HubSpot experiences & reviews: independent parties

You are aware of marketing software and know what a CRM is. Now you are orienting yourself to good Marketing and Sales software that will allow you to take the next step. Maybe you've even already started using HubSpot marketing automation software or the CRM to support your sales team. A good step. But integrating such a tool into your Marketing and Sales processes can be overwhelming. These HubSpot experiences and tips will help you get started. So you'll be prepared and make informed choices.

This blog covers:

• HubSpot experiences: where can you pick up reliable ratings and HubSpot reviews?
• Valuable reviews: what are HubSpot users saying?
• 5 tips from HubSpot experience experts to get off to a flying start.
• Introducing a new seat type, the Core Seat, which provides edit access to purchased Hubs and HubSpot's Smart CRM.

HubSpot experiences: where to get reliable ratings and HubSpot reviews?

Three good platforms that I always consult to pick up HubSpot reviews, and thus where you should definitely take a look are:

• G2Crowd
  An independent (American) platform which rates solutions for businesses based on independent reviews. Users log in with LinkedIn and can thus share their unvarnished opinions about tools like HubSpot.
  Here you can find a clear "grid" of how HubSpot's Marketing Automation tool scores compared to other software:

• TrustRadius
  This platform basically does exactly the same thing as G2Crowd and so here you can go for independent HubSpot experiences and comparisons. So a second tab that I would definitely open is
  this page, which again has a clear picture of how HubSpot's Marketing software scores according to experience experts:
  View HubSpot features without edit access. Best for business leaders.

• HubSpot Partner Directory
  Not everyone will immediately think of this platform, but on the HubSpot Partner Directory thousands of reviews from HubSpot users. The first purpose of the platform is, of course - as the name implies - to retrieve HubSpot Partner Reviews. However, many reviews also tell you a bit about HubSpot itself, and why it works so well for users. You're less likely to find negative reviews here, though, because it's directly linked to HubSpot itself. Still, it's a good source to find out what HubSpot users are saying about the software (and the value of a HubSpot partner).

Valuable reviews: what do HubSpot users say?

Who better to tell about HubSpot than the users themselves? Therefore, I have chosen 3 reviews from both platforms that give a nice picture of the pros and cons of HubSpot.

July 10, 2018 (TrustRadius)

October 4, 2017 (TrustRadius)

July 31, 2018 (G2Crowd)

June 20, 2018 (G2Crowd)

HubSpot: can't see the forest for the trees?

People in your organization have to learn many new things, start new activities, create content, update social media and more. But that's all going to contribute to understanding customer problems and challenges and how your organization can help. And thus to the growth of your organization in this digital century.

To make this process easier, you've started (or are considering) HubSpot. With the many facets that HubSpot offers (CMS, marketing automation, CRM, blogging, social media and much, much more), it's not hard to soon not see the forest for the trees.

5 tips from HubSpot experience experts to become successful with HubSpot

What are the first steps you can take to get your organization off to a flying start with HubSpot's marketing automation software?

Good news. You're not the only one with this question, and many have gone before you in this process. That's why I gathered input from experienced HubSpot users (by researching HubSpot reviews) and turned it into this blog with 5 helpful tips for getting started with HubSpot.

1. Onboard the entire team with HubSpot (including Sales!).

- Matthew Cook, founder of SalesHub and SalesForce Search(Source)

"To get the best results, the entire team will need to get on board with HubSpot. First, get your Marketing and Sales team on board. Train them to use the program and CRM."

What do we learn from this HubSpot review? Setting the clock straight with Sales is essential to making HubSpot's marketing automation software a success. After all, well thought-out processes largely determine how you set up HubSpot. Agreeing which goals you need to achieve together is one thing, but the step of deciding which processes should contribute to this is often skipped. While joint agreement on this is important to ensure that Marketing's efforts contribute to successes for Sales - and vice versa. Intensive cooperation between Marketing and Sales increases the chances of success.

2. Approach HubSpot's marketing automation software like you used to learn to ride a bike

- Marcus Sheridan, owner of River Pools and Spas and popular marketing & sales blog The Sales Lion(Source)

"When I started using HubSpot, I was already doing some things right, but I was missing out on many benefits because I didn't take the time to learn what great tools are available in the software. That's why I recommend that all people starting out with HubSpot do plenty of work with the software themselves."

In the past, you couldn't ride a bike overnight either. That took a lot of practice, discipline and perseverance. You don't master HubSpot's marketing automation software overnight either. Take the time to learn all facets of the tool to get the most out of it. Do you have questions or run into something? Don't hesitate to ask for help from an expert we learn from this HubSpot review.

3. Make the 'commitment' to HubSpot

- Susan LaPlante-Dube, head of marketing at Precision Marketing Group(Source)

"Be prepared to make a 'commitment' to Inbound Marketing OR make sure you have an external team doing so. The biggest challenge we see with companies starting out with HubSpot is that they embrace the benefits such asease of use and easy integration. But this can give the impression that marketing is easy. Even with a tool like HubSpot, marketing takes time, knowledge and creativity. HubSpot brings it to market but doesn't create it, you have to do that yourself. So make the 'commitment' internally and give experts time to really make the marketing work."

Inbound Marketing - and with it HubSpot - is a long-term process. It's not magic sand that gets leads flowing into the marketing funnel overnight. In other words: it doesn't happen nBy itself. Do successes fail to materialize in the beginning? That will be the rule rather than the exception.

Occasional practice playing the guitar won't make you a skilled guitarist, and the same goes for Inbound Marketing and HubSpot. It takes time AND complete commitment to make it a success.

4. Make your website dynamic with smart content

- Paul Schmidt, Senior Consultant at SmartBug Media(Source)

"The most effective way to use HubSpot is with smart content. You can make your website really dynamic based on the type of visitor. For example, take smart call-to-action buttons that allow the marketer to present an appropriate offer to someone who is top of the funnel. At the same time, you can offer a demo to someone who is bottom of the funnel. The same goes for smart forms on landing pages."

HubSpot's marketing automation software offers a plethora of options, and one of them is smart - or personalized - content. Smart content gives visitors a personalized experience that instantly presents them with the right offer that matches the stage of the buying process (buyer journey) they are in. They don't have to go through a long search - you help them. And that increases visitor-to-lead conversion.

A tip from this HubSpot review: don't personalize everything there is to personalize. Think carefully about where smart content is really useful. After all, you don't want to come across as creepy....

5. Stop thinking, start doing!

- Ruud Verstraeten, Managing Inbound Marketing Consultant at Webs

"As a HubSpot certified partner, we have now gone through the HubSpot implementation process many times with our customers. The big tip I can give there is: DO! Don't get bogged down drawing up approaches and processes, but come up with a solid basis and get started. HubSpot lends itself perfectly to trying new things. Because all the components are linked together, you can see exactly what works and what doesn't. This allows you to perfect your process step by step while already getting results.