“How’s your tech stack?”
“We need to update our tech stack”
“The tech stack is not giving me the data I was expecting”
That’s the conversation that a lot of cleantech companies are having as marketing success and challenges are reviewed. It’s an expense in your marketing budget, the scope of which may be elusive. Marketing in today’s omnichannel marketing world is nearly impossible without that tech stack, but if it’s not the right mix, or the people you count on can’t seem to make it work, the output can send you false messages about the effectiveness of your marketing endeavors.
But what is a “tech stack”?
The term is a catchall for a group of technologies used in development or analytics. In software development, it would include anything used to develop an app. That includes databases, APIs, front-end and back-end tools, etc. For marketing, it's a group of technologies used to conduct and improve marketing activities. To avoid confusion over other stacks, marketing tech stacks are often referred to as “martech”.
Narrowing down the definition does not mean there are only a few solutions to put in your martech stack. According to one report, there are over 7,000 solutions to choose from to fit your marketing goals and objectives. What is in your mix can change from year to year, or over time as your business grows. Smart companies who see the value of a fully functional martech stack conduct a stack review or audit regularly.
With seven thousand to choose from, an aggregator of solutions can be the best way to go. One such system is Hubspot. It's the one we use and recommend to our clients. That decision and recommendation does not come lightly. The decision to go with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system like HubSpot should be made with plenty of due diligence.
From our research, we discovered this is a system that checks all the right boxes: Here are seven reasons why I recommend my clients use HubSpot as the foundation of their tech stack:
- Ease of use
Every Customer Relationship Management system has its own set of tools. Tools that make you and your team more productive, help track customers through their customer journey as well as other tasks. If the tools are difficult to use, eventually you could give up. It doesn’t matter how good the tools are if you can’t figure out how to use them. HubSpot has simple, easy-to-use, and understandable tools that can reduce any learning curve anxiety. - Cross-platform integration
Working with HubSpot on your lead generation or marketing automation doesn’t mean you have to give up the website you’ve been bringing up to the next level. HubSpot works seamlessly with other platforms. It's part of HubSpot’s efforts to make its customers feel comfortable.
HubSpot has evolved as a marketing tool into a complete platform that easily integrates and ties together all your other business programs. You can Integrate your project management platform and your financial program for lead-to-delivery tracking and reporting. One of the newest and hottest uses of the HubSpot-enabled tech stack is revenue operations (RevOps) management. - Sales enablement
HubSpot is more than a simple CRM system. Sales teams using HubSpot tend to sell more thanks to its powerful built-in sales tools including automation, prospecting dashboards, and integration with many business development tools you may already be using driving down the cost per sale. HubSpot integrates with Gmail, Outlook, calling programs, and document signing programs. The native functions for building quotes, invoices, and receiving payments make the sales process frictionless for the sales team and customer. - Hubspot tracks and provides valuable data on the entire customer journey
Unlike many other CRMs with tools cobbled together, HubSpot is a CRM first and foremost with marketing, sales, and customer service modules built on the same CRM foundation. Every department will be able to easily follow the customer’s journey through the sales process and beyond. The entire team will have the same information about your customers. Your customer service team will have the information at their fingertips so they can provide excellent service. - Detailed reports and comprehensive dashboards
Many CRMs have dashboards and reporting features. None are as customizable as HubSpot. The many functions of your business deserve reporting unique to their needs: Marketing, Sales, Customer services, revenue operations, and leadership can all have their hyper-focused granular dashboards. HubSpot provides templates with common key performance indicators for your Sales, Marketing, and Service teams. Their dashboards help us to see how each department intersects and drives the success of each other. - Get serious about Social
Instead of being bogged down by social media that isn’t even helpful, HubSpot gives you laser focus, ease of use, and a way to prioritize which social media is important to your business. HubSpot automations help you to get your posts out quicker, providing coordination across platforms. - HubSpot Community/HubSpot Academy
HubSpot has its own training and certification program, called HubSpot Academy. You can learn to be a true wizard at marketing and join the 155,000 other professionals who have been certified through HubSpot. Learning is not always about coursework, though. HubSpot has over 150 user groups where people who are or have been on a similar journey can…and do…help.
A tech stack is not only automation, it’s data-driven marketing analytics. When dealing with the tools that bring you business, the wrong tools not only let you leave money on the table, they can cost you money. Poorly constructed and badly integrated tools could lead to lost data or worse–bad data.
For my business, I chose HubSpot Growth Suite. It’s a full stack of marketing automation and software that has everything we need for Marketing, sales, customer service, content management (our website, blog, and landing pages), and CRM. The integration that HubSpot is famous for is right here, allowing my team to focus on business, rather than managing a disparate group of tools.
If you would like to learn more about HubSpot, reach out to me here, and I can tell you more about why HubSpot is right for my company, and what it can do for yours.
Essential CMO is the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer for the renewable energy industry and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan with clients across the United States and Canada. Essential CMO is owned by Marketing Monsoon, LLC, a growth agency specializing in lead generation, client acquisition, and customer engagement with alternative energy, healthcare-related, and HR consulting companies. To schedule a Marketing Clarity Call, contact us at 866-851-1793 or schedule a call online.
Jayne Burch, Fractional CMO
Jayne Burch, fractional Chief Marketing Officer for the renewable, cleantech and sustainability sectors. I help CEOs in these companies achieve their goals and reach their target markets. With over 24 years of experience in business and marketing, I know how to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
