Case Prep: Hubspot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0

You do not need to submit answers to the questions below; use them to help structure and sharpen the analysis and insights that support your decision.

Key Decision Question:   How (if at all) should Hubspot change their product portfolio and pricing strategy to better align across the customer segments they choose to serve?

Recommended Supporting Questions and Analysis

  • How do you think Hubspot should prioritize serving Owner Ollies vs Marketer Marys going forward?
    • What is the “customer funnel”?
    • What are the three new marketing skills that Hubspot claimed marketers need in order to be successful with an inbound approach to filling their customer funnel? To what extent might being in a B2B vs B2C business affect the importance of these skills?
    • How large are Owner Ollie’s gaps in these skills? Marketer Marys?  To what extent might being in a <25 person business versus a larger business affect gaps in these skills?
    • How well does Hubspot’s software as a service fill Owner Ollie’s gaps?  Marketer Marys? What features create the most gain relative to other options these customers have?  How does “variability” (heterogeneity in service experience) affect this gain?
    • What is a rough customer lifetime value of an Owner Ollie versus a Marketer Mary?  (assume a 1% monthly discount rate)
    • What problems with Hubspot’s product-market fit (vs customer needs, vs competitive alternatives) might be affecting retention rates for its targeted customer segments?
  • What marketing mix changes should Hubspot make based on your prioritization strategy?
    • Hubspot’s product portfolio is currently segmented based on the Owner Ollie/Marketer Mary persona.  Should they modify/add to/change it to be segmented based on B2B vs B2C?  Customer size?  Something else? Why or why not?
    • What is a “CMS”? Currently CMS hosting is an optional component for Hubspot. As currently configured, this adds an additional one-time $500 startup cost, a technical requirement, and potentially internal process changes to a customer’s purchase decision.  Should Hubspot make this a required part of their solution for one or more product choices in their portfolio?   Why or why not? How might you use customer equity analysis to support your argument?
    • Should Hubspot make other changes to their pricing strategy? Why or why not? How might you use customer equity analysis to support your argument?
    • What other marketing mix changes should Hubspot make?  Why?