Ethical Growth: HubSpot Reporting for Leaders

Can marketing strategies truly drive sustainable growth while upholding ethical leadership principles? Absolutely! And leveraging HubSpot’s Campaign Reporting tool is a powerful way to achieve just that. This guide will show you how to use it effectively, ensuring your campaigns are both profitable and responsible.

Step 1: Accessing the Campaign Reporting Tool

Sub-step 1: Navigating to Reports

First, log into your HubSpot account. In the main navigation menu, hover over “Reports” and then click on “Reports Dashboard.” Don’t confuse this with the “Analytics Tools” section, which offers a broader overview but lacks the focused campaign-specific reporting we need.

Pro Tip: If you’re not seeing the “Reports” option, ensure you have the appropriate user permissions. You may need to ask your HubSpot administrator to grant you access.

Sub-step 2: Creating a Custom Report

Once you’re in the Reports Dashboard, look for the orange button in the upper right corner labeled “Create custom report.” Click it. A window will pop up asking what kind of report you want to create. Choose “Single object report” and then click “Next.” In 2026, HubSpot’s interface is much more visual, offering helpful previews of each report type.

Common Mistake: Many users accidentally select “Attribution report” here. While attribution is important, we want a dedicated campaign performance overview, so stick with the “Single object report” for now.

Expected Outcome: You should now be looking at a blank report canvas, ready to be populated with data.

Step 2: Selecting Your Data Source and Metrics

Sub-step 1: Choosing “Campaigns” as the Primary Object

On the left-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a panel titled “Choose data source.” In the search bar, type “Campaigns” and select it as your primary object. This tells HubSpot that we want to report on data directly related to our marketing campaigns.

Pro Tip: Make sure your campaigns are properly tagged and named within HubSpot. Consistent naming conventions will make filtering and analysis much easier down the line.

Sub-step 2: Adding Key Metrics

Now, let’s add some metrics. Click the “Add metric” button. A search bar will appear. Here’s where we get strategic about sustainable growth. Search for and add the following metrics:

• “Total Revenue”: This is your baseline financial performance.
• “Number of Contacts”: Track the growth of your audience.
• “Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)”: This metric indicates the long-term value of your customers.
• “Social Impact Score”: (This is a custom property. See Step 3 for setup.)

Expected Outcome: Your report should now display a table or chart (you can choose the visualization type later) with columns for Total Revenue, Number of Contacts, Customer Lifetime Value, and Social Impact Score.

Step 3: Creating Custom Properties for Ethical Leadership

Sub-step 1: Defining “Social Impact Score”

The standard HubSpot installation doesn’t include a “Social Impact Score.” We need to create this as a custom property. This is where you quantify your ethical leadership efforts. How do you quantify ethics? That’s the challenge, isn’t it?

Editorial Aside: Nobody tells you how subjective this can be. It requires a serious discussion within your organization to define what “social impact” actually means to you. Don’t skip this step!

Go to “Settings” (the gear icon in the top right). Then, navigate to “Properties” > “Create property.”

Sub-step 2: Configuring the Custom Property

Configure the property as follows:

• Object type: “Contacts”
• Group: “Campaign Information”
• Label: “Social Impact Score”
• Description: “A score reflecting the positive social and environmental impact of a contact’s engagement with our campaigns.”
• Field type: “Number” (with a scale of 1-10, where 10 is the highest positive impact)

Click “Create.”

Pro Tip: Consider automating the assignment of Social Impact Scores based on contact behavior. For example, contacts who donate to a partner charity through your campaign could automatically receive a higher score.

Sub-step 3: Populating the “Social Impact Score”

Now, you’ll need to manually update existing contacts with a Social Impact Score. You can do this individually from the contact record, or in bulk using an import. Going forward, consider using workflows to automate this process based on specific actions contacts take related to your ethical initiatives.

Expected Outcome: You now have a “Social Impact Score” property associated with your contacts, ready to be used in your campaign reports.

Step 4: Filtering and Segmenting Your Data

Sub-step 1: Adding Filters

This is where the magic happens. On the left-hand side of the report editor, click the “Add filter” button. You can filter by virtually any property associated with your campaigns or contacts. For example, let’s say you ran a campaign specifically promoting fair trade coffee. You could filter by “Campaign name” and select that specific campaign.

But let’s go deeper. Create a custom contact property called “Ethical Initiative.” This could be a dropdown menu with options like “Fair Trade,” “Carbon Neutral,” “Sustainable Packaging,” etc. Now, you can filter your report to show the performance of all campaigns associated with a specific ethical initiative.

Common Mistake: Neglecting to use filters effectively. This leads to a generic overview that doesn’t provide actionable insights. Get granular! Filter by campaign type, ethical initiative, target audience, and more.

Sub-step 2: Creating Segments

While filters are great for one-off analysis, segments allow you to create persistent groups of contacts based on specific criteria. Go to “Contacts” > “Lists” > “Create list.” You can create a list of contacts who have engaged with campaigns related to “Sustainable Packaging,” for example. Then, you can use this list as a filter in your campaign reports to see how this specific segment is performing.

Expected Outcome: You can now slice and dice your campaign data to see how different ethical initiatives are impacting your key metrics.

Step 5: Customizing the Report Visualization

Sub-step 1: Choosing the Right Chart Type

HubSpot offers various chart types, including tables, line charts, bar charts, and pie charts. The best choice depends on the data you’re presenting and the story you want to tell. For example, a line chart might be ideal for showing the trend of Customer Lifetime Value over time, while a bar chart could compare the performance of different ethical initiatives.

To change the chart type, click the “Visualization” tab in the report editor. Experiment with different options to see what works best.

Sub-step 2: Adding a Breakdown

Breakdowns allow you to further segment your data within the chart itself. For example, you could break down “Total Revenue” by “Ethical Initiative” to see which initiatives are generating the most revenue. To add a breakdown, simply drag the desired property from the left-hand panel into the “Breakdown” section of the chart editor.

Pro Tip: Use color-coding strategically. For example, use green to represent positive trends and red to represent negative trends. This makes your reports easier to understand at a glance.

Sub-step 3: Adding a Title and Description

Don’t forget to give your report a clear and descriptive title. This will help you and your team quickly identify the purpose of the report. You can also add a description to provide additional context or explain the methodology used.

Expected Outcome: You have a visually appealing and informative report that clearly communicates the performance of your campaigns, segmented by ethical initiatives.

Step 6: Scheduling and Sharing Your Reports

Sub-step 1: Saving Your Report

Before you can schedule or share your report, you need to save it. Click the “Save” button in the top right corner of the report editor. Give your report a descriptive name and choose a folder to save it in.

Sub-step 2: Scheduling Automated Reports

To schedule automated reports, click the “Schedule email” button. You can choose the frequency (daily, weekly, monthly), the recipients, and the format (HTML or PDF). This is a fantastic way to keep your leadership team informed about your progress towards both financial and ethical goals. I had a client last year who implemented weekly automated reports, and it dramatically improved transparency and accountability within their marketing department.

Pro Tip: Customize the email subject line and body to make the reports more engaging and informative. For example, you could include a brief summary of the key findings in the email body.

Sub-step 3: Sharing Your Report

You can also share your report directly with other HubSpot users. Click the “Share” button and choose the desired sharing permissions (view only, edit access). This is useful for collaborating with team members or sharing insights with stakeholders.

Expected Outcome: You have successfully scheduled automated reports to be delivered to your leadership team, ensuring they are always up-to-date on the performance of your ethical marketing initiatives.

Step 7: Analyzing and Iterating

Sub-step 1: Reviewing the Data

The most crucial step! Don’t just create reports and forget about them. Regularly review the data to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement. Are your ethical initiatives driving revenue? Are they improving customer lifetime value? Are they having a positive social impact? If not, why not?

Sub-step 2: A/B Testing

Use A/B testing to experiment with different messaging, offers, and targeting strategies to see what resonates best with your audience. For example, you could test two different versions of an email, one that emphasizes the ethical benefits of your product and one that focuses on the functional benefits. Which one performs better? The answer might surprise you.

HubSpot’s A/B testing tool is located under “Marketing” > “Email” > “Create email” > “A/B test.”

Sub-step 3: Adapting Your Strategy

Based on your analysis and A/B testing results, be prepared to adapt your marketing strategy. This is an ongoing process of learning and refinement. What worked last year may not work this year. The market is constantly changing, and your marketing strategy needs to evolve along with it. At my previous firm, we ran into this exact issue when consumer preferences shifted towards sustainable products faster than anticipated. We had to quickly adjust our messaging and product offerings to stay ahead of the curve. A IAB report confirms this trend, showing a significant increase in consumer demand for ethically sourced goods.

Expected Outcome: You have a data-driven approach to sustainable growth and ethical leadership, constantly optimizing your marketing campaigns to maximize both financial and social impact.

To achieve the best results, consider exploring analytical marketing to gain deeper insights.

For guidance on building high-performing teams, check out “Marketing Teams: Build High-Performing Machines“.

And for more on winning over Gen Z with ethical marketing, review our post on that topic.

Mastering HubSpot’s Campaign Reporting tool isn’t just about tracking numbers; it’s about weaving ethics into the very fabric of your marketing strategy. By focusing on sustainable growth and ethical leadership, you can build a brand that not only succeeds financially but also makes a positive impact on the world. So, go ahead, create those custom properties, filter your data, and start telling a story that matters.