What is Hubspot CRM? Our Breakdown of the Software

If you work in the marketing or sales fields, chances are you have heard of Hubspot. Hubspot is a powerful, robust platform with a myriad of features. It can be a foundational block to your digital ecosystem, as it’s powerful CRM and API capabilities allow it to be integrated with a large number of tools and platforms. However, the complexity of Hubspot can lead to confusion about what it really is and what it can actually do. We will dive into what Hubspot does and how it can help you and your business!

Today we will cover the following topics: 

• What is Hubspot?
• What is the Hubspot Academy?
• What is a Hubspot Certification?
• Where can you find Hubspot training?
• What is inbound marketing?
• How to use Hubspot for marketing?
• What can you do with the Hubspot API?

Let’s get started. 

What is Hubspot?

Hubspot is an inbound marketing and sales software that boasts more than 100,000 customers across more than 120 countries. The Hubspot software covers a wide range of business needs in the marketing, sales, and service departments, The complete Hubspot platform includes the following:

• CRM platform
• CMS (Content Management System)
• Marketing Hub
• Sales Hub
• Service Hub

For the sake of today’s article, we will be focusing on the Hubspot CRM software.

In case you are not familiar with CRM, here is a quick rundown:  CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management” which is a strategy many companies use to manage their relationships with current and potential customers. This usually comes in the form of a CRM software, like that of Hubspot. Another example of a well-known CRM is Salesforce. A CRM software records any and all relevant contact information on your customers. It organizes this information to give a complete record and overview of your customer base which allows you to understand and better those relationships over time. 

With Hubspot CRM, you have the ability to unify your marketing, sales, and service data bases through contact management, company records, and forms. You can also share context between teams through contact activity, contact and company insights, and documents. Finally, Hubspot’s CRM allows you to organize and track customer communications through reporting dashboards, live chat, chat bots, ticketing, team email, and more. 

Something amazing about Hubspot is that they offer a 100 percent free CRM software that allows you to use multiple tools for everyone on your team including Sales Leaders, Marketers, Customer Service Teams, and more.

Free features include: 

• Reporting dashboards
• Company insights
• Deal tracking 
• Pipeline management

For those looking for a more robust CRM platform, prices range from $45 – $1,200 a month depending on company size. This is a part of the Sales Hub edition of Hubspot. The paid version includes more advanced features and hands-on customer support. 

What is the Hubspot Academy?

Another one of Hubspot’s offerings is the Hubspot Academy. The Hubspot Academy is a free online training service that offers a wide range of courses and certifications for professionals across the marketing, sales, and customer support departments.The courses also cover the Hubspot software itself so you can learn and become certified in its various features. 

It is a comprehensive system that functions in terms of levels and durations of courses. Throughout the courses, there are e-books, templates, and workbooks available for download to supplement the video explanations.

Some of the benefits to the Hubspot Academy include being up to date and knowledgeable about the latest trends in digital marketing, sales, customer support, and more. Additionally, these certifications are globally recognized and can be added to any CV or LinkedIn page. On the business side of things, you can use Hubspot Academy to help build your business strategy on the inbound methodology to generate more leads, close more deals, and provide your customers with the best experience possible. 
How can you gain access? Just head to this page and sign up for your free courses and certifications, you just need a computer and access to the internet.

What is a Hubspot Certification?

A Hubspot certification is a digital diploma that you receive when you complete and pass one of the various certification courses available on Hubspot Academy. They are quite robust and take some time to complete, but the benefits are clear. Hubspot Academy offers certifications in the realms of Marketing, Sales, and the Hubspot software itself. 

You can become Hubspot certified in things like inbound marketing, inbound sales, content marketing, digital advertising, Hubspot marketing and Hubspot sales software, and more. These certifications are almost all free of charge, and can not only help you learn the ins and outs of marketing and sales, but can give you a deeper understanding of the Hubspot software and how best to use it. 

Where Can You Find Hubspot Training?

Hubspot can be an overwhelming software and a difficult one to master. Many companies find they need training or assistance in the implementation of the software. There are two main ways to go about finding Hubspot training: 

1. Hubspot offers a program called the Certified Trainer program, where participants can become certified trainers on the Hubspot software. This program enables participants to teach inbound and Hubspot software. To enter this program, one must apply and be accepted during the enrollment period. This is a free program. You can either designate someone on your team to become Hubspot Certified, or hire someone who is. Additionally, in the recruiting process you can prioritize those with experience with the platform. 
2. You can hire a freelance Hubspot specialist to assist you in implementing, training, and any other Hubspot- specific needs you may have. Sites like Upwork have exhaustive lists of Hubspot specialists

Additionally, customer support and Hubspot Academy are good resources to have if you ever get lost. 

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a business methodology focused on helping customers find your company by creating tailored, personalized, and valuable content and experiences. Inbound marketing uses many forms of pull marketing techniques such as content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and more, to create brand awareness and attract new business. 

The difference between inbound and outbound is that outbound marketing seeks out customers and interrupts your audience with content they don’t always want, while inbound marketing focuses on visibility, so potential buyers come to you. In simple terms, outbound uses push marketing while inbound uses pull marketing.  Inbound marketing forms connections your audience is looking for and solves problems they already have.

• The Inbound Methodology: Hubspot describes the inbound methodology as “The method of growing your organization by building meaningful, lasting relationships with consumers, prospects, and customers. It’s about valuing and empowering these people to reach their goals at any stage in their journey with you.”

They break the inbound methodology in three parts, attract, engage, and delight. Hubspot defines these three features like this:

• Attract: drawing in the right people with valuable content and conversations that establish you as a trusted advisor with whom they want to engage.
• Engage: presenting insights and solutions that align with their pain points and goals so they are more likely to buy from you. 
• Delight: providing help and support to empower your customers to find success with their purchase. 

These three features create the “flywheel” that is integral to Hubspot and the inbound methodology.

This flywheel is the business model adopted by HubSpot to “illustrate the momentum your organization can gain by prioritizing and delivering exceptional customer experience.”

How Do You Use Hubspot CRM for Marketing?

The Hubspot CRM isn’t just for sales – there are tools for marketers as well! The free version offers tools for things like lead generation and email marketing. You can launch professional-looking landing pages with their free landing page builder, make the most out of free   ad management tools, and convert visitors into leads with the power of Hubspot. There is the opportunity to use live chat and chatbots.

In the paid version, marketers can go even further with more automation features, sequencing, and more. You can learn more about Hubspot CRM pricing here.

What can you do with the Hubspot API?

Firstly, we would like to give you a quick overview of what an API is. An API stands for “application programming interface” and it is an information gateway that allows the back ends of software and services to communicate with one another. It is what allows two applications to talk to each other. In other words, an API is the messenger that delivers your request to the provider that you’re requesting it from and then delivers the response back to you. Example: Streaming services like Spotify and Netflix use APIs to distribute content. 

API’s usually concern developers, and the information and wording can get a bit tricky. That being said,  Hubspot has its own API that has a wide range of capabilities. 

Essentially, the API in the Hubspot CRM allows you to integrate your information with another system. This means your customer data can be synced seamlessly with other platforms and systems to allow for centralized and streamlined data across all platforms. This data includes things like contacts, companies, deals, tickets, products, line items, and custom objects. 

If you are looking for a more technical breakdown of Hubspot’s API for CRM, head to this page.

We are a proud Hubspot partner, if you are curious to learn more or discuss your project, contact us!

Want to learn more about CRM?

Check out our article dedicated to the ins and outs of CRM technology.