Announcing HubSpot’s Newest Offerings: CRM and Sidekick

We at Kuno Creative have some exciting news to share from HubSpot’s INBOUND Conference. Today, HubSpot CEO and Co-founder Brian Halligan announced the latest update to the HubSpot repertoire: a newly integrated CRM tool. This, along with new marketing features and a revamping of Signals, now called Sidekick, is an exciting step forward for all HubSpot users.

Why CRM? Why now?

As many of us are already aware, the marketing and sales ecosystem is in a constant state of change, and HubSpot knows this. Halligan put it best:

“We started HubSpot because we felt the way consumers shop and buy had fundamentally changed. The inbound movement has helped transform the world of marketing, and we really feel like there's a huge opportunity to transform the customer experience with sales technology that enables companies to sell more, better, and faster.”

Today, businesses and their sale representatives no long hold the power; that is to say they no longer control the information about who they are and what they have to offer. The web and its most popular tools (Google search, social media, review forums) have opened the information highway to any and all prospects. This is a challenge (read: opportunity) that marketers and sales reps must adapt to. The ideal sales rep must be motivated, sharp and, most importantly, helpful. That’s where HubSpot’s CRM tool comes in.

By integrating its COS publishing platform with CRM technology, HubSpot users can now seamlessly track their marketing and sales performance throughout the entire buyer journey. Look at it like this, the same intelligence collected from your HubSpot COS is integrated into the new CRM, creating a holistic experience any sales professional can easily navigate.

CRM Features

There are a ton of new features included in HubSpot’s CRM. Below you’ll find outline of what to expect:

• Database: HubSpot’s CRM allows users to store and collect data on contacts, companies and deals in an effort to simplify the daily meticulous details required by your sales team. It automatically creates intricate company records and lead profiles so the user knows exactly how to contact or follow up on said lead or company. This data is enriched with key details on background, social related companies and more.
• Timeline: The HubSpot CRM timeline records and organizes every email, call, note and website visit into one chronological stream.
• Email: HubSpot CRM connects to Gmail, Google Apps, Outlook and Apple Mail. This allows users to send emails from any contact’s record within the CRM.
• Phone Integration (additional costs): HubSpot’s CRM can connect with the user’s desk or mobile phone through his or her’s voice over IP, allowing web calling with just one click. HubSpot records and logs every phone call on the CRM timeline so users can refer back to what was mentioned. The record option is optional.

Sidekick 

HubSpot has revamped its Signals product to reveal Sidekick, an email add-on that works with your inbox and HubSpot’s CRM to deliver valuable details on contacts and companies you interact with on a daily basis. These insights are increasingly valuable to the email marketer.

Sidekick lives in your browser, instantly notifying the user of any interaction with your inbox and on the web. These notifications are real-time, tracking email clicks, website visits and more. Because Sidekick is connected to HubSpot’s CRM, notifications are taken into account during reporting to help track the performance of your messaging. It’s is compatible HubSpot CRM and Salesforce.

Final Thoughts, Product Details

As Halligan said, "HubSpot's CRM and Sidekick are perfect for companies that want to transform how they attract, engage and delight prospects, customers and leads and want sales technology that matches today's buying process.”

HubSpot’s CRM and Sidekick is built around how people shop and buy on the connected web, where the abundance of available information has transformed the traditional buyer’s journey. It’s time for sales and marketing to join forces to deliver the best service to prospective buyers through intuitive software. This is the new HubSpot CRM.

If you want to learn more about HubSpot’s CRM and Sidekick follow this link. The HubSpot CRM is still in beta and will only be available to HubSpot customers initially, slowing rolling out to all users by 2015. Sidekick is available to anyone and everyone.