Abstract

The case study “HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Strategy for SaaS Businesses” sheds light on the inbound marketing concept conceptualized by Dharmesh Shah (Dharmesh) and Brian Halligan (Brian) in 2004. The two, founders of HubSpot, a US-based software company, developed a cloud-based marketing, sales, and customer service platform called ‘Growth Platform,’ which enabled clients to expand their businesses using the inbound marketing concept through a platform called the ‘Growth Platform’. The case study also talks about the inbound marketing and sales strategies applied by HubSpot to sell the ‘Growth Platform’ as an apt marketing strategy in the information age for e-commerce firms, specifically SaaS businesses. It then describes the different stages of inbound marketing and how the concept helps integrate the marketing, sales, and customer service teams and streamlines business operations of SaaS companies. Next, the case study details the core differences between the inbound and outbound marketing concepts. It describes the components of HubSpot’s ‘Growth Platform’ and the CRM tools offered to generate business for SaaS companies. This is followed by details on the promotions and channel sales strategies applied by HubSpot to market its ‘Growth Platform’. The case also touches upon the importance given to sales force training by HubSpot to follow a consultative approach to generate quality leads and manage customer churn. The case ends with how HubSpot intends to promote its ‘flywheel model’ through inbound marketing and the future expansion plans of the company.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the inbound marketing concept and the importance of integration between marketing, sales, and customer service teams
• Learn about training the sales force to manage the quality of leads and customer churn
• Become aware of the different forms of content generation through blogs and webinars to engage prospects online
• Gain awareness of lead generation, conversion, and customer lifetime value
• Be familiar with integrated CRM products and channel partner programs in B2B sales

Keywords

Inbound Marketing; Flywheel Business Model; Customer Lifetime Value; Content Marketing; Channel Sales; Customer Churn; Outbound Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Sales Compensation Plan; Channel Sales; Personal Selling; Lead Generation; Sales Funnel; Integrated Marketing.