sales Activity Triggers

What it does: Automatically notifies sales reps when prospects take high-intent actions.

How to set it up:

1. Create a workflow triggered by high-value actions (pricing page visits, specific content downloads)
2. Set actions to notify the appropriate sales rep via email, Slack, or CRM task
3. Optionally create deals or update contact properties

Pro tip: Use lead scoring in combination with activity triggers to ensure sales only gets notified about truly qualified prospects.

For example, schedule follow-ups based on user behavior, like sending an educational email 24 hours after a demo request or a special offer 48 hours after cart abandonment. 

4. Multi-Channel Campaign Orchestration

What it does: Coordinates consistent messaging across email, SMS, ads, and website experiences.

How to set it up:

1. Build a central workflow that manages the overall campaign journey
2. Add actions that trigger emails, SMS messages, ad audience updates, and website personalization
3. Use conditional branching to adapt the journey based on engagement

Pro tip: HubSpot's latest features now allow you to extend campaigns across SMS, in-product marketing, and more — creating fully integrated experiences that meet customers wherever they are.

5. Advanced Email Personalization

What it does: Creates individualized email experiences without manual effort.

How to set it up:

1. Design email templates with dynamic content blocks that change based on contact properties
2. Use personalization tokens that automatically pull in relevant contact information
3. Create conditional content rules that show different sections based on contact attributes

Pro tip: Go beyond basic name personalization. Use behavioral data like previous purchases, content engagement, or website activity to tailor messaging and offers.

6. Automated Lead Scoring

What it does: Automatically calculates contact quality based on demographic fit and engagement signals.

How to set it up:

1. Navigate to Settings > Properties
2. Create a custom lead score property
3. Set up a workflow that adjusts score based on actions (page visits, form submissions, email clicks)
4. Create thresholds that trigger lifecycle stage changes or sales notifications

Pro tip: Develop separate scoring models for fit (how well they match your ideal customer profile) and engagement (how actively they're interacting with your brand).

7. Re-engagement Campaigns

What it does: Automatically identifies inactive contacts and implements strategies to re-activate them.

How to set it up:

1. Create a Smart List of contacts who haven't engaged in a specific timeframe
2. Build a workflow that sends targeted re-engagement content
3. Include special offers or high-value content to spark renewed interest
4. Set up branching logic to either continue nurturing (if they engage) or clean your list (if they remain inactive)

Pro tip: Use this automation to maintain list hygiene by identifying truly disengaged contacts for potential removal.

Related Read: The Ultimate HubSpot Implementation Checklist

Leveraging the Latest HubSpot Features

HubSpot continues to enhance its automation capabilities. This year, you can take advantage of these powerful new features:

• Visual Workflow Editor: Create complex automations with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that lets you visualize the entire customer journey
• Advanced Segmentation: Target the right contacts with powerful filtering options
• Cross-Channel Automation: Extend campaigns beyond email to include SMS, in-product marketing, and more
• AI-Powered Optimization: Use HubSpot's machine learning to determine optimal send times and content variations
• Custom Code Actions: Implement advanced automation logic using JavaScript for truly customized workflows

Working with a HubSpot Implementation Partner

While HubSpot's marketing automation is designed to be user-friendly, working with a certified implementation partner can help you:

1. Accelerate Time-to-Value: Get automation running faster with expert guidance
2. Optimize for Business Goals: Ensure your automation strategy aligns with your specific objectives
3. Avoid Common Pitfalls: Learn from the mistakes others have made so you don't have to repeat them
4. Unlock Advanced Features: Implement sophisticated automations that may require technical expertise
5. Scale with Confidence: Build a foundation that can grow with your business needs

Making Marketing Automation a Priority

Using marketing automation can increase productivity by saving time from routine tasks. That allows your team to focus on opportunities that drive results, like getting new customers and keeping old ones happy.

It’s the small improvements that add up to the big wins. If you improve the process across your organization, revenue will inevitably go up. 

Ready to make marketing automation a priority in your business? You might need a helping hand. Check out our free resource, the HubSpot Success Kit, or schedule a chat with one of our HubSpot experts today to see how we can get the most bang for your HubSpot buck.