I’ve followed HubSpot’s progress over the years from them pioneering the inbound marketing space over 15 years ago to where they are now a provider of a platform that covers inbound marketing, sales, and customer service.

So, I was really excited when they got in touch recently and invited me to attend their GROW Europe 2024 event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London so I could see what was new, what was top of mind for them and what they are excited about.

Here are three things that stood out for me.

The first thing that stood out for me was their messaging. Why? Because it was not AI first, but was very much growth first and it parsed out where their platform helps and where their users can really add value.

For example,

When talking about marketing, they say: AI creates, people curate.

When talking about sales, they say: AI does the busy work, and people do the best work¹.

When talking about service, they say: AI handles simplicity, people handle subtlety.

I think this is brilliantly simple and powerful messaging that clearly describes how their system is designed to harness and leverage the power of AI such that it allows human beings to focus on doing their best work and to do what we are best at…..whether in a marketing, sales or service context.

However, relative to this, one thing occurred to me when I was listening to Kieran Flanagan, HubSpot’s SVP of Marketing, deliver his keynote. He suggested that HubSpot’s AI features would help marketers create campaigns and remix content depending on the channel. But, then, it would be up to marketers to apply nuance and that little bit extra to the AI-generated content to drive the quality of the output from good to great. He said this was essential to cut through the noise and really humanise campaigns to maximise a brand’s chances of connecting with their customers.

I don’t disagree with any of what he said. But, it does seem to me that there is an assumption implicit in what he is saying, and that is that marketing departments are stocked full of professionals who are great writers and are capable of transforming automatically generated content from good to great.

I’m not sure every marketing dept is endowed with these skills. Writing is hard, and storytelling is hard, too. Great writing and great storytelling are harder still.

Moreover, given that one of the most popular uses of generative AI applications at both work and home is providing help with writing and communications, it will be interesting to see how marketing teams respond to the good to great bit.

My advice: Writers dust off your CVs; there are brands out there that need you to help them take their content from good to great.

The second thing that stood out for me was that HubSpot has built an integrated sales, marketing and service platform. Instead of disconnected data and separate systems, they have developed a customer platform that sits at the heart of their platform, helping to facilitate data sharing and collaboration and reduce siloed behaviour.

There are some other players in the CRM space that can make similar claims, but there are not many.

Moreover, in the era of AI, where having all of your data in one place is one of the keys to driving better customer and employee outcomes, I think this is a secret hiding in plain sight.

As Lalitha Stables, HubSpot’s UK GM & Country Manager, commented to me….’this is their secret sauce.’

I also wonder why they don’t crow about it more, especially when you consider that their own research finds that:

• Only 35% of CX leaders say the data that they need is fully integrated with the tools they use,
• Teams with unified data are 225% more likely to receive a personalised experience, and
• HubSpot customers with Service Hub, in addition to Marketing Hub & Sales Hub, close 67% more deals.

The third thing that stood out for me is that they have built a customer success space right into the heart of their platform.

That makes complete sense, especially when you think that they have fused marketing, sales and service together.

I mean, where else would it go?

According to Daphne Costa Lopes, Global Director of Customer Success at HubSpot, no one else has done this in the CRM space, so that’s a very cool first.

Notes: ¹ Mark Barry, HubSpot’s VP of Sales, EMEA, in his opening keynote, offered an alternative to this when he said: ‘AI offers context, people offer connection.’

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Credit: Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash