This week marks a significant development in the world of inbound marketing as HubSpot, a company renowned for its own pioneering approach to inbound, unveiled a fresh new email marketing tool as a core component of its marketing software suite.
Beyond the simple fact of HubSpot‘s entry into this space, understanding the strategic “why” and “why now” provides deeper insights into the evolving landscape of digital marketing.
A Brief History of HubSpot’s Vision
The HubSpot marketing software tools have been a cornerstone of the industry since 2006. In its early days, HubSpot viewed the email marketing landscape differently than it does today. Co-founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, both ex-MIT, launched HubSpot on the powerful premise that “traditional marketing was broken.” Their vision was to provide integrated tools for inbound marketing, addressing the complexity and disconnected nature of existing solutions.
However, the need for more sophisticated email marketing tools that align with inbound marketing principles became increasingly clear over time.
Inbound Marketing Embraces Inbox Marketing
HubSpot‘s Rick Burnes states: “We talk to a lot of marketers, and they all seem to have the same problems with their traditional email program: The tools are hard to use and their campaigns don’t generate great results. HubSpot’s new email and contacts tools help marketers solve these problems because they’re part of an end-to-end marketing software solution.“
With nearly 7,000 users and over $65 million in Venture Capitalist backing, including investment from Google Ventures, HubSpot is a major force. While some email marketing and lead nurturing functionality was integrated into the HubSpot Software approximately three years prior, the company has now rebuilt its entire email marketing offering from the ground up, signalling a renewed and deeper commitment.
The Trend Towards Marketing Suite Integration
The move by HubSpot reflects a broader industry trend towards the integration of diverse marketing software functionalities into comprehensive suites. This integration promises streamlined data management, reduced technical friction, and a more holistic view of the customer journey and touchpoints. For example, just last month, Teradata announced its acquisition of the marketing management capabilities of Aprimo. Similarly, several other ESPs ( Email Service Providers) have been expanding their feature sets beyond traditional email to offer more integrated marketing solutions.
Performable Powers HubSpot’s Email Development
A key factor in HubSpot‘s enhanced email capabilities was the acquisition of Cambridge startup Performable last year. At the time, Performable was developing advanced analytical tools for measuring online campaign effectiveness. Their software excelled at analyzing sales and marketing performance and featured triggers for sending email messages based on a visitor’s prior interactions with a company. The entire 18-person Performable team transitioned to HubSpot.
HubSpot marketing manager Jessica Meher comments: “One of the team’s first projects was to develop an e-mail marketing platform that was tightly integrated with the rest of HubSpot’s offerings. ‘We weren’t interested in email marketing as a silo.’”.
Key Features of HubSpot’s New Email Marketing Tool
Based on their product page, HubSpot has prioritized features that directly address the needs of modern marketers:
- Target: Create targeted segments of your marketing database for precise communication.
- Create: Build beautiful, engaging emails designed to maximize open and click rates.
- Personalize: Leverage any field from your marketing database or CRM to personalize messages.
- Analyze: Access detailed email reports to gain insights into contact engagement and campaign performance.
- Design: Utilize custom templates or choose from a library of pre-built designs for professional-looking emails.
- Capture: Grow your contact database effortlessly with easy-to-use forms.
Integrating Inbound Principles with Email
The true power of HubSpot‘s new email tool lies in its deep integration with inbound marketing methodologies. By combining the ability to attract, engage, and delight customers with highly targeted email communication, businesses can deliver truly relevant content at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
Is Targeted Email the Solution, Not Just More Noise?
When asked if email adds to the “loudness” and information overflow in the online and social media space, HubSpot‘s Rick Burnes provided a critical distinction:
“That depends on the kind of email — traditional email just adds to the problem. Targeted, relevant email sent using segmentation like HubSpot’s does help solve the noise problem. The reason is simple: If your message isn’t relevant, it’s not useful to the recipient. If it’s relevant, it’s useful.”
This philosophy underpins HubSpot‘s strategic investment, aiming to transform email from a generic broadcast channel into a powerful, personalized communication tool that genuinely serves the recipient.