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From Ad-Hoc Tools to An All-In-One Solution
As a people development company, Insights has always strived to forge meaningful connections with its customers and potential customers. In 2013, the business realised that a lack of marketing automation was limiting the ability to do that at scale. When Sarah Callaghan came on board to Insights’ marketing team, her first order of business was to find a better way to capture and nurture leads online.
“When I joined, the marketing department was very small, and each person on the team was working so exceptionally hard to make sure every lead and every customer had a fantastic experience at every touchpoint. But since we were mainly running ad-hoc campaigns on social media and through an email service, every message needed manual management and the campaign assets were not joined up which made it very difficult to see the ROI of our work. I recommended that we get a marketing automation solution right away,” explains Insights’ Global Marketing Manager.
Insights started off by using Eloqua, which Sarah had worked with in a previous role, but its support was lacking and didn’t integrate with its CRM.
“That meant that we couldn’t use half the features, which was frustrating. Before our contract was up for renewal, I investigated what other options were out there, and that’s when I discovered HubSpot.”
Sarah also researched Marketo and even took a trial of it, but she felt that it wasn’t the right fit.
“One of the main reasons we ended up choosing the HubSpot software was its user-friendliness. My team has a real mix of skills, from people who are comfortable coding an email to those who are new to the world of digital marketing. The HubSpot software suited every level of expertise; it was powerful yet straightforward. I knew that it would help us get all our activities working together and prove that they were getting results.”
The decision was an easy one, and Insights signed up with HubSpot in 2015.
A Smooth Journey to Better Marketing
Sarah kicked off Insights’ journey with the HubSpot software by creating buyer personas.
“We had just finished a multi-year project where we defined our target audience; we as a business had never done that before. Even though we’ve been established for decades, we were still working with customers of all sizes, from all industries, and from every corner of the globe – we didn’t want to turn anyone away because we are so passionate about our company’s mission. Creating personas was the culmination of all that work. It allowed us to really nail down the types of clients that we wanted to work with, and identify the ones that would get the most long-term benefit of working with us as well.”
One of the things that Sarah likes most about the HubSpot Marketing Platform is how easy it is to use. From Landing Pages to Calls-to-Action and Workflows, everyone in the team was able to jump right in and start creating.
“They all get value out of it, whether they are tech experts or just starting out. For instance, we have an intern who is producing fantastic emails and Campaigns, and she literally had no professional working experience before she started with us. It’s not only allowed her to do great things, but it has taught her a lot about marketing in general.”
Insights was also able to integrate its Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which it has customised heavily, with the HubSpot software.
“We have HubSpot Premier Services, so I asked them which third-party vendor could help us with that. They recommended Scribe, as did my own IT department three days later. It was good that we were aligned, but it also shows you how fast and efficient the HubSpot team is. Once we had the CRM integrated, it made a dramatic difference to our own effectiveness. Our Marketing Analytics are much richer than they were before, and we have a 360-degree view on all our leads.”
The level of support offered by HubSpot has been like the missing piece of the puzzle for Insights. Sarah knows that if her team ever has an issue or a question, they can make contact and get a near-instant response.
“We’ve never experienced anything like it. For example, if we contact HubSpot support with a problem, they will not only go into our system and fix it, but they will also come back to us and say, ‘here’s how we did that in case it happens again’.”
The online education that is available from the HubSpot Academy is also paying dividends for Insights.
“I’ve done all the HubSpot certifications, and most of the team has done least three. The Academy has become a wonderful resource for us. If someone from outside our team has a question about the platform, my first response is to send them there.”
A Platform That Is Proving Its Worth
Since signing up with HubSpot, Insights has achieved spectacular results. Web traffic has been boosted by 562%, and visitors are spending more time on-site because it is visually appealing and easy to navigate.
Leads also increased by over 5X in the last financial year. However, at the start of its current financial year, which begins in April, Insights switched to an account-based marketing approach.
“A lot of our leads weren’t being followed up – our salespeople were dealing with thousands, so it was easy for them to slip through the cracks. So this year, our sales department shifted focus to account-based sales, and we in the marketing department did likewise. Instead of trying to get as many leads as possible, we’re using the HubSpot software to target very specific people at very specific companies. We’re now getting fewer leads, but the ones we do get are the exact people that the sales team need to talk to.”
It’s certainly working; Insights’ has increased group revenue by 18% per annum since signing up with HubSpot.
Looking ahead, Sarah’s goal is to make sure that the marketing team can prove just how valuable its activities are.
“I want to attribute increases in revenue directly to specific marketing campaigns, and the HubSpot software is going to help me to do that. Being with HubSpot is like having another member on our team. The support we get is amazing – people who are willing to sit and brainstorm with us, even if our query isn’t directly related to the platform. For me, that’s something that is unique and so valuable to us as a company.”
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