8 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE HUBSPOT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
One of the most common questions we hear when talking to clients about Inbound or Digital Marketing is, “why do we need to implement HubSpot to execute my Inbound Marketing and Sales strategy?
I’m using Mail Chimp for my eDMs, Hootsuite for social publishing…” And the list of marketing apps goes on.
Do I need HubSpot to execute Inbound Marketing and Sales?
HubSpot or any other marketing tech platform is clearly not the panacea to all your business growth challenges. Using a range of marketing apps is definitely a pathway you can follow – and many do. However, the difference between success and failure for any marketing and sales strategy is all in the quality of execution. Having streamlined workflows, automation where possible, social media scheduling and providing integrated knowledge for agile responsiveness, all in the one central place are key elements to assist successful execution in the digital age we live in. And in our experience, this is exactly what HubSpot has delivered for our Inbound Marketing and Sales strategy.
The case for using individual marketing apps is usually based on leveraging the best of breed apps that are fit for purpose. Alternatively, it might be that before a business commits to a full tech stack like HubSpot, they want to de risk things by ‘hacking’ their Inbound execution, thereby avoiding higher costs associated with training and platform fees. The underlying reason however, is usually fiscally related, or ‘it’s just the way we work around here’.
So why should you consider using HubSpot over individual Marketing apps to execute your Inbound Marketing and Sales?
8 reasons why you should consider using HubSpot for your Inbound Marketing and Sales
- It all comes together with HubSpot
As alluded to above, there is a myriad of marketing apps out there these days for email, forms, blogs, content management, analytics... It’s also likely that different staff members in different departments are also using different platforms. What a mess this can end up in! The number one benefit of HubSpot is to have everyone in your business on a single platform that comprises all the tools you are likely to require when executing your inbound marketing and sales initiatives. Each of the tools are seamlessly integrated with each other making workflow easier and reporting on your key metrics for every contact to every campaign a breeze - helping to generate insights more quickly and respond to opportunities that improve performance. - Smart and personalised content marketing
We all know that the more personalised our content is, the more effective it is. HubSpot is built with personalisation at its core. Inbound marketing is built on design thinking principles e. when good for the customer is good for business and not the other way around. Personalisation on mass has been the dream of marketing and sales people for years. HubSpot not only delivers personalisation, but also smart content based on the stage your prospect or customer is through the inbound funnel. This means your customer is more likely to be satisfied and indeed, delighted that their needs are being met, leaving them with the feeling that they’ve been helped and not sold to. - Build scale with marketing automation
Automating workflows allows you to scale and focus on value adding tasks and efforts. HubSpot’s workflows tool allows you to automate your lead nurturing with email sequences that help move prospects to qualified leads. In fact, HubSpot has been named the 2019 top rated marketing automation by TrustRadius and is rated 4.5 stars for automation by Capterra, however, HubSpot automation is not simply about ‘taking the hands off the wheel’. Automation allows you to buy time back by automating repetitive tasks like scoring leads, rotating leads to sales adding notifications for when your contacts take conversion-based actions…the possibilities are limitless. - Usability that enables the digital luddites in your team
The biggest hurdle for successful tech platforms is behavioural. Getting the teams to embrace change is hard to do, so having a platform that’s easy to use is key. Again, HubSpot has been a consistent and recognised leader in usability for SMBs. Usability research confirms that HubSpot is accessible to any marketer regardless of skill level, using the platform to implement their inbound tasks like CTAs, blogging, social publishing etc. The user experience is highly intuitive, easy to implement with team members and is well supported. - Integrations that connect with your digital eco system
Every business is unique, right? Indeed, they are and an ‘out of the box’ solution only takes you so far. The HubSpot Connect ecosystem includes over 200 integrations from the most popular apps. Whether it’s Mail Chimp, SalesForce, Slack or more task-oriented apps like Vidyard and LiveChat you can build an architecture that is tailored for your business requirements. So, your processes and tech stack can be united and ultimately, that means your business will be as well! - Increase conversion rates with better customer insights
The key to lead conversion is knowledge. And the more you connect with your leads, the more you can learn. Which in turn helps you increase personalisation of your sales proposals and that’s going to increase your conversion. The HubSpot CRM records all of your activity against every contact record, so you can see whether they are engaging with any specific content, format of that content, what forms they have filled and even what their social media activity has been like. Now armed with this information your sales people have a better than even chance to convert. - Training and Support
As mentioned above, the behavioural change required for any software adoption is mostly underplayed by most businesses. This is where HubSpot stands apart from the rest. They have helped develop the Inbound marketing and sales framework and they actively care about how HubSpot users achieve their goals. They walk the Inbound talk when it comes to helping you with useful content that strives to improve how you use Inbound to grow your business. Their support on tech or usability issues is also amazing via chat, email and phone support. And the best part is that this is free for the majority of training and support needs you are going to require. - Flexibility to fit your business needs
HubSpot has 3 unique, but inter-related modules. The Marketing Hub, the Sales Hub and the Service Hub, all of which tap into the same CRM. And that really puts the customer at the centre of your business. So, if your business needs to get on the front foot with its Marketing effort, sending personalised eDM’s with automated workflows, publishing social media, or simply creating forms and landing pages to track conversions, then the Marketing Hub is perfect. Similarly, the Sales Hub has tools to manage the prospects, leads and deals within your sales process. And the Service Hub is a useful ticketing system to manage the servicing needs of existing customers, efficiently tracking service delivery through different departments.
Already using HubSpot and not experiencing its potential?
If by chance you’re already using HubSpot in your business, we hope you are in agreeance with the 8 points above. However, if you haven’t experienced its full potential then performing an audit/review is a great idea to reflect and reset priorities. For established businesses the implementation of marketing and sales technology can be a significant change to ‘the way things have been done’. This change can be expedited by using an agency even if only for the short term.
As you can tell, we are huge fans of HubSpot, however we are even bigger fans of Inbound Marketing and Sales. If you have another platform or prefer to use a range of marketing and sales apps then that will work as well – it’s really all about what you feel comfortable with. In our experience HubSpot will make your Inbound strategies, processes and activities easier and more effective over time.
