The age-old saying is that “knowledge is power,” but without data, what knowledge do we really have? A few months ago, Kasie Sullivan wrote about our fantastic educational journey to INBOUND. Today, I am writing to tell you just a few ways in which we are using those learnings in our day-to-day business. This is partially due to our implementation of HubSpot Sales & Marketing Enterprises, but also due to our learnings at their annual conference.
Technology. That is a BIG word, but an important one, but so is EFFICIENCY. Without technology, we could not be as efficient as we are today. As our team gets more and more comfortable with utilizing HubSpot for all that it can be used for, the more our team frees up time from repetitive tasks and focuses more on our clients and events. If HubSpot continues to show us its value, then our team will continue to grow its ROI by being better connected to our clients via more free time.
Marketing Can Be Fun. At Inbound the most energetic (and funny) speaker was hands down Jay Schwedelson. His podcast, which is typically under 15-minutes per episode, goes into the do’s and don’ts of marketing, and I can honestly say I typically get at least one solid takeaway from each episode. I, like him, enjoy the “non-formatted” version of posts, typically found on LinkedIn, versus the overly edited glam shots you see on Instagram. Our team also learned fun and creative ways to add “videos” (really gifs) to our email newsletters, as well as the best subject lines to increase open rates. But, most importantly, I heard first-hand from folks who have the data, that my assumptions on what words to use, how to use them, when to use them, and why I do it this way were solidified. For the first time, my thesis on how I prefer to market was backed up by professionals who use real-time data to market similarly to the way I prefer to.
Existing Clients. Rewards NOT discounts. Jon Taffer (yea, the dude from “Bar Rescue”) once said, “Don’t discount, people get addicted to discounts.” Jignesh Shah and Heather Johnson, of Blackhawk Network went deep into customer loyalty programs and the importance of rewarding your repeat clients, and not just removing revenues from the topline! A simple example: your repeat client is coming back to you for their company-wide holiday event and instead of lowering the price on the bar, you add a specialty cocktail; or throw in an extra food item. They also touched upon some fun gift-giving ideas.
AI & Chatbots. Okay, this is also technology, but very different. HubSpot offers a free Chatbot builder to their users. As someone who has been against this for the longest time, when HubSpot’s senior management team and engineers explained why*, I was sold! As technology advances and tools like Chatbots start to reap the benefits of AI, the ROI grows immensely. If you have potential clients browsing your website, would you not want them to get INSTANT answers to their questions, even while your team is busy working on something else? For the first time ever, I can honestly say that I am excited to launch a Chatbot on our website in the coming months!
“With HubSpot’s free chatbot builder software, you can easily create messenger bots that help you qualify leads, book meetings, provide answers to common customer support questions, and more—so your team has more time to focus on the conversations that demand the most attention.”
As someone who has attended many “industry” conferences over the years (and spoke at a few of them), I was very excited to attend something like Inbound. It wasn’t about food, or events, or even hospitality; it was geared towards sales, marketing, and technology. Make sure to continue enjoying the conferences focused on your main areas of work, just don’t forget to check out some of the other great conferences out there too, and expand your horizons!
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by Robert Severini
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