Jonas & HubSpot data sync boosts marketing value of event data

The Challenge

Roar B2B needed a partner to sync move their event data between Jonas Event Technology and their HubSpot CRM. Key objectives of the integration:

• Eliminate manual data imports to ensure up-to-date contact records.
• Capture each event registrant’s (visitor) details (personal info and event participation data) in HubSpot and enabling Roar B2B’s marketing/sales teams to easily access attendee information in one place.

Data only needed to sync from Jonas to HubSpot (with no data written back to Jonas). There was no native integration or existing middleware to support the Jonas-HubSpot integration. This confirmed that a custom-developed integration was the only viable path.

The Solution

The Jonas API did not support webhooks for real-time data push. SpotDev had to develop a scheduled job or workflow in HubSpot to periodically query Jonas for new registrations.

**Webhooks are a way for different applications or systems to communicate with each other in real-time, usually by automatically sending data when something happens (an event occurs).

The team designed a solution where a HubSpot Workflow (automation) runs on a schedule (daily) to call the Jonas' API, retrieve registration records, and then create or update HubSpot contacts accordingly. The process then returned records one by one, mapping fields to HubSpot.

Data paging mechanism

SpotDev implemented a paging mechanism, since the Jonas API limited results (e.g. 10 records per call), so the workflow was designed to fetch records in batches and then trigger a repeat (“paging”) until all records are processed. This ensured no registrations were missed, regardless of volume.

**Paging (or pagination) is a technique used to split up large sets of data into smaller, more manageable "pages" when returning results from an API.

Challenges that had to be overcome in the implementation of the workflow included:

 - Jonas’ data structure: During development, the team discovered that Jonas sometimes reused a single EventRef identifier for multiple event instances. i.e. multiple different events (with possibly different names) were all tied to the same 'EventRef' (event reference). Ideally, the EventRef is meant to uniquely identify one event.

For example, Sales Summer 2023” and “Sales Summit 2024”  have the same event ref eg. EV1241, instead of: Sales Summit 2023 – Event Ref: EV1241; and Sales Summit 2024 - Event Ref: EV1242.

 - Event name field capturing incorrect data: i.e. the event field capturing a survey question (“Which event are you most excited to attend?”) rather than the actual event title.

 - Accurate representation of Jonas data in HubSpot: The integration needed to update custom contact properties in HubSpot, specifically, fields for the event name, the year/registration status, and the visitor’s relevant event category. 

These custom objects/properties acted as a trigger and configuration for the workflows. The team made sure that for every new event Roar B2B wanted to sync, an event record would be set up in HubSpot with the correct EventRef (matching Jonas’s ID) and the expected dropdown values. This way, when the integration ran, it could automatically populate the contact’s event name, visitor registration status, and visitor-relevant event fields with valid options. If a required option was missing in HubSpot, the integration logic would add it on the fly or flag an error, a safeguard highlighted in the initial requirements.

Technical highlights of the integration:

• SpotDev leveraged HubSpot’s Operations Hub features, notably custom code actions in workflows, meaning the integration could run in HubSpot’s cloud (no separate server was needed) while using HubSpot’s authentication and data context.
• HubSpot custom objects were used to model “Event” records as mentioned, and standard HubSpot contact properties were customised or created to store Jonas data.
• Jonas JET Forms (SOAP API) served as the data source. SpotDev’s code made SOAP requests to Jonas’s API endpoints to retrieve registrant data.
• The Jonas API required credentials and the integration was configured with a dedicated Jonas user’s username and password. These were stored as HubSpot Workflow secrets (so that Roar B2B can update them if the password changes, without altering the code).

**HubSpot secrets allow you to securely store & use API keys and/or credentials in your workflows.

The Results

While the initial event data imported into HubSpot was focused on visitors, the success of the integration led to Roar B2B requesting that the integration be extended to exhibitors (vendors) and speakers who registered via Jonas.

Key improvements included:

1. Automate data sync: The integration pulls the latest registrations from Jonas and updates HubSpot contacts accordingly. Sign-ups are tagged with the appropriate event and status. 

2. Improved data accuracy & freshness: Removing manual CSV exports/imports, the integration greatly reduced the risk of human error and delay. Late registrations or those updating their details would not be lost, but captured in the next-day cycle.

SpotDev’s use of exact property mapping (ensuring values like event codes match exactly between systems) means the data in HubSpot is trustworthy for segmentation and reporting.

3. Scalability & performance: The integration was built to handle high volumes of data efficiently. Batching logic (smaller batches of data processed at a time) ensures that even thousands of new records can be processed in succession without timing out.

4. Time savings & efficiency: Importing event data into HubSpot was a manual and time-consuming task for Roar B2B’s staff (often involving spreadsheets). Now, right after an expo, Roar B2B can quickly pull up HubSpot lists of attendees, exhibitors, or speakers and send follow-up emails without having to wait days for data to be transferred.

5. Enhanced marketing capabilities: Correctly assigning contacts to events in HubSpot enhanced opportunities to segment data and send customised communications and helps with lead qualification & scoring.

Roar B2B can now measure engagement by event in HubSpot dashboards (SpotDev even provided a reports dashboard link as part of testing).

6. Reliability & maintainability: The integration was delivered with a focus on reliability. They put in place error-handling. if a particular record failed (say due to a missing property option), it would not halt the entire sync; errors could be viewed in HubSpot’s workflow history. 

*Cover & header image designed by Freepik