Ultimate HubSpot CRM Review: a great option for just about every business

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The free edition of HubSpot is so feature-rich that it outperforms many of the paid CRMs currently available on the market. This CRM is sophisticated and can be used by marketing, sales, and customer service teams simultaneously. It is a fantastic choice for virtually any company that is interested in enhancing their ability to manage their relationships with their customers. This review is the result of extensive research and hands-on experience with the software, both positive and negative, and it is intended to assist you in determining whether or not you should purchase it.

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The Positives and Negatives of HubSpot

Our top recommendation for a free CRM platform is HubSpot. It is going to work for the majority of companies that are looking for an improved way to manage their relationships with their customers. However, it is not always perfect, and it does come with its fair share of problems and drawbacks.

The Positive

Free Plan That Includes Everything Else: Out of the dozens of CRMs that we’ve researched, tested, and used ourselves, HubSpot’s free plan is the one that includes everything else. The majority of free plans, despite their impressive appearance on paper, do not provide the features that are necessary to actually strengthen relationships with customers. HubSpot, on the other hand, does things a little bit differently; it provides extra value with its free plan. You are able to manage up to one million contacts without ever having to pay a single dime for CRM software, regardless of whether you are looking for customer support, marketing, sales, content management, or operational CRM. In addition, you get hundreds of powerful features.

Flexible Pricing: Although the paid plans offered by HubSpot can become quite pricey, there are numerous ways to bundle services in order to obtain what you require at a price that is more reasonable. You have the option of upgrading a single hub at full price or purchasing multiple hub upgrades at a discounted rate. If none of the out-of-the-box bundles are a good fit for your team, another option is to have an entirely custom CRM solution developed with only the features you require. Each of HubSpot’s marketing, sales, customer support, and operational hubs can be purchased for a monthly starting price of $45. The CMS hub has a monthly fee that begins at $23. However, if you buy them all at once, you can save a significant amount of money. The Starter Bundle provides access to all of the hubs for a monthly fee that begins at $45.00.

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A Solution That Is Both Modular And Scalable: HubSpot’s slogan is “there’s no better way to grow.” This solution is both modular and scalable. This, of course, is a reference to the wide variety of scalable tools that it provides in the areas of business operations, content creation, customer service, marketing, and sales. Because all of HubSpot’s tools are modular, the platform can expand alongside your company as it grows and meets the demand for more sophisticated CRM features in a variety of departments. It is possible to mix and match solutions as well as payment plans for each module, which makes it a CRM system that is truly customizable and scalable, with the goal of bolstering growth and propelling your business forward. Whether you’re a startup or a small business using the free plan, or you’re in the process of upgrading every module to the highest tier, HubSpot’s CRM spares no detail while providing precisely what you require regardless of the size of your company.

Simple to Use: In spite of the complicated nature of HubSpot’s pricing structure and modularity, the platform’s interface is straightforward and simple to use. Even though there are hundreds of features that can be used, the developers have done an excellent job of making everything simple and straightforward to use. You won’t have any trouble navigating the platform even if you go with the free plan. A lot of customer relationship management systems have trouble striking the right balance between power, automation, and usability. The good news is that HubSpot does not compromise power for simplicity when it comes to its user interface. Because the free plan does not include any kind of human customer support, ease of use is of the utmost significance for anyone who chooses to use it. From what we’ve seen, it’s so simple that you won’t even require support in the end. In any case, if you ever find yourself in need of assistance, you can make use of HubSpot’s extensive knowledge base in conjunction with a comprehensive library of tutorials provided by third-party sources.

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Easy to Create: Not only is it simple for users to navigate and use HubSpot on a daily basis, but it is also incredibly simple to use for creation. For instance, drag-and-drop functionality is utilized in the creation of content in areas such as landing pages, forms, and emails. You also have the ability to schedule and create social media content in bulk. This will be a huge benefit for many different businesses, many of which simply do not have the time to devote to the creation of such content.

Customer Service: HubSpot is well-known in the industry for having an exceptional team of customer service representatives. You can communicate with the customer support team through either live chat, email, or the phone, depending on the plan that you have purchased. Even Support can be reached through Twitter if you need them! Even though these forms of customer support are only available with the paid plans, users of the free version will still have access to an extensive online knowledge base as well as a community; therefore, you will never be left out in the cold.

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Tons of Free Tools: The free tools can be accessed by anyone, regardless of whether or not they are even using HubSpot for their customer relationship management (CRM). Despite this, we continue to believe that it is awesome that HubSpot provides so many free tools for new business owners to use. There is a generator for blog post ideas, a generator for invoice templates, a generator for free business templates, a generator for email signatures, and the list goes on. If you use HubSpot, you won’t ever have to start your company in the dark.

The Negative

Complicated Pricing Tiers: I am aware that we mentioned that HubSpot’s adaptable pricing was one of the software’s advantages, and I stand by what I said. However, there is a distinction to be made between flexible pricing and pricing that is confusing. Because there is such a wide variety of different plans and pricing options to choose from, it is possible that some customers will feel completely overwhelmed by the selection and end up choosing to either stick with the free version (which is obviously limited) or switch to a different provider.

No Customer Support on Free Plan: Although users of the free version do have access to an online knowledge base and the HubSpot community to assist with troubleshooting, the free plan does not include customer support. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a real person about the problems you’re having rather than trying to solve them yourself. It is unfortunate that HubSpot does not at least offer live chat to users of its free plan in order to guarantee that they are accurately reflecting the capabilities that have earned them multiple awards for customer support.

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Limits on the free plan are Simple to Exceed: At the end of the day, it is a version that is completely free! However, you should be aware that there are restrictions associated with the free plan in comparison to the paid tiers that are available. On the free plan, for instance, you will only have access to 200 email tracking notifications per month, whereas on the Starter plan, you will have unlimited access to these notifications. It’s possible that you won’t care about some of the restrictions, while others could be a deal-breaker for you. At the end of the day, the limitations that really matter are the ones that are going to have a negative impact on your company.

Pricing and Payment Options for HubSpot

Let’s take a look at the products that HubSpot has available for your company now that we have a better understanding of all of the advantages that HubSpot provides (as well as the areas in which they have room for improvement).

As we’ve seen, HubSpot includes a wide variety of free tools in each of their product packages. These tools cover a lot of ground and are quite comprehensive. Free customer relationship management tools, free marketing tools, free sales tools, and free service tools are included in this category.

You are able to however upgrade to the premium versions of these tools in the event that your company expands to the point where the free versions are no longer sufficient for your needs. However, HubSpot does not make it simple to comprehend the costs that may be associated with upgrading to their paid versions. You have to understand that there is such a wide variety of packages and price tiers available that it can be somewhat confusing.

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For illustration’s sake, let’s say that you’re only interested in utilizing HubSpot’s CRM and sales tool. If you sign a contract for the full year, the monthly cost will begin at $45 and remain the same thereafter. Eventually, you may come to the conclusion that you would also like to make use of the marketing tools that they provide. This product offering also includes a Starter plan, and the lead-in price for that plan is $45 per month for a contract that is one year long.

On the other hand, we are going to share a little known fact with you. If you were to sign up for the Starter Growth Suite bundle, which costs $50 per month, you would have access to all of the products that HubSpot has to offer under the one bundle (with the exception of the CMS Hub, which will be discussed in more detail later on).

To be clear, the normal cost of the Starter Growth Bundle is $150 per month; however, in order to provide assistance to businesses during this challenging period, HubSpot has decreased the price.

The following are some of the features that are included in the Starter Growth Suite:

  • Dashboards for advanced analytics and visualizations
  • Simple automatic creation of tasks and notification of their completion
  • Up to 5,000 promotional emails each and every month
  • Access to the user-friendly mobile app developed by HubSpot
  • Capabilities for retargeting advertisements
  • Automation of conversion routing for customer service and sales personnel

If you are interested in a Professional or Enterprise Growth Suite, these plans come with additional features, but the price jumps up to $1,343 and $4,200 per month, respectively. If you are interested, click here.

Therefore, the lesson to be learned from this anecdote is that you should look into the pricing models in great detail in order to have a solid understanding of the differences between the standalone plans and the bundle. Also, if you are able to purchase the bundle while it is on sale for $50 per month, you should not hesitate to do so. You will have access to a large number of tools for a price that is almost identical to that of a standalone plan.

HubSpot Marketing Hub

The marketing software offered by HubSpot is intended to assist you in attracting and converting customers. To put it another way, draw in the appropriate demographic, turn site visitors into paying customers, and carry out comprehensive inbound marketing campaigns without breaking a sweat (or the bank).

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You won’t have to look anywhere else for any of your marketing tools or data. You are able to publish blogs, increase your search authority, monitor and manage advertisements, take control of your social media channels, construct a landing page that is truly impressive, and keep track of and report on your progress. What else could it possibly be that you desire?

The marketing hub provided by HubSpot is relied on by a large number of well-known companies, including Frontify, Monday.com, Trello, and SurveyMonkey. They also have a history of receiving awards for excellence from organizations such as G2.com on a regular basis.

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The following is a breakdown of the pricing for each of the Marketing Hub plan options:

  • Free
  • Starting rate of $45 per month
  • $800 per month if you’re a professional
  • 3.200 dollars per month for the enterprise

In a nutshell, the HubSpot Marketing Hub is an exceptional marketing tool that is designed to expand along with your company’s needs.

The Sales Hub from HubSpot

The CRM capabilities of HubSpot’s sales software are second to none. Your teams will be able to successfully close more deals, build stronger relationships, and manage their pipeline in a more efficient and effective manner as a result of this, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

You will have the opportunity to build stronger connections with your customers by ensuring that your team always delivers the same congenial message by using tools such as email templates, email tracking, and call recording. This will allow you to build stronger connections with your customers. In addition to this, you can provide them with branded quotes and sales management playbooks to ensure that everyone is aware of everything that is going to take place.

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With HubSpot’s sales hub, you’ll also have access to some of the following additional features:

  • Make it possible for potential customers to schedule appointments that will then be synchronized with your calendar.
  • Integrate human interaction into your automated sales process.
  • Live chat conversations should be routed to the appropriate salesperson so that better relationships with customers can be built.
  • Easily manage your pipeline with just one click, preventing potentially significant business from falling through the cracks.

You can’t really ask for much more from customer relationship management software.

The fact that HubSpot also provides a wide variety of communication features within its Sales Hub product further demonstrates the company’s commitment to maintaining its position as the industry leader. Your company will undoubtedly benefit from having access to all of these tools in a single location, and you will have more time on your hands to concentrate on the needs of your clients as a result.

The following is an outline of the tiered pricing for the sales software, along with the features that are included:

  • Free
  • Starting rate of $45 per month
  • $450 per month for professionals
  • Monthly cost for the enterprise is $1,200
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Service Hub from HubSpot

 

After you have ensured that everyone on your team is competent and that everything is running smoothly, it is time to turn your attention to the client. When we talk about putting the customer first, we aren’t just referring to luring them in and turning them into paying customers; we’re talking about much more than that.

When we say “really focus on them,” we mean it.

It is essential, in order to provide satisfactory service to the customer, to make use of software for customer relationship management (CRM) that enables you to scale your customer support while also uniting your front-office teams. You are in luck because the HubSpot service hub can handle all of these tasks for you on a single platform.

You will have the ability to in Service Hub to:

  • Develop a sophisticated help desk and automation system for submitting tickets.
  • Create a comprehensive online knowledge base for your customers to use in solving the problems they are having.
  • Engage in an intelligent live chat that can guide your customers to the appropriate location and personnel.
  • In order to gain complete visibility into the communication process, connect all of the various inboxes used by your team — including emails, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and others — into a single universal inbox.
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Customers in today’s fast-paced world anticipate having their issues resolved around the clock and receiving individualized assistance. You will be able to spend more time supporting and impressing your customers if you consolidate all of the data and communication channels related to your service under one roof. This will allow you to spend less time worrying about customer complaints.

The prices for the Service Hub are very comparable to those that are listed for the Sales Hub; for example, the Free, Starter, and Enterprise tiers of pricing are all unchanged. However, the cost of the Professional pricing plan is currently $360 per month. The following is an outline of the various capabilities and restrictions that are available for each of the Service Hub plans:

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CMS Hub from HubSpot

You’ve probably heard by now that one of the most effective ways to build trustworthy relationships with your audience and potential customers is to produce content that is both engaging and interactive for that audience and for those potential customers.

When you give your audience enough “free” advice to help them through menial tasks, but not quite enough to render your help useless, you will start to gain their interest and trust. This is especially true if you give them sufficient advice to help them through more difficult tasks. But how exactly are you going to provide this absolutely free advice to people?

The answer lies in utilizing a content management system, or CMS.

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You can say goodbye to waiting on developers for your every need with the help of HubSpot’s Content Management System hub, which will give you the ability to create and manage website pages with a simple drag-and-drop editor. Even better, these web pages will automatically be optimized for a variety of devices, ensuring that the format of your content will not be altered in any way.

In addition to those features, this product also comes with the following ones:

  • Recommendations for search engine optimization to ensure that you are placing yourself on the map
  • Access to pre-built website themes, allowing for simple personalization of the site.
  • Multi-language content creation
  • Utilizing the contact attribution reporting system, conduct an analysis of the effects of your website.
  • Monitoring of security and detection of threats around the clock

Even though we believe that this CMS hub from HubSpot is an excellent product, we feel obligated to point out that if you are looking for a CMS powerhouse, your search needs to begin and end with WordPress.

However, the HubSpot CMS Hub is a good alternative for people who prefer to keep all of their business tools in a single location and don’t want to deal with the hassle of managing an additional web host, as is required when using WordPress.

CMS Hub does not provide a free plan or a Starter plan to its users. However, the following pricing tiers are currently available:

  • $270 per month for professionals
  • Monthly cost of $900 for the enterprise
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It is also essential to note that the Growth Suite bundle, which we discussed earlier, does not consist of this particular product in its entirety.

Keeping this in mind, along with the fact that there is no budget pricing tier, it is actually pretty darn pricey to manage your content with HubSpot. This is especially true when you consider the fact that you could have access to powerful content management tools such as WordPress or Wix for a fraction of the price.

Bottom Line

Because there are dozens of excellent CRM software options available, it can be somewhat challenging to determine which one is the best fit for you specifically.

Although HubSpot is on our list, there are a few other options that are also worth looking into.

Not only will you have the means at your disposal to cultivate fruitful relationships with both new and existing customers, but you will also have the ability to facilitate the simplification of the operations carried out by your team. When everyone is on the same page, you’ll spend less time managing the team and more time recruiting loyal and faithful supporters because you won’t have to repeat yourself as often. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what good CRM is all about?

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