Let's Build Profoundly with Tony Dowling

Building Bridges: Tony Dowling on Closing the HubSpot Adoption Gap

In this episode of Let's Build Profoundly, we explored the critical challenge of HubSpot adoption with Tony Dowling, whose unique perspective as both a seasoned business leader and HubSpot expert offers valuable insights into why digital transformation succeeds or fails. Drawing from his experience leading three major digital transformations and years of implementing HubSpot, Tony shared how his journey led to a breakthrough understanding of the "adoption gap" that prevents many organizations from realizing the full value of their HubSpot investment.

The Journey to Strategic Insight

Tony's path to HubSpot expertise is anything but conventional. Starting as a salesperson who evolved into a sales manager and eventually a managing director, he developed a generalist's perspective that would prove invaluable. His experience leading three distinct digital transformations—in radio, newspapers, and a London media group—provided firsthand exposure to both success and failure in organizational change.

This varied background led Tony to a crucial realization: while he could help clients implement HubSpot technically, achieving lasting adoption remained a persistent challenge. The turning point came when he connected his transformation experience with a startling statistic from McKinsey: 70% of digital transformations fail. This insight sparked a deeper investigation into what he calls "the adoption gap"—the space between purchasing HubSpot and successfully integrating it into an organization's operations.

The Adoption Gap: A Strategic Framework

Tony's analysis revealed a fundamental flaw in how most organizations approach HubSpot implementation. The typical "bottom-up" approach, where HubSpot admins and end users push the platform up through the organization, often falls short. True transformation, Tony argues, requires a simultaneous top-down and bottom-up motion—a delicate balance that few organizations achieve naturally.

The key insight lies in understanding the distinction between management "buy-in" and true leadership engagement. As Tony explains, "It's not buying in so much... it's buying from the perspective of understanding how to pull HubSpot through the organization." This subtle but crucial difference often determines whether an implementation succeeds or joins the 70% that fail.

The Management Control System (MCS) Solution

At the heart of Tony's approach is the concept of a Management Control System (MCS)—a framework that goes beyond simple dashboards to connect organizational strategy with day-to-day operations. The MCS approach begins with fundamental questions about an organization's direction and metrics for success, then builds the technical implementation around those strategic needs.

This approach transforms HubSpot from a tool that people are asked to use into the foundation for running the business. As Tony describes it, "If the management of the business knows how they're to drive that business forward, they should be able to produce this MCS. If they produce the MCS, then we should be able to replicate that into HubSpot."

Beyond Implementation to Integration

Tony's expertise isn't in the technical details of HubSpot configuration—it's in helping organizations bridge the gap between technical implementation and strategic integration. His simple test for identifying an adoption gap resonates with many organizations: "If you're an MD or sales director, and I'm saying to you at the end of the week, 'Send me your numbers on a spreadsheet,' then you have an adoption gap."

This focus on strategic integration over technical implementation represents a crucial shift in thinking about HubSpot success. It suggests that the key to closing the adoption gap lies not in better training or more features, but in aligning HubSpot's capabilities with an organization's management systems and strategic objectives.

Looking Forward: The Future of HubSpot Adoption

As organizations continue to grapple with digital transformation, Tony's insights suggest a new way forward. By focusing on the intersection of management strategy and technical implementation, organizations can work to close the adoption gap and join the 30% of successful digital transformations.

Key Takeaways

1. Successful HubSpot adoption requires both top-down leadership and bottom-up implementation
2. Management Control Systems provide a framework for aligning HubSpot with business strategy
3. True adoption goes beyond technical implementation to strategic integration
4. The adoption gap often reveals itself in parallel systems (like spreadsheets) that persist
5. Leadership engagement, not just buy-in, is crucial for successful transformation

Tony's session reminds us that while HubSpot provides powerful tools, their value is realized only when they become integral to how an organization operates. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, his insights into closing the adoption gap will become increasingly valuable for organizations seeking to transform successfully.

Join us for more insights into HubSpot transformation at the Profoundly Kickoff Event on March 6th, where experts across eight tracks will share their knowledge and experience in driving HubSpot success.

Watch the Full Episode