Lots of marketers and businesses are big fans of HubSpot, and it’s easy to see why. HubSpot is arguably one of the most comprehensive pieces of inbound marketing software out there.
It gives businesses practically everything they need to execute a successful inbound marketing strategy. Instead of using MailChimp, WordPress, HootSuite, and tons of other software to create and analyse your marketing campaigns, you can just use HubSpot, which makes life a lot easier.
HubSpot has a ton of strengths but it’s not the right solution for every single business—and here’s why.
4 Reasons why HubSpot may not be right for your business
It’s too comprehensive
HubSpot has the most features out of almost any inbound marketing tool available, which is what makes it so great. But for some businesses, HubSpot may be too comprehensive.
As Impact points out:
HubSpot is an all-in-one solution designed for organizations who want to implement a comprehensive inbound marketing strategy. If you’re only interested in one or two of HubSpot’s features, there are more cost-effective alternatives that make more sense to use.
If you just want to focus on a few areas of inbound marketing, like blogging and sending out email newsletters, then you’re better off going with cheaper tools like WordPress and MailChimp that only offer the features you need.
You’re on a budget
Even if you do want to execute an entire inbound marketing strategy, HubSpot may be out of reach for your business if you’re on a budget.
HubSpot’s professional plans start at $800 a month and include a one-time $3,000 onboarding fee. They offer a basic plan that’s more affordable at $200 a month, but it’s missing marketing automation and other advanced features that make the more expensive version such a powerful, easy-to-use marketing tool.
Since the basic package is missing quite a few features, it’s worth doing some research to see what kinds of solutions other companies are offering in your price range.
You need a highly customisable solution
HubSpot is like the iPhone of the software world—it’s extremely easy to use, but it’s not very customisable.
You can make small changes to HubSpot to better fit your company’s needs, but it doesn’t offer the same flexibility as other marketing automation platforms like Marketo.
It’s almost impossible to use HubSpot for something it wasn’t designed for. So if HubSpot doesn’t offer all of the features you need right out of the box, you should consider other options.
You’re not ready to put in the work
To see results from HubSpot, you have to put in a pretty significant amount of work. At minimum, you have to commit to updating your blog and social channels regularly to drive traffic and new leads to your website, or else you won’t see a return on your investment.
If you’re too busy to produce content now, buying HubSpot probably won’t change that. It’s a useful tool, but it doesn’t do all the work for you—you’ll still have to devote at least a few hours a week to creating and scheduling content.
So if you don’t have the time to produce content, save your money and hold off on buying HubSpot.
HubSpot is an incredibly useful tool, but it’s not right for every business. Before you take the plunge and purchase HubSpot for yours, consider whether or not you’ll see a real return on investment from it.