Transforming Simonds Homes’ CRM for Sales Efficiency & Customer Engagement

The challenge?

Simonds Homes, a leading name in the Australian homebuilding industry, faced a pressing challenge: the need to transition from their legacy Salesforce CRM, which was nearing its end of life, to a robust, integrated solution that could streamline sales and marketing operations.

The aim was to resolve data silos, automate workflows, and improve lead management to sustain their competitive edge. With Social Garden, Simonds Homes successfully migrated to HubSpot, unlocking new efficiencies and capabilities.

Services

Marketing automation

Comprehensive HubSpot setup

Social Garden implemented and configured multiple Hubs, each tailored to address a critical aspect of Simonds Homes’ operations:

Sales Hub: Enabled automated lead routing logic based on parameters like location, product interest, and sales rep availability. Provided tools for tracking customer interactions, managing deals, and automating follow-ups.
Marketing Hub: Set up email automation workflows for lead nurturing, personalised engagement, and performance tracking. Integrated social media platforms (Meta, REA, Domain) to streamline lead capture and campaign tracking.
Content Hub: Centralised content management for email templates and nurture campaigns, migrated from Ortto. Improved consistency in branding and messaging across customer touchpoints.
Operations Hub: Configured reporting dashboards for real-time insights into lead activity, sales performance, and customer data.Implemented task assignment workflows to eliminate manual inefficiencies.
Service Hub: Set up tools to handle customer inquiries and feedback efficiently, ensuring timely follow-ups.

The strategic roadmap

The project centred on two primary objectives: improving lead management and enhancing customer interactions.

Here’s the approach we adopted:

Discovery and planning

A detailed discovery phase was conducted to assess Simonds Homes’ existing systems, pain points, and desired outcomes. Workshops with stakeholders helped map workflows, define priorities, and ensure alignment across teams.

Salesforce data migration

The transition from Salesforce involved a meticulous migration of 140k+ records. A Python-based script was used for:

Data consolidation and de-duplication
Merging records and mapping fields for compatibility with HubSpot
Ensuring data integrity during import.

Workflow automation and technical configuration

HubSpot’s advanced tools were leveraged to automate repetitive tasks and optimise efficiency:

Lead routing logic: Automatically routed leads to sales reps based on parameters like location or product interest
Workflow automation: Designed email sequences, autoresponder workflows, and follow-up task assignments to streamline engagement

Third-Party Integrations

Social Garden integrated several platforms to ensure seamless data flow:

Meta, REA, Domain, Open Lot, Homeshelf: Automated lead capture from these sources directly into HubSpot.
DocuSign: Simplified contract finalisation with e-signatures.
BPAY: Enabled secure, automated payment processing within HubSpot.Outlook: Integrated email communication with HubSpot, ensuring smooth syncing of emails, calendars, and contacts.
Teams: Enabled seamless collaboration and communication within HubSpot, integrating chat and video conferencing for team discussions.
Google Ads: Integrated Google Ads campaigns with HubSpot for tracking and automating lead generation from ads.
Google Analytics: Integrated Google Analytics with HubSpot to monitor website performance and gain insights into visitor behavior.
Facebook Ads: Connected Facebook Ads with HubSpot to track and manage lead generation from Facebook campaigns directly in the CRM.

Enhanced Reporting and Insights

Custom dashboards were created to provide real-time insights into campaign performance, sales activity, and customer engagement. These tools allowed for data-driven decision-making and continuous optimisation.

Integration and framework:
A seamless ecosystem

Framework and BPAY Integration

Social Garden established a robust framework for payment tracking and deposit setup within HubSpot. This included the integration of BPAY, which allowed for secure and seamless payment processing directly within the CRM. The system enabled Simonds Homes to:

Process deposits and payments securely and efficiently.
Track payment milestones and generate alerts for sales reps upon payment receipt.
Ensure complete visibility into transactions, reducing delays and errors in payment management.

Precise Details on the Nurture Setup

The nurture setup was carefully designed to engage leads at every stage of the customer journey:

Autoresponder Emails: Automated workflows were implemented to send personalised follow-ups immediately after lead capture.

Segmented Workflows: Leads were categorised by criteria such as location, product interest, and engagement level. Tailored email campaigns and task automations ensured personalised interactions.

Optimised Communication: Leveraging HubSpot’s advanced email tools, templates were optimised for deliverability, engagement, and consistency in tone.

Ortto Migration

Simonds Homes’ existing email templates and workflows were migrated from Ortto to HubSpot with precision:

All templates were recreated within HubSpot, ensuring brand consistency and alignment with new workflows.
Advanced tools in HubSpot improved the effectiveness of email campaigns, enabling better tracking of metrics like open rates and click-through rates.
Historical customer data from Ortto was mapped and imported, ensuring no loss of valuable insights.

The results? Transformative impact

The project, completed in just 24 weeks, delivered remarkable outcomes that enhanced efficiency and engagement for Simonds Homes.

Unified CRM System: A centralised platform integrated with sales, marketing, and payment systems, ensuring a single source of truth for all customer interactions.

Enhanced Engagement Metrics: 66.67% Email Open Rate: Demonstrating strong subject lines and personalised content. 11.11% Click-Through Rate: Reflecting effective lead nurturing strategies.

Data Quality Improvement: Addressed over 84k leads with duplicate emails, significantly improving the quality of the database and ensuring more accurate targeting for marketing campaigns. Optimised lead, account, and opportunity data by eliminating over 500k leads, 400k accounts, and 240k opportunities, reducing clutter and enhancing CRM performance.

Lead Routing and Sales Process: Streamlined lead routing for their 150+ sales staff based on multi-parameter requirements. Custom routing based on source including external and internal streams. Tailor-made notification and automated lifecycle progression implementation. Built multiple bespoke sales, forecasting, and paperwork pipelines

Efficient Payment Processing: The BPAY integration streamlined deposits, reduced manual effort, and enhanced transaction security.

“Social Garden’s team helped us transition seamlessly to HubSpot, transforming how we manage leads and customer interactions. Their expertise in automation and integration has made a tangible difference to our sales efficiency.”

— Simonds Homes

“Our collaboration with Simonds Homes exemplifies how a unified CRM can elevate a business’s operations and customer experience. The project was a testament to the power of teamwork and innovation.”

— Sam Gossage,
Head of Marketing Automation

Get in touch & let's make it happen

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Transforming Simonds Homes’ CRM for Sales Efficiency & Customer Engagement

The challenge?

Comprehensive HubSpot setup

The strategic roadmap

Integration and framework:
A seamless ecosystem