Author
Rob Manne
| Published: October 19, 2020
As a marketer, communicator, content creator, salesperson, or customer experience professional, by now you’ve probably heard of HubSpot.
But what exactly is HubSpot?
The answer can be complicated. After all, it’s a powerful tool that constantly evolves. And there’s a minefield of jargon and buzzwords that could trip you up.
So let’s keep it simple. Here’s an overview to get you up to speed fast, and consider whether HubSpot is right for you.
HubSpot is a growth platform
Above all else, HubSpot is a tool that helps businesses grow. It organizes and accelerates how you can attract, engage, and delight your customers. HubSpot helps you align your team’s efforts – such as creating and delivering content, or customer outreach – to the journey of your buyers. When used correctly, it brings you and your customers closer together – using technology to automate and connect everything.
How does it work?
HubSpot is a subscription-based software that you access primarily via your web browser.
Let’s break down the specific products:
- HubSpot CRM – A database to store all the contacts that are important to your growth. This serves as the foundation and “vessel” that all your sales, marketing and service interactions connect to.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub – Software that helps with lead generation and conversion: bringing new visitors to your digital properties with content. Hubspot’s more recent CMS Hub has expanded on its website development capability.
- HubSpot Sales Hub – This helps take your leads and get them to close faster using automation, collaboration and other resources. It tracks your pipeline, deals, and all related data.
- Hubspot Service Hub – This is used once you’ve started to do business with your customers. Service Hub provides a helpdesk tickets, knowledge management, and other resources.
Wait! This just got complicated
Ok, so four-plus products may seem overwhelming. But here’s the beauty of HubSpot: everything functions as if it’s one, easy-to-use program. No need to get hung up on the specific products just yet.
HubSpot uses sales and marketing automation
Buzzword alert! We have to mention sales and marketing automation because its core to HubSpot. But what is it?
Automation technology helps organize, track and accelerate activities that would normally be done manually, inconsistently or not done at all. Sales automation can help with like lead qualification, pipeline management, and reporting. For marketers, automation has the same impact on activities such as digital and email marketing, landing pages, chatbots, and overall campaign management. And so on for customer service. Read our more detailed post about automation here.
It’s all about Inbound Marketing
To really “get” HubSpot, you must understand the concept Inbound Marketing. This holds that your marketing and sales approach must offer value to your client through the purchase process. Instead of the funnel – which ends with a sale – HubSpot focuses on the flywheel and conversions. All your activities should revolve around the customer to enhance their experience. Instead of spam and cold calls, it’s about getting the right content to the right customer at the right time.
How is HubSpot different than other sales and marketing software?
At last count, there are more than 8,000 different martech providers out there. Many of them have cool features or specialize in a certain task or vertical. But very few are as easy to use and integrated as HubSpot. When using the software, it seems like it’s designed with the end user in mind; and not at the whims of a Silicon Valley product team.
You have to experience Hubspot to really get it
Talking about HubSpot is like trying to explain jazz. You can describe the horns, the scales, the improvisation. But jazz only makes sense when you sit down and listen to Nina Simone or Kamasi Washington. That’s when you feel the emotion, the rhythm, and the expression in the music. It all comes together.
Sales and marketing professionals need to stretch out with HubSpot too. See what it allows you to do. Work in new ways. And experience the difference.
Want to learn more about HubSpot?
We provide free 30-minute overviews about HubSpot with select companies. Book some time with us here.
Photo by Sam Browne on Unsplash