Background
Cohart.com is an online marketplace that bridges independent artists and art enthusiasts, offering a seamless platform for showcasing, browsing, and purchasing original artworks. As an emerging player in the art industry, Cohart sought a scalable, automated CRM solution to streamline transaction management, improve artist onboarding, and automate critical communications.
Challenges
1. Disparate Purchase Management: Needed a unified system to handle both manual and automated artwork purchases across multiple channels, with consistent tracking and visibility.
2. Cumbersome Communication Processes: Lacked automated touch-points for purchase confirmations, shipping updates, and feedback requests, placing heavy manual burdens on support staff.
3. Complex User Associations: Required clear, reliable linking of buyers, sellers, and artworks to maintain transparency and enable targeted follow‑up.
4. Inefficient Artist Onboarding: Onboarding new artists and syncing their uploads was manual and error‑prone, delaying time‑to‑market for fresh listings.
5. Data Sync & Reporting Gaps: Real‑time synchronization between Cohart’s platform and their CRM was inconsistent, and leadership lacked visibility into key metrics and process bottlenecks.
Solution
1. Custom CRM Architecture: Designed and implemented a tailored HubSpot architecture - with custom objects and association labels - to accommodate Cohart’s multifaceted
purchase, user, and content relationships.
2. Automated & Semi‑Automated Processes: Leveraged HubSpot Automations and Custom Coded Templates to streamline key business flows, including artist onboarding, purchase processing, shipping notifications, delivery confirmations, and feedback
collection.
3. Integrated Engagement Workflows: Deployed email workflows to maintain consistent communication with artists, buyers, and advisors throughout their journey.
4. Real‑Time Data Synchronization: Utilized HubSpot’s API capabilities to ensure seamless bi‑directional syncing with Cohart’s platform, keeping CRM records up to date with minimal latency.
5. Third‑Party Integrations:
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Intercom: Integrated Intercom to capture support-related communication in Cohart Mobile app to HubSpot.
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Slack: Pushed real‑time notifications to internal channels for various cases to keep the team informed and alert.
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Typeform: Captured some advanced forms on Typeform using their native Integration.
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Zapier: Leveraged Zapier to manipulate several internal data-points to use them in automations.
6. Executive & Operational Dashboards: Built high‑level and team‑specific dashboards in HubSpot to provide visibility into transaction volume, onboarding progress, and customer engagement metrics.
"3 & Four was instrumental in getting Cohart up and running with HubSpot. As a small startup, we needed guidance on CRM implementation, email marketing setup, and overall platform onboarding - and they delivered on all fronts. Their team was incredibly patient with our questions and took the time to understand our specific needs as an early-stage company. The CRM implementation was smooth, and they helped us set up email marketing workflows that actually make sense for our business model. What impressed me most was how they didn't just do the technical setup and leave - they made sure we understood how to use everything they built for us. Great communication throughout the process and very responsive to our timeline. Would definitely recommend 3 & Four to other startups looking to get serious about their HubSpot setup without breaking the bank."
— Kendall Warson | CEO
Results & Impact
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40% Reduction in Manual Effort: Automated processes freed up significant time for the team, shifting focus from data entry to strategic growth initiatives.
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28% Artist Onboarding Engagement: Cohart HubSpot Setup Case 2 Structured onboarding workflows drove higher completion rates, enabling a 22% lift in new artwork listings:
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Improved Customer Experience: Automated confirmations and updates ensured timely, accurate communications, boosting buyer satisfaction.
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Scalable Foundation for Growth: The new HubSpot architecture and integrations provide a flexible, extensible platform for Cohart’s future feature roll‑outs.
