Item: HubSpot CRM
Rating: 8
Author: Bex Howell

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use HubSpot CRM for contact management, lead management, and marketing. I specifically use HubSpot for acquisition pipelines, both client and talent. HubSpot provides a primary source of truth for all contact data, sales reporting, and marketing campaign management. It is integrated with our website for more effective lead capture and nurturing. The workflow automation is a game changer and reduces the time our small team spends on manual data updates.

Pros and Cons

Workflow automation for our sales and talent pipelines. This ensures that leads/candidates are automatically moved through stages by event triggering.
HubSpot templates are so valuable and time-saving for repetitive email communication types. But, we can still maintain a personal tone whilst ensuring the recipient is receiving all the information required to make a decision.
Customization of attributes and the creation of new attributes is critical to our being able to use all data in the most meaningful way for our business model. It also helps with integration into other platforms.

HubSpot payments > it didn't or does not accommodate a variable subscription model which means we have to continue to use multiple platforms to provide for all facets of our business.
Meeting/Calendar sync - the UI for setting up meeting links is not as customizable or user-friendly as other calendar options but I am stuck using it due to Website integration with HubSpot.

Return on Investment

Hubspot automation significantly reduces the time we spend managing pipelines. Like hours to minutes time saving.
Integration with our website ensures lead capture is comprehensive and automatic, half of my research and information gathering is done before I get a notification of a new lead.

Usability

Honestly - Hubspot is a beast, and it is not always intuitive or easy to find what I want. The depth of function means that I frequently have to learn how to do something before I can benefit from that function, more so than other simpler and core-focused CRMs like Dubsado.

Alternatives Considered

Dubsado, Zoho CRM, HoneyBook and monday.com

HubSpot feels more powerful and has better reporting and analytics. I find HoneyBook and Dubsado more visually appealing and intuitive from a user perspective and better suited to certain types of business. Overall, I think HubSpot is exceptional for our company. I did not select it, but I feel confident that if we were assessing CRMs now, we'd still choose HubSpot. It is tried and true.

Key Insights

Do you think HubSpot CRM delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with HubSpot CRM's feature set?

Yes

Did HubSpot CRM live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of HubSpot CRM go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy HubSpot CRM again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Totango, Harvest, Rippling

Likelihood to Recommend

HubSpot is a phenomenal CRM; for a small business owner, it is too complex and price-prohibitive if elements of marketing & sales are needed in addition to CRM function. There are a bunch of easier-to-use and inclusive platforms in that case. However, if powerful reporting and integration are a necessary function, then I think HubSpot is one of the best.

HubSpot: Powerful, sometimes intimidating, but definitely a winner!

Overall Satisfaction with HubSpot CRM