1. Inventory the real Marketo footprint
Count more than people and fields. Capture active programs, smart campaigns, forms, landing pages, templates, custom objects, subscription rules, operational emails, Salesforce dependencies and every system that reads or writes Marketo data.
- Classify each asset as rebuild, consolidate, archive or replace
- Record owners and business-critical deadlines
- Identify logic repeated across local programs
- Document consent and suppression behavior
2. Define the future-state HubSpot data model
Map Marketo fields and values to HubSpot properties before records move. Resolve naming, type, ownership and lifecycle conflicts instead of importing them. Include contacts, companies, custom data, source history and the relationships reporting depends on.
3. Rebuild automation instead of translating it literally
Marketo programs and HubSpot workflows behave differently. Group automation by outcome—qualification, routing, lifecycle, consent, attribution and operations—then design governed global workflows in HubSpot. One migration can replace hundreds of fragmented programs with a smaller, testable operating layer.
4. Preserve attribution before import
Original source, UTMs, campaign context and opportunity relationships need a destination and persistence rule. Build and test the HubSpot attribution workflows before production records land; retroactive repair is slower and often incomplete.
5. Rebuild forms, templates and global assets
Use migration to standardize modules, forms and processing rules. Confirm hidden fields, consent, progressive profiling, notifications, routing, thank-you behavior and the pages where assets are embedded.
6. Test integrations and cut over deliberately
Test Salesforce sync, enrichment, sales engagement and custom integrations with representative records. Define a content freeze, final delta import, activation sequence, rollback criteria and a stabilization owner before shutting Marketo down.