HubSpot is one of the marketing and sales automation tools best known in the market. In fact, HubSpot was one of the first to spread the concepts of Inbound Marketing in relation to marketing and sales in the four phases: Attract, Convert, Close and Build Loyalty.

Many believe that only large B2B companies can take advantage of HubSpot offers. But there are many different levels of automation that the system provides to help even the smallest businesses.

Read on and find out if HubSpot is the right choice for your business.

What is HubSpot?

HubSpot is a technical platform that systematizes and brings together sales and marketing disciplines under one roof. You can use it for Collect leads and process them through the sales funnel, ranging from unknown visitors to loyal customers.

According to G2 Crowd, which rates marketing automation systems based on customer reviews and market presence, HubSpot is one of the best systems for small, medium and large businesses.

Among other things, this rating is based on its ease of use, functionality, level of service, and the resources available to consult.

All of this is reflected in the graph below where users rate HubSpot well above the competition (the logo is the orange icon in the upper right).

What can you do with HubSpot?

HubSpot consists of several components that can be contracted individually to have the best solution for each company. Overall, the platform focuses on four areas:

1. Marketing
2. Sales
3. service
4. CRM

1. Marketing

Your marketing software is probably the service that attracts the most when looking for a new automation system. Here you can work on attract and collect contacts, process leads and follow up on marketing activities.

Specifically, all of this can be done through email workflows, forms, pop-ups, blogs, landing pages, calls-to-action, social media posts, lists, and reports.

HubSpot can also be integrate with paid advertising platforms.

2. Sales

In HubSpot Sales, you can work to qualify your leads and focus your sales where there is the most potential.

The sales module includes tools for pipelines, offers, lead scoring, sales templates, sales flows, notifications, and sales reports.

3. service

The Service Hub - Customer Hub - is HubSpot's most up-to-date service and focuses on connecting sales, marketing and customer service. The purpose of this functionality is to focus on customer satisfaction, turning them into a brand ambassador.

This is achieved through live chats and Chatbots, case management, knowledge bank, surveys, communication and reporting.

4. CRM

The HubSpot CRM is free to use and allows you to do a follow up on contacts and companies that interest you (or that you work with). The CRM is not a separate module, but the functionalities are spread across the platform.

In the CRM you will find customer profiles, contact details (both the data collected in the forms and the data implicit in user behavior), companies, the status of the leads, segments, etc.

HubSpot automatically connects the four areas (marketing, sales, service and CRM) as follows:

• Sending feedback
• Historic
• Data saving
• Community

HubSpot needs the right match

All of the possibilities just mentioned sound very attractive, but for this, it's important that every company can take advantage of them. And, to maximize all the benefits of HubSpot, some appropriate resources and competencies are required within the company.

Imagine that you divide your customers into three segments. To create a relationship with them, each segment needs to be addressed differently, with different content and at different times. Therefore, you have to build a lot of material to broadcast it on different channels.

Yes, that's why we bought an automation system. Pero automation is not built or maintained on its own. Automation is hard work and requires 100% of your attention.

Our experience tells us that, in the beginning, it requires at least one person to dedicate 25-30 hours a week to getting to know and understand the system.

In addition, the time for marketing, sales and IT configuration must be added up. Not forgetting customer service, if you choose to invest in it.

Scalability and budget

HubSpot groups together several components that can be purchased individually so that you can choose the one that best suits each company. Some features are free, but the most interesting ones are paid.

• If you need a simple CRM, you can get a lot of sales features from HubSpot for free.
• If you need to use the system to send newsletters, capture and convert leads, segment your lists, and much more, you'll need the Starter Package (starting at 46€/month).
• If you want to use the system for marketing automation and personalization, you'll need the Pro solution (starting at €740/month).
• If you have a lot of brands and teams to manage, you'll want to invest in the Enterprise solution (starting at 2,944€/month).

The prices are very different depending on the needs of the company, and that is why HubSpot can accompany you in the growth of your organization.

Scalability is an important factor when a company has to invest in an automation system. We often see organizations investing in expensive and complex systems, and before they can take advantage of their benefits, the world has changed so much that they no longer have the most competitive model. For the same reason, you should look at what your business needs here and now, and then build on that.

It may be that a great solution is the right choice in the long run. But it's more recommended that you first consider an initial package to get to know the system, gather some experience and results. And then continuously evolve with more tools.

First find the goal and then draw the path to the goal in achievable steps.

Other HubSpot benefits

If, after reading this entire article, you consider that HubSpot is the right platform for your company, then you'll have one of the best systems available to automate your sales and marketing activities.

This system is very suitable for B2B companies, where customer engagement through the sales funnel is long and complex. But also, it's ideal for companies with technically complex products that require careful research before a purchase.

In these situations, HubSpot is highly recommended because you can interact with the customer with the right message, and at the right time and place.

For HubSpot to be profitable for a company, you must have a database with a certain volume. Quantity is always relative. For example, a company may have 250 customers in its database, but if they are 250 really good contacts and their conversion value is high, it may make sense to invest in a larger automation system.

Precisely, HubSpot is very strong in generating leads, so if you use this tool, your database will grow.

It's important to ask yourself the following question again: is your organization ready to exploit the marketing and sales features offered by HubSpot?

The answer is that everything will depend on the company's digital maturity, since only then can you determine which automation system is right for you.

Considerations before choosing HubSpot

If you're still wondering if HubSpot would be right for your business, try asking yourself these questions:

• Are we a B2B company?
• Do we sell complex products and/or services?
• Is the customer's decision-making process too long?
• Do we have a budget that can cover software licenses and external support?
• Do we internally have the time necessary to dedicate it to the system?
• Do we have the content that the system requires? If we don't have it, can we create it?
• Do we have the right competencies? If we don't have them, can we qualify our competencies?
• Do we have an organization ready to work with the Inbound methodology in sales and marketing? Do you choose, for example, other traditional marketing and sales activities such as trade shows?

If you answer yes to most of these questions, working with HubSpot might be a good choice. Of course, it is always advisable to first evaluate the market, your products and the company's target audience.

Resolve your doubts

If you need help deciding on an automation system or learning more about Inbound Marketing, we'll be happy to help.

How can we help you?

If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us.