HubSpot INBOUND 2020 Highlight: Thriving in the New Normal

HubSpot & CRM

Sarah McNabb Oct 6, 2020 3:56:59 AM

As a HubSpot Platinum Agency Partner, Gate 39 Media attended INBOUND 2020, HubSpot’s annual conference which typically takes place in Boston. This year it was held online from September 22-23. Our team attended a variety of sessions and collected some terrific takeaways, including thriving in the new normal.

INBOUND 2020 was a virtual digital experience like no other on a custom-built platform packed with 250+ sessions and keynote talks from top experts (and celebrities) covering a range of both technical and subjective sessions in the sales and marketing universe.

HubSpot co-founders Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, and Christopher O’Donnell presented the official kick-off session at INBOUND 2020:

“We’re arming people to not just survive in the new normal but to thrive in the new normal.” – Brian Halligan

The founders opened the event discussing the overarching theme of 2020, the challenge of navigating 3 crises: a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a crisis of social conscience, acknowledging that there is no playbook for this year. This is not yet the new normal — and the role of technology is changing.

And that this time should present itself as opportunistic for companies that leverage and lean into the change …to thrive in the new normal and benefit post-COVID.

One of the skills forward-looking companies need is to learn how to lead through Zoom and Slack. Employees are changing the expectations of their employers, demanding a new flexibility. And employers will find that supply and demand is going to get tougher, attracting great candidates is going to get tougher – you have to build a culture to attract great talent; people want flexibility, transparency, and diversity.

The best teams are diverse teams, so if you want to thrive in the new normal, you must build a culture for this.

Dharmesh Shah states, “This is not a fad, this is the future.” He added that employees want to work for a company with:

Aligned mission
Remarkable autonomy
Brilliant peers

Brian Halligan noted, “Here’s the thing about history – people think it marches. It doesn’t…. it crawls. And it leaps. And we’re in a leap right now of social justice.”

Shah added, “I have a renewed empathy for our customers. This has brought to light how important this is. To treat them with exceptional empathy.”

Citing a deliberate shift from prospects to a focus on customers, these HubSpot leaders emphasize that they have become more customer-centric.

Brian Halligan stated that there are two types of companies:

Companies that lean into the future
Companies that are trying to get back to 2019

The companies that lean into the future will survive. Those waiting for the normal of 2019 are not setting themselves up for success. For companies to thrive, they must evolve to deliver a purchasing experience that matches their buyer’s new normal, not the old normal.

Halligan and Shah both contend that trust is more important than ever – because it is scarcer than ever. Companies are being scrutinized now more than ever and that it is essential to focus on maximizing what they call the “trust score”.

>>> Check out select video sessions from INBOUND 2020 here.

New HubSpot Features Announced at INBOUND 2020

2020 has been a huge year for Marketing Hub, a few key updates include:

HubSpot listened to their clients and changed to fit their needs: They changed to create unlimited free contacts, and that users can just pay for the contacts they “market” to.
New Account-Based Marketing functionalities have been added.
More personalized experiences using HubSpot data have been optimized, including ad targeting, conversational marketing, and email personalization.
Users will enjoy more advanced targeting in HubSpot conversations, triggering chat flows to create a more relevant and personalized customer experience and tying in data more closely.
A brand-new custom report builder – on every object and event – sets up HubSpot reporting to adapt, scale, and customize reporting to future changes.

>>> Watch the HubSpot Product Spotlight covering select product updates in detail.

Marketing CMS and Service Hubs have seen big updates this year – here are just a few:

HubSpot has a new product line: CMS HUB – available in Pro and Enterprise. It is a fully integrated CMS experience with changes synced to HubSpot. Everything the developer creates is made for the marketer. New Canva integration, and the ability to update your web page and watch your SEO score change dynamically in the CMS.
Sales Hub – The new Sales Hub Enterprise with Custom Objects are now available in HS, store ANY data in HS – flexible enough to adapt with you, they work just like standard objects in HS. CO are useful and is in BETA across all HS platforms. Field-level permissions on properties is now available. New Sales Analytics tools and sales forecasting tools with rep views. Sales Hub Enterprise empowers sales teams.

The consumerization of enterprise software is here, and EASE of use is critical in its success – it must be easy to buy, set up, operate, and own. HubSpot is here to help you adapt to your new normal and Gate 39 Media is here to assist in customizing HubSpot to solve your unique challenges.

Interested to learn more? Let Gate 39 Media take you on a personalized HubSpot demo and let’s talk through the possibilities.

As a Platinum HubSpot Agency Partner, see what financial, agricultural, and professional services HubSpot clients say about us.