HubSpot's 2024 Spring Spotlight for Startups

Introduction

No matter how familiar you may be with HubSpot AI-empowered customer and marketing platform, you may not know exactly all the new features that are added every year. That's why we've created "Spotlight," a semi-annual high engagement update of HubSpot's best new features.

What we've brought for you here on the Tech Stack Guide is a focused look at those new features, particularly as they pertain to how they can help the startup founder scale and succeed.

Across Content, Service, and Commerce, here are the new features that can help take your marketing, sales, and service strategy to the next level.

Using HubSpot to scale a startup

Scaling is a top goal for a startup: you’re finally gaining some steady interest from clients and investors, and you’re ready to develop new products, reach new audiences, and generate more revenue.

But scaling also presents a wide range of challenges for startups, who often don’t have quite enough resources to match the increased demand. For many startups, the scaling period means it’s time to utilize some tools that will help handle higher volumes of quotes, sales, and service requests while maintaining a lean budget and small team.

HubSpot offers a whole suite of tools that startups can take advantage of to overcome the growing pains of a scaling business, whether for creating engaging content for various channels, offering quick, friendly customer service, collecting payments quickly and securely, and more.

Startups are typically working with limited resources, from time to money to personnel. But that doesn’t mean founders are stuck in place — in fact, there are many digital tools that can help a startup scale through automation, AI, and more.

Enter HubSpot, a scaling startup’s key to doing more with less. From content creation to payment collection, HubSpot has tools that can boost performance for just about every facet of doing business.

Content Hub Tools

Businesses of all ages and sizes need to incorporate content marketing if they want to reach wider audiences, build a strong and reputable brand, and generate more leads. According to Demand Metric, companies that incorporate a blog on their website generate about 67% more leads each month than those that don’t have a blog. But blogs aren’t the only way to create content. Social media marketing is still a popular and even low-cost way to drum up excitement about a startup’s products, and video content and email marketing are other top ways to reach audiences with intent to generate leads and make sales.

The obstacle to creating, though, is the idea that it costs a lot of time and money to build a website, write blog posts, take photos, film videos, and post to social media. But the HubSpot Content Hub is filled with tools that can cut down time and money spent creating high-quality content, plus AI tools that can improve and repurpose existing content and even security and analytics features to boost your business.

Some of the tools available in the Content Hub that can help startups as they scale include:

Remix

You’ve spent time researching and developing content for your website’s blog, only to find you still need copy for your social media posts, marketing emails, landing pages, and more. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel (while operating on limited funding and time as a startup), use HubSpot’s Content Remix feature. 

This tool allows you to create copy for multiple channels at once, so you can spend more time closing deals and less time trying to say the same thing in new ways. AI powers the content creation to turn existing content into refreshing new messages to match the needs of different platforms, so you can expand your reach without spending more of your time and money. It also allows you to get a message across quickly, so you can stay competitive in your market.

Scalable CMS

A successful startup these days needs a user-friendly website, and the free CMS tools from HubSpot allow you to build a secure, powerful website to meet your customized needs. Whether you want to create informative, SEO-driven blog content to increase organic traffic, or build landing pages with enticing calls to action that boost lead acquisition, this CMS is ready to empower your business. The CMS includes ready-to-use themes and a drag-and-drop editor, so you can save money on website creation — no coding or developer necessary.

Even better, these tools are designed for scaling, so you won’t have to migrate from one CMS to another as your business takes off. Features like premium cloud hosting, enhanced security, and analytics are ready to support a growing startup.

SEO Marketing Software

The average startup reserves about 11.2% of its budget for marketing, because marketing is how new companies get the word out about their brands and products. If you’re looking to keep a lean marketing budget while still reaping the results of more robust spending, HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software is the secret weapon. SEO helps websites and webpages rank higher on the results page for certain keywords that your potential customers are searching for. 

But you don’t need to spend hours trying to pinpoint the best keywords or finding ways to incorporate SEO tactics into new or existing content. Instead, the HubSpot SEO tools can automatically recommend ways to optimize your content based on the latest algorithm trends. HubSpot will show you which content could use a refresh to boost ranking odds, and these tools can even recommend content ideas to build into your SEO strategy. It’s all backed with analytics that help you determine any content weaknesses and watch as your website traffic grows and ranking increases.

Dashboard & Reporting Software

According to the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, analytics can be the secret to success for startups. Analytics show you how the startup is performing in sales, customer service, marketing and advertising, and beyond. Using the data, a startup can determine what’s working well, plus what parts of the business need to pivot to improve outcomes and meet goals.

That’s where the Dashboard & Reporting Software from HubSpot comes into play. Startups can track growth across different business facets all in one place. You can use the dashboards and reports to see where you’re gaining the best leads, review productivity of sales reps or customer service team members, and review sales progress from one month to the next, which can also be helpful data to have when you’re preparing to pitch to investors.

Service Hub

The customers are the heart of a startup, and early adopters can be some of the most loyal, long-term customer/clients a new company makes — that is, if the startup’s customer service shines. In a 2022 Statista survey, 94% of customers noted that a positive customer service made them more likely to make another purchase with a brand. Further, 82% of survey respondents said they have recommended a company based on its customer service, and 80% were likely to forgive mistakes if they were followed with great customer care.  According to Emplifi, one in six customers will back out of a purchase over poor service.

So what entails good customer service? Most customers prefer email or phone to voice complaints or ask questions; but some customers do appreciate the efficiency and convenience that tools like chatbots or self-service documentation can offer when they have simpler issues. Even still, some customers prefer to reach out to companies through social media for assistance.

Ultimately, a multichannel approach can help you deliver excellent customer service, wherever your customers need it. HubSpot’s Service Hub is an all-in-one solution, especially for startup founders who want to offer more services and quick responses while working with limited resources and a smaller team.

Some key features of the Service Hub that will work for founders include:

Chatbot

Chatbots are a great way to get quick, helpful responses to customers while reserving your service reps for more complex questions and concerns. A chatbot can automate service processes, from answering simple customer questions to sorting inquiries and sending users to the appropriate team, be it sales or customer service. HubSpot’s free Chatbot Builder utilizes AI to respond to clients any time, day or night, even if your service team is offline. 

You can customize the chatbot with different goals in mind, such as scheduling a meeting with a sales rep or responding with self-service resources. It will even incorporate personalized information from the CRM (customer relationship management) to give customers a better experience. The chatbot can automatically create service tickets or redirect complex questions and concerns to live chat agents. For startups, this allows you to offer a much more robust level of customer service, even if you have a small team. 

Smart CRM

According to Zendesk, 70% of customers expect that everyone they engage with at a company will be able to reference their purchase history and past interactions; that’s where a reliable and smart CRM tool comes into play.  HubSpot’s CRM offers a universal inbox, so your team can access customer interactions all in one place. Anyone can access the interactions and respond to clients from a single dashboard, offering a more cohesive experience for customers.

The CRM also has tools that will complement your chatbot, like templated responses, automated service tickets, customized self-service documents, and more. The CRM incorporates analytics, so you can track customer interactions and identify any weak points that could jeopardize repeat or future sales. Because of the available templates and automation tools, the HubSpot CRM can save your startup valuable time and boost productivity by streamlining how your company handles customer service.

SLA Management

To strengthen your customer service and build trust and credibility, you’ll need a service level agreement, or SLA, plus a way to meet and manage that agreement. As part of HubSpot’s Service Hub, it offers SLA Management, a helpful tool for new companies trying to build up their reputation. The SLA Management tool makes it easy to sort and prioritize service tickets, so the most urgent requests are handled first. This is especially important for a scaling startup — increased sales means increased service inquiries and requests, but you can hurt your brand if those service requests are left unanswered.

The SLA Management tool ensures that no tickets fall through the cracks, which could leave customers feeling ignored and disgruntled. You can create automated SLAs that make it clear to customers when they can expect to hear from your team. You can set reminders and overdue notices to keep every ticket front of mind. The tool also includes data and reporting, so you can track tickets and their resolutions to continuously improve your customer service.

Commerce Hub

From submitting easy-to-read price quotes and clear invoices to offering a wide range of payment options for customers, startups need to consider ways to manage the commerce side of their business. Not only do you want to receive payments in a timely manner, but you also want the quote and payment process to be convenient and user-friendly on the customer side.

HubSpot’s Commerce Hub is packed with features that startups can take advantage of to streamline the payment process. With invoice creation tools, payment links, subscription management, and even revenue reports, startups can manage their commerce tools all in one convenient hub.

Some of the Commerce Hub tools that can be especially beneficial to startups include:

Quotes

Some startups may offer customized or varied products and services tailored to each client’s needs, but that means it’s not as simple as adding a price to a website for potential clients to see. Instead, startups may want to offer quotes based on what packages or features a client is considering. HubSpot’s Quote functionality allows businesses to generate professional, personalized quotes that integrate with the CRM for easy data management.

Quotes made with HubSpot will automatically include your company branding for a professional, trustworthy look, and you can save time by allowing this tool to generate quotes based on CRM information. Quotes can even be generated as soon as they are requested, meaning you don’t need a huge sales team to handle quote requests. From there, customers can even agree to the deal, sign, and pay through the quote documents.

Invoices

Startups need a way to send invoices to clients once they’ve closed deals. Submitting a spreadsheet via email may not be the most reliable option. Instead, HubSpot’s Invoice features allow startups to create, send, track, and manage invoices all in one convenient place. Invoices can feature your own personalized branding for the most professional look.

The invoice feature can generate invoices directly from quotes, saving you time moving from the interest and quote stage into the deal-closing stage. The invoices also automatically connect to revenue reports for accurate reporting, and your invoicing tools integrate with HubSpot CRM so you can manage payments and all other customer interactions in one convenient dashboard.

Payment Links

To take your invoices to the next level, add Payment Links. Startups don’t need to hire a developer to create functional, user-friendly payment links; instead, HubSpot’s Payment Links are easy to generate and customize, whether you’re collecting a one-time payment or recurring subscription payments. Not only does this speed up the payment process for your startup, but it also makes the experience hassle-free for clients.

Payment Links aren’t restricted to invoicing. You can also include these links on forms, emails, websites, or anywhere you want to include a call to action that generates revenue. Payment Links offer various secure payment options, like ACH, debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more, allowing your customers or clients to pay via their preferred methods.

Revenue Reporting

Gone are the days of writing every single transaction into a logbook. Today, startups can save on bookkeeping costs with the handy Revenue Reporting capabilities available in the HubSpot Commerce Hub. Payments will integrate with a revenue reporting dashboard, where you can see incoming payments and track gross payment revenue by month, quarter, or year, which can also be handy for pitching or reporting to investors.

The reports can also break down to detail top sales by sales rep or to show payment revenues broken down by one-time payments compared to recurring subscription payments. You can also use the reports to determine the highest-selling products and the lowest-selling products, which can help startups determine what is worth focusing on in further product development stages, marketing, and more.

Improving startup products with HubSpot API

HubSpot offers APIs, or Application Programming Interface, that developers can use to build and customize apps that integrate with various other apps and software. Startups, especially as they scale, may want to hire developers to create more personalized solutions tailored to the business and its needs, and that’s where HubSpot’s APIs come into the picture.

Using the HubSpot API, a startup can fully build out apps to meet its specific needs, and there are no concerns over whether these apps will integrate with HubSpot’s tools and other software the startup may already be using. This means your growing startup won’t lose its existing data, content, reports, processes, or other information that it has been using thus far. Plus, API can extend the functionality of your existing apps and software, making it useful as your team and customer base grows.

Conclusion

No matter what level of support your growing startup needs, you can find helpful tools and services through HubSpot. Maybe you’re not ready to hire a whole marketing team; the Content Hub can save you time and money on high-quality content creation. Perhaps you need a better-organized payment system; the Commerce Hub can help you with the entire process, from sending quotes to collecting and reporting payments. Startups that are ready to overcome the hurdles that come with growing can tap HubSpot to take their brands to the next level.