3 Pitfalls of HubSpot Workflows & How to Avoid Them

But like any tool, workflows need to be used with care. Build them the wrong way and instead of driving ROI, you risk spiralling costs, messy data, and frustrated stakeholders.

At MarCloud, we’ve seen plenty of client HubSpot portals, and one pattern is clear: it’s rarely the software that’s the problem, it’s how it’s set up. Below, we’ll walk through three of the most common pitfalls marketers fall into when building HubSpot workflows, and how you can avoid them.

One of the easiest mistakes to make in HubSpot workflows is misunderstanding how ‘Marketing Contacts’ work.

In HubSpot, you’re not paying for total mailable contacts; you’re only paying for the number of contacts labelled as “Marketing Contacts”. These are the people you’re actively engaging through email or ads.

The problem is, many teams don’t set up their workflows to correctly update or manage this status. If a workflow tries to send an email to a contact who isn’t set as a Marketing Contact, nothing happens. On the flip side, if your workflows automatically convert too many people into Marketing Contacts, you could quickly exceed your tier limit and see your bill increase.

How to avoid this mistake

• Audit your imports: When bringing in new data, double-check the Marketing Contact status before uploading. Bulk imports are a common place for errors.

• Automate with limits: You can update contact status inside workflows, but do it carefully. Set rules that prevent unnecessary upgrades to Marketing Contact when it doesn’t align with your campaign goals.

• Review regularly: Contacts change over time. Build a monthly or quarterly process to re-evaluate your Marketing Contact list and remove disengaged or ineligible records.

Get this wrong and you’ll either miss opportunities to reach the right people, or spend unnecessarily on the wrong ones.

There’s a certain pride that comes with building an intricate workflow full of if/then branches, triggers, and actions. But unfortunately, nobody will be impressed by your complicated workflows; they’re just a tool, not the goal.

In fact, overly complicated HubSpot workflows tend to cause more problems than they solve. They’re harder to maintain, harder to troubleshoot, and nearly impossible for colleagues to pick up if you’re away. 

In short: don’t over-complicate your workflows with lots of branches and if/then logic. 

How to avoid this mistake

• Split by purpose: Instead of building one monster workflow, create workflows by segment or goal, and track their performance individually over time. For example, one workflow for webinar follow-up, another for nurturing dormant leads.

• Set clear goals: Every workflow should have a defined outcome that aligns with business objectives. That way, you can easily measure performance.

• Think long-term maintenance: Imagine someone new joining your team. Could they open your workflow and understand it within 10 minutes? If not, simplify.

The best automation in the world won’t save you from bad data. If your HubSpot database is full of duplicates, inconsistent naming conventions, or outdated fields, your workflows will reflect that chaos.

For example, if you don’t have clear naming conventions on your fields, you’re going to struggle to segment your campaigns, and you risk emailing people who have opted out when your database is filled with duplicates. Remember, the person opted out, not just the email address. Likewise, if your data is unclean and unstructured, you’re going to struggle to leverage AI features for personalisation or reporting.

How to avoid this mistake

• Use HubSpot tools: If you have Operations Hub Professional or Enterprise, take advantage of the ‘Manage Duplicates’ tool.

• Establish naming conventions: Before building workflows, standardise property names and formats. Consistency here prevents endless troubleshooting later.

• Clean as you go: Don’t wait for the annual “data clean-up project”. Build database hygiene into your monthly workflow reviews.

In short: clean data equals clean workflows.

HubSpot provides a wide range of pre-built workflow templates, which can be incredibly helpful for beginners. They save time and give you a foundation to work from. Therefore, if you’re new to HubSpot, it’s tempting to rely on the template workflows. 

However, templates don’t understand your business, your data, or your goals. Blindly adopting them can mean you miss important nuances, like custom properties, your unique sales process, or specific compliance rules.

By building workflows from scratch (at least in the beginning), you’ll learn how the system works and design automation that’s tailored to your needs. Later, you can use templates for efficiency without risking misalignment.

Where to from here?

HubSpot workflows are designed to make your marketing life easier, but only if they’re set up and maintained properly. From suppression lists and enrollment rules to segmentation, analytics, and AI, there are plenty of ways to get tripped up. The biggest pitfalls we see are:

1. Mismanaging ‘Marketing Contacts’ and spiralling costs.

2. Overcomplicating workflows to the point of confusion.

3. Running workflows on unclean, unreliable data.

Add in a tendency to lean too heavily on templates, and you’ve got a recipe for missed ROI.

The good news is that with clear processes, regular audits, and a focus on simplicity, you can avoid these pitfalls entirely. Our marketing automation experts can help clear the path for you.

If you’re struggling to get your workflows working as they should, or you just want peace of mind that your automation is set up for maximum ROI, our HubSpot specialists can help. Contact MarCloud to discuss a workflow audit.