4 min read  | HubSpot

#INBOUND22 – The crisis of disconnection

INBOUND is back for another year, and the theme is connection – whether that’s connecting applications, leveraging a connected platform or building a connected community. But what does this mean for your business? 

If you’re new to the world of HubSpot, every year South Boston’s Seaport District gets swamped by thousands of avid HubSpotters, customers and partners. It’s an annual convergence of ideas and talent from around the world, and an opportunity to check out the latest HubSpot capabilities – the standout that we think you should be looking out for is customer journey analytics. 

connected customer platform diagram (transparent)Here are 8 highlights we think you’ll find useful, with our own commentary: 

1. We are increasingly disconnected (as you may have noticed yourself!) From customers navigating saturated channels and buyers with changing expectations, to data and each other. We’re entering the age of the connected customer – and we need to provide a strong omnichannel experience to minimise any disconnects and keep the flywheel spinning. 

2. Living through a crisis has accelerated changing buyer expectations, breeding creativity and a desire for increasing connectedness. Are you meeting your customers where they are with value that gives not only information but also builds trust? Are you building the buying experience your prospective customers are looking for? Do you have the right insights to make the right decisions? 

3. Buyers are now 80% through the sales process before they talk to sales (Google); 33% say they’d prefer to have a seller free sales experience (Gartner); and more than 75% prefer self-serve and remote human engagement over face to face (McKinsey). Can your buyers buy without talking to you, remotely, and on their terms? 

4. It’s harder to get cut-through and engagement. Channels and strategies that used to work may not anymore. So, what’s changed? Customers are seeking real connection, flexibility and value. To help with this, HubSpot has integrated WhatsApp to workflows and conversations, and SMS is on the way. You’ll also spot the ability to log new types of communication – like LinkedIn messages and postal mail. 

5. Tracking the customer journey is important. One of the most exciting new features we’ve seen this year is customer journey analytics (now in beta) which let you visualise the entire customer journey (if you’re familiar with product analytics tools, you’re going to love the Sankey charts!). We’re looking forward to helping clients better visualise drop offs, and which efforts are most effective in driving conversions. 

6. Disconnected systems and data are holding us back. There are too many point solutions causing friction and options to connect data are expensive, complex and incomplete. The new data quality monitor will help you keep on top of data issues, and in some cases use AI to automatically fix common problems; and more data sync sources are on the way. 

7. Tailor-made customised experiences are essential. From the CRM which now allows for custom object creation and new object overviews to accelerate insights, to providing your customers with personalised experiences across multiple pages, sites and channels, you can interact with each individual customer through their preferred channel using personalised campaigns, and of course measure with customer journey analytics. 

8. Community may be the missing piece in your growth strategy. Dharmesh Shah points out that we as a people are disconnected, and hybrid work models have changed how we interact. We crave connection with our peers and authentic relationships that build trust. Ensuring we aspire and reach communities with our customers is essential. For more on why community matters watch Dharmesh's keynote from INBOUND 22 below.

 

That’s it from us. If you’re at INBOUND 22, there’s another day of insights ahead. And if you’ve never attended before, we highly recommend pencilling it in for 2023.  

 

Need help implementing HubSpot to enable your go-to-market teams to thrive? Book a call with Aamplify, and we’ll help get you pointed in the right direction.