By: Bo @wCRMblog Amidor
Back in September Hubspot announced the launch of a new free CRM and I have yet to address it.
HubSpot’s CRM connects to Gmail, Google Apps, Outlook, and Apple Mail, logging emails with contacts automatically, features a database of contacts, companies, deals, and tasks, and offers a timeline view to help sales teams seamlessly navigate and chart opportunities and leads in one view.
Salespeople can track emails, record calls, and manage data, on HubSpot’s app for iOS and Android as well as the web version.
By claiming the above, HubSpot is indirectly hinting to that they differ from Salesforce CRM primarily by being more intuitive and simple to use.
The thing is that Salesforce is already so many enterprise users that a large-scale migration will be a logistical nightmare. As such, I am not sure if this is a defensive move by Hubspot to rather than an offense in search of new markets.
In an interview with Re/Code Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot’s CTO and co-founder said that HubSpot is going after companies that Salesforce and other CRM vendors tend to overlook. He called it the “mid-market,” or companies with 20 to 2,000 employees.
In anycase, the more new CRM systems the merrier for me.
The HubSpot CRM is currently in public beta for hundreds of HubSpot customers, and will be free and available to anyone (starting with a broader group of HubSpot’s 11,500 customers) in 2015.
Watch this video to get a sense of the look and feel of Hubspot’s new CRM
And what about Linkedin? Well enough has been written about Linkedin using its assets to win in CRM. They already have the data about companies and individuals which in itself is a migration nightmare. Linkedin has experience in developing analytic tools to make best use of the information gathered in the databases. In addition they have a hub for content and a platform to spread it to relevant audiences. This can be used for marketing oriented thought leadership but also for educational purposes.
Whereas it might be easier for Linkedin to create a CRM database and manage it – it will be challenging would be the tasks requiring interface with enterprise ERP.
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