Hubspot CRM: what is it?

HubSpot is one of the giants of the CRM market, benefiting from exceptional functional richness, but also from a free plan that stands out among CRM software of this size.

Its ease of use, its low cost and its user-friendly interface are all arguments that make HubSpot CRM a truly interesting option.

However, teams with more complex sales processes or who have more specific customization needs may find the platform limited.

Hubspot CRM quickly built a reputation (and a solid user base) thanks to its free offer. But under what conditions is HubSpot the ideal tool? How far can you really go with the free plan? What are the limitations of this CRM software?

Here are the features of Hubspot.

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Hubspot CRM: what is it?

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HubSpot CRM, as the name suggests, is much more than just CRM software. It is a real dynamic solution designed to help businesses optimize their customer relationship management.

What sets CRM Hubspot apart is its versatility. It is as useful for marketing teams as it is for sales teams or for customer service. Regardless of the type of business, this software offers the possibility of perfecting customer relationship management.

One of the major benefits of HubSpot CRM is its ability to improve alignment between sales and marketing teams. As a SaaS CRM software, it offers unconstrained accessibility. No need to be installed on company computers, all functionalities are available online.

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Who is Hubspot CRM for?

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Whether you are an SME, a small business or a large company, this software is perfect for your needs.

If teams are not familiar with the tool, it may take a bit longer for them to adapt. But once the CRM software is mastered, it is smooth and effective.

Indeed, Hubspot is also made to make the different teams (sales/marketing/services) work together, in the same place. Moreover, onboarding by Hubspot is included in pro and enterprise offers to get started with the tool.

This CRM software is particularly appreciated for its optimization of business processes. The sales pipeline feature in “Kanban” view is particularly popular. It makes it easy to follow the evolution of leads in the sales funnel.

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Award-winning and certified software

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HubSpot has taken steps to stay up to date when it comes to customer relationship management. Indeed, it recently updated its software to ensure compliance with the GDPR. The GDPR was recently amended to ensure better protection of user data, and it is crucial for businesses to be in compliance, especially in the areas of B2B and B2C.

HubSpot CRM has been awarded several times on the G2 platform. In 2020, he won the prestigious “Best Relationship” award, as well as the “Leader” badge in the fall of the same year. In all, HubSpot CRM has been honored with no less than 6 awards, a testament to its quality and recognition in the industry.

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Getting started with Hubspot CRM

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The well-thought-out ergonomics and the intuitive interface of this online marketing and sales CRM are among its most striking strengths.

The creators of the software have included numerous smart shortcuts to make it easier to get started, reducing the number of clicks required to perform an action.

Mastering the basic functionalities of the tool is relatively simple and fast. However, to fully exploit all of the software's features, it will require a longer learning curve.

The features of Hubspot CRM

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Start the conversation

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To generate sales, it is crucial for a business to establish contacts, and that has not escaped this online CRM. Indeed, it offers a range of functionalities aimed at facilitating engagement with prospects, such as:

• Email templates: Turn your favorite commercial emails into templates to send to your teams.
• Email tracking: Receive an alert from HubSpot CRM when your prospects open your emails, allowing you to contact them again at the appropriate time.
• Document tracking/management: Share documents with your teams directly from your inboxes.
• Conversational intelligence: Record each conversation so you can analyze it later and determine what works best.
• Call tracking/recording: Record calls directly into the CRM software for greater efficiency.
• Sales automation: Automate your personalized sales process.

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These features make it easier for you to connect with potential prospects and increase the conversion rate of your transactions.

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Strengthening relationships

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The sustainability of a company is largely based on the loyalty of its customers. It is therefore essential to build strong and lasting relationships with your contacts, and this is where the functionalities of the HubSpot software come in:

• Scheduling appointments online: Avoid multiple exchanges that can tire prospects out by scheduling appointments online. In a few clicks, share a link to easily set up an appointment.
• HubSpot Payments: The platform for this online CRM offers fast and secure payment tools via HubSpot Payments. Please note that at this time, this feature is only available to users in the United States.
• Live chat: Reach out to prospects while they visit your page using the live chat function. This allows you to interact instantly and answer their questions in real time.

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These features optimize time and customer relationship management, helping you build solid relationships and maintain customer loyalty.

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Manage the sales pipeline

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Effective sales pipeline management is facilitated by various features offered by HubSpot:

• Sales pipeline: Organize and track your business opportunities through a clear and structured sales pipeline.
• Conversational guides for sales management: Get direct access to guides and materials to optimize the onboarding process and close more deals.
• Quotations: Create quotes quickly and easily to facilitate the negotiation stages with your prospects.
• Sales analysis and reporting: Get complete visibility into all sales processes so you can optimize them and make informed decisions.
• Mobile CRM application: Access your contacts and documents wherever you are thanks to the mobile CRM application.
• Sales pipeline management: Follow the evolution of your sales pipeline using the platform's dashboards.
• Account-based marketing: Benefit from collaborative tools to facilitate work between sales and marketing teams as part of an account-based marketing approach.
• Marketing automation: Take advantage of the marketing automation features offered by this online CRM, which represent a real time-saver for businesses.

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Integration with other tools

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To provide users with the best possible experience, HubSpot CRM offers numerous integrations.

Among these, you will find “classic” tools such as Gmail or Google Calendar, which help you better organize yourself and synchronize your activities.

But HubSpot CRM also offers integration options with tools developed and supported by HubSpot. For example, Airtable or Capsule applications facilitate collaboration between teams and improve the efficiency of your work.

When you visit the embeddable applications page, you will quickly discover that you have a wide range of options to choose from. This variety of integrations is one of the strengths that are often highlighted in HubSpot CRM reviews.

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Hubspot customer service and support

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Customer support is only available to users of paid versions of HubSpot CRM. Users of these versions receive support in French from Monday to Friday, via email, telephone, Twitter or chat. In HubSpot CRM reviews, the quality of customer service is often highlighted.

However, users of the free version are not left behind. They can get advice from the vast user community and access numerous tutorials and materials to help them get started with the software. It should be noted that most of these resources are in English.

Hubspot CRM offers

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Free offer

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The free version of this online CRM offers a fairly comprehensive range of features, including:

• Contact Management
• Monitoring the activity of contacts on the company site
• Gmail and Outlook integrations
• Follow-up of prospects
• Email and notification tracking (up to a maximum of 200 notifications)

To unlock more features, it is possible to upgrade to paid subscriptions. A HubSpot CRM benefit, according to reviews, is the ability to purchase specific add-ons. So you only pay for the features you really need, without having to subscribe to the entire HubSpot package.

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Paid offer

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To take advantage of all the features of this tool, several subscription options are available. Here are the Hubspot prices:

• Sales Hub Starter: This plan starts at €41 per month and includes 2 users. It offers benefits such as 8 hours of calls, unlimited email tracking, 1000 email templates, 1000 meeting links (personal and team), 10 dashboards and 2 transaction pipelines.
• Professional: Starting at €414 per month for 5 paying users, this plan offers additional features such as 100 quotes with electronic signatures, 100 inboxes, 25 dashboards, and 15 sales pipelines.
• Enterprise: Starting at €1104 per month for 10 paying users, this package extends its benefits with 33 hours of calls, 50 dashboards, 50 sales pipelines, and up to 1000 automation workflows for team management.

There are 3 levels of offers for each Hub:

• Sales Starter, Sales Pro, Sales Enterprise;
• Marketing Starter, Marketing Pro, Marketing Enterprise;
• Starter Services, Pro Services, Enterprise Services.

Regarding the Sales part, the price is at the user seat. For the Marketing part, it's the number of marketing contacts.

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Customer reviews

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HubSpot CRM generally enjoys positive feedback on the Internet. Its free version is often praised for its intuitive platform and its ease of use.

On G2, an online review platform, this CRM gets a score of 4.4/5 based on 9545 reviews. On CapTERRA, another evaluation platform, the CRM software receives a score of 4.5/5 with 3508 reviews. Note that Hubspot has more than 158,000 customers who are happy with their experience.

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Benefits

• Commercial follow-up: excellent tool to effectively manage your commercial communications, whether inbound or outbound. It allows you to record calls and send email sequences in just a few clicks, simplifying your sales process.
• Educational resources: Users appreciate the availability of training videos that cover a variety of concepts, allowing them to train effectively.

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Disadvantages

• Learning curve: Frustration with the learning curve considered too steep, resulting in extended training time to master certain features.

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The Growth Room review

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We totally agree with the positive reviews on HubSpot CRM. This prospecting tool offers a multitude of possibilities and is particularly suitable for inbound marketing. Although it can be suitable for various types of businesses, it is particularly relevant for smaller agencies, especially thanks to its free version.

As for the paid versions, while they may seem a bit expensive, they are a great fit for mid-sized businesses, especially those that already have established processes in place. Note that if teams are not familiar with this tool, the adaptation time may be longer, which could discourage some.

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