The CRM landscape is changing rapidly. Transforming best of breed solutions (specialized in a specific function) into best of suite solutions (all CRM functionalities in one suite). Take HubSpot. HubSpot has transformed in recent years from a best of breed inbound marketing tool to a full-fledged best of suite CRM solution. In this blog we set out what can HubSpot be used for in general and for Customer experience – with HubSpot’s roots in inbound marketing – specifically? Guest bloggers Tom Schuurman, marketing manager at BrixCRM, and Karin Spieker, marketer at BrixCRM, will take you along.

Introduction. How to improve the online Customer experience with HubSpot.

If you want to get started on improving/ optimizing the Customer experience, you will have to put in quite a lot of effort. This is a long-term process that often requires a new mindset within the organization. This is because everyone within the organization must learn to think “outside in”, thinking in Jobs to be Done (JTBD) instead of thinking in their own products and processes.

This starts with understanding your customers and empathizing with their needs.

Reading guide

• collect customer information
• a good CRM as the data source
• the Hubspot Inbound-method
• the HubSpot Customer experience-toolkit
• what does HubSpot offer in terms of customer experience optimization?
• conclusion and more information

Collect customer information

Information will be found in service tickets, on social media, online reviews, with your employees and previous customer satisfaction surveys. As soon as you know what is already there and get to work yourself, you will quickly find out what information is still missing and what information needs to be kept up to date.

Then it is important to really talk to your customers and drive customer engagement. You can choose to start a focus group, conduct one-on-one customer conversations, ask for reviews from customers, etc. All data is collected in one place: in the customer relationship management (CRM) software.

A good CRM as the data source

Let’s talk about the last one: your CRM software. Because for a good customer experience you will have to collect all information about specific customers and keep it up to date. With the aim of actually being able to use this information.

HubSpot is a well-known player in this field that started out as marketing automation software. In recent years, this company has grown enormously and so have the functionalities. HubSpot offers a full-fledged CRM system where you can choose different marketing, sales and support Hubs that fit your organization and the needs of your customers.

The HubSpot inbound-method

HubSpot’s Inbound method fits well with the principles used in setting up a Customer experience strategy. The method was created to grow your organization by building meaningful, lasting relationships with customers. To understand the customers and help them achieve the desired goals. They say that you should support the (potential) customers in every situation by adding value, where the customer’s needs lies.

Regardless of whether your company gets any value from it. Because when customers achieve success, they will want to share it with others. And so they will become advocates/ promoters for your organization and bring new prospects into contact with you. So the focus is on exceeding expectations. This approach fits well with creating a good and memorable Customer experience.

The HubSpot Customer experience toolkit

Of course, a suitable strategy is nice, but what you really need with your software are the tools / resources to be able to carry out your plans. After you get to know the customers, know what motivates them and where the pain points lie, you map all contact moments through customer journey mapping. To improve the Customer experience, you will have a look at all customer interactions and make improvements.

What does HubSpot offer in terms of customer experience optimization?

A few functionalities highlighted.

Metrics. Ask for feedback and measure customer satisfaction

In order to monitor the satisfaction of various contact moments, you can ask for feedback at different moments. HubSpot has the ability to get feedback in an easy way. Use this tool to gain insights into the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES) and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Communication at the right moment during the customer journey

Customer needs change with each stage in the customer journey. You need a tool that takes this into account. In HubSpot you can create targeted ads based on lists and the life cycle that customers are in. When you are working on a deal because – for example, there is a cross/upselling opportunity – certain information is important to guide the customer to the next stage. By applying deal phase automation you can ensure that the customer receives notifications that fit the right stage. This way you know for sure that this process is supported and nobody falls in between.

Segmentation and working with buyer personas

When you have created buyer personas to shape different target groups, you can add them to HubSpot so that they are transparent for everyone. You can use these personas as a basis for segmenting content. Furthermore, you will often use contact lists, with which you can group people or companies that meet certain criteria. You can use these lists for campaigns or as a trigger for your workflow. In HubSpot you do not only work with one-time lists, but a lot with dynamic lists. The lists are then automatically updated. Persons will be added or removed from the list based on whether they (still) meet the criteria.

Build relationships through personalization

With smart content in e-mails or on the website, information can adapt to the current lifecycle phase of the customer or membership of a contact list. This way, this person will only see content that is applicable to him/ her. By adding personalization tokens you can quickly make automatically generated communication a lot more personal.

Excellent support

Combine service messages from the email, live chat and Facebook Messenger in one place. Use intelligent routing and automation options here to respond to customers in a more targeted/ faster manner. Identify logged-in website visitors when they message you to send personalized responses. Is there no one available? Work with a chatbot or refer to an online knowledge base.

Consistency is key

Consistency is very important when establishing a strong brand experience. Via providing communication from one platform, you have the necessary information available and a clear brand image can be created. Take templates as a basis and use canned snippets for regularly recurring information. In HubSpot you will notice that a lot is within reach! It is up to you to use it in such a way that you add value for your customers.

Conclusion and more information

Regardless of whether it concerns the consumer-, business- or government- market: today’s customer are more critical than ever and expects a suitable Customer experience. If this is not met, the customer will switch to another supplier with which the future cash flows will evaporate. And instead of customers with positive recommendations such as advocates/promoters, negative recommendations that go out into the world thanks to social media.

Offering (potential) customers the right experience with the combination of a Customer experience strategy and HubSpot as a platform for (online) customer interactions!

More information:

• HubSpot? BrixCRM, Tom Schuurman: tom.schuurman@brixcrm.nl | +31881020600
• Customer experience strategy? Edwin Best CRM & CX, Edwin Best: edwin@edwinbest.nl | +31308771370