HubSpot CRM

To HubSpot's credit, their CRM functions really quickly and its basic features have a very short learning curve -- we onboarded our sales teams in multiple parts, with inside first followed several months later by outside reps. The main CRM we used before HubSpot was Microsoft Dynamics, and we are still significantly based there, but I attribute the positive reception of a new (and dramatic) software shift to HubSpot's ease of use and quick accessibility of prospect information.

We've run into a similar problem several times due to our industry being so niche (and therefore, the information we collect tends to be highly customized). We have needed to organize and implement quite a few custom fields, which GENERALLY HubSpot's CRM is very good about -- however, there are some significantly important fields that cannot be changed at all, even by HubSpot. We also have had some issues with company associations -- if your prospects work in an industry in which one company can have multiple locations (and the distinction matters), HubSpot's CRM does not lend itself well to that at all.

The email marketing tool is very robust, almost as good as Mailchimp (but falling short in design options). The ability to upload PDFs and other documents brings two benefits: not having to re-edit permalinks when you do file changes and, most important of all, tracking. Hubspot allows you to track document opens, which is useful to measure lead engagement and segment further.

The service ticket is very good and allows and admin to track the team. The CRM app is as good as any other. The Gmail add-on is great for tracking, as is the Outlook plug-in. However, at my time of use, the outlook plugin was only available for Windows.

Customer support was top-notch, too. The few times I had some issues, I had access to a huge library of FAQs sites, and the chat support was quick as well. They do tend to try to upsell you some features while they help you, but it is not too naggy.

The amount of emails you can send is directly related to how many contacts you have. If you send a lot of them per month, you will need to increase your contact list to twice of what you have, just to be able to send more marketing campaigns. Business who send heavily segmented mails depend on this for dear life.

Aside from the overall ease of use, I love that HubSpot connects with my Outlook and automatically logs and tracks emails. And that I get notifications on my phone when an email is opened. I can then call that person at that time while I'm on their mind, and my HubSpot app automatically logs the call and gives me a chance to jot a few notes too. Or perhaps they open the email and click the link to my HubSpot meeting scheduler...even better! It's all so blessedly interconnected and automatic!

I wouldn't say the task manager is bad, but sometimes I wish I had the ability to prioritize tasks..