HubSpot: Platform Pros and Cons

As omnichannel and the need to integrate all data from different platforms become the norm for managers, the need arises to have software that can organize and manage all activities and that is able to keep up with business growth, such as HubSpot.

Since the creation of HubSpot in 2014, the platform has come a long way, with several new features and tools that allow any manager to access Marketing Automation and CRM, regardless of the size and industry of the business.

HubSpot: What is it?

HubSpot is one of the leading platforms for marketing automation. Using the methodology of Inbound Marketing, the software provides various resources for interaction, conversion and data analysis that allow complete traceability of each marketing action.

Today, the platform has expanded not only into the areas of marketing and sales, but also customer support – all with free and paid plans. One of the advantages is that these three areas are integrated, allowing any organization to be truly customer-centric. Thus, HubSpot is divided into:

1 – HubSpot Marketing Hub

This module allows you to control all the steps of any inbound marketing action, from the moment the user visits a landing page until the commercial opportunity is created and converts into a customer. Marketing Hub has several features, focused on the different objectives of each phase of the marketing and sales funnel, namely:

2 – HubSpot Sales Hub

This module is dedicated to optimizing and organizing all commercial work and thus increasing the organization’s sales. This way, the Sales team can focus on their main goal, without worrying about the time wasted recording each action. This module is divided into:

3 – HubSpot Service Hub

The Service Hub module is a Customer Service Software that allows you to improve the post-purchase experience and facilitates customer relationship management. This will increase the customer satisfaction and loyalty rate and, consequently, the company’s revenue will also increase. This module is divided into:

We analyzed the platform from an unbiased point of view (as much as we could!) and tried to understand the pros and cons, relative to the options that exist in the market. Check out the final verdict given by João Antunes, Marketing Technologist at Liminal:

Pros of HubSpot

✔ Simple and Intuitive Interface

With a clean and simple design, HubSpot’s platform is extremely easy and intuitive to use. Considering the complexity of functionalities typical of a marketing and sales automation software, the interface is very well done and allows that no programming knowledge is required to be able to use it.

✔ Access to training for the platform, but not only!

In addition to providing online training programs on each module of the platform, HubSpot users also have access to training on sales and after-sales. In addition, the blog is always up to date with relevant content about marketing and sales.

✔ Wide range of features in Professional and Enterprise versions

HubSpot is one of the most complete marketing and sales automation platforms on the market. As we explained above, the three modules that make up the software provide all the tools necessary to obtain better quality opportunities, optimize sales cycle management and improve the post-purchase customer experience.

✔ Possibility to create the entire website within the platform

This is one of the most interesting features of HubSpot. The powerful CMS – Content Management System that comes with the platform allows you to create landing pages and the entire website that, when integrated with HubSpot CRM, allows you to present dynamic content to users.

That is, the website will shape itself and present only relevant content for each user, taking into account the interaction history of each contact. All this, with a drag-and-drop interface that requires no programming.

✔ Dynamic and Customized Analytics Dashboards

HubSpot’s analytics are very complete and allow you to create dynamic and customized dashboards. This allows you to obtain a 360º view of the entire customer cycle, as well as the company’s sales objectives. It becomes possible to clearly understand the path of each contact until it is converted into an opportunity and, later, into sales.

✔ Fast and effective support (in the paid version)

HubSpot’s support is always available and through various channels: telephone, chat and e-mail.

✔ Unlimited customizable fields

The fields and dashboards of HubSpot CRM are fully customizable and adaptable to the reality and needs of each company. The options are unlimited!

✔ Integrations for everything and anything

One of HubSpot’s strengths is the ease and variety of integrations with other platforms. The tool provides a marketplace of integrations with solutions such as Salesforce, Mailchimp, Facebook Ads, WordPress, Slack, Zendesk, etc. In addition, HubSpot’s API documents are very complete, allowing applications to be developed outside the tool.

Cons of HubSpot 

✘ Cannot create new modules if needed

Some platforms allow new modules to be created in addition to the contacts and accounts modules, which already come by default. In HubSpot this is not possible. That is, if you need to create a module that is dedicated, for example, to products and that is integrated with the others, you will not be able to do it in HubSpot.

✘ Little flexibility for different sales or business processes

HubSpot does not allow you to customize the name of the sales cycle stages each contact is in. That is, if you use an Account-Based Marketing approach, for example, your contacts will always be in the Prospect, MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) or Deals stage and you won’t be able to change this.

✘ Calculated fields only available in the most expensive version

Calculated fields are fields that present another value, taking into account the previously selected fields. For example, if you have a company that needs to calculate additional fees (shipping, for example) to know the final value of the product, the platform will not make this calculation automatically.

Define the path to success with MarTech experts

For technology to contribute to business success, it is important to have a strategy that guides the implementation, adoption, and evolution of the systems. As specialists in MarTech and HubSpot Partners, Liminal offers an integrated vision that unites Technology, Marketing and Strategy, ensuring the adoption and successful implementation of marketing technologies, whether through the impartial choice of the right systems to meet your company’s challenges, the adequacy of processes and flows in existing systems or the design of a CRM & Automation strategy that contributes to business growth.