HubSpot – A CRM platform and a well-oiled subscription machine

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Subscription Case #4 – HubSpot

This series of articles is not about B2C subscriptions alone and after having studied two delivery services, I thought it was about time to include a Software-as-a-Service solution. Many of us use a SaaS solution in our day-to-day work and there is a reason why this model has created some of the world’s most successful subscription companies.

Since Salesforce introduced the term in the year 2000, a line of influential companies has adopted the model on software products that are usually extremely expensive and requires constant updates. Another example is Adobe, which has finally conquered pirating issues and insurmountable one-off prices by introducing a fixed, monthly price. Microsoft Office is also a SaaS solution today and it probably will stay that way.

But how do you create a successful SaaS subscription? There are several examples of this, but I’ve chosen one of the services that I know best. At Subscrybe, we use HubSpot for our inbound activities, lead generation, and more. And we are quite satisfied with the product we have.

Let’s dive into what makes HubSpot such a trusted subscription and why more than 143.000 companies use their platform daily.

What is HubSpot?

HubSpot offers several solutions within CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and you can control all of your activities within marketing, sales, and customer service on the platform.  It’s your choice how many of the above you need and you pay depending on the size of your team and customer base. This means that you can start for only 45 dollars a month and upgrade to a professional subscription when you reach more than 1000 contacts in your system.

But what makes HubSpot eligible for a Case Study? It’s all about the way they retain customers.

Customer Success

A crucial part of running a B2B subscription is to ensure that your subscribers get the most out of your platform. Therefore, HubSpot has a huge focus on Customer Success. To make sure that subscribers get a good start with the software, they have developed a learning platform with videos, e-books, and everything you need to become an expert on HubSpot’s functionalities. HubSpot also collaborates with consultants that can help you create a strong setup from the start. Furthermore, you have 24-hour access to live chat and phone support, to ensure that your CRM platform is always 100% effective.

It was originally Salesforce that realized that the most important part of running a SaaS solution is to spend time and energy on educating the customer so they experience the highest possible value. When your service is a tool, you have a great interest in bringing out all of its functionalities.

Community

Should you need an encyclopedia for specific challenges, you’re also able to find help from other subscribers. HubSpot has created a strong forum, where subscribers can share experiences and ask questions about challenges specific to their business or level of experience.

In addition to having a practical function, the community helps to turn users into ambassadors for the product. When using the community site, you earn badges depending on how useful your answers are, and there are a lot of highly specialized HubSpot geeks ready to answer your questions. This results in them becoming ‘heroes’, able to convey the value of the platform to new and inexperienced subscribers.

Meets your company where it is

The impressive thing about HubSpot is that they service companies of all sizes. From the smallest E-commerce business to large enterprise corporations, HubSpot is ready with endless amounts of content, guides, suggestions, and new functions to optimize your business.

The first time you create a flow or a signup form, you receive an e-mail with suggestions for how to make it better or asking if you need any help. These constant check-ins help to create a feeling that HubSpot wants you to succeed with the product. That’s why they have endless amounts of content supporting all processes, so you cannot help but feel supported along the way.

Switching Costs

At Subscrybe, we often talk about “The golden subscription handcuffs”. And though handcuffs don’t sound very nice, it is a positive thing. The best subscription companies have a huge focus on what we call “Switching Costs” meaning, the hypothetical costs of moving to another service. And with a SaaS solution, you have several opportunities to make your customers more and more dependent on your platform.

This mindset is weaved into the HubSpot platform. On the marketing site, everything is connected to your e-mail marketing, submission forms, workflows, statistics, and lead lists are intertwined. Instead of using Klaviyo or Mailchimp, your E-mail Management System is integrated into HubSpot.

Also, their analytics tool is extremely powerful. You can even track your social media performance through HubSpot to easily compare with your other marketing channels.

This interconnectedness is essential to ensure that your customers don’t find other alternatives.

Conclusions

We can conclude that HubSpot, with immense precision and knowledge, does everything in its power to make its service seem indispensable. And many of their customers will probably agree. When you learn the software, you start understanding its value. And a strong community maintains a membership feeling and secures that HubSpot has ambassadors – there are even consultants specialized in setting up your HubSpot for you! The costs of switching to a competitor are immense. Both time-wise and financially. And it could be difficult to compare data year-over-year if everything must be migrated from one system to another.

Maybe some of these actions would work in a B2C subscription as well. And perhaps, you can learn something from HubSpot. I, for one, think that you can.

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