EFREI: HubSpot marketing strategy & automation workflows

Efrei: Two departments, one shared CRM challenge

A HubSpot strategy designed for higher education

Since 1936, EFREI has been training the digital talents of tomorrow through an approach combining academic excellence, technological innovation, and strong connections with the professional world. Recognized as one of France’s leading engineering schools specializing in digital sciences, the institution supports students and professionals every year on topics related to computer science, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, and cloud computing.

Located in Paris and Bordeaux, EFREI offers a wide range of programs from Bachelor’s to Master’s degrees, as well as a digital engineering diploma, with a project-based teaching approach and a strong professional focus.

The context of our collaboration

As part of the development of its marketing strategy and HubSpot automation ecosystem, EFREI partnered with if/else agency to structure, optimize, and deploy its marketing automation campaigns across several strategic departments within the school. Two teams were specifically supported:

• Executive Education, with already well-defined needs regarding communication sequences and automation scenarios
• The Partnerships department, which required more comprehensive support on strategic thinking, workflow implementation, and advanced HubSpot usage.

The shared objective: creating genuinely useful sequences, clear and impactful messaging, and a smart, efficient use of HubSpot to support the school’s communication and conversion goals.

Objectives of our mission

As both departments were progressing at different stages, their objectives varied:

Executive Education:

• Challenge and improve existing sequences to boost performance
• Make messaging more impactful
• Optimize campaign structure 
• Modernize email design templates

Partnerships:

• Structure the CRM approach from scratch
• Define communication objectives based on target audiences
• Create consistent and engaging content
• Design sequence triggers following the HubSpot <> Salesforce integration

Our approach to supporting them

Audit & optimization challenge (EXED)

The EXED department already had several email sequences promoting its training programs. Our role was to help them reach the next level in terms of relevance and performance:

• Content: recommending more suitable content formats for each funnel stage (videos, presentations, more dynamic formats…)
• Messaging: refining copywriting, adopting a more conversational tone, and highlighting concrete benefits for prospects
• Sequences: restructuring certain journeys (timing, number of emails, follow-ups…)
• Design: modernizing templates and harmonizing the visual identity within HubSpot

Result: better-structured, more engaging sequences that are more aligned with the expectations of their target audience.

Building from scratch (Partnerships)

For this department, everything had to be built from the ground up… and that’s exactly the kind of challenge we love. Following a strategic workshop, we:

• Mapped needs and defined the 4 main CRM target audiences
• Co-built 4 dedicated HubSpot sequences for:

• The broader network (informative and progressive communication)

• Target accounts (a more personalized and proactive approach)

• Partners (relationship building and retention)

• Sponsors and ambassadors (engagement in the school’s ecosystem)

For each workflow, we:

• Defined the objectives of each sequence
• Wrote the messaging & designed the visuals
• Worked on email UX: responsive layouts, clear hierarchy, and the right balance between text and visuals
• Identified triggering events, sometimes connected to Salesforce (requiring detailed mapping and strategic thinking to ensure smooth data flow between platforms)
• Integrated team involvement into the sequences to humanize interactions and communications sent to each audience

Important note: Some sequences depended on Salesforce statuses or custom fields. We therefore created a logical bridge between Salesforce and HubSpot to ensure contacts received the right communication at the right time, without friction.

Key takeaways from this project

✅ HubSpot is an excellent tool… provided there is a clear strategy, messaging adapted to each audience, and rigorous trigger management.

✅ A successful sequence is not only about strong content, but also about timing, structure, and design.

✅ Connecting Salesforce <> HubSpot requires a strong CRM vision: who does what, when, why, and according to which criteria.

And to help you with all of this, there’s if/else agency!

What’s next?

Both departments are now fully autonomous when it comes to managing, adapting, and improving their HubSpot campaigns. On our side, we remain available as CRM sparring partners whenever new ideas emerge (spoiler: they always do!).