Targeting the right customer at the right time with the right message is easier said than done, and often unattainable. HubSpot’s marketing automation software strives to take that process a step further by automating it, ensuring that customers get the right message and the right channel.

HubSpot has been around for a few years, building up an impressive list of clients (including some of the largest names in the world), including General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and Cargill. However, despite its impressive client roster, HubSpot may have actually been my best option.

Why HubSpot?

Despite its impressive client list, HubSpot may have actually been my best option. I had been looking for a way to retarget my customers on their sites (as an analyst and prolific writer), but to achieve the results I wanted would require me to get pretty much every site I visit to buy my product or service. And even if I did have a site that didn’t sell it, I could use it to retarget people who were trying to buy it. Even more so, I needed to reach every site on the internet at the same time.

However, if I used HubSpot, the only way to reach that goal would be to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and making purchases from these sites isn’t an option for most online marketing budget. If I used the other marketing tools available, I wouldn’t reach these sites (unless I’m buying directly from them). These other tools are all about working with other agencies, and they don’t necessarily connect to these other sites in the same way as HubSpot does.

I had several other barriers to implementing a marketing automation system, including lack of knowledge about a marketer’s role. I would only come to understand this role over time (and the people in it) as my online marketing budget increased (which it did).

So, it is understandable that HubSpot would be the perfect solution for me.

The Buzz Around HubSpot

HubSpot has recently started its main marketing push, appearing in ads for General Motors and seemingly everywhere, including ChannelAdvisor and Forbes. In this way, it’s easy to see why people are interested in HubSpot. The company is able to target users and help them connect their products with the users they’re targeting. This is one of the ways HubSpot makes its money, and one of the reasons it is a valued tool to advertisers and advertisers.

Yet, there is still something lacking about HubSpot. It’s not the price of the software itself, nor the level of service offered. Rather, there’s a certain element of risk that comes with using HubSpot. The marketing automation software itself would be an amazing tool for marketers, but nothing prevents marketers from using it without the software. The real issue is that the software itself could be used improperly. This is not the case with HubSpot, but it’s possible that it may come across as a risky tool for marketers.

However, I don’t necessarily agree with that assumption. In fact, I disagree. There’s a process here that people aren’t as familiar with, and as time goes on, they’ll get more and more comfortable with this process. People will have deeper and deeper experience with HubSpot’s process, which will mean that they’ll be more aware of the risk (or lack thereof) that is involved.

For example, when I recently spoke to a friend of mine, who deals in SEO, she was shocked to learn that people should be much more wary of advertising on sites and seeing that people have been visiting them. She was surprised that a marketer could get someone to visit the same sites thousands of times without any control over the message sent to the person. As time goes on, people will be more aware of the risk that is involved with using HubSpot. And with time, they’ll be less likely to get carried away with their marketing.

As a marketer, I know first-hand that this risk is something we should be aware of. HubSpot works with me, and it is not the source of the problems I have with clients that aren’t happy with the value I provide. However, while HubSpot may be a reliable tool, the knowledge of the process is an added bonus.