You may be reading this blog about the Free HubSpot CRM for one of two reasons:
No matter where you are in your decision making process, the first important step to consider is just what is HubSpot in the first instance?
Very briefly, HubSpot is an all-in-one platform with three core hubs (marketing, sales and service). The beauty of HubSpot, however, is that the overall platform is underpinned by a world-class CRM solution.
This makes sense because no matter which hub you are using in Hubspot you will need to manage client/customer records. For example, if you want to send an email newsletter, manage prospects through your sales pipeline or view client/customer interactions on a service ticket you will need to be able to access accurate contact records quickly and easily every time.
As mentioned above, HubSpot is an over-arching marketing, sales and service solution with three main hubs for users to access. Something which is often overlooked, however, is that HubSpot offer free tools in each of these Hubs. This means that if you implement the HubSpot CRM you can avail of a number of great tools, including:
Please note there may be limitations to the free versions of each tool.
Whilst we want to extoll the virtutes of HubSpot's Free CRM we also want to be honest about one of the downsides which we have found for a few users. The HubSpot CRM follows the premise that each contact record is defined by their email address. In 99.9% of cases this is fine, however, for a few more advanced users we have found that they may want a contact record to have more than one email address. The good news is that there are workarounds to avoid this problem although we wanted to be as upfront as possible whilst you are reading this guide.
CRM systems are quite a popular topic in some circles today with lots of companies saying their business must have a state-of-the-art CRM solution (and that it must be today!). We would, however, always advise some caution as the success of any CRM implementation will be much more easily achieved through an evolutionary approach rather than a revolution.
Don't try to be too adventurous and bite off more than you can chew. A failed CRM project will be very difficult to resurrect and get going again! Take a phased approach and build a CRM which suits your business needs and not just a long wish list of absolutely everything you would like it to have.
We always like to start our CRM conversations with clients by asking them if they have a plan for their CRM implementation. What do they have already? Is it an existing CRM which isn't quite working (and full of poor data) or is everyone keeping their own records (from paper to spreadsheets)?
The first step is to Audit the data you have and its quality. How much needs cleaned and how much needs disposed of? The old "Garbage In equals Garbage Out" expression is very true when it comes to your firm's approach to its CRM.
So complete your Audit and develop a Plan but something else which will have a huge influence on the future success of any CRM Solution you implement is whether or not you have senior buy-in at your firm. There is no point planning and implementing the world's best CRM platform if no one gets it, and worse still, if no one is going to use it. For this reason you need to have complete buy in from the top to ensure you receve the right resources to complete the implementation properly (Please Note: a CRM is not a one time fix and needs an ongoing process to ensure it continues to work!) and that the people in your business will actually use it.
Capterra, the software review website, has over 2,000 reviews averaging an overall score of 4.5 out of 5 for HubSpot's CRM. We have replicated one of their reviews below for your reference:
As you can see, we are a big fan of HubSpot and their free CRM software and we aren't the only ones either. Their CRM system is a robust, simple to use solution with several integrations to assist with most client's complex needs. At Enlighten IC, we use the HubSpot CRM with no complaints and a big plus is that HubSpot themselves use their own CRM to manage their own contact records.
In truth, CRM projects can become a bit of a never-ending saga, however, it is worth pointing out that it isn't the software which makes it a success - it is the quality of the audit, the plan, the implementation, the processes and the buy-in which will make your CRM solution a success. Don't implement HubSpot, or any CRM for that matter, just for the sake of it. Whilst the HubSpot CRM is free you will still spend countless (and expensive) hours trying to get your head around it if you haven't set out your plan early.
If you would like to discuss the HubSpot CRM further and explore the options available to your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch for a free (no obligation) consultation.