See how Tulsa Responds used HubSpot Marketing Hub to help thousands of Tulsa residents file their taxes for free.
The Client
Tulsa Responds began in the pandemic as a task force helping Tulsans get their small business loans and expanded into a non-profit offering benefit navigation services for SNAP, Medicaid, ACP, and free tax-filing through the VITA program.
The Challenge: A Tight Timeline And A Big Need
With just weeks to spare before tax season, Tulsa Responds needed to implement a system to facilitate the registration and processing for their free tax filing program.
They identified the following needs:
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A secure appointment scheduling form and questionnaire that creates a contact record in HubSpot.
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Standard appointment check in process that automatically updates the client contact record in HubSpot.
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The ability to synthesize questionnaire responses to generate a custom list of tax documents each client needs to successfully file their taxes.
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Appointment reminders with the ability for clients to reschedule over the phone or online.
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Standard internal process and screening form for tax preparers to complete with the client which flags those who may be eligible for additional services offered by Tulsa Responds.
Tulsa Responds had a very specific list of needs that an out-of-the-box solution wouldn't support. The non-profit needed a CRM with automation that would streamline its processes and provide easy access to key information. Ascend was the right partner to help make all this happen.
The Solution: Powerful Integrations and Workflows Make Tax Filing More Accessible
Laying The Foundation: HubSpot & Jotform Unite
Ascend was tasked with quickly building an appointment scheduling system for Tulsa, OK residents, which Tulsa Responds refers to as “clients.” The system had to allow clients to book a remote or in-person session. For in-person sessions, the system had to handle 12 locations, each with its own schedule and frequency of time slots. It also needed to allow for quick rescheduling in case of weather events, resource constraints or new locations that became available. We recommended a Jotform integration with HubSpot to handle these unique form and scheduling requirements.
Form submissions were integrated with HubSpot to automatically create contact records and an associated deal record. Using a combination of contact and deal records allows HubSpot to use the same Jotform integration and automations each year for the annual tax filing campaign, and positions Marketing Hub to grow with Tulsa Responds as they expand their services to the community.
Clients were checked in to their appointment with a HubSpot form using the client's email address, at which time deals were moved in the Tax Filing pipeline. This allowed the Tulsa Responds team to track missed appointments and review data quickly.
Powerful form calculations get it done
When it came to generating a custom list of tax documents each client needed to successfully file their taxes, the Ascend team was ready to flex our form-building muscles.
We set up a query that, based on the filer’s responses, would select the specific tax document(s) they’d need to bring to their appointment. For example, if you had a full-time job, you would need to bring a W2. Later, a text field would display those values. At the bottom of the form and in the confirmation email, the filer would have one list that told them, ‘These are the forms you need to bring'. All this data flowed into HubSpot, too.
Filing your taxes can be complicated; leveraging existing questionnaire data to provide this document list to clients ahead of appointments allowed the Tulsa Responds team to complete more tax returns, faster.
The Results: Reporting and Collaboration
With a short timeline to launch, complex calculations and key platform integrations, the free tax filing program was a success across the board. Tulsa Responds grew their database of contacts, developed a deal pipeline process, created benchmarks for email engagement rates and gained feedback on how to better implement their campaign in the future.
Between January - May 2022, Tulsa Responds:
Gained 3,500+ new contacts.
Generated 2,500+ appointments using the deal pipeline.
Used EZ Texting integration, HubSpot workflows, and Campaigns tool to send and evaluate the efficacy of SMS versus Email for promoting appointment booking.
The client commented: “...We've had a ton of appts coming through since the texts went out yesterday, so clicks are turning into appts! … Thanks for making all of this possible, texts have really revolutionized how we reach our clients!”
Established benchmarks for marketing email campaigns, which fueled a plan for improved design and engagement for the 2023 tax filing campaign.
Used contact properties and forms to create a short satisfaction survey for 172 clients that identified areas of improvement for the 2023 campaign.
Keep Building For Continuous Improvement
While our initial launch was successful, the Ascend team identified improvements for future tax seasons. Our team tested minor technical changes to the platform in Summer 2022.
Both teams recognized it would take thoughtful planning and resources to create an even better experience for both clients and volunteers in 2023. Tulsa Responds committed to 1-hour weekly sessions through the rest of 2022 to work through this with Ascend. We streamlined automation, enhanced integrations, improved KPI measurements, bolstered reporting dashboards, and look forward to sharing more on these optimizations in 2023.
A Successful Marketing Hub Implementation Allowed 1,500+ Tulsa Residents to File Their Taxes For Free
By the end of Tulsa Responds first tax season using HubSpot, their clients had scheduled 2,537 appointments and volunteers had filed more than 1,500 tax returns. Thanks to the foresight of both the Tulsa Responds and Ascend teams when designing the process and implementing the system, administrators had also identified hundreds of contacts who were eligible for additional free services that Tulsa Responds provides.
While our partnership quickly blossomed into friendship, Tulsa Responds continues to inspire Ascend. They've helped us demonstrate how the platforms we build in HubSpot have the ability to empower people and communities.
