Inbound Marketing Solutions: HubSpot Vs. InfusionSoft

Small and medium size businesses are finding they can no longer produce successful inbound marketing campaigns without support from automated marketing software. They need help producing content, delivering it to the right audiences and analyzing results for continual improvement. It?s time to look for comprehensive inbound marketing solutions.

That takes considerable due diligence. There seem to be a lot of options out there, and many bill themselves as ?all-in-one? solutions. But how do they compare? Let?s look at what two of the industry?s leading products, InfusionSoft and HubSpot, have to offer. Both companies are well-established, InfusionSoft since 2004 and HubSpot since 2006.

Key Differences

HubSpot offers a single, comprehensive solution that is truly comprehensive. You can use it to handle virtually every aspect of inbound marketing. InfusionSoft also offers broad marketing support, focusing on content management, marketing and sales automation and e-commerce.

HubSpot Overview

Positives:

• Broad content management system that includes responsive website design. This simplifies work, especially for marketers who aren?t also tech experts.
• Powerful tools for SEO optimization, including keyword research.
• Easy-to-use tools to build calls-to-action and landing pages.
• Social media publishing and tracking.
• Deeper lead scoring capabilities.
• Very good customer life-cycle tracking and analytics.

Negatives:

• No built-in customer relationship management (CRM) capability, though HubSpot integrates well with a variety of third-party CRM products, including SalesForce, which is a preferred partner.
• Minimal advanced customization options.
• Some critics complain that analytics don?t allow a truly ?deep dive? for those who are statistically inclined.

InfusionSoft Overview

Positives:

• Built-in CRM system.
• Social media publishing and tracking.
• Very good customer life-cycle tracking and analytics.
• Higher level plans include full-scale e-commerce capability, something not found with most other inbound marketing solutions.

Negatives:

• No built-in content management system, therefore no keyword or SEO tools. InfusionSoft can be integrated with third-party CMS.
• No website hosting or management capability.
• Some users say InfusionSoft has not been able to keep up with their need for expanded marketing capabilities.
• Have to create landing pages and CTA elsewhere and import them.
• Required training is costly.

Pricing

• InfusionSoft?s basic plan (contact management and marketing automation only) starts at $199 per month. Upgrades that include sales automation and/or e-commerce run $299 and $379 per month, and the premier level costs $599 per month. Regardless what level play you choose, you must also purchase ?Kickstart? training that starts at $1999. There is no annual contract.
• HubSpot starts at $200 per month, with a Pro plan at $800 and an extensive Enterprise plan at $2400 per month. Incremental adjustments are based on increases in number of contacts. There is an annual contract.

Summary

It pays for marketers to consider customer reviews, just as your own prospects do. Reviewers on G2 Crowd give InfusionSoft a low overall score of 3.5 stars, rating the platform significantly lower than HubSpot in every category. The most consistent complaint is user-unfriendliness.

It all comes down to your priorities. If e-commerce and/or sales automation are crucial to your company?s marketing success, InfusionSoft may be the better choice. If you have no e-commerce function, then perhaps HubSpot?s across-the-board versatility and ability to grow with your company is the best investment.

Still have questions? Download our FREE eBook on choosing marketing automation software that compared the industry-leading platforms complete with product and consumer reviews. Just click the button below.

Marketing Matters Inbound?is an inbound marketing firm specializing in online conversions, content?strategy, call-to-action mapping and traditional media placement. Our experience in?B2B digital?marketing?and traditional media allows us to deliver results through a strategic media mix. We believe in?aligning and merging marketing and sales/operations for optimal return on your marketing investment.