TrellisPoint Blog | Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

How a Metals Manufacturer Connected Dynamics 365 and HubSpot to Drive Smarter Marketing

Written by Mike Spence | Mar 11, 2025 7:09:33 PM

For manufacturers in competitive, specification-driven markets, timing and relevance aren't nice-to-haves in marketing — they're the difference between winning and losing an account. But when your CRM and marketing platform are disconnected, your team is always working a step behind.

A metals and mining manufacturer specializing in stainless steel, nickel alloy, and titanium plate products knew this problem well. Their sales team relied on Microsoft Dynamics 365 to manage customer relationships, but marketing was running entirely out of HubSpot — with no live connection between the two. Customer data had to be manually exported and re-imported on a recurring basis, and by the time marketing acted on it, the information was already out of date. Campaigns were broad where they should have been targeted, and opportunities that sales had already identified were invisible to marketing.

TrellisPoint built a two-phase Dynamics 365 and HubSpot integration that eliminated the manual work, connected the two platforms in real time, and gave marketing the CRM visibility they needed to run smarter campaigns. Here's how it came together — and what other manufacturers can take from it.

The Challenge: A CRM and Marketing Platform That Couldn't Communicate

In metals and mining, customer relationships are long, technical, and high-value. Buyers aren't making impulse decisions — they're evaluating suppliers based on material specs, lead times, and track record. For marketing to contribute meaningfully to that process, it needs to know what's actually happening with each account.

That visibility simply didn't exist. Dynamics 365 held the full picture of customer interactions, account status, and sales activity — but none of that was accessible to the marketing team in HubSpot. The two systems operated independently, and the only way to bridge them was manually.

Over time, that disconnect created compounding problems across the business:

  1. Stale data in HubSpot — Manual exports meant marketing was always working from a snapshot of CRM data, not the current reality. Records were frequently out of date by the time campaigns launched.
  2. Incomplete customer profiles — Without access to sales interactions and account history from Dynamics 365, marketers couldn't build a complete picture of any customer or prospect.
  3. Wasted administrative effort — Someone had to own the export-and-import cycle on a recurring basis. That time added up — and the process still introduced errors.
  4. Misaligned sales and marketing — Sales was prioritizing certain accounts and moving others through the pipeline, but marketing had no visibility into any of it. Outreach was often redundant, mistimed, or aimed at the wrong audience.
The core problem: It wasn't a question of having the wrong tools. Both Dynamics 365 and HubSpot are strong platforms. The problem was the gap between them — and the manual effort required to paper over it every week.

The Solution: A Two-Phase Dynamics 365 & HubSpot Integration

TrellisPoint designed a two-phase integration strategy that addressed both the historical data gap and the need for an ongoing, automated sync. The goal wasn't just to move data — it was to eliminate the manual work entirely and give marketing a live, reliable connection to Dynamics 365 that would stay accurate without anyone having to maintain it.

A well-architected CRM and marketing integration doesn't just solve today's data problem — it removes the recurring overhead that builds up around disconnected systems and gives every team a foundation they can actually trust.

Phase 1: Historical Data Migration

Before a live sync could deliver value, HubSpot needed a complete baseline. Launching a real-time integration without historical context would mean marketers could see new activity but had no record of the customer relationship up to that point.

TrellisPoint used SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) paired with KingswaySoft to migrate existing Dynamics 365 records into HubSpot in a structured, validated transfer. The result: from day one of the live integration, marketing had both the history and the real-time feed — not just one or the other.

Phase 2: Real-Time Ongoing Sync via Power Automate

With the historical records in place, TrellisPoint implemented a live integration using Power Automate and the HubSpot API. The integration monitors Dynamics 365 continuously — whenever a record is created, updated, or deleted, the change is automatically reflected in HubSpot without any manual steps.

This means when a sales rep updates an account after a call, closes a deal, or adds a new contact, marketing sees it immediately. No exports, no delays, no reconciliation process.

Why Power Automate? For organizations already in the Microsoft ecosystem, Power Automate is a natural fit for event-driven integrations. It handles the triggering logic natively, connects to HubSpot via API without custom middleware, and scales as data volumes grow — keeping long-term maintenance costs low.

Results & Impact

Once both phases were live, the marketing team had something they hadn't had before: a real-time, complete view of customer data directly inside HubSpot. The operational improvements rippled across the business quickly.

1. Marketing Campaigns Built on Current Data

With Dynamics 365 and HubSpot in sync, marketers stopped launching campaigns based on week-old exports. Customer records in HubSpot now reflect the actual state of each account — updated automatically as sales activity happens.

  • Example: A contact recently engaged by a sales rep can be immediately suppressed from cold outreach or routed into a more targeted nurture sequence — without marketing having to ask sales for a list.
  • Business impact: More relevant campaigns, fewer redundant touches, and better use of the marketing team's time.

2. Sharper Audience Segmentation

Access to richer CRM data — including account history, product interest, and sales stage — allowed the team to segment HubSpot audiences with far more precision than was previously possible.

  • Example: Marketing can now identify accounts that have been active with sales in the last 30 days and target them with timely, relevant follow-up content rather than generic outreach.
  • Business impact: Higher engagement rates and campaigns that reflect where customers actually are in the buying process.

3. Significant Reduction in Manual Administrative Work

The recurring export-and-import process that had been consuming staff time on a weekly basis was eliminated entirely. The integration handles data movement automatically, with no human intervention required.

  • Example: Tasks that previously required scheduled manual effort now run in the background continuously — freeing the team to focus on campaign strategy rather than data hygiene.
  • Business impact: Reduced overhead, fewer data errors, and no more lag between when something changes in CRM and when marketing knows about it.

4. A Shared Data Foundation for Sales and Marketing

Perhaps the most durable benefit: sales and marketing are now working from the same information. That alignment reduces friction in handoffs, improves coordination on key accounts, and gives leadership a more accurate picture of pipeline and campaign performance together.

  • Example: Marketing can see which accounts sales is prioritizing and align outreach accordingly — without a meeting or a spreadsheet to make it happen.
  • Business impact: A more unified go-to-market motion and fewer gaps in the customer experience between sales and marketing touchpoints.
The bottom line: Connecting Dynamics 365 and HubSpot didn't just solve a data problem — it removed the operational drag that had been capping what the marketing team could accomplish and gave both sales and marketing a foundation they could trust.

What Manufacturers Should Know Before Integrating CRM and Marketing Tools

If you're a manufacturer running Dynamics 365 alongside a marketing platform like HubSpot, this project offers a useful blueprint — but there are a few things worth thinking through before you start.

Start with data quality, not the integration itself

A real-time sync between two platforms will amplify whatever is already in your CRM — good and bad. Dirty data, duplicate records, or inconsistent field usage in Dynamics 365 will flow directly into HubSpot if you don't address them first. A structured data audit before migration saves significant cleanup effort later.

Plan for both historical data and ongoing sync from the beginning

It's tempting to skip the historical migration and just start syncing going forward. But context matters in B2B marketing — especially in manufacturing, where customer relationships span years. Building in the historical migration phase ensures your team has the full picture from day one, not just a partial one.

Define which data fields actually need to sync

Not every field in Dynamics 365 is relevant to marketing. Being deliberate about what gets synced — and in which direction — reduces noise in HubSpot, keeps records cleaner, and simplifies the integration logic. More data isn't always better; the right data is.

Worth noting: This integration approach — Power Automate connecting Dynamics 365 to HubSpot via API — isn't limited to metals and manufacturing. Any B2B organization running both platforms can apply the same architecture. The specific fields and workflows will vary, but the foundation scales across industries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools were used to integrate Dynamics 365 and HubSpot?

The integration used two sets of tools. SSIS and KingswaySoft handled the one-time historical data migration from Dynamics 365 into HubSpot. Power Automate and the HubSpot API then established the ongoing real-time sync that keeps both systems aligned automatically.

How does the real-time sync actually work?

Power Automate monitors Dynamics 365 for record-level changes — creates, updates, and deletions. When a change is detected, it triggers an automated call to the HubSpot API, updating the corresponding record in HubSpot immediately. No scheduled batch jobs, no manual steps.

What happens if a record is deleted in Dynamics 365?

The integration is configured to handle deletions as well as creates and updates, so HubSpot stays in sync across all record changes — not just new or modified entries.

Does this integration work both ways, or only from Dynamics 365 to HubSpot?

In this implementation, the sync runs from Dynamics 365 into HubSpot — keeping the CRM as the system of record for customer data. Bidirectional sync is possible depending on the organization's needs, but it adds complexity and requires clear rules about which system "wins" when records conflict.

How long does an integration like this take to implement?

Timeline varies depending on data volume, the complexity of the field mapping, and the state of existing data quality. Projects like this typically move through discovery, migration, integration build, and testing over several weeks. A phased approach — migration first, then live sync — helps manage risk and keeps the rollout manageable.

Ready to Connect Your Systems?

If your marketing team is working from incomplete or outdated CRM data because Dynamics 365 and HubSpot aren't connected, the path forward is more straightforward than it might seem. The right integration — built with the right architecture — gives your team real-time access to the data they need without adding manual overhead or ongoing maintenance burden.

TrellisPoint specializes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrations for manufacturers and complex B2B organizations. Whether you're connecting Dynamics to HubSpot, consolidating platforms, or building out your broader Microsoft ecosystem, we help you get systems working together — and working for you.

Let's Talk About Your Integration

Schedule a conversation with the TrellisPoint team to explore how a Dynamics 365 and HubSpot integration could work for your organization.

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