Is Hubspot's Monthly Subscription Cost Worth It?
Posted by Marcus Sheridan on Mon, Nov 22, 2010 @ 10:47 AM
I know, I know, times are tough. Heck, having a swimming pool company for 10 years now and surviving these last 2 years has made me very aware of the current marketplace as well as what we must do as business owners to overcome these difficulties. Today, as a Hubspot Coach and Consultant, one of the first things clients want to know is whether or not the monthly subscription cost is worth it.
Personally, I went through this same debate 2 years ago. Just after the economy had hit a lowpoint, I was forced to take a hard look at my business and also make some difficult choices, otherwise I was going to crash and burn.
It was during this time that I learned of inbound marketing, Hubspot(HS), and the new way of branding a business in the information age. For me, the question quickly became:
Can I afford not to do Hubspot and inbound marketing?
I can say this because anyone that has a pulse whatsoever now understands that consumers simply don’t shop like they used to. Their steps are completely different. They’re information and research oriented. They don’t want trash, spam, etc. Yep, they are on a quest for value.
That’s where inbound marketing and HS come into play. Blogging, content marketing, video marketing, social media, etc is all about giving value all the time. And because HS makes it incredibly simple to share this value through the super simple CMS (web design that anyone can do), as well as the fact that they track leads and web traffic better than any platform out there, a business owner will naturally make many, many more sales if they simply apply proper inbound marketing best practices.
In terms of subscription costs, most of my HS clients use the $250 per month or the $750 per month package. In other words, most companies end up paying 3k a year or 9k a year to have all the tools of HS at their fingertips. Sound like a lot? Well look at this simple example:
Real Numbers Don't Lie
This past year I was able to account for well over $1,000,000 in swimming pool sales that came as a direct result of the inbound marketing I did through HS. Because I use the Hubspot Medium package, I therefore spent $9,000 to increase sales by roughly $1,000,000.
You may think I’m exaggerating. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not. I have the numbers. I have the stats. They don’t lie. Yep, $9,000=$1,000,000…..not bad, wouldn’t you say?
But if inbound marketing and HS work this well, how come everyone doesn’t jump on board? Based on my experience, here are the hard answers:
1. Some people are sadly adverse to change, and are thus stuck in the stone-ages.
2. Some people refuse to do anything that is not guaranteed to work (actually, inbound marketing is guaranteed to work, but the business owner or marketers, as well as their work-ethic, comes with no guarantee.)
3. Some people feel they’ll get the same results that Hubspot offers by using another system, like Wordpress for example. (again, this person obviously hasn’t come close to studying the variety of tools HS offers. Considering I have blogs on both HS and Wordpress, I speak with quite a bit of experience in this area.)
4. Some people are consumed with the idea that they’re terrible with computers. (This one really makes me sad, especially considering the HS content management system allows guys and gals with almost no web experience to be their own webmaster).
So is a $250 a month’s subscription worth it? You better believe it is. In fact, I find the money component of what Hubspot costs to be laughable, no kidding. It is for this reason that HS users, especially after they’ve been practicing proper inbound marketing principles for a year, NEVER complain about their subscription cost with HS. Why? Because they get it. They’ve seen it work. They know the results. And, often times, they’re really glad their competitors are still refusing to embrace the future.
Questions about HS and how much they're really worth? Please add your comments below, whether you agree or disagree.