Just getting started with HubSpot? Have HubSpot but don’t think you’re getting the most out of it? No sweat. This guide is designed to help you understand why Marketing Hub is a critical addition to your tech stack and how to use it.

Who Is This 4?

This guide is tailored to high-growth B2B leaders looking for practical cost-effective ways to scale their marketing efforts. Discover how Marketing Hub can help you:

• Efficiently Manage New Leads
• Nurture Existing Customer Relationships
• Achieve Precise Audience Targeting and Segmentation

You might already use Sales or Service Hub but without Marketing Hub, you’re missing the target in designing a full-scale customer experience.

What’s In This Guide?

Together, we walk through a high-level overview of the three Marketing Hub Tiers - giving you clarity on which tier best suits your business’s growth objectives. Then, we demonstrate how to leverage the five core features of Marketing Hub.

You will gain insights into:

• Converting Anonymous Website Visitors into Qualified Leads with Forms
• Designing Professional Landing Pages
• Driving Brand Engagement with Subscription Types
• Organizing Contacts for Targeted Communication with Audience Segments
• Creating Consistent Branded Email Templates

By the end of this guide, you will understand how Marketing Hub can help you optimize marketing efforts and build lasting relationships with your audience. Let’s begin.

Marketing Hub Tier Overview

Each Marketing Hub tier offers a layered set of features that crescendo at the Enterprise level. Spoiler alert: most scaling SMBs hit the sweet spot at Professional. Here is an overview of the three Marketing Hub tiers:

Starter: All the basics you need to connect forms, build landing pages, segment contacts, and send manual emails.

Professional: Everything in Starter PLUS a powerful automation engine. That means automated email campaigns, nurture sequences, and taking your marketing team/engine to the next level. 

Enterprise: Everything in Professional PLUS advanced reporting, custom objects, customer journey analytics, revenue attribution, and so much more.

In addition, you get better pricing for Marketing Contacts (what you pay for by contact limit) as well as management tools for your ads and attribution, social media posting, social listening tools, advanced templating and brand kit tools, and more.

5 Essential Functions of Marketing Hub 

Digital marketing is complex. Whether you’re a beginner or a digital marketing guru, it can be challenging to communicate effectively with your target audience. Marketing Hub directly addresses this common pitfall by offering a seamless blend of automation and personalization. 

This section dives into five pivotal features of Marketing Hub: contact forms, landing pages, subscription types, audience / segmentation lists, and email templates. Learn how these tools enable you to accomplish more in less time while maintaining the personal touch that builds brand awareness and trust.

1. Contact Forms

Convert Anonymous Website Visitors into Qualified Leads

Let’s begin with the glue of your marketing strategy - contact forms. HubSpot’s contact forms are a powerful tool—enabling you to directly integrate AND manage forms data, automated follow-ups, and conversion information with your CRM. 

Contact forms serve as a vital bridge between your company and potential customers. Marketing Hub makes building contact forms easy. With drag-and-drop functionality, this feature empowers you to build custom forms that can be effortlessly added to your website, landing pages, or standalone pages. 

Contact forms are also a game-changer for staying in tune with existing customers. A good contact form can help you gauge the evolving interests of your customer base. This ensures you’re continuously engaging with your customers in a way that’s relevant to their current needs and interests.

Benefits

• Lead Conversion: Capture every visitor interaction and funnel it directly into HubSpot, setting the stage for effective nurturing.

• Personalized Engagement: Utilize customizable designs to create forms that resonate with your audience, featuring a variety of field types and dynamic elements.

• Automated Follow-up: Engage visitors instantly with automated emails and notifications post-form completion, ensuring consistent and timely communication. 

Examples/ Must Haves

• General Inquiry Form: Addresses a wide range of customer needs and questions, directing them to the right team.

• Newsletter Subscription Form: An effective tool for growing your email list, keeping visitors engaged with regular updates about your brand.
  
  
• Conversion/MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) Form: Targets higher-intent visitors, capturing more qualified leads and funneling them into your sales pipeline. 

Example of the form builder. Drag and drop features allow you to customize form fields. When a visitor fills out a form, that information is reflected on the contact object in HubSpot.

FAQ & Guidance

Q: How Technical is the Setup for HubSpot Forms?

A: No technical expertise is needed. The drag-and-drop builder allows anyone to create and deploy forms easily.

Q: Can Forms be Integrated with Other Marketing Activities?

A: Yes, forms are designed to work seamlessly with email campaigns and other marketing automation tools within HubSpot.

Q: How Can I Ensure the Forms Align with My Brand?

A: The form builder offers customization options to match your brand guidelines, including colors, fonts, and layout.

Pro Tip: Regularly review form submission metrics. Experiment with the number of fields, colors, and placement of the form to drive higher conversion rates. Remember, less is more when it comes to form fields.

2. Landing Pages

Launch Professional Landing Pages in Seconds

A landing page is a dedicated web page designed for a specific marketing campaign, where potential customers arrive from various digital sources like emails or ads. Its main goal is to gather visitor information in exchange for something valuable, such as a discount code or a white paper. 

A successful landing page clearly communicates its message, with an engaging headline, concise offer description, and appealing visuals. HubSpot's templates help in crafting these pages, ensuring they are tailored to your audience and optimized for conversions. Landing pages and contact forms are integral to each other. Where a landing page grabs attention, forms then capture key contact  information.

Marketing Hub’s landing page builder allows you to easily create professional, high-converting landing pages, requiring no technical skills or external support. This intuitive feature offers a selection of mobile-optimized templates and a drag-and-drop editor, enabling quick customization and device-specific previews. Easily place your forms on the landing page for a complete experience.

Benefits 

• Increased Conversion Rates: Landing pages directly tie back to your offers or next steps, enhancing the likelihood of converting web traffic into leads.
  
  
• Insights into Audience Preferences: Track which topics and channels yield the highest conversion rates, offering critical data for refining marketing strategies.
  
  
• Growth of Email Lists: Capture emails and names of potential customers, expanding your email marketing reach.
  
  
• Testability for Optimization: Experiment with different designs and content to see what resonates best with your audience.
  
  
• Direct Impact on Business Goals: Use landing pages to directly measure metrics tied to specific business objectives, like product promotions or lead generation campaigns.

Examples/ Must Haves

• Ebooks and Whitepapers Landing Pages: Gated resources offering in-depth information on specific topics.
  
  
• Email Newsletter Subscription Pages: For visitors to subscribe to regular content updates.
  
  
• Event Registration Landing Pages: For registering attendees for events, webinars, or conferences.
  
  
• Free Trial Landing Pages: Offering a sneak peek or trial of a product or service.

Example of the landing page builder. Use the drag-and-drop editor to quickly create and customize new landing pages in minutes. 

FAQ & Guidance

Q: How do I Ensure My Landing Page is Effective? 

A: Focus on clear, concise messaging that matches the traffic source (like a social media ad or email campaign). Ensure your landing page addresses the specific needs or interests prompted by that source.

Q: Can I Use My Homepage as a Landing Page? 

A: It's more effective to use dedicated landing pages that are specifically designed to convert visitors from different campaigns, as homepages typically have broader content and more navigation options which might distract potential leads.

Q: Should I Include Navigation to Other Parts of My Website?

A: It's best to limit navigation options on landing pages to keep the focus on the call-to-action and form filling.

Q: How Important is the Design of a Landing Page? 

A: Design is crucial. It should be visually appealing, relevant to the offer, and optimized for user experience, including mobile responsiveness.

Pro Tip: In B2B marketing, the effectiveness of a landing page lies in its clarity and focus, guiding visitors towards a single action, like a free trial sign-up or white paper download. Do not put more than one call-to-action on a landing page.

3. Subscription Types

Reduce Email Unsubscribes with Targeted Email Content Delivery 

Marketing Hub requires that you categorize every email you send into a subscription type. By default, HubSpot gives you the subscription types of “One to One” and “Marketing Information”. However, it’s recommended that you customize these types to reflect your unique content offerings. 

As an example, let’s say your company is gearing up to send three types of emails: product updates, industry news, and monthly newsletters. Once you create these three subscription types, you can offer your audience the chance to opt-into each type. 

Subscription types have two important effects. First, it neatly organizes your email content, giving subscribers the freedom to choose the types of emails they wish to receive. Subscription types also enable you to fine-tune your content, ensuring topics stay relevant and engaging to your audience.

Each email you send requires that you select a subscription type.

Benefits 

• Improved Subscriber Experience: Offers subscribers control over the content they receive, enhancing their engagement and reducing unsubscribe rates.

• Targeted Content Delivery: Ensures that the right content reaches the right audience, increasing the effectiveness of email campaigns.
  
  
• Flexible and Customizable: Easily create and manage various subscription types to cater to diverse subscriber interests and needs.

Examples/ Must Haves

• Newsletters: Regular updates to keep your audience informed and engaged, with titles like “Monthly Newsletter” to set clear expectations.
  
  
• Product Updates: For subscribers interested in new products or services, keeping them informed about relevant updates and launches.
  
  
• Industry News: Curated content about industry trends and news, positioning your brand as a knowledgeable and helpful resource.

FAQ & Guidance

Q: How many subscription types should I have?

A: The ideal number varies, but most HubSpot users find 3-5 types effective for balanced targeting and content quality.

Q: Can subscription types be customized?

A: Yes, you can create custom subscription types that suit your business and audience's specific interests.

Example of how to create a new subscription type. Most companies have between 3-5 unique subscription types. Keep it simple.

Q: Can contacts have more than one subscription type?

A: Absolutely, contacts can choose several types based on their interests. 

Each contact will have a unique combination of subscription types based on how they have opted-in.

Pro Tip: Keep an eye on the unsubscribe rates for each subscription type. If there is a spike in unsubscribes, consider reviewing and reworking the content. 

4. Audience / Segmentation Lists 

Organize Contacts & Companies by Common Traits for Targeted Communication

The difference between subscription types and audience / segmentation lists can be confusing. Essentially, subscription types refer to what you're talking about while segmentation lists focus on who you’re talking to.

As a B2B company, it’s essential to master the art of precise communication. With Marketing Hub’s audience / segmentation lists, you can categorize your contacts by unique factors such as their industry, company size, or decision-making roles, ensuring that your marketing messages are perfectly tailored to each unique audience preference.

There are two types of segmentation lists in HubSpot. The first is an active list. Membership to this list type changes based on contacts’ behaviors and properties. For example, a contact that fills out a form could automatically get added to an active list. The second is a static list which represents records who meet a set criteria at a certain point in time. Contacts on a static list will remain consistent regardless of behavior.

Example of an Active List. Based on the criteria, contacts can be added or removed from the list as contact properties change.

Benefits 

• Targeted Messages: Send materials that resonate with distinct customer groups, based on their unique interests and behaviors.

• Marketing Campaign Precision: Sharpen the focus of your campaigns, targeting segments with content that’s most relevant to them.

• Deeper Customer Insights: Gain a clearer understanding of your customer base, leading to more informed marketing decisions.

Examples/ Must Haves

• Persona Segmentation: Group customers based on their persona profiles, such as 'Tech-Savvy Tim' or 'Budget-Conscious Betty', to align marketing strategies with their specific interests and behaviors.
  
  
• Lifecycle Stage: Segment customers according to their journey stage, like 'New Lead', 'Opportunity', or 'Loyal Customer', to deliver timely and relevant content that matches their current interaction with your business.
  
  
• Customer Satisfaction Scores: Utilize feedback and satisfaction scores to segment customers, enabling targeted follow-ups and tailored experiences for those with different levels of satisfaction.

FAQ & Guidance

Q: How Detailed Should Segmentation Lists Be?

A: Segments should be detailed enough to allow for targeted communication but not so narrow that they become unmanageable or ineffective.

Q: Can Customer Segments Evolve Over Time?

A: Yes, it's important to regularly review and update segments as customer behaviors and market conditions change.

Pro Tip: Start with broad segments and refine them as you gather more data and insights about your customers. Continuously monitor the performance of each segment and adjust your strategies accordingly to maintain relevance and effectiveness.

5. Email Templates

Easily Create Consistent Branded Emails

Imagine sitting down to craft a marketing email and not having to start from scratch every time. That's where Marketing Hub’s email templates come in. This feature streamlines the email creation process, significantly saving time and maintaining consistency across your email marketing campaigns.

Marketing Hub provides a range of ready-made email templates, which you can quickly and easily edit to match your message and brand. If you can’t find a ready-made template to suit your needs, you can draft a new template from scratch and save it for future use. Any templates that you make can be viewed and managed from the email builder.

Managing and editing your existing templates is easy. Click "Manage saved templates" to access your collection, where you can organize and tweak them to perfection. These email templates are more than just a convenience; they're a foundation for creating compelling, engaging emails that drive higher click-through and open rates.

Example of how you can easily preview, edit, clone, delete, and select custom or pre-designed email templates.

Benefits 

• Time Efficiency: Quickly create emails without starting from scratch, freeing up time for other critical marketing tasks.
  
  
• Brand Consistency: Maintain a uniform brand voice and aesthetic across all email communications.
  
  
• Personalization and Relevance: Customize templates to cater to different segments, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of your emails.
  
  
• Streamlined Collaboration: Easily share templates with team members for consistent messaging and collaboration.

Examples/ Must Haves

• Newsletter Templates: Ideal for regular updates and engagement, these templates provide a structured yet customizable format for sharing news, insights, and content with subscribers.
  
  
• Contact Us Response Templates: Streamline responses to inquiries with these templates, ensuring prompt and consistent communication with prospects and customers who reach out through your website.
  
  
• Lead Nurture Templates: Essential for guiding potential customers through the sales funnel, these templates are designed to educate, engage, and gently push leads towards making a purchase decision.

FAQ & Guidance

Q: How do I Choose the Right Template for My Campaign?

A: Consider your campaign's goals and audience. Look for a template that aligns with your brand and the message you want to convey.

Q: Can I Customize Templates to Fit My Brand?

A: Yes, HubSpot’s templates are fully customizable to match your brand's colors, fonts, and overall style.

Pro Tip: For more advanced users, you can create one-of-a-kind email templates with custom code. Your developers can code them, and you can add the content. 

Which Hub is Right for You?

Choosing the right Marketing Hub tier is crucial for your business's digital marketing success. Whether you need the basic features of the Starter tier, the advanced automation of Professional, or the extensive analytics of Enterprise, each tier offers unique tools tailored to your needs. 

If you're unsure which tier suits your business best, our HubSquad is here to help. We specialize in matching HubSpot's capabilities to your specific business goals, ensuring you select the most effective tier for your marketing strategy. Reach out for personalized assistance in finding your ideal HubSpot solution.

Conclusion

Now you can dive into HubSpot’s Marketing Hub with confidence, knowing it can be tailored to boost your marketing efficiency at every level. Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, each tier offers unique tools to meet your needs.

Remember, Squad4 is here to help. Contact us for expert guidance in optimizing your HubSpot experience. We also offer a HubSpot audit where we can make tailored suggestions on which Marketing Hub tier is right for you.