HubSpot: Inbounding Marketing and the Web 2.0

Team 4: Anthony, Devin, Karisma, Mehvish, Milburn, Tiffany

Founding HubSpot ● Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah both met at MIT wanted to use the Web 2.0 to

transform the way small businesses were run, defining the term “inbound marketing”

● Halligan and Shah founded HubSpot in 2006 ● Halligan became CEO and Shah became the Chief Software Architect ● Both Halligan and Shah wanted to create a very specific culture at HubSpot

○ Staffed with young MIT graduates in the high-tech area of Boston, MA ○ Very energized office ○ Passionate team members who wanted to work in a fast pace environment

Brian Halligan CEO

Dharmesh Shah Chief Software

Architect

In order to maximize the growth rate of HubSpot, founders Halligan and Shah needed to resolve three key issues: 1. Determine which customers to

serve 2. Alter current pricing model to

attract new consumers and maximize profits of existing customers

3. Assess whether inbound marketing practices will suffice, or if utilizing outbound programs is necessary

Value Proposition ● Halligan and Shah believed the “rules of

marketing” have changed ● They needed to modernize the current

process of how marketers attain their consumers ○ Introduction of Inbound Marketing

■ Web 2.0 Tools■ Blogging ■ Search Engine Optimization ■ Social Media Platforms

Inbound Marketing● Focus on inbound marketing to create relevant content instead of mass,

undifferentiated advertisements (outbound marketing)● Inbound marketing= collection of marketing strategies to attract relevant

customers ○ Allows marketers to target the right people in an interesting way, saving significant costs on

mass marketing.

● Smaller companies stay competitive with larger ones by communicating more effectively

Maximizing Inbound Marketing1. Write compelling content to attract people to

your businessa. Interesting content, not promotionb. Have them come to you

2. Widespread distribution of content to viewers

a. SEO to bring out your content

3. Attract and engage a community of followersa. Interactive content for followers to engageb. Keep followers coming back for more

HubSpot Product ● HubSpot builds software that helps companies execute inbound marketing

○ Focused on pulling consumers towards a business and its product● Web-Spot software is a complete inbound marketing system designed for

companies to attract prospective customers and convert them into paying customers

● HubSpot has 4 core products: ○ HubSpot CRM ○ HubSpot Sales Hub ○ HubSpot Service Hub ○ HubSpot Marketing Hub

Consumer Analysis ● HubSpot caters to B2B and B2C companies ● HubSpot’s all in one marketing system can be used by small business as well

as larger corporations ○ Motto= Grow Better

■ Into a sustainable, better company

● Attracted 2 consumers ○ Owner Ollies- Small business owners

■ 73% of consumers ○ Marketer Mary- Companies that range from 26-100 people

■ 27% of consumers

Hubspot Findings● Traffic increased 97% to customer’s website first month, 62% second month, then

31% third month● Hubspot uses the lead tracking software to construct the sales funnel

○ Information about customer behavior allowed hubspot to:■ Identify prospects leads opportunities

● Helps increase the chances of potential customer to purchasing customer by creating traffic, analyzing the lead, closing the sale

Opportunities

Management Decision Problem ● Should HubSpot begin utilizing outbound marketing in addition to inbound

marketing?● Which customer segments should it cater to?● Should it change its current pricing strategy (SaaS monthly subscription

model)?

Management Research Problem ● How are the growth rates for the company?● What types of companies and businesses is the company attracting?

○ Owner Ollies and Marketer Mary’s

● What is the ratio of old clients to new clients? What is the customer retention data compared to the churn rate (rate at which customers cancel their subscription)?

Recommendations 1. Stick to one group- Ollies: able to leave them hands off 2. Be okay with change of inbound marketing- hybrid?3. Overall, new strategies come into place and Hubspot needs to be adaptable to

what the market needs. First and foremost, bring value to these companies

Thank you