Customer Relationship Management systems are essential for any modern business that wants to get the edge over their competition. CRM systems have become more and more popular in recent years as business executives begin to realise the potential that they can unlock when they have these systems implemented.
One of the best CRM systems that are currently available on the market is HubSpot. As with any CRM system or other form of business tech though, you might be wondering about the HubSpot prices and whether they are affordable for South African businesses.
It’s important to look at South African businesses specifically, because if you look at Salesforce, the CRM with the most market share, and arguably the one with the widest international implementation, you’ll realise that the running costs are simply not sustainable in South Africa.
So, what about HubSpot? Keep reading to find out.
Is HubSpot a Good CRM?
If you’re already on the lookout for a CRM system to implement into your business, you’ve likely heard of HubSpot before. You’re probably wondering whether it’s a good CRM system that is worth considering before you make your final decision.
The answer is yes. HubSpot is one of the best CRMs in the world. First founded in 2005, HubSpot is used by thousands of businesses all around the world including Walmart, Shell, and even the United States Air Force.
What Can Hubspot do?
HubSpot is a great system, and although it’s a Customer Relationship Management system, it can do so much more than that. Building strong bonds between your business and your customers is one of the key elements that this system aims to accomplish. HubSpot achieves this in multiple ways, from personalised marketing to excellent customer service.
HubSpot is the pioneer of inbound marketing, which is one of the most effective ways to bring clients right to your front door rather than bombarding them with ads and marketing that they ignore 99% of the time. As such, HubSpot has several important features that can help your business to leverage inbound marketing and make the most of it.
HubSpot also features a sales pipeline that you can use to manage all of your projects. The pipeline can be customised any way you need it to be, so whether you’re tracking a project and moving it from one stage of the pipeline to another, or keeping an eye on your customers’ product life cycles, you can use HubSpot effectively to manage everything in your business.
HubSpot also allows for integrations and automations, which makes it much easier for your team to use multiple different apps in one unified system. From Slack to Zoom, and even Google Docs, you can integrate thousands of apps into your CRM. Several businesses are even integrating custom apps that aren’t available on the HubSpot marketplace, which makes it easier for them to use these apps within their business.
Is HubSpot Expensive?
Many CRM systems can be pricey. There are some businesses that pay up to and over $6500 per month for Salesforce for example. For most South African businesses, this is simply way above what they can afford.
It’s often not even worth looking into free CRMs either. That’s because they often come with limited time trials, demo accounts, or a limited number of users. Ultimately, this makes them useless if you want to have a good CRM system integrated into your business.
HubSpot is different though. There is a free version that offers you a fully functional CRM with unlimited users. There are some limitations in terms of the features, but overall, the free version of Hubspot works perfectly for small and medium sized businesses.
What makes HubSpot even more unique is its flexibility. The CRM is broken into three branches: the Sales Hub, Service Hub, and Marketing Hub. Each of these three branches can be used for free, and they can be upgraded to their respective paid versions independently of one another.
For example, if your business needs extra sales features, you can choose to upgrade your Sales Hub to a paid version, while keeping your Marketing and Service Hubs on their free versions. This allows the CRM to grow with your business, and you won’t be paying for features that you don’t need or would never use. This is the kind of flexibility that makes HubSpot stand out from the sea of other CRM systems.
Is HubSpot the Right CRM for my Business?
While Hubspot might sound like a great CRM that can do everything you need it to for a much more affordable price, it’s important to take your business’ goals and needs into consideration. Choosing a CRM in South Africa is not an easy task.
There are tons of important factors that you need to keep in mind. The first, and most important factor is your budget. Having a CRM system is great, and it can unlock your business’ potential and propel you forward, but if it’s not within your budget then you won’t see the true benefits of the system. Always make sure that the CRM you choose fits in your budget and has flexibility.
You also need to keep in mind that there are some other costs that may come up. For example, when it comes to implementing the CRM into your business, there are complex processes involved which may require you to work with an agency or a CRM expert.
Having a CRM system that is more user-friendly and easy to learn is also incredibly important. Your team will be using the CRM most of the time, so it’s crucial that you have training material ready, and that your team can get to grips with the system quickly and easily.
Finally, you want to consider the features of the CRM system. At the end of the day, the features packed into the system need to be beneficial to your business, and you need to be able to make the most of them. So, always make sure that the features on offer are relevant to your business.
