Don’t just tidy up for guests — get your house in order first
Have you ever had people over and, in a last-minute panic, shoved the mess into a spare room or under the bed — only to deal with it properly later? It’s a classic shortcut. But it’s also a great analogy for how many organisations approach marketing automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
We polish the customer-facing bits — the beautiful emails, the personalised landing pages, the clever chatbots — while leaving our internal systems cluttered, disconnected, and increasingly difficult to manage.
If you want automation and AI to genuinely work for your organisation — not just create more admin or add shiny features that underdeliver — you need strong foundations. That means getting your internal processes in order.
Here are the three things to prioritise before you start scaling with AI and automation:
1. Clean and Ethical Data Management (aka Data Hygiene & Privacy)
Automation and AI are only as good as the data that feeds them. If your contact records are messy, incomplete, or outdated, no amount of intelligent tech will fix the problem.
Let’s start with data hygiene. This goes beyond a quick tidy-up. It’s about ensuring your data is accurate, structured, and routinely maintained. That means:
- Removing duplicates
- Filling in missing fields
- Standardising naming conventions (e.g. “CEO” vs “Chief Executive Officer”)
- Setting up automated rules for ongoing cleanup
But hygiene doesn’t just mean “clean” — it also means ethical.
For membership organisations and universities, this is particularly important. You’re often collecting sensitive personal information from members, applicants, donors, or alumni. With regulations like GDPR — and increasingly privacy-aware users — it’s critical to be transparent and compliant.
Here’s what we recommend:
- Review your data collection policies
- Be clear about what data you collect, why, and how it will be used
- Build in consent mechanisms and privacy disclosures
- Make data security and governance part of your wider digital strategy
When you treat data with care, you build trust. And trust is the cornerstone of personalisation that actually feels personal — not creepy or intrusive.
2. A Unified, Integrated Tech Stack (No More ‘Frankensystems’)
A common issue we see across membership platforms is what HubSpot’s Dharmesh Shah calls a “Frankensystem” — a chaotic jumble of software tools awkwardly stitched together, each with its own database and limited interoperability.
On paper, you’ve got everything you need: a CRM, a newsletter tool, maybe a chatbot, maybe an events platform. But in practice, none of them speak to each other.
What happens then?
- Data lives in silos
- You lose visibility across the member journey
- Personalisation becomes guesswork
- Reporting is a manual slog
Instead, aim for a connected ecosystem where all your tools share the same data. If you’re using HubSpot, for example, make the most of its native integrations — or connect third-party tools with middleware like Zapier or Make.com.
The goal is to:
- Maintain a single source of truth
- Reduce manual tasks and duplication
- Make automation feel seamless (not stitched-on)
If you’re building toward a member-first experience, your back-end systems need to work in harmony — just like your team does.
3. Strategic Cadence and Content (Not Just More Noise)
Once your data and systems are sorted, the final piece of the puzzle is your communication rhythm — or what we call cadence.
AI can help you send messages at “optimal” times, and automation can trigger emails based on behaviour — but without a clear plan, you’re just automating noise.
This is where journey mapping comes in. Walk through your member or student journey. What are their motivations at each stage? What questions do they have? What are they hoping for?
Use this insight to:
- Plan helpful, timely content
- Set appropriate touchpoints
- Avoid overloading people with irrelevant or excessive comms
One tip: keep it human. HubSpot’s Mike Jaramillo puts it well — “Think like your customer.” Put yourself in their shoes. What kind of content would you find useful, engaging, or supportive at that moment?
Also, bring your team into the loop. Automating reminders and internal workflows (like nudging someone to update key personas quarterly) ensures that your strategy stays active — not forgotten once the campaign launches.
Final Thoughts: Build the Pipes Before Turning on the Tap
AI and automation have the power to transform your marketing — but only if you’ve done the groundwork. Think of it like a plumbing system: if the pipes are blocked or disconnected, turning on the tap won’t give you clean running water. It’ll give you drips, leaks, and frustration.
By prioritising:
- Ethical, up-to-date data
- A unified and integrated tech stack
- A thoughtful cadence and content strategy
…you set yourself up not just for efficiency, but for better experiences — both for your team and the people you serve.
And the best part?
Many of these internal improvements can themselves be powered by automation and AI. Use the tools to build the system — not just run it.