One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is to market and attract new customers. One way to do that is through web site marketing. However, the biggest hurdle for many is to turn their website from a piece of brochureware to an inbound marketing machine. In the past, small businesses have tried traditional outbound marketing techniques to get new customers. Whether it’s radio, TV, print, or direct mail, the times have changed. These forms of outbound marketing are, for the most part, dead in most industries. This is why the use of inbound marketing techniques (e.g. email, social media, search engine optimization, keyword ads) are extremely effective if implemented correctly. Enter Hubspot.
HubSpot is a small software company founded and run by internet marketers Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. It provides cutting-edge software and tools to help online businesses succeed. Founded in 2006, this company focused on providing small and large online businesses and individual internet marketers with the inbound marketing tools they need to become successful in today’s online marketing world.
Small business finally has a marketing toolkit
Until recently, it was hard for small businesses to be effective with online marketing because the tools were fragmented: you had to hire someone to do your website, get email marketing somewhere else, hire a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant, and figure out this social media thing. HubSpot provides an attractive package that includes all of this: not just software, but also advice. The first place to start is the free site called Hubspot’s WebGrader and it ‘grades’ your websites on a scale of 1-100. This gives you a starting point for how to improve your site with or without their HubSpot solution.
Small businesses need to generate more inbound leads but usually have no dedicated marketing resources, are less tech-savvy, and often don’t have a CRM system. Their website management system (CMS) is fairly basic, but it includes everything you need: the pages are search engine optimized from the start, it includes a blog and registration forms, and there are social media integrations. If you’re really picky about the design or have advanced technical requirements, the HubSpot CMS may be too basic for you. In that case you can consider HubSpot Medium, which allows you to add tracking keys to your own website. This is the package I chose for my site since I want a bit more control.
In addition to website tools, Hubspot also provides a range of SEO tools for keyword discovery, keyword selection, rank tracking and much more. They are known for integrating Social Media into the product DNA and you are notified of relevant online discussions on Twitter, LinkedIn and other locations, so you can join the discussion. This includes ‘follow-me’ buttons in email and on your website; and extends into a social CRM solution by showing you a prospect’s social media profiles. There is also basic email marketing to stay in touch with your prospects or create targeted micro or ‘drip’ campaigns. And finally, they have extensive reporting and analytics to show the business results of your activities.
Hubspot costs and investment
Hubspot offers a few different packages based on need and their ‘Hubspot Small’ package goes for $3000 per year and the ‘Medium’ package is $9,000. Some might see the price for the packages and think it is expensive but it really isn’t and it should be put in perspective. Many businesses spend thousands a month on things like the Yellow Pages, or radio, or direct mail, etc—all of which have very short-term results and practically no demonstrable return. Yet these same companies hesitate to spend a few thousand dollars annually on a system that will bring them leads, at an increasing rate, in perpetuity. I challenge you to go out and hire consultants to do all of this an provide these kinds of results at that price point.
Overall, if your business lends itself to online marketing but technology has been a challenge for you, HubSpot will be a good fit. You’ll have a big chance of success if you reserve 20-25 hours to get started, and enough time each week to write at least 2 blog posts (again, this is true for all SEO & social media tools) which is critical when it comes to keeping content fresh, search engines indexing and your site up at the top of search ranking.
Establishing a strong web presence does take work and effort but the best part of HubSpot is that they provide you with all the tools and resources necessary to do so. And when I say all, this is an all-in-one system. It provides an easy to use web design and publishing system, blogging system, video marketing tools, social media hooks, great analytics and much more. Hubspot gives you the tools necessary to do very well with each—and measure your effectiveness with each while you’re at it.