How a Seamless HubSpot Migration Reduced Labor Intensive Tasks By 20%
Client Overview
cars.com is a leading online automotive marketplace connecting millions of car shoppers with local dealers across the United States. With a reputation for trust and transparency, the platform provides robust tools, reviews, and insights to simplify the car-buying and selling process.
Client: cars.com
Industry: Online automotive marketplace
Solution Delivered: Full migration from multiple Salesforce instances to HubSpot Customer Platform
HubSpot Products Used: Marketing Hub Enterprise, CRM, Custom Objects
Key Outcomes
20% Reduction in Manual Labor
Automation removed repetitive tasks and freed teams to focus on higher-value work.
100% Consolidation of Four Salesforce Instances
All environments now operate from one unified HubSpot platform with consistent data.
Full Alignment Across Marketing and Sales
Both teams share a single system, improving coordination and operational clarity.
Improved Reporting Visibility and Data Accuracy
Reliable, connected data provides clearer insight into performance across the funnel.
Faster Campaign Execution
Advanced automation accelerated deployment and reduced time-to-market.
Jacob Wittler
Sr. Director, Solutions Marketing
The Challenge
cars.com’s marketing operations were hindered by a fragmented Salesforce ecosystem, with multiple standalone instances of Marketing Cloud and Pardot running independently. This disconnected setup made campaign execution, reporting, and attribution complex and time-consuming. Without a unified view of the customer journey, the marketing team struggled to measure impact, personalize engagement, and optimize performance at scale.
Fragmented Systems and Data Silos
cars.com operated four separate Salesforce environments across Marketing Cloud and Pardot, resulting in disconnected databases. This fragmentation made it impossible to align sales and marketing data or track engagement across channels.
Inefficient, Manual Workflows
Without system integrations, teams were forced to rely on manual reporting and spreadsheet workarounds for lead tracking and attribution. Time was wasted compiling data instead of optimizing campaigns.
Limited Marketing Automation Flexibility
Salesforce’s rigid automation rules constrained cars.com’s ability to build multistage nurturing campaigns. This limited personalization at scale and prevented experimentation with more advanced segmentation and workflow strategies.
Complex and Incomplete Attribution Reporting
Attribution methods depended on manual cross-referencing between disconnected systems, resulting in inconsistent and unreliable reporting. The lack of unified data obscured the impact of marketing efforts on revenue.
Lack of Integrated CRM Functionality
Salesforce Marketing Cloud was isolated from the company’s CRM, leaving marketing teams with limited visibility into sales outcomes. This disconnect made it difficult to tie engagement data to revenue-driving activity.
Key Deliverables
Integration Rebuild
Reengineered the HubSpot–STAR connection to align with core business workflows and support reliable data flow.
Custom Architecture
Introduced a new Job object and more than twenty field mappings to ensure accurate and consistent data syncing.
Data Integrity
Built a validation framework that prevents overwrites and duplicates to maintain clean, trustworthy records.
Automation
Set up nightly bi directional sync with automated error monitoring, eliminating manual intervention.
Infrastructure
Enhanced authentication and optimized Azure–AWS performance to strengthen system stability and security.
Change Management
Aligned departments around unified processes and established clear ownership for ongoing operations.
Solutions
Mole Street partnered with cars.com to design and implement a unified HubSpot architecture that consolidated systems, automated workflows, and improved data alignment across departments.
Technical HubSpot Consulting
Mole Street led an end-to-end HubSpot implementation for Cars.com, replacing fragmented Salesforce systems with a unified platform. After conducting in-depth discovery, the team delivered a tailored migration plan with defined timelines, milestones, and resource allocation.
Seamless Data Integration
Mole Street consolidated all marketing and engagement data into HubSpot, eliminating silos and improving data accuracy. Native Salesforce integration ensured a clean, consistent data flow, while full object-level migration preserved historical records and relationships.
Enhanced Automation for Efficiency
By leveraging HubSpot’s flexible automation tools, Mole Street replaced rigid workflows and enabled sophisticated lead nurturing, follow-up sequences, and data updates. This reduced manual labor and empowered the Cars.com team to scale campaign activity more efficiently.
Unified CRM Functionality
HubSpot’s integrated CRM structure centralized sales and marketing data. Real-time sync enabled visibility into downstream sales outcomes, linking engagement activity directly to revenue and pipeline performance.
Customized Solutions for Personalization
Mole Street configured custom objects and data structures in HubSpot to support Cars.com’s complex marketing model. This allowed for highly targeted, personalized campaigns that improved engagement and conversion rates.
Simplified Attribution and Reporting
Mole Street built accurate attribution models in HubSpot, giving Cars.com full visibility into the customer journey. Real-time dashboards clarified marketing’s impact on revenue and delivered actionable, data-driven insights for leadership.
Continuous Collaboration and Support
Mole Street maintained ongoing collaboration with Cars.com during and after the migration. The team received continued technical support, optimization, and training to ensure long-term success and full adoption of the HubSpot platform.
Before and After Mole Street
Marketing Operations Labor
Before
High manual lead tracking and reporting
After
Significantly reduced through automation
Impact
20% reduction in manual labor
Data Systems
Before
4 disconnected Salesforce instances
After
1 unified HubSpot instance
Impact
100% consolidation
Reporting and Attribution
Before
Manual, fragmented, and error prone
After
Automated, transparent, and real time
Impact
Streamlined reporting
CRM and Marketing Alignment
Before
Operated in silos
After
Fully connected and synchronized
Impact
Aligned revenue operations
Campaign Execution Speed
Before
Slowed by manual dependencies
After
Faster through automated workflows
Impact
Accelerated execution
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