HubSpot Unveils Major Upgrades To Its Marketing Automation Platform
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According to HubSpot Product Marketing Director Rick Burnes, the HubSpot 3 release includes 10 completely new or rebuilt components. These additions will be fully integrated with the platform's existing blogging software, CMS, SEO and marketing analytics tools, in addition to third-party tools available through the HubSpot marketplace.
Burnes stated that closer integration between components was a key goal of the new design. "Many of these [tasks] required hopping around between multiple applications," Burnes said during a HubSpot product announcement call held last Monday. "HubSpot has now pulled all of these tools together into a single, integrated suite."
According to HubSpot, the product's new Contacts Database, which was released to a small group of beta testers in June, represents the centerpiece of the company's updated platform. (Click on the thumbnail image above for a screenshot of the tool.) Customer profiles stored in the database are updated automatically, based on the customer's preferences and interactions with the company. The new contacts database also shows a complete history of an individual's social media interactions, form submissions, page views and other relevant data.
The result, Burnes said, is a contact-management system that "is structured like a Facebook timeline – it encourages interacting with contacts like people, not like database entries."
Other new or rebuilt features in HubSpot 3 include:
- Email Marketing: The HubSpot 3 email marketing system is more closely integrated with the contacts database; it is also linked with the system's workflow tools, personalization and other components.
- Workflows: HubSpot 3 uses a new process for setting up and automating workflows, including list segmentation, trigger-based activities and lead scoring rules.
- Landing Pages: The system allows marketers to create landing pages without using HTML; it supports easy A/B testing and the ability to integrate landing pages easily with email and social media campaigns.
- Smart Forms: HubSpot 3 will automatically hide form fields for which a lead has already supplied information – a capability that Burnes said has been one of the company's most-requested new features.
- Smart CTAs: The CTA tool, which is also integrated with the contacts database, supports the use of dynamic CTAs that reflect a prospect's interests and behavior.
- Social Media: Hubspot 3 integrates its social media management tools with the contacts database; marketers can view a lead's social activity, segment leads based on social media behavior, and manage Twitter and Facebook interactions from within a single interface.
- Mobile App Support: HubSpot has developed an iPhone app for the new system that allows marketers to view analytics reports, track key metrics and view lead/customer interactions.
- Salesforce Connector: According to HubSpot, the new system features a completely rebuilt, bi-directional Salesforce.com connector to keep leads synched between a user's marketing automation and sales systems.
According to HubSpot, some components of the HubSpot 3 release will be available immediately. Other components will be rolled out during the next several weeks. A more detailed rundown of HubSpot 3 features is also available on the company's YouTube page.