DERTOUR
konzepthaus ushers in a new era:

For a long time, DERTOUR used the Confluence system as a platform for the communication and administration of its several thousand partners. However, the system was cumbersome and difficult to maintain: Each new page had to be created manually by the DERTOUR team, and each individual access right for partners had to be granted manually. This was not only time-consuming and inflexible, but also caused additional costs for each new user. The lack of scalability of the old system meant that DERTOUR was looking for a modern, flexible solution that would automate processes and simplify workflows - for all users.

During their search for a suitable platform, the DERTOUR team quickly came across HubSpot. An experienced implementation partner was recommended to them: konzepthaus Web Solutions. The common goal was to create a new, user-friendly platform for DERTOUR's current 7,000 advertising partners that not only covers all previous functions, but is also scalable and supports automation.

The task for Konzepthaus:

• Replacement of the old system including all functions
• Ensuring scalability and flexibility
• Automation of processes to reduce the workload for users
• Data migration and restructuring
• Introduction of a new, user-friendly design

Astrid Nadolni (Media Sales & Partnerships / Digitalization) from DERTOUR recalls: "Our old system required a lot of manual work, which was not only time-consuming and cumbersome, but also resulted in high costs. For the future, we wanted to create an attractive, intuitive platform that would offer our partners a significantly improved user experience and at the same time simplify our internal processes."

The most important challenges included data migration and restructuring in particular. Monika Wisser, Managing Partner at konzepthaus Web Solutions, explains: "DERTOUR's data structure, which had grown over the years, was very complex. This required careful cleansing and clear restructuring in order to ensure efficiency in the new system. Replacing the old system was also a particular challenge, as all previous processes had to be fully integrated into the new platform. This also included the API connection in order to successfully migrate the existing database."

Another player came into play for the creation of a new, user-friendly UI/UX design : Konzepthaus commissioned an external agency to develop a flexible and modern design concept. The collaboration of many parties involved required extensive coordination processes to ensure that the new partner portal was both functionally and visually first-class and at the same time intuitive to use.

Automation was also a major challenge. The new system needed to be flexible and scalable in order to easily cope with future requirements. In order to reduce manual effort and make processes more efficient, numerous workflows had to be automated, particularly in the area of partner management. Monika Wisser comments: "At the beginning, DERTOUR was unsure about the level of complexity of future automation. We often experience this with customers, they ask themselves: What do we need, what is possible? This required particularly thorough planning and intensive advice from us as a technology partner." Last but not least, the tight schedule was also challenging. The transition from the old Confluence system to HubSpot had to take place quickly and without major interruptions, which put additional pressure on the project team.

Konzepthaus WebSolutions developed a customized solution for DERTOUR based on HubSpot, which was initially implemented as a Minimal Viable Product (MVP), a first functional version. The aim was to create a modern, efficient platform that would meet the requirements of DERTOUR and its partners and at the same time enable future extensions. To minimize uncertainties and improve estimation accuracy, a proof of concept (PoC) was carried out, which defined the MVP scope, the most important features and the data objects to be migrated.

A central component was the complete data migration from Confluence to HubSpot, during which all campaigns, measures as well as user and company data were successfully transferred. Automated scripts facilitated the assignment of data, e.g. from campaigns to users and companies. At the same time, CRM views and automations were implemented in HubSpot to optimize the workflow and partner communication.

The UI/UX design of the portal was completely revised in collaboration with the external service provider. Using the atomic design principle, up to five design templates for different page types and 15 modules such as hero banners, event teasers and map modules were created.

The newly developed partner portal offers protected, dynamic pages that are automatically generated behind a login. This allows DERTOUR partners to maintain their own content in HubSpot and view all sales processes transparently. The comprehensive automation in the system makes it possible to create deals and tickets automatically as soon as certain phases are reached. This increases efficiency and significantly reduces the manual workload

The portal offers numerous helpful functions that make work easier for the currently around 7,000 DERTOUR partners. In the partner area, for example, they can customize their profiles by managing contact details or language settings (German/English) themselves. All activities can be filtered via the catalog of measures and tailor-made offers can be requested - these offers are automatically displayed in the partner area and forwarded directly to the responsible marketing consultants. A detailed overview of planned activities and the entire marketing plan is also available. Document exchange in the portal is organized centrally so that partners can upload individual documents such as images or advertising texts for attractive campaigns. Integrated reporting allows the success of each campaign to be tracked. HubSpot manages and tracks everything.

Another highlight of the platform is the real-time communication: partners can communicate directly with DERTOUR via an integrated chat function, which enables smooth and efficient live coordination.