HubSpot Rebuilds Japan Email Automation Without New Hires

HubSpot says it rebuilt its email automation program for Japan in two months without adding staff, after a review found that the existing program was producing far fewer qualified leads than its target. The company reported ninefold qualified-lead growth for the approach it used in the market.

Before the rebuild, automated emails were generating about 12 qualified leads a month, compared with a goal of 160, according to HubSpot. The company described hiring a local automation specialist as an obvious potential response, but said that option was not realistic. Instead, it reorganized the work around its existing resources.

The issue was not a complete absence of marketing content or technology. HubSpot said both were available in Japan, but parts of the automation program were old, incomplete or had not been sufficiently adapted for the local market. As a result, the program was not performing as intended. The company said it rebuilt the program as a whole rather than relying on the existing setup.

HubSpot framed the problem as one that can affect companies operating across multiple regions. Its automation investment had historically focused on a group of core language markets: English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. Programs in those markets received repeated development and optimization, while resources were not scoped to provide the same attention elsewhere.

In HubSpot’s account, secondary markets can be left with automation that was never built or with older programs that have not been substantially updated. Japan fell into the latter category. The distinction matters when reviewing a program: an existing email infrastructure may still need a fundamental reassessment if its content and workflows do not fit the market they are meant to serve.

What this means for marketers

Teams managing several regions can start by comparing each market’s qualified-lead output with its goals, then reviewing whether existing automated programs have been maintained and adapted locally. A gap does not automatically establish that more hiring is necessary. HubSpot’s experience points to another option: examine how existing expertise and resources are allocated before deciding how to rebuild an underperforming program.