HubSpot for b2b

HubSpot for b2b companies

HubSpot is one of the world's leading inbound marketing tools, covering the ever-increasing needs of marketing, sales and support teams. But HubSpot is much more than just a marketing platform - it's a comprehensive growth tool that helps B2B companies not only work more efficiently, but scale sustainably.

All-in-one platform | Automation | Data-driven decisions | AI | Seamless collaboration between departments | Individual scalability | Personalized customer experiences

We introduce you to the platform in detail: How is it structured? Who is the tool suitable for and how much does HubSpot cost?

 

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Digitalization in marketing & sales

HOW KI, AUTOMATION & DATA ARE REVOLUTIONIZING YOUR MARKETING AND SALES.

Thanks to the digitalization of marketing and sales processes, you can sustainably increase your conversion rate and sales. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have become increasingly important in recent times. If you use digital tools effectively, you can automate recurring tasks, personalize your customer approach and make sales processes more efficient.

The key trends in the "Age of the AI-Powered Buyer" (see HubSpot's State of Sales Report) include

AI and Automation

Artificial intelligence and automation: AI supports the personalization of content and helps to automate workflows and reduce manual tasks. According to the HubSpot State of Marketing 2024 Report , 60% of marketers see AI as a valuable tool for their work.

Buyers change their habits and are looking for information on their own

Changes in buyer behavior: Customers are increasingly informing themselves independently. This is forcing sales staff to adapt their strategy and focus more on building relationships.

60 of Web traffic is mobile

Mobile and messaging: Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and messaging apps are becoming increasingly important as communication channels for sales.

first party data instead of cookie banners

Cookieless future and data protection: Companies are increasingly relying on first-party data and new strategies to provide personalized content while protecting customer privacy.

Sales and Marketing having a great time, working together via CRM

Collaboration between sales and marketing: Close coordination between the two teams via a CRM system such as HubSpot's is seen as the key to increasing sales.

The inbound marketing method

inbound marketing method

The inbound methodology is based on the sales funnel, which maps the customer journey of a potential customer. The four phases of the purchase decision process (attract, convert, close, delight) are passed through when strangers become visitors, leads, customers and finally advocates of a product. With the right marketing and sales strategy, this inbound marketing process can be made even more effective.

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HubSpot_Flywheel

The HubSpot Flywheel

The sales funnel itself is not a new model - the foundations date back to 1898, when Elmo Lewis developed the first model of the customer journey. Even though there have been many modifications since then, the basic principles are still valid.

However, HubSpot has now gone one step further and developed the Flywheel - so the funnel is getting round! What's behind it?

From the perspective of Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, the funnel is flawed. It focuses on generating new contacts with the help of numerous measures and methods. Once these have become customers, the funnel ends. But this is actually where the work begins. This is where the Flywheel comes in - the customer is even more in focus and the topic of customer experience is becoming increasingly important. From a technical point of view, the Flywheel also makes sense. Once set in motion, it moves very efficiently without the addition of a lot of energy. Provided that friction points are avoided. The key point: creating a consistent, smooth customer experience!

The HubSpot Growth Stack

The HubSpot Growth Suite consists of six core products - Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, Content Hub, Operations Hub and Commerce Hub.

The free HubSpot CRM, in which all contacts and companies can be maintained, serves as the basis and common connecting element.

Marketing Hub

HubSpot Marketing Hub is an all-in-one marketing platform that helps companies to acquire, retain and inspire customers. It provides tools for email marketing, social media, SEO, analytics and automation that are integrated into HubSpot CRM.

Sales Hub

HubSpot Sales Hub is a comprehensive sales platform that provides email tracking, deal execution, pipeline visualization, automation and CRM integration tools to streamline sales processes and increase productivity and performance.

Service Hub

HubSpot Service Hub is a customer service platform that enhances customer support with tools for ticketing, live chat, knowledge base, customer feedback and automation and is seamlessly integrated with HubSpot CRM.

Content Hub

HubSpot Content Hub centralizes content management and makes it possible to create, organize and optimize content across multiple channels. Integration with CRM enables personalized experiences and comprehensive analytics to improve engagement and conversions.

Commerce Hub

HubSpot Commerce Hub is a platform for streamlining and managing e-commerce activities, integrating tools for payments, product listings, customer data and analytics, and seamlessly connecting with HubSpot's CRM and marketing tools.

Operations Hub

HubSpot Operations Hub centralizes and automates business processes by integrating data synchronization, workflow automation, data quality tools and advanced reporting, ensuring seamless processes and accurate data across all systems.

THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS

HubSpot's functions are based on the goals that are to be achieved with the tool: Generating interest, converting leads and retaining existing customers. Accordingly, you will find all the important functions you need in marketing, from email marketing and calls-to-action to reporting. We have briefly summarized the most important ones for you:

HubSpot Marketing Hub

Email marketing

You can create marketing emails directly on the platform in the editor provided. The emails are particularly easy to design using drag & drop. The scheduling of the campaign also runs directly via HubSpot. Using A/B tests and analyses, you can also see where there is still potential for optimization.

CMS - Website, landing pages & blog

Inbound marketing starts with the website. With the help of the website module, you can create it directly in HubSpot and design an appealing, responsive and SEO-optimized website without any programming knowledge. Of course, the performance analysis also runs within HubSpot. Of course, this also works for landing pages and your own blog.

Social media

In addition to blogging, HubSpot also offers the opportunity to create, schedule and publish social media posts directly from the tool. Of course, you can also post something on social networks independently of the blog. Particularly practical: HubSpot also offers an analysis function that allows you to evaluate the success of your activities on the social web.

HubSpot_MarketingHub

Marketing automation

A major advantage of HubSpot is that you can not only coordinate your inbound marketing with this comprehensive tool, but also automate it. Automated work processes in marketing save you a lot of time and you can also create functioning routines for team members with the help of defined mechanisms.

Reporting & Analysis

Nowadays, marketing no longer means simply playing out advertising and waiting. Instead, data that provides information about the success of marketing activities is playing an increasingly important role. HubSpot also focuses on this. From integrated analyses and reports to dashboards, you have everything you need in the platform for precise evaluations and well-founded decisions.

Hubspot sales hub

HubSpot Sales Hub

THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS

The HubSpot Sales Hub with its functions is aimed at the sales employees in the company. The free HubSpot CRM system serves as the basis. Based on this, various functions can be booked in the Starter, Professional (5 users included) and Enterprise (10 users included) versions. The following functions are included:

FREE CRM

HubSpot offers a free CRM system. But that doesn't mean you have to do without functionality! On the contrary: the tool is on a par with Salesforce, offers a clear contact view with many filter options. All activities are displayed in the contact history and there is also integration with the usual e-mail clients!

DEAL PIPELINE

HubSpot allows you to create a classic deal pipeline. This can be configured individually depending on the sales process. Different pipelines can be created as required. The individual sales opportunities can be easily moved to the next phase using drag & drop. Of course, automated processes can also be used here.

SCHEDULE MEETINGS

A very important function for every sales employee! HubSpot allows you to schedule meetings directly. This means that you offer access to your calendar and interested parties or contacts can select a suitable appointment themselves. Of course, this can be configured so that appointments can only be booked when you want them to be. The integration works via various common calendars.

E-MAIL TEMPLATES & SEQUENCES

A very important function, especially for standardized sales processes, is the creation of e-mail templates - for example to follow up on contacts or to make appointments at a trade fair. You can then access these email templates from your email client, for example. On top of this, HubSpot offers the creation of sequences - several emails or tasks are combined in an automated workflow.

OFFERS & PRODUCT DATABASE

You can upload your complete products or services to HubSpot. This makes your deal pipeline even more accurate and you can make evaluations at product level. Based on this, you can also create offers directly in HubSpot. Various text modules and customization options are available for this purpose. With an eSignature function, customers can immediately accept the offers in a legally binding manner.

CALLS & GUIDES

You can make VoIP calls directly via HubSpot. The calls can be documented directly in the respective contact. This saves time and the data is clean. In addition, you can create call guides for different types of calls for your sales staff. This ensures that all important and necessary information is collected.

VIDEO CONTENT

HubSpot allows you to shoot short videos via webcam or as a screencast, which you can integrate into your emails to your contacts. The function is based on an integration of Vidyard. This allows you to personalize emails and achieve higher conversions!

THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS

The HubSpot Service Hub is aimed at employees from the Support or Customer Success departments. Like the other hubs, it is divided into a Starter, Professional & Enterprise version - with the same number of employees as the Sales Hub. The most important functions include

HubSpot Service Hub

Tickets

Similar in structure to the deal pipeline in the Sales Hub, tickets can be created in a pipeline here. These can be assigned to different employees and moved to different phases. The process can also be designed efficiently using automation functions.

Central inbox

You have the option of creating a central inbox directly in HubSpot. This contains all incoming messages, e.g. from the support@firma.com address, a chat or from Facebook Messenger. This means that no more requests are lost.

Snippets, templates & video

In the service sector, it is important to provide customers with a quick response. This can be ideally organized with HubSpot, as you can access various text modules, email templates or even video / tutorials.

hubspot-service-hub

Customer satisfaction

HubSpot makes it easy to measure customer satisfaction with the help of NPS surveys. You can use this information to turn customers into loyal promoters. You can also create individual surveys, e.g. on products or support, in emails or on the website.

Knowledge database

HubSpot automatically creates a knowledge database with the most frequently asked questions about the product. This relieves support staff and the content also helps with search engine optimization!

HubSpot CMS: Websites with HubSpot

webdesign easy

CREATE A WEBSITE WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

HubSpot CMS lets you create a website quickly and easily, without any technical knowledge. It offers you flexible design tools, personalized content and integrated SEO to optimize your website for search engines.

COMPLETE INTEGRATION INTO HUBSPOT CRM

Thanks to the full integration with HubSpot CRM, you can seamlessly track your website visitors and offer them personalized experiences. In our opinion, this is the ideal solution for growing companies that want to expand their online presence without having to deal with complicated technology. You retain full control over your content and can easily analyze performance.

integration in hubspot cms
individual webdesign

COMPLETELY CUSTOMIZABLE TO YOUR OWN CD

By the way, you don't have to compromise on the design - but you can for the sake of simplicity. Use the wide range of templates and designs in the HubSpot Marketplace and easily adapt your website to them if necessary, or have individual themes programmed - anything is possible! Want an example for your own website? Take a look at mark-lotse.com! We have created our website in HubSpot CMS.

The HubSpot Academy

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The more complex a tool is, the longer it takes to familiarize yourself with it. However, HubSpot tries to make it as easy to use as possible. Despite the many functions, the tool ensures clarity and ease of use (e.g. through drag & drop functions). In addition, HubSpot offers a variety of tutorials, how-to guides, videos and blog posts to help you use the platform to its full potential. Some of these onboarding supports are paid services that you even have to use in order to be able to use HubSpot.

Want to find out more about HubSpot? Come and visit us!

BEFORE YOU INTRODUCE HUBSPOT.

An important question to ask yourself before introducing HubSpot is: "What does my IT strategy for sales and marketing look like in the medium term?" Sure, HubSpot is quickly installed and ready to create emails and landing pages, for example. However, the tool only develops its full power when it is used across departments in marketing and sales. The Service Hub can now even be used to cover support processes.

THE ADVANTAGES ARE OBVIOUS.

  • Integrated system with a consistent database
  • No need for additional interfaces, for example to a CRM system
  • No need to synchronize data between different tools
  • Consistent reporting without having to collect KPIs from different tools
  • No familiarization with different tools

HubSpot App Marketplace

An all-in-one platform with good connections

WITH AN ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION, YOU PUT EVERYTHING ON ONE CARD.

On the other hand, you are of course putting all your eggs in one basket if you opt for an all-in-one solution. If the CRM is used and, if necessary, the entire website is hosted on the HubSpot COS, there is a strong connection to the provider. However, we have only benefited from this so far.

And if HubSpot ever reaches its limits, there is always the HubSpot App Marketplace. It contains numerous apps for a wide range of business tools so that you can coordinate your marketing processes even better. There are integrations for various CRM systems, social networks, cloud storage, store systems, CMS and form providers, among others.

What does HubSpot cost?

 

THE CLASSIC FREEMIUM MODEL.

HubSpot offers its software in the classic freemium model. This means that you can basically start directly for free and use the CRM and Marketing Free package.

The Marketing Hub starts at 48 euros per month, while the Professional version including Automation, Smart Content and LeadScoring costs 740 euros per month. The prices include an unlimited number of users in each case - however, it becomes more expensive the more contacts you store in the database. However, at 45 euros per 1000 additional contacts, the price is relatively moderate and so you naturally have a double interest in keeping your database clean.

The price of the Sales & Service Hub, on the other hand, is calculated according to the number of users and starts at 360 euros for 5 users. Useful add-ons such as the Ad Add-on or the Reporting Add-on start at 90 euros per month. For companies that are already active in SEA or Facebook Ads, this is a good way to bundle all data in one place.

With the entire suite, you save 25% compared to the individual prices. It starts at 1,107 euros per month.

You must also bear in mind that you will need to budget for the introduction and support of the tool.

Christian Inbound

Our experience with HubSpot

Of course, we ourselves are also HubSpot customers and have been using the software since 2015. For us, a small agency with 3 employees at the time, it was of course an investment - financially and certainly also in terms of our employees' time. Since then, we have seen constant positive development. With currently 10 employees, for example, we have increased our visitor numbers from just under 500 in January 2016 to around 7000 in May 2019. This is certainly not only due to HubSpot - but the software definitely helps us to implement the processes and techniques of inbound marketing properly.

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WHAT WERE OUR LEARNINGS?

Content is the decisive element.

Everything stands and falls with a clean content marketing strategy. In times when we have neglected our own strategy, the numbers drop. If you don't clarify this point from the outset, you will certainly not achieve rapid growth!

Inbound marketing and working with HubSpot is time-consuming.

Nothing here runs by itself and the term "automation" is a little misleading when it comes to the amount of work involved. HubSpot is a tool that most of our employees open first thing in the morning and close last thing at night. If you don't have these resources or aren't prepared to invest them, you'd be better off leaving it alone.

Be sure to get the sales team on board.

Only since we have employed a person in our agency solely for sales, who of course also works with HubSpot Sales Prof., has the tool unfolded its full effect. The leads are automatically transferred to the colleague and we have significantly more reasons to contact interested parties as a result. In most months, the inbound leads are enough for us to achieve our goals. Our message: HubSpot is an all-in-one platform - if you only want to send out a newsletter twice a year and maintain your blog articles, you're in the wrong place.

As a HubSpot partner agency, we offer various services related to HubSpot and are of course happy to share our knowledge about the tool!

HUBSPOT DEMO AND HUBSPOT TRAINING

How exactly does it work? We will be happy to show you in a HubSpot demo or during a HubSpot training course - tailored to your company. In an initial meeting, we clarify your requirements and questions about the tool. We then build our online demo on this - on site if you wish. Of course, we incorporate our personal experience with HubSpot from dozens of customer projects and our own use. This will tell you whether and how HubSpot can help you in the future.