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Katrina Dent

Digital Marketing Nerd at Marketing Satchel

A self-confessed digital marketing nerd, Katrina Dent loves to write about all things marketing. One of her favorites is to write about digital course creation software. A published writer and author, Katrina can always be found at a coffee shop with her laptop.

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• Hubspot CRM Review: Is It Worth It? - May 29, 2020

Last Updated on October 11, 2020 by

Customer data used to be a difficult thing to track before the use of CRMs like HubSpot. You used to track information into unconnected, analog media like laptops, notebooks, or your own know brain.

What made this difficult is the sheer volume of data that needs to be put down every time you follow up on a lead, meet a sales prospect, or when you learned anything new about a customer. HubSpot CRM makes that complicated process simple by implementing all essential details into the cloud.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a system that manages customer data. This data is then put into easy to understand insights on customers that could transform your business if you use the information right. The cloud-based system makes it easy to put in or look up a customer’s information while you’re in a meeting. You no longer have to write every detail into a notebook.

Although there are many CRMs to choose from, HubSpot CRM stands out against its competitors. In 2019, this free to use CRM became worth over 7.80 billion dollars and, and it’s still climbing. HubSpot was rated the “Best CRM Software of 2018” by FinacesOnline with an overall score of 9.8, with customer satisfaction being in the high 90s.

With the value of CRMs continuing to climb with increasing customer demand, picking the right software is integral to keeping customer service satisfaction high. With that said, let’s see if HubSpot is the right cloud-based platform for your business.

How did HubSpot Begin?

The HubSpot platform is responsible for more than just HubSpot CRM. The company is both a marketing and developer of software products for inbound marketing and sales. HubSpot was founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2006 to provide a marketing tool specifically for project management, social media marketing, web analytics, and search engine optimization.

Their headquarters is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and quickly grew from $255,000 in revenues in 2017 to $15.6 million in 2010. They acquired Oneforty in 2010. Forbes stated that HubSpot started targeting small companies but ended up moving “steadily upmarket to serve larger businesses of up to 1000 employees.”

In 2014, HubSpot filed for a public offering to be with the Securities and Exchange Commission to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under “HUBS.” That was also the same year HubSpot’s CRM was created.  2017 was the year they acquired Kenvi, an artificial intelligence learning marketing tool that works with the sales team.

Taboola is their newest investment, a pay-per-click ad network, but the HubSpot CRM system is their most well-known software.

What is HubSpot CRM?

HubSpot CRM is one of the most popular and well-designed apps available to the public. The software is free, straightforward, and lets sales teams start customer relationships early without changing their workflow. It’s an easy and smart option that carries most of the essential features that other CRMs offer, but without being confusing or complicated.

This software is excellent for mid-market companies and beginners that feel secure in the fact that the HubSpot platform is a trusted Google Partner that caters to all industries and niches. The biggest draw to HubSpot CRM is how visually appealing it is. You can control what your dashboard looks like, and also organize every detail of communication your customers have with you.

Your dashboard keeps everything in one place, including your agents’ performance and the deals you make. You’ll be able to see all your team members and track their individual activities — Hubspot CRM solution links with HubSpot sales. So, if you’re already a user, you can link the two for more streamline inbound sales.

HubSpot lets you integrate with more than just their own platforms, and for a free program that’s a pretty significant pull. Some of these apps include Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Shopify, Zapier, and many, many more.

If you’re interested in some of their paid options, you could check out HubSpot Marketing. This app follows conversion rates and traffic. It’s been successful in helping companies develop excellent lead generation strategies by optimizing website content.

What are the Benefits of Using HubSpot CRM?

It’s free, so you don’t have to break the bank to try it out

What price is better than free? HubSpot CRM is one of the best CRMs on the market, and it costs nothing to try it. Any business at any level can try out this software and play around with it to see if they like the user interface. There isn’t any reason not to try out HubSpot CRM.

You can integrate with your employees

The best thing about this app is you can link any social media account to this software for free. You could have your entire company have their email, websites, social media platforms, phone numbers, client information, and so much more. You could technically see whatever your employees or clients are getting up to at all times, making it easier to build client and employee relationships.

Powerful and flexible, HubSpot CRM is the perfect solution to your business needs

Work will go by faster and easier once you start using this software. It tracks and organizes all aspects of the sales pipeline so you can concentrate on what matters – your customers. Little research will be required of your staff because you simply have to add whoever is on HubSpot CRM and you have the information already.

You’ll get unlimited storage and up to a million contacts all with a free plan with premium customer support. It’s also flexible to suit the needs of B2B and B2C business, individuals, retail employees, construction and, real estate.

You can integrate all sales platforms

HubSpot CRM system can run in the background once you install it. There are so many integrations that I won’t be able to list them all. Some of the more popular ones include Microsoft Dynamics, ReadyTalk, Uberflip, DataHero,  and more that can currently be integrated with your employees and clients. Any significant software ecosystem can probably be integrated and used to your advantage as a salesperson.

Easy to use user interface with easy importing

There is so much automation involved in their system that it’s almost impossible to get lost or confused while navigating HubSpot CRM. Closing deals becomes effortless because you don’t have to spend time rifling through papers.

You can merely import leads from your social media or email marketing with a click of your mouse. You can also look at what is called the “leads backlog” to find older leads. This interface won’t take any specialized training to get the hang of, which is fantastic for busy professionals.

What are the Key Features of HubSpot CRM?

Let’s take a look at the key features that make HubSpot CRM a great software:

• Task and Deal Board
• Drag and Drop Communication
• Phone Integration
• Email Integration
• Website Integration
• Social Media Integration
• Sidekick Integration
• Customization
• Synchronized with HubSpot Marketing
• Company Database
• Email Connections
• Details of CRMs
• Tracking, Templates, Scheduling
• Enrichment

Who Should use HubSpot CRM?

Anyone who has a business would benefit from CRM, especially if your company wants to have and maintain relationships with valued customers. Your customers are what drive your business forward, so focusing on their wants and needs is essential.

B2B companies that track leads, which leads to sales, and B2C companies that purchase products will both benefit.

If you find you don’t fit the profiles above, you could still benefit from a CRM. For example, they can help your business solve problems like how to maintain a list of customers and leads in one place or track team interaction. CRMs can even help with understanding your sales team to boost productivity.

When is the Right Time to Adopt a CRM?

If you were thinking of implementing a CRM solution at this point, you’re probably thinking when the best time to integrate it with your company. In my opinion, you should get started right away with an email list and a CRM because it makes it easier to track customer engagement. If you don’t do this immediately you’ll run into a few problems:

• Starting off using spreadsheets may seem like a good idea at first, but once your customer base grows, you won’t be able to keep up with the individual relationships you have with each client. This could limit your sales opportunities.
• Navigating through emails, social media, and personal contacts that want to use separate apps to communicate is going to get confusing. The last thing you want to do is mix up your clients or customers with one another. This will make them feel unimportant and will ruin your relationship. Having everything in one place will ensure this doesn’t happen.
• Having a sales rep will seem like a good idea at first, but what if they leave? Everything they were working on will now be worthless to you and your company. However, if you had a backup, you could still use those leads.

Get in while you still can. If you’re a new company, the perfect time to use a CRM is now. HubSpot CRM platform is free as mentioned, so it isn’t like you’ll have to use it forever if you don’t like the interface. It’s better to use one now than outgrow your old system and have to move everything over later.

When comparing it to another sales CRM, they can look quite pricey. An average sales CRM will cost you $100 with an added on pay per use fee. The other issue is there is often a cap on data or the contacts you want to put into the CRM. You may also be charged for functionality, which could add another $50 after that. With HubSpot, your software will be free forever. So just give it a shot.

How HubSpot fits into your Company

The importance of a CRM cannot be understated. With automation and the internet becoming such a vital part of our lives, your business will have to keep up one way or another. Companies are growing faster than ever before due to the visibility that social media gives you. Tracking your growth will be essential for you to communicate with your customers to provide them with what they want.

No CRM means wasting time marketing and searching for leads. Why not have a program that does that for you instead? You’ll also be able to track workflow better, which means you won’t double book appointments or forget essential tasks. Sales reps can now focus on the sales process instead of finding who to sell to, which means more money in your pocket.

CRMs like HubSpot give you the ability to communicate effectively with your salespeople. Lack of communication leads to a lack of consistency, but if your salespeople are always at arms reach, there won’t be any miscommunication. Everything will become more relaxed. Your phone calls, email, website, social media, and everything else you track will all be in one place on your customized hub.

The ability for HubSpot CRM tool to support complex workflows, team tasks, effective use of time, and easier and faster communication makes a CRM practically essential at this point.

What do the Customers and Experts think of HubSpot CRM?

It has already been mentioned that HubSpot CRM platform receives high praise from all of its critics and customers. FinancesOnline gave it a score of 9.8 out of 10, with the user satisfaction being a top 99% score. This earned HubSpot CRM its “Best CRM Software” award in 2018. PCMag gave it a 4 out of 5 stars, while Software Advice gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

“If you’re new to CRM and already use HubSpot’s marketing or sales software, then HubSpot CRM is a fine choice. It’s straightforward to set up and use, with plans to fit every budget. Its email and calendar integration is top-notch and removes a lot of the tedious data entry and project management that some CRMs require.” Review by Molly K. McLaughlin on PCMag.

Taking a look at the HubSpot website for customer reviews, you can see all 5 stars across the board. Customers talk about the ease of use of the app, how user-friendly it is, and how great it is that there are so many HubSpot integration options. Customers are confident with using the program, and they feel that navigating the marketing platform is enjoyable.

“Hubspot is user-friendly, attractive, and useful for different levels of expertise. We use it for the website, blog, social media, email, and CRM. The content around the software is fantastic, with active blogs for different user groups, detailed guidance for how to use functionalities and what you could use them for, and email template options to help you tackle projects.” – Review By Rhianna from IFIS Publishing on Software Advice.

Overall, critics and customers are happy with the service and would recommend the software to their friends and family.

How Much Does HubSpot CRM Cost?

The HubSpot CRM tool is completely free and will remain a free plan forever. However, four options do cost money, but these include HubSpot Marketing. The starter pack is $50 a month, while the enterprise starts at $2,400. The HubSpot pricing is determined by the number of people on your team.

The free version of HubSpot CRM includes all features, which is:

• Prospects
• Reporting Dashboard
• Ticketing
• Tasks
• Deals
• Meetings
• Calling
• Conversational Bots
• Live Chat
• Team Email
• Conversations Inbox
• Email Template
• Email Tracking Notifications
• Email Scheduling
• Canned Snippets
• Facebook and Instagram lead ads
• Contact Activity
• Forms
• Documents
• Outlook and Gmail Integration
• Company Records
• Contact and Company Features
• Contact Management

Verdict

As far as CRMs go, HubSpot has no competition in its category. Other CRMs like Salesforce Sales Cloud and Freshsales offer similar experiences, but they cost more than $0. HubSpot’s interface is so user-friendly that you’ll get used to it in no time.

The amount of free content you get with HubSpot seems never-ending. From the free HubSpot integration of over 40 apps to having the space to hold over 1 million contacts, you may never need to use another CRM. What I would recommend is upgrading to HubSpot Marketing when you have a chance. There are valuable sales tool options in that software that isn’t available in the free version like more customizable forms, ads, email marketing, list segmentation, and reports.

HubSpot also has a fantastic customer service team, which is especially bizarre for a free product. The staff is accommodating for whatever you need. If live chat isn’t available, you can speak to the bot for frequently asked questions, or you can leave a message, and one of the customer service reps will get back to you ASAP.

All and All, I would highly recommend HubSpot over any other CRM. Even if you just want to download it to give it a try, it’s more than worth it. If you don’t like it, many CRMs offer you the ability to transfer your contacts over though it may come at a hefty price.

You might also be interested: Ontraport vs Hubspot: Which One is Right for You?

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

If you want to upgrade your business, CRM is a great idea. Not only does it put all your contacts in one place, but it optimizes them in an easy to understand format. After doing my own research into CRMs, I’ll be using them myself. It makes sense to have all your contacts in one place. I’m also a visual person, so the add on of easy to understand graphs.

I also like the ability to schedule within the app. I know that a big struggle with running a business is having everyone on track with the same project. Within a CRM, you can schedule meetings and share content directly from the software.

Getting a CRM means being ahead of the marketing game. No longer will you have to waste time gathering leads, and creating marketing strategies from scratch. Now, your team can focus on interaction with customers and improving customer experience. CRM is truly a valuable sales tool for all business types.

Further read:

• Ontraport Review
• Pipedrive Review
• Agile CRM Review
• OptimizePress Review 2020
• Freshsales Review