If you’re a B2B marketer, you’re likely familiar with HubSpot. This marketing, sales and CRM platform set itself apart from industry rivals, like Salesforce, Marketo and Pardot, by centering its services and education on its proprietary “Inbound Methodology.” This methodology focuses on three actions: attracting new prospects to your company, engaging with them at scale and delighting them individually. While many B2B companies benefit from using HubSpot, the just-released 2019 Trusted Brands Report, revealed that HubSpot can teach us all some important lessons on building a trusted B2B brand.
HubSpot’s (Somewhat Surprising) High Score
As we processed over a thousand votes to determine which B2B brands customers trust most for the 2019 Trusted Brands Report, we noticed that HubSpot had not only placed among household names like construction giant Caterpillar and manufacturing giant 3M, but had also tied with its much larger industry rival, Salesforce. It’s unusual for a marketing technology platform company to achieve the awareness and reputation necessary to be highly trusted among other, more well-known brands.
Refresher Course: HubSpot Benefits in B2B
HubSpot offers a user-friendly marketing, sales and service platform that provides customer relationship management (CRM) and content management system (CMS) services to companies of all sizes. HubSpot Academy, a free online library of resources, offers lessons and certification tracks as well.
If you’re a marketer looking for a HubSpot agency, you can use the HubSpot Agency Directory online to find one that suits your needs. HubSpot software also integrates with many marketing programs and tools your team or agency might already be using like WordPress, LinkedIn and SigStr to allow you to access all the important platforms you need seamlessly from your HubSpot dashboard.
Top Ways HubSpot Builds Brand Trust
1. Forging Strong Partnerships
A strong network in the B2B sphere will boost brand trust…if you have the right partners. If one of your partners is a highly trusted brand, you can expect to see the following benefits:
- your company can earn trust in the eyes of prospects and customers by being associated with a highly trusted brand
- your partner’s customers might feel encouraged to work with you thanks to that endorsement from a brand they trust
HubSpot has a strong network of B2B companies that share its customer base and marketing values. Those companies fall into two categories: tech partners and agency partners.
HubSpot’s tech partners are companies like WordPress and Sigstr that have built specific integrations for the HubSpot platform. Prospects and customers, upon seeing that HubSpot interfaces with programs they already use, will feel a sense of familiarity that fosters their trust.
HubSpot’s agency partners are marketing agencies that use HubSpot for a certain percentage of their clients. These agencies work in tandem with HubSpot to provide marketing services and leverage HubSpot’s inbound methodology. By partnering with marketing agencies that endorse the brand, HubSpot becomes a more trusted, and viable, software choice to the agency’s clients.
2. Putting Brand Loyalty on Display
Through the Agency Program we discussed in #1, HubSpot has created levels of brand loyalty. The four tiers of HubSpot agency partnership are silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Agency partners are awarded a higher tier when the revenue they generate through HubSpot reaches a certain threshold. This program builds loyalty among HubSpot’s agency partnership, and, vitally: creates a visual and prestigious way for agencies to demonstrate that loyalty.
Haven’t thought about brand loyalty in a while? We’ve got you covered:
Refresher Course: How to Measure Brand Loyalty
One of the best ways to know if your brand is on track to getting more qualified leads is to calculate your company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS). This metric is determined by asking how likely your customers are to recommend your brand to friends on a scale of 1-10.
Wrapping Up
HubSpot has built considerable brand trust primarily by the strength of its relationships. The company invests time in forging important partnerships with industry leaders who are widely trusted. These partnerships not only enhance HubSpot’s user experience but also help it benefit from the brand trust customers already have in its partners.
The biggest lesson we can learn from HubSpot as a top-ranked B2B brand is that trust is all about relationships: the ones you have and the ones you forge through time and excellent delivery of your products or services. Brands that achieve high marks in trust are those that are continually building their network and starting personalized conversations with prospects that get at the heart of their needs.
To keep learning how to build brand trust through relationships, download the 2019 Trusted Brands Report.
