A BRE program in HubSpot Programs is a custom object that sits on top of your existing CRM records and pulls them into one coordinated structure. It lets you connect local companies, contacts, annual visits, tickets, surveys, and projects so economic development teams can see their retention and expansion work in a single view.
Think of the BRE program as a hub. At the center is the program record itself, which captures the year, program owner, type (BRE, workforce, community), and status. Around it are related records: local companies you serve, contacts at those companies, annual BRE meetings, assistance tickets, surveys, incentives, grants, and retention/expansion projects. Instead of living in separate lists or spreadsheets, they all roll up to that one program.
For example, a regional EDO might create a "2025 Manufacturing BRE Program". Every time a BRE specialist logs a site visit, opens an assistance ticket, or starts a retention project, they associate those records to that 2025 program. At the end of the year, leadership can instantly see how many companies were touched, what issues were raised, and how many projects were launched.
HubSpot’s native objects—Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets—do a lot. But for recurring entities that don’t fit those buckets, such as programs or projects, custom objects are the right tool. Experts often recommend adding a custom object when you need to track multiple instances of something per company and report on them as first-class records, which is exactly what a BRE program requires.
This structure also aligns with best practices for HubSpot architecture discussed by partners who have designed hundreds of custom object implementations. They emphasize modeling real-world entities—like strategic programs or multi‑year initiatives—so teams can run consistent automation and reporting on them over time.
A HubSpot BRE program structure typically includes several key components: local companies and contacts, annual BRE visits, assistance tickets, retention/expansion projects, and community interactions or events. Each of these is a separate record type that associates back to the program so you can see both the parts and the whole.
Start with companies and contacts. Your local employers—large and small—are associated to the program so you know which businesses are in scope. Key contacts (owners, plant managers, HR leaders) link to both their company and the BRE program. If you have 80 active employers in your program year, you should be able to open the program record and confirm that list in seconds.
Next are annual BRE meetings. These may live as tickets, activities, or a dedicated custom object, but the important part is consistency. Each visit should capture date, attendees, issues raised, and follow‑up actions. When associated to the program, you can quickly report on metrics such as total visits completed, visits by industry, and visits by staff member.
Assistance tickets and expansion/retention projects form the support backbone of your program. Assistance tickets capture day‑to‑day help—permitting questions, workforce referrals, introductions to lenders—while projects track larger efforts like facility expansions or at‑risk closures. By rolling these into the program, you can say, "This year’s BRE program delivered six assistance efforts and three active expansion projects," instead of guessing.
Finally, add community interactions and events. Many BRE specialists spend time networking at ribbon cuttings, chamber events, and local restaurants. These touchpoints may not fit neatly as a formal visit or ticket, but they matter. You can create another ticket type—"Community Interaction" or "External Event"—that associates to the program so informal engagement is visible and counted alongside formal meetings.
A HubSpot BRE program design process follows three stages: design the custom object and pipelines, connect related record types, and define reporting metrics and workflows. Taking time to plan each step helps your team move from scattered activities to a predictable, reportable program.
First, design the BRE Program custom object. Define core properties like program name, year, owner, type (BRE, workforce, community), start/end dates, and status. Build a pipeline with stages such as Planning, Implementing, Active, Inactive, and Complete. This makes it easy to see where each program stands and to filter reports by year or type.
Second, connect your components. Decide which activities will be represented as tickets (for example, assistance requests, annual BRE visits, community interactions, events) and which warrant separate custom objects (such as retention/expansion projects or structured surveys). Configure associations so every ticket or project can be linked to the relevant company, contact, and BRE program. One client, for instance, asked to track informal community interactions separately, so those were modeled as a specific ticket type tied to the program.
Third, define metrics and dashboards. Typical measures include number of companies in the program, visits completed, tickets by category, open vs. closed projects, and outcomes achieved. You might track survey completions, NPS scores after visits, or support tickets by category and outcome. Using HubSpot’s reporting tools, you can build dashboards that show progress by quarter and feed clean data directly to your board or city leadership.
As you refine your program, remember that HubSpot continues to extend its CRM and content tools. For example, economic development teams can now use built‑in video capabilities to record walkthroughs of their BRE dashboards, embed explanatory videos in internal training, or even capture short update clips for stakeholders without purchasing a separate video platform. All of these assets can be connected back to the same structured program record so nothing operates in isolation.