Undoubtedly, the sales and marketing team is the bread and butter of an organisation. However, in the last few years, the sales and marketing automation tools world has changed a lot. And one of the most significant changes is customer relationship management, popularly known as CRM.
"Sales and marketing together make all the difference in the performance and success of your business”.
This is why choosing the right CRM is more important than ever.
We understand that you want to pick the right sales automation tool to ensure your team is as productive and efficient as possible. But, feeling perplexed, where to start?
Don't worry; we got you covered.
Here's a comparison of two great sales tools, "Close vs HubSpot", that are getting tons of praise in the market today. So, without any ado, let's get over the main points of the Close vs HubSpot CRM comparison, and see which one works best for you.
But, before delving into the nitty gritty, let’s say a quick hello to HubSpot and Close for better understanding.
Popularly known, HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales and service platform.
Besides, the most significant addition to HubSpot’s software stack lately is - “HubSpot Sales Hub”, a tool that helps your sales team save time by automating monotonous tasks.
And, with Sales Hub, you can focus on crucial things like getting more profound insights into your prospects and closing deals faster than ever before. Furthermore, Sales Hub works wonders with the HubSpot CRM to enhance the sales process, costing $0 to start.
Close is a cloud-based sales software built to help sales teams improve productivity. To be precise, it’s an all-in-one sales tool that is easy to use without using any other email or call tools, which eventually makes it a lot easier for sales professionals to make and receive calls with merely one click.
Besides, with Close, contact details are automatically logged into the system, with a visual timeline that shows you all the touchpoints a lead has experienced with your brand, eventually making it easy to personalise the complete customer experience.
Close starts at $21.25/month for basic functions and scales up to $123.25/month for the business platform.
Now that you understand Close and HubSpot, you next look up to user reviews. After all,
"When growing a business, there’s a lot to consider, but reviews for your CRM can’t be an afterthought."
Don’t worry; reviews reveal a lot about the product, and user ratings are a great way to back up claims. Here’s a quick glimpse!
| Comparison | HubSpot | Close |
| Ease of use | 8.8 | 8.8 |
| Support ratings | 8.3 | 9.3 |
| Likelihood to recommend | 8.7 | 9.4 |
| Value for money | 9.0 | 9.0 |
If you are a visual learner like me and looking for some concrete comparison sample out in the wild before you can knock at your own, you are at the right place.
*Each product’s score is calculated with real-time data from verified sources like Capterra and g2 to help you choose between these options and be confident about which one is best for your business needs.
CRM is an excellent tool for tracking everything from employee activity to performance. So, it’s advisable to choose software that offers employees their own accounts to track their hours individually, goals and much more.
Furthermore, a CRM system helps businesses update customer contact details, track customer interaction, and manage customer accounts. Simply put, It is crafted to help businesses improve customer relationships and Customer Lifetime Value.
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Contact management | 8.3 | 8.9 |
| Workflow management | 7.9 | 8.4 |
| Opportunity management | 9.6 | 8.4 |
| Territory management | 8.0 | 7.4 |
| Integration with email | 9.5 | 8.5 |
| Interaction tracking | 8.3 | 8.7 |
| Partner relationship management | 9.7 | 7.5 |
| Contract management | 10.0 | 7.9 |
The overall rating: Close - 8.9 and HubSpot - 8.2
CRM software can help acquire and retain customers by providing excellent customer service. Moreover, it gives you a 360-degree comprehensive view of customers, showing you everything about them from the first point of contact.
Look for the following capabilities, Close and HubSpot will allow your sales reps and customer support team to perform their best:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Help desk management | 10.0 | 7.6 |
| Case management | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Call centre management | 8.0 | 7.7 |
The overall rating: Close - 8.7 and HubSpot - 7.8
CRM with project management is as equivalent to better data management, and that too in one place. Besides, improved deliverables, i.e. the people creating a product or availing service, can see customer feedback.
Notably, time and money are saved by using one tool and reduced time on inefficient communication.
Here’s what Close and HubSpot have to offer:
Why CRM and marketing automation?
Why are both needed?
When marketing automation and CRM work together, they offer a seamless journey for clients as they go from visitors to customers. Integrating the two software gives the sales team a complete picture of a prospect’s interaction with your company.
Here’s what Close and HubSpot offer:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Lead management | 8.8 | 8.7 |
| Email marketing | 9.5 | 8.7 |
The overall rating: Close - 9.2 and HubSpot - 8.7
No doubt, every business model is different, which is why they work differently, even if they are from the same industry.
Varying from sales processes and procedures, key performance indicators and business language, everything differs from business to business. That's why it's important to have sales tools that let you customise according to the requirements, eventually helping you to improve your user experience.
Here are the features Close and HubSpot offer in customisation.
| Comparison | Close | Customisation |
| Custom fields | 9.5 | 8.6 |
| Scripting environment | 8.0 | 6.3 |
| Custom objects | 10.0 | 8.4 |
| API for custom integration | 6.8 | 8.3 |
The overall rating: Close - 8.6 and HubSpot - 7.9
Good reporting features are a must in sales. So, it’s important to find a software that offers an exquisite array of reporting options, like graphs, downloading charts, and many other documents that show your sales data in a visually appealing way.
For example, HubSpot has numerous reporting options and presents most important reports on your sales dashboard when you log in. This eventually makes it a lot easier to know where your sales team stands and can make better data-driven decisions.
Here’s the CRM reporting and analytics features Close and HubSpot offers:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Forecasting | 10.0 | 7.7 |
| Pipeline visualisation | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Customisable reports | 5.5 | 8.3 |
The overall rating: Close - 8.0 and HubSpot - 8.1
Whether prospecting or conversion, a CRM makes it easier for businesses to scale.
But what if CRM security is easily breached? The case sounds similar to iCloud servers being hacked or stolen bank data. Even a minor data breach can lead to a loss of behemoth revenue and client fallout for your business.
So, to safeguard your business from any potential threats posed by data breaches and ensure that your customer data remains safe, it’s crucial to choose a CRM equipped with robust security potential.
Here’s what Close and HubSpot have to offer:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Single sign-on capability | 8.0 | 8.6 |
| Role-based user permissions | 8.4 | 8.7 |
The overall rating: Close - 8.2 and HubSpot - 8.7
A CRM with built-in social media monitoring features is undoubtedly an added feather in the hat. Also, it can save your marketing team time because there won’t be any further need to switch platforms to monitor your company’s social media.
Here’s what Close and HubSpot offer:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Social engagement | 10.0 | 8.0 |
| Social data | 10.0 | 7.9 |
The overall rating: Close - 10.0 and HubSpot - 7.9
All-in-one software solutions make a reliable choice when more than one sales automation tool is required.
HubSpot provides all kinds of features and tools within a single product, but alongside, it also provides numerous integrations with all other kinds of tools that are needed. So, it’s essential to ensure your data transferring is rightly set up to prevent any duplications.
After all, the more integrations possible with sales tools, the smoother your business will work.
Here are the integrations that Close and HubSpot provide:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Marketing automation | 7.0 | 8.5 |
| Compensation management | 0 | 8.0 |
The overall rating: Close - 7 and HubSpot - 8.2
The sales and marketing team with a platform-supported CRM tool is not only confined to flexibility and autonomy, but it’s also a proven way to boost sales, enhance productivity and generate more revenue from present clients.
Thus, make sure your CRM offers compatibility and support with different platforms before putting your finger on any CRM tool.
Here’s what Close and HubSpot offer:
| Comparison | Close | HubSpot |
| Mobile access | 10.0 | 7.7 |
The overall rating: Close - 10 and HubSpot - 7.7
Both sales tools: HubSpot and Close, have some great features that can help enhance and streamline your business sales process. But what makes the absolute difference is the option you choose.
So, choose wisely, and consider your sales goals and what actually your sales team needs.
After all, what sounds a bit of a beast without a sales tool, can be a beautiful thing with it. You need to choose an effective platform that can easily scale with your needs. And, if you look for the above mentioned features in CRM before you buy, you can’t go wrong.