The MD says “Quick – let’s buy some of that Marketing Automation software – I hear there’s a pretty cheap one which we can get going with...”. Not your MD of course, I’m sure they’re much more savvy than that.
Too many people jump into a software purchase because they have heard what the great benefits are of Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation (if you’d like to know the difference between them read this).But if you are considering an investment in an Inbound Marketing platform, your MD needs to understand that new ideas and disciplines will be introduced.
You are investing in the software to get better results – so you will need to be doing something different to what you did before you purchased.
Whatever software you choose, you’ll want to be assured that you will be well looked after as you take your first steps towards Inbound Marketing.
Allow me to make the case for HubSpot. As an agency, we have never seen a more comprehensive support package:
1. Terrific Training
I have mentioned the HubSpot certifications before. If you are serious about really making a step change in your marketing and adopting an Inbound methodology, then start here.
In fact, get as much buy-in as you can from the whole company.
The sales teams, once they understand the benefits, can get right behind this and adopt an inbound approach to selling too.
The training will help you to align your sales and marketing so that there are no more suggestions from sales that any incoming leads are low quality.
And with the CRM/Sales side of HubSpot you’ll be able to see if they are doing the right thing and following up in a timely fashion.
There are currently three sales, five marketing, two design and two delivery training courses. They consist of a series of online videos that you can watch at your own pace:
2. Outstanding Onboarding
We have been very impressed with the onboarding process from HubSpot.
You will get an honest assessment from your Account Manager as to the state of your current website.
HubSpot will build templates that match the exact look and feel of your existing website. Then any HubSpot-specific landing pages, forms, calls-to-action or blogs will form a seamless part of your online presence.
And they are quick and responsive too.
3. Splendid Support
As you might imagine HubSpot has covered every channel. Just checkout their support page:
But don’t take my word for it; this is how actual users of HubSpot rate their support on G2Crowd. I have compared HubSpot to Marketo and Pardot – its nearest rivals:
As you can see typically a 1000+ users have rated it eight and nine out of ten – 9.3 for quality of support.
4. Perfect Projects
One of the best ways that HubSpot will hold your hand is through the project templates.
Everything that you might need to do in HubSpot has probably been done before and turned into a project template.
You can use these templates to build your own projects, in the happy knowledge that you have a tick list of tasks to do to ensure that you don’t miss a step.
5. A Big Hug
One of the advantages of being a HubSpot user is the HubSpot User Group or HUG.
These are national and more regional get-togethers to share ideas around Marketing Automation and Inbound Marketing.
We went along to the Solent HUG recently for the first time and enjoyed a great evening with three presentations. There was a particularly good case study from Darren Mooney of Global Design.
So, wherever you are, you’ll be able to find a local HubSpot User Group to share ideas, experiences and challenges with fellow HubSpot Users.
If you’d like to know more about Inbound Marketing download our free e-book now
