HubSpot

Mastering HubSpot Reports: Unlocking Q1 Marketing & Sales Insights

Ever found yourself staring at a blank HubSpot Custom Report Builder, wondering where to even begin? You're definitely not alone. It's a common challenge, especially for those new to the platform, and it was the very heart of a recent discussion on the HubSpot Community that caught our eye.

A HubSpot user, new to creating reports, reached out for help, needing to compile several key reports for a Q1 marketing presentation. Her struggle was familiar: knowing what criteria and filters to add to get the right information. Specifically, she needed reports covering:

  • Marketing's contribution to pipeline
  • Marketing emails sent totals with engagement rates
  • Social post contribution to engagement and deals
  • Landing page views and form submissions
  • Deal totals by create date with a status breakdown

This challenge resonates deeply with many HubSpot users, particularly those managing e-commerce operations or running an online boutique where understanding marketing ROI is paramount. Let's break down the community's insights and how you can tackle these reporting challenges head-on, transforming raw data into actionable intelligence.

HubSpot Custom Report Builder with AI assistance for data filtering.
HubSpot Custom Report Builder with AI assistance for data filtering.

Starting Strong: General Advice from the Community

A community moderator kicked off the replies by suggesting a common best practice: try building the report first, and then share where you're getting stuck. This focused approach often helps pinpoint specific issues. They also shared invaluable links to HubSpot Academy resources on creating custom reports, which are fantastic starting points for anyone looking to deepen their reporting knowledge.

Another helpful respondent offered a two-pronged approach: either consider hiring a HubSpot partner or freelancer to build these reports for you (saving time but costing money), or dedicate the time to learn, test, and build them yourself. The original poster later confirmed her desire to learn the skills herself, which is a commendable goal for long-term success and vital for any business looking to truly own its data strategy.

HubSpot Custom Report Builder with AI assistance for data filtering
A Corporate Memphis illustration depicting a user interacting with HubSpot's Custom Report Builder, with a large, glowing 'Breeze AI' icon in the background, suggesting AI assistance in data filtering and report generation. Various data points and filters are shown on screen.

Leveraging HubSpot Breeze AI: A Game-Changer for Custom Reports

Perhaps the most exciting piece of advice for new and seasoned HubSpot users alike was to leverage HubSpot Breeze AI. This relatively new feature can be a game-changer, especially when you're not sure which properties or filters to use. Instead of navigating complex menus, you can simply ask Breeze AI in natural language what you want to see, and it will suggest reports or even help build them for you.

For example, if you're trying to find marketing's contribution to your pipeline, you could prompt Breeze AI with something like: "Show me deals influenced by marketing campaigns created in Q1, broken down by deal stage." This significantly lowers the barrier to entry for complex HubSpot reports, empowering users to gain insights faster.

Deep Dive into Specific Reports: Actionable Steps

Let's break down how to approach each of the original poster's specific reporting needs, integrating best practices and HubSpot's capabilities.

1. Marketing's Contribution to Pipeline

Understanding how your marketing efforts translate into revenue is crucial. This often involves attribution reporting.

  • Custom Report Builder: Start with a "Deals" object report.
  • Associated Objects: Ensure your deals are associated with contacts, and those contacts have engagement from your marketing activities (emails, landing page submissions, ads).
  • Attribution Reports: Utilize HubSpot's built-in attribution reports (First Touch, Last Touch, Multi-Touch) to see which marketing interactions contributed to deal creation and closed-won revenue.
  • Deal Source Properties: Filter by "Original Source" or "Latest Source" to see marketing channels. ESHOPMAN users benefit here, as our platform seamlessly integrates e-commerce order data with HubSpot, allowing for more precise attribution of online sales directly to marketing campaigns.

2. Marketing Emails Sent Totals with Engagement Rates

Email performance is a cornerstone of digital marketing.

  • Marketing Email Performance: Navigate to Marketing > Email > Analyze. Here you'll find comprehensive dashboards for your email campaigns.
  • Custom Report Builder: For more granular insights, create a custom report using the "Marketing Emails" object.
  • Key Metrics: Focus on "Sent," "Opens," "Clicks," "Deliverability Rate," and "Click-through Rate."
  • Filters: Filter by "Campaign Name," "Send Date" (for Q1), or "Email Type."

3. Social Post Contribution to Engagement and Deals

Social media's impact can be harder to quantify but is vital for brand building and lead generation.

  • Social Reports: Go to Marketing > Social > Analyze. This provides an overview of your social media performance.
  • Custom Report Builder (Contacts/Deals): Create a report based on "Contacts" or "Deals" and look for "Original Source" or "Latest Source" from social media.
  • Timeline Activity: For specific contact engagement, check individual contact timelines for social media interactions.

4. Landing Page Views and Form Submissions

These metrics are fundamental to lead generation and conversion.

  • Landing Page Performance: Navigate to Marketing > Website > Landing Pages > Analyze.
  • Custom Report Builder: For combined data, create a report with "Landing Pages" and "Form Submissions" as objects.
  • Key Metrics: "Views," "Submissions," "Submission Rate."
  • Filters: Filter by "Page URL," "Campaign," or "Date."

5. Deal Totals by Create Date with a Status Breakdown

This report helps visualize pipeline health over time, as advised by a community member:


Deal Totals by Create Date with Status Breakdown
Use Sales analytics or custom deal reports for creation-based totals.

  • Navigate to Sales > Analytics > Pipeline or Reports > Reports > Create report > Single object: Deals.
  • Key metrics: Deal Count, Deal Amount (sum/average); Deal Stage.
  • Filters: Deal Create Date = Q1; Pipeline = Primary sales pipeline.
  • Breakdowns: Group by Create Date (monthly/weekly), Deal Stage (e.g., Qualified, Closed-Won).
  • Visualization: Stacked bar (totals by stage over time); pivot table for counts/amounts.
Exclude projected close dates; focus on actual creation for Q1 accuracy.

ESHOPMAN: Enhancing Your HubSpot E-commerce Reporting

For businesses, especially those operating an online boutique, the ability to connect marketing and sales data directly with e-commerce performance is invaluable. This is where ESHOPMAN shines. While HubSpot provides robust reporting tools, integrating your storefront data is key to a holistic view.

ESHOPMAN provides a built-in storefront and comprehensive e-commerce capabilities directly within HubSpot. This means that when you're building reports on deal totals, marketing contribution, or even customer lifetime value, the underlying order and revenue data is natively available in your HubSpot CRM. You won't need to juggle data between a separate shopify portal and HubSpot; everything lives in one place.

Our platform empowers you to:

  • Track marketing ROI for specific products or campaigns directly from sales data.
  • Segment customers based on purchase history, allowing for more targeted email and social campaigns.
  • Generate comprehensive RevOps reports that tie marketing spend to actual revenue, not just leads or opportunities.

If you're searching for the best website builder for online boutique that fully integrates with HubSpot, ESHOPMAN offers a powerful, native solution that simplifies your reporting and streamlines your entire e-commerce operation.

HubSpot CRM dashboard showing marketing and sales performance reports.
A vibrant Corporate Memphis illustration featuring a HubSpot CRM dashboard with various data visualizations like bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs, representing marketing and sales performance metrics. A diverse team of professionals is collaboratively analyzing the data.

Conclusion: Empowering Your Data Journey

Mastering HubSpot reports is an ongoing journey, but it's one that pays immense dividends in strategic decision-making. As the original poster discovered, the initial hurdle of understanding criteria and filters can be overcome with practice, community support, and powerful tools like HubSpot Breeze AI.

By following these guidelines and leveraging the full capabilities of your HubSpot platform—especially when integrated with a robust e-commerce solution like ESHOPMAN—you can transform your raw data into compelling narratives that drive business growth. Keep learning, keep experimenting, and unlock the true potential of your HubSpot data.

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