Doing digital marketing is challenging for any business, including managed service provider business owners.
With such a complex and ever-changing landscape, it can be difficult to determine the best strategies and tools for dealing with everything.
One of the prominent names that often comes up in this conversation is HubSpot, a comprehensive CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service platform.
HubSpot has positioned itself as a one-stop-shop for MSPs looking to streamline their digital marketing efforts and better serve their clients.
However, the question remains: is HubSpot really worth the investment for your managed service provider business?
Are there other alternatives that may better fit your specific needs and budget?
In this article, we’ll dive deep into a HubSpot review, exploring both the pros and cons of the platform.
This analysis will help you assess what HubSpot is truly good at and whether it’s the right choice for your managed service provider business.
So without further ado, let’s get to it
HubSpot Review: Quick Introduction, Pros, and Cons
HubSpot is a well-known and widely-used platform that offers a suite of tools to help businesses manage their marketing, sales, and customer service operations.
HubSpot has emerged as a leading player in the digital marketing landscape, offering a comprehensive suite of tools and solutions for businesses across various industries.
At its core, HubSpot is a powerful CRM (customer relationship management) system that integrates with a wide range of marketing and sales features.
They offer software to help you with every aspect of marketing and sales activity.
This includes attracting new leads and nurturing existing customers through personalised interactions and automated workflows.
That’s HubSpot for you; now let’s see the pros and cons of this software.
More in Nexalab’s blog: HubSpot B2B Lead Generation Tools, How to Build a Successful Strategy
HubSpot Pros
Comprehensive All-in-One Solution
One of the primary advantages of HubSpot is its ability to provide an all-in-one platform for your marketing, sales, and customer service needs. From lead generation and email marketing to CRM and customer support, HubSpot offers a wide range of integrated tools that can help you manage your business more efficiently.
The platform’s comprehensive approach allows you to consolidate your digital tools and workflows, reducing the need for multiple software subscriptions and the associated overhead. This can lead to improved productivity, better data integration, and a more seamless user experience for your team.
Powerful Marketing Automation
HubSpot’s marketing automation tools are noteworthy, allowing you to automate repetitive tasks like email campaigns, social media posts, and lead nurturing. This can save you time and resources, letting you focus on more strategic priorities.
The platform’s automation capabilities can help you deliver personalised and targeted content to your prospects and clients, improving engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, HubSpot’s analytics and reporting tools can provide valuable insights into the performance of your marketing efforts, allowing you to make data-driven decisions.
Integrated Content Management System (CMS)
HubSpot’s CMS makes it easy to create and manage your website, blog, and other online content. The platform offers a user-friendly interface, diverse templates, and seamless integration with your other HubSpot tools.
This integration can be particularly beneficial for MSPs, as it allows you to create a consistent and cohesive online presence, streamlining your digital marketing efforts and improving the overall user experience for your clients and prospects.
Scalable
As your managed service provider business grows, HubSpot’s scalable nature can accommodate your changing needs. The platform’s flexible solutions allow you to expand your customer base and revenue without worrying about infrastructure constraints.
This scalability can be especially valuable for MSPs, as your client base and service offerings may evolve over time. HubSpot’s ability to scale with your business can help you maintain a unified and efficient digital ecosystem, even as your organisation grows.
HubSpot Cons
The Pricing
One of the biggestt drawbacks of HubSpot is its pricing structure, which can quickly become expensive, especially for smaller MSPs or startups.
The platform’s pricing model is based on the number of contacts you have, and the costs can escalate rapidly as your business grows.
This can be a significant barrier for MSPs with limited budgets, as the investment in HubSpot may not align with their short-term financial resources.
It’s important to carefully evaluate your anticipated growth and the corresponding HubSpot costs to ensure that the platform fits within your budget.
As mentioned by EngageBay, “The pricing model is a huge disadvantage for SMBs, freelancers, and startups. It gets really expensive, really fast.”
Difficulty in Partial Adoption
HubSpot is designed to be an all-in-one solution, and it works best when you use it as such.
If you only want to utilise a few of its features, you may find that the platform is not as effective or user-friendly as more specialised tools.
This can be a concern for MSPs who may only require specific functionalities, such as CRM or marketing automation, and don’t necessarily need the full suite of HubSpot’s offerings. In these cases, a more tailored solution or a combination of specialised tools may be more suitable.
Limited Reporting and A/B Testing
Depending on your plan, HubSpot may not offer the level of reporting and A/B testing capabilities that you require. This can be a drawback for MSPs who need advanced analytics to optimize their marketing and sales efforts.
While HubSpot provides a range of reporting features, the depth and granularity of the data may not meet the needs of MSPs who require more detailed insights. This could make it more challenging to measure the impact of your digital marketing initiatives and make data-driven decisions.
What is HubSpot really good at?
HubSpot is really good as a marketing software that provides you with an all-in-one platform for managing your marketing, sales, and customer service operations.
It means that if you decide to use HubSpot exclusively for all sales and marketing activities, you will get the best ROI on your software investment.
However, it’s important to remember that all of those features come with a cost.
As we mentioned above, the HubSpot subscription cost is relatively high, especially for small and medium businesses and startups. It’s important to carefully evaluate your budget and needs before committing to HubSpot as your primary marketing software solution.
So, although HubSpot all-in-one tools sound like a good offering, it can be considered overpriced if you are not utilising all of its features to their full potential.
But if you feel you need all of HubSpot’s features, including its powerful marketing automation tools, integrated CMS, and scalable nature, it can be a good option for MSPs looking to organise their marketing processes.
The platform’s ability to consolidate various digital tools and workflows can lead to improved efficiency, better data integration, and a more seamless user experience for your team.
Additionally, HubSpot’s marketing automation features and CMS can help you deliver personalized and targeted content, improving engagement and conversion rates.
Why is HubSpot So Popular?
HubSpot’s popularity can be attributed to its reputation as a leading CRM and marketing automation platform.
The company has built a strong brand and has a large user base, particularly among larger enterprises and businesses that require an all-in-one solution.
Additionally, HubSpot’s extensive partner ecosystem, comprehensive training resources (HubSpot Academy), and focus on inbound marketing have contributed to its widespread adoption.
Many MSPs are drawn to HubSpot’s promise of an integrated, scalable platform that can help them streamline their digital marketing and sales efforts.
The platform’s comprehensive approach and its ability to consolidate various digital tools and workflows have also been key factors in its popularity.
For MSPs looking for a one-stop-shop solution to manage their marketing, sales, and customer service operations, HubSpot can be a compelling choice.
Another reason for this might be because of their extensive educational content about marketing.
Let’s face it: if you’re a marketer, you’ve probably stumbled across HubSpot content once or twice while looking for ideas for a new marketing strategy.
Furthermore, they provide certified learning materials that have been shown to help market HubSpot through word-of-mouth from marketers around the world.
More in Nexalab’s blog: What is HubSpot for Startups? How to Maximise its Features for Growth
Conclusion
Ultimately, whether HubSpot is the right fit for your MSP business will depend on your unique requirements, goals, and budget. While HubSpot provides a wide range of tools and features, its high costs and contract structure may not work for all MSPs.
If you’re thinking about HubSpot, you should thoroughly assess your needs and look into other options that may better suit your business requirements and budget. This will help to make sure you invest in the right solutions to drive the growth and success of your MSP.
Investing in marketing software like HubSpot is a smart move for any business looking to improve sales, marketing, and customer service.
But to get the most out of your business growth, it needs to work with your other tools. While HubSpot App Marketplace offers some basic integration, you’ll need expert help when it comes to custom integration.
Nexalab’s App Integration can help you integrate HubSpot with custom integration, connecting HubSpot with other software, like PSA software, for example. This means you get a complete view of your customer data, automate repetitive tasks, and personalise your customer interactions.
It’s a solution that helps you get the most out of your CRM investment. Contact Nexalab today to explore how App Fusion can drive your business forward.
