What is our primary use case?
We use it primarily for social media postings across 18 companies under our umbrella, scheduled email campaigns, drip campaigns, and account-based marketing. We also use it for website analysis and form creation.
We've integrated it with Salesforce CRM. HubSpot collects the leads, which are then managed and nurtured directly in Salesforce CRM. So, HubSpot is only a collector for us; we do not nurture our leads with HubSpot.
How has it helped my organization?
HubSpot's automation feature enhanced our marketing campaigns.
With 18 companies to manage, manual handling would be impractical. HubSpot's automation facilitates pre-scheduling, greatly enhancing our efficiency.
We also use HubSpot's analytics and reporting tools. The analytics are vital for presenting a holistic view of our campaigns' performance to C-level executives, aiding in budget and campaign strategy decisions.
It provides the granularity we need for in-depth analysis. So, the report is detailed enough to meet our needs.
What is most valuable?
The tracking and email marketing automation features are particularly valuable for us, enabling efficient campaign management and workflow design.
What needs improvement?
The user interface could be made less complicated to enhance the end-user experience. It will create a difference.
Another thing is integrations. I don't think all the integrations are covered. So, if there were more integrations it would help.
However, a reduction in pricing could make it more competitive and justify its ROI better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this for four years. I use the latest version, I keep it updated.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. It's very stable. It is very excellent, and I have not faced any issues so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability a four out of ten. There is room for improvement.
Integrating it with Salesforce CRM is fine, but integrating it with other tools presents complexity. They're working on it, but there are still many areas needing improvement for seamless integration with other solutions.
There are around 30 end users using this in my company. It's regularly used.
We plan to add more users and increase the number of contacts by next year.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support are good. Available 24/7, 365 days with a solid SLA.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Pardot.
Pardot had a very complex user interface and was geared towards e-commerce, which didn't align with our needs. It was complex and didn't justify the ROI.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate my experience with the initial setup a five out of ten, with ten being easy to set up.
It requires technical support for onboarding, as it's not a process you can easily complete independently.
We also faced a complexity during setup. The main challenge was data migration from other tools to HubSpot, but it's been smooth sailing since then.
It took not more than three months to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
We took the help of a consultant for the deployment. Only two experts (admins) were there from HubSpot's side.
The deployment process depends on the user. The process involves finalizing the number of contacts and providing the data migration requirements.
Then, their experts assist with the migration and offer a POC initially. After reviewing everything, it goes live. It was quite straightforward.
It runs smoothly without the need for maintenance unless we plan to increase the number of users or contacts.
What was our ROI?
The campaign tracking feature has the biggest impact on our marketing return on investment. It allows us to monitor the performance of our campaigns across different social channels and assess their overall success, from social media, email, and website. That's how we know if the campaign has been successful or not.
I would rate the ROI an eight out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive.
The licensing costs are around $4,800 per month.
Initially, there's an onboarding fee of around $10,000 or $5,000, but after that, it's just the licensing fee.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We considered Act-On but chose HubSpot for its features, stability, and overall offering.
What other advice do I have?
It's highly effective for digital marketers, offering valuable analytics and insights. I would definitely recommend it.
Justifying the price can be challenging, and care must be taken during data migration to prevent data loss.
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.