If the past few years in the B2B market have taught us anything, it's this lesson: In a world of swift transitions, standing still is the biggest risk for enterprises. Amid technological, societal, and economic upheavals, New Breed's industry-first "State of HubSpot 2023" report goes beyond just presenting market trends. It captures how top revenue leaders adapt by strategically allocating budgets, refining hiring strategies, turning to external expertise, and streamlining tech infrastructures to maintain a competitive edge in any ecosystem scenario.
State of HubSpot 2023: Insights from 1,000+ Revenue Leaders
Partnering with Censuswide, we've gathered insights from over a thousand global B2B revenue leaders for the annual State of HubSpot report. Our research aims to dive deep into the complexities, strategies, and goals molding the HubSpot ecosystem and the success of its top performers.
Market Trends 2023 [Highlights]
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'Maximizing Impact with Limited Resources' is the top challenge in 2023.
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Team alignment remains the forefront solution for revenue growth and customer satisfaction.
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Top performers are prioritizing investments in SEM, Video Marketing, and AI.
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AI functionality is increasingly seen as an essential component of CRM.
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HubSpot champions CRM user satisfaction, outperforming Salesforce.
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Tapping into the broader HubSpot ecosystem can potentially drive revenue growth.
1. 'Maximizing Impact with Limited Resources' is the top challenge in 2023.
Delivering more with less is the prevailing theme across sales, marketing, and operations teams. The push to get the most impact out of every dollar is evident across the report, with only 7% of revenue leaders surveyed confident in meeting all their revenue targets this year. So, what's holding back the majority?
The top five challenges for revenue leaders in 2023 as identified in the report include:
- Prioritizing and figuring out the most impactful marketing with limited resources
- Creating alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success
- How to approach or integrate AI into our sales/marketing team
- Managing bigger goals with fewer resources
- Finding and retaining the right talent
2. Team alignment remains the forefront solution for revenue growth and customer satisfaction.
In 2023, aligning sales and marketing is beyond an internal goal—it’s a direct client expectation. With 87% of respondents grappling with alignment concerns, 97% agree that tighter alignment can drive benefits such as increased revenue, increased customer satisfaction, and customer retention. The report also identifies three primary challenges blocking this alignment:
- Overcoming communication barriers and fostering a shared vision across departments.
- Democratizing strategic planning—every team deserves representation.
- Tackling data silos across systems and ensuring data flow.
As a solution, 82% of respondents say that a unified tool for sales and marketing teams could significantly improve revenue outcomes, serving as a core solution between departments.
3. Top performers are prioritizing investments in SEM, Video Marketing, and AI.
Despite constrained budgets, the channel investment playbook is clear: invest wisely and invest in what works. While all respondents rank their top channel investments as Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Brand Advertising, plus Content and SEO, high-growth teams (defined as respondents reporting 75-100% growth in the next twelve months) are more bullish on Video Marketing than other users.
Revenue leaders are also integrating third-party tools to amplify their CRM capabilities. The preferred integrations for these respondents include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) (56%)
- CRM solutions (50%)
- Conversational Marketing and Chatbots (48%)
- Analytics and Reporting (45%)
- Customer Success (41%)
4. Users view AI functionality as a soon-to-be standard CRM requirement.
The year 2023 is pivotal for CRM as AI takes center stage: 95% of revenue leaders anticipate their CRM to leverage AI capabilities in at least one way. HubSpot, attuned to this trajectory in B2B technology, introduced its AI-layered Customer Platform and Smart CRM solutions. Meanwhile, top-performing teams prioritizing and already implementing AI-CRM solutions are leading the charge in where the technology may go next:
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3 in 5 revenue leaders expecting 100% growth this year consider AI their top investment in 2023.
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Nearly half expect their CRM to adopt AI to enhance cross-functional collaboration, with 46% anticipating AI to support proactive customer service and 45% predicting AI-driven insights for customer segmentation.
5. HubSpot champions CRM user satisfaction, outperforming Salesforce.
HubSpot's evolution from a pioneer in inbound marketing to establishing a significant presence in the enterprise AI-layered CRM space is noteworthy. When pitted against a major enterprise competitor like Salesforce, HubSpot not only holds its ground—but even excels. Our survey delves into how it's faring among the larger clientele:
- The ROI feedback from the market suggests a positive reception: 88% of respondents from companies with 500+ employees say they consider HubSpot suitable for enterprise-level use cases.
- When comparing user satisfaction, HubSpot outperforms Salesforce: 84% of respondents say that HubSpot effectively addresses their CRM requirements. In contrast, Salesforce Customer 360 trails behind, garnering an approval rate of 76%.
- Beyond its existing clientele, HubSpot's allure continues to grow: 4 in 5 non-HubSpot users surveyed are actively considering or planning a transition to one or more of HubSpot's Hubs in the next six months.
6. Tapping into the broader HubSpot ecosystem can potentially drive more revenue growth.
As reflected in its evolved mission statement, HubSpot's core strength isn't just in its individual tools but in the synergies created within its integrated ecosystem. Within this framework, app integrations and partner collaborations offer opportunities to push teams from stagnation to exponential growth. Here's the reported ROI behind HubSpot products across operations:
- Most HubSpot users experience a positive impact on core revenue KPIs: 80% of all users surveyed experienced lower Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) and increased bookings and revenue post-HubSpot implementation.
- Revenue leaders who have invested in Operations Hub report even greater value: 94% of Operations Hub users have seen increased customer acquisition rates since implementing HubSpot, and 93% reported growth in bookings and revenue.
- Leveraging external HubSpot expertise further enhances the impact: 87% of respondents who tapped into the knowledge of external experts, such as HubSpot Solution Partners, witnessed substantial growth in customer acquisition.
The Takeaway
The HubSpot ecosystem is in a state of flux, influenced by both innovation and global economic shifts. As brand loyalty wanes and AI revolutionizes workflows, the revenue leaders of tomorrow see these shifts as windows of opportunity. Their roadmap? Champion agility, reduce complexity, and stay perpetually ready to pivot.
Dive deeper into the full 'State of HubSpot' report below, encapsulating the successful strategies top-performers in the industry employ to unlock substantial growth, mold new markets, and foster deeper client connections.
