In an era where 60% of Google searches are zero-click and answers are returned by AI, "funnels" no longer work. Understand the four stages of Loop Marketing proposed by HubSpot in 2025, and assemble the framework for a 2026 marketing strategy, including ICP definition, campaign design in Marketing Studio, and UTM management.
The funnel model of "awareness → interest → consideration → purchase" was the golden rule of inbound marketing in the 2010s.Rank your blog posts higher with SEO, capture leads with forms, and nurture them with emails.--This flow is now breaking down. Let's look at the numbers to see what's happening.
The numbers show thatIt is a platform consisting of. While each can be used independently, combining them creates a synergistic effect. In order to properly understand the positioning of Marketing Hub, let's understand the big picture.It's a paradox. Conversion rates improve because the AI search tool performs “pre-research” before the visitor arrives. However, since the absolute number will decrease, there is a limit to the strategy of ``increasing traffic through SEO'' alone.
HubSpot itself officially declared "The funnel isn't flowing" at its INBOUND conference in September 2025.The company that invented inbound marketing pivoted itself.Therefore, this represents a structural shift in the marketing industry.
Loop marketing is premised on the following:Customers can interact with your brand without having to visit your websiteIt's about creating a state. HubSpot's name comes up when you ask ChatGPT, "What MA tool do you recommend?" Perplexity cites you in a competitive comparison article, a customer's colleague shares your content in a LinkedIn feed—intentionally designing these kinds of "off-site contacts" will be at the heart of marketing in 2026.
Goal: To be clicked in search results Express → Tailor → Amplify → Evolve It is a framework that cycles through four stages. It's not the end once the loop is complete; the learnings gained from Evolve return to Express, strengthening the loop. HubSpot's Marketing Hub has a set of features that correspond to these four stages.
Express is a "what to say" design. Many companies start with Tailor and Amplify, but without a defined brand voice, content becomes cluttered. HubSpot Brand Identity FeatureI want to use ABM, Journey Automation, and similar lists
The voice set in Brand Home will be automatically reflected in all content generated by Breeze (email, LP, blog, SNS).Setting up Brand Identity first improves the overall quality of AI-generated content.. When launching a new client portal, make setting up Brand Identity a top priority task.
Tailor is the design of ``who'' and ``what'' to deliver. From 2025 onwards, HubSpotSegments (dynamic segments)has become mainstream replacing Lists (static lists). Segments are "live audiences" that are updated in real time and include not only known contacts but also anonymous web visitors (see Chapter 4 for details).
Amplify is a design for "where to deliver it." This is the stage where the biggest changes will occur as of 2026. In addition to SEO (search engine optimization),GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)——In other words, it is essential to create a state in which your company's content is "cited" in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews (see Chapter 2 for details).
Evolve is more than just a report.Infrastructure that “brings learning back to the previous stage”is. What content is being cited in GEO, which email segments are converting? Power the loop by feeding these insights into your ICP definitions in Express and segment criteria in Tailor.
``Switching to Loop'' doesn't mean you have to abandon your existing lead nurturing workflow or MQL auto-promotion system. those are Integrated as part of Tailor stagebe done. Loop is a "high-level strategic frame," and existing HubSpot initiatives will continue to be effective.
The first thing you should do in Loop Marketing's Express stage is:Definition of ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and buyer personais. ICPs and personas are often confused, but they have different roles.
ICP is not just defined as a concept, butIncorporate into HubSpot's data modelThat's important. Specifically, it is set as a property of the company object.
Breeze Intelligence (Professional and above) automatically enriches your company's industry, size, and technology stack from over 200 million external databases.Even for “contacts with only a business card,” company information can be automatically completed and ICP can be determined.That's a big advantage. Enable the setting from "Settings → Data Management → Breeze Intelligence".
HubSpot has a dedicated property for managing personas:hs_persona” exists as standard. It is used as a contact property and can be used as a condition for workflows and Segments.
| properties | Purpose | Setting location |
|---|---|---|
| hs_persona | Classification of personas (e.g. marketer, manager, engineer) | Standard Properties / Collected in Form |
| jobtitle | Title (obtained through form enrichment) | standard properties |
| Custom: Persona details | Detailed information on issues, budget authority, decision-making roles, etc. | Create custom property |
| lifecycle_stage | Stage management from lead to customer | Automatic updates with standard properties/workflows |
It is more important to design personas in numbers that can actually be used than to create elaborate personas. If you create more than 5 or 6 personas, content creation, email design, and workflow conditional branching will all become complicated.Start with 2-3 core personas and break them down as you accumulate data.It is incorporated into the workflow and automatically sent when a contact action (form submission, page visit, score attainment, etc.) is triggered. Once set up, it continues to work completely automatically, making it essential for nurturing, onboarding, and reminders.
Marketing Studio was officially announced at INBOUND 2025Campaign design hubis. Previously, ``email'', ``LP'', ``SNS'', and ``advertisement'' were managed from separate menus, but Marketing Studio allows for integrated design with the four stages of the loop in mind.
| What I want to do | Example prompt to Breeze | What is output |
|---|---|---|
| I want to decide on a campaign theme | “Suggest three themes for an MQL acquisition campaign for the manufacturing industry.” | content |
| I want A/B test candidates for email subject lines. | “5 subject lines for webinar invitation emails for SaaS managers” | Subject variations/estimated open rate comments |
| I want to write a copy of the LP. | "ICP: IT company marketing manager, pain: ROI is difficult to prove, LP copy" | Headline/subcopy/CTA text draft |
| I would like to discuss workflow design | "Design a workflow to develop leads who have downloaded materials into MQL in 7 days" | Workflow structure proposal/email sending timing |
Previously, Marketing Events (seminars and webinars) had to be created in a separate menu and then linked to campaigns, but from the February 2026 update question answerNow you can. Webinar campaign design has become much simpler.
No matter how well you design a campaign,If naming conventions and UTM are broken, later attribution analysis will be meaningless.. Especially when operating with multiple personnel and multiple channels, unifying the rules from the beginning will directly lead to long-term operational quality.
HubSpot's campaign object acts as an "umbrella for your initiatives." By linking multiple assets such as emails, LPs, forms, SNS posts, advertisements, etc. to one campaign,With one click, you can see how much this measure contributed to sales as a whole.You can create a state.
Once a naming convention is decided, it is difficult to change it. Please use the format below as a reference and adapt it to suit your company.
UTM is a parameter that tracks "where it came from." At HubSpot utm_source:The number of members is updated in real time each time a condition is added. If it is too wide or too narrow, adjust the conditions.utm_medium:The number of members is updated in real time each time a condition is added. If it is too wide or too narrow, adjust the conditions.utm_campaign:The number of members is updated in real time each time a condition is added. If it is too wide or too narrow, adjust the conditions.utm_content:The number of members is updated in real time each time a condition is added. If it is too wide or too narrow, adjust the conditions.utm_term can manage five things.
| parameters | meaning | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Inflow source (which service it came from) | hubspot-email / google-ads / linkedin / newsletter |
| utm_medium | Media type (which method) | email / cpc / social / organic |
| utm_campaign | Campaign name (same naming convention as above) | 202604_email_nurture_saas-marketer |
| utm_content | Creative distinction (effective during A/B testing) | cta-blue / hero-image-a / ps-link |
| utm_term | Search keywords (mainly used in paid search ads) | hubspot-ma-tool |
The UTM management UI has been redesigned with the February 2026 update.マーケティング → キャンペーン → UTM Settings The following settings can be made from:
①mixed case（Email and email are counted separately), ②Japanese/Use of spaces(The report is corrupted due to URL encoding), ③Write utm_campaign in a different format each time(Inconsistent naming conventions) - Preventing these three things will dramatically improve the accuracy of attribution analysis.Mechanism for sharing and enforcing naming convention documentation with your teamLet's make it.
| # | Check items | completion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ICP and target persona defined | □ |
| 2 | It is clear which campaign will play in Loop's 4 stages | □ |
| 3 | When setting the trigger, | □ |
| 4 | The campaign name is set according to naming conventions. | □ |
| 5 | Parameter rules are configured in UTM Settings | □ |
| 6 | All assets (emails, LPs, forms, etc.) are linked to campaigns. | □ |
| 7 | Target values (number of leads, number of MQLs, sales) are set. | □ |
| 8 | : Target any HubSpot CMS page, blog, or LP (external CMS is not supported) | □ |
60% Zero clicks, popularization of ChatGPT, and channel distribution. It is no longer possible to pursue customers with linear design.
Express (brand establishment) → Tailor (individual optimization) → Amplify (diffusion including GEO) → Evolve (learning and improvement) is a cycle.
Add custom fields to company properties and automatically judge and update them using Workflow + Breeze Intelligence.
A hub for campaign design. The starting point for creating copies and configurations in Breeze and centrally managing all assets.
The format of [year/month]_[channel]_[measure type]_[persona]_[theme] will be unified from the beginning. Difficult to change later.
Mixed capital letters, Japanese usage, and inconsistent naming rules. By simply preventing these three things, attribution accuracy can be greatly improved.