1. Why bother reviewing your CRM?
Spreadsheets are brilliant for the early days, but they’re terrible at scaling relationships. Research shows firms that adopt a purpose-built CRM increase sales by 29 per cent on average [dataaxleusa.com]. If your team is juggling leads in inboxes or a legacy system nobody loves, choosing the right platform now will pay for itself in revenue growth, happier staff, and cleaner data.
2. HubSpot CRM in a nutshell
| Plan |
Core inclusions |
Typical UK price* |
| Free |
Contact database, deal pipeline, live chat |
£0 |
| Starter (Customer Platform) |
Email automation, simple reporting, custom properties |
£21 p/m (paid annually) |
| Professional |
Advanced sequences, forecasting, playbooks, custom reporting |
£792 p/m |
| Enterprise |
Custom objects, hierarchical teams |
£2,624 p/m |
*Prices shown are GBP, ex-VAT, billed annually. Monthly billing is available at a small uplift.
Stand-out features
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Single Smart CRM underpinning Marketing, Sales, Service, Content & Ops hubs – no messy integrations.
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Generous free tier, ideal for testing without risk.
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Native AI tools for email, forecasting and data hygiene [hubspot.com].
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1,500+ pre-built app integrations, plus open REST APIs for custom builds.
3. A six-point fit checklist
Tick ✅ every statement that resonates:
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“We’re an SME that values simplicity.” You want enterprise-grade power but can’t spare a full-time admin.
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“Growth is on the agenda.” HubSpot lets you start on Free/Starter and graduate to Pro or Enterprise without re-platforming.
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“Marketing & sales need to see the same data.” HubSpot’s Smart CRM unifies contact, company and deal records out-of-the-box.
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“We sell via email, phone and website.” HubSpot logs every touch automatically and provides built-in meeting links and live chat.
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“We can budget from ~£21 a month.” Even the Starter bundle unlocks automation and removes HubSpot branding.
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“We hate clunky user interfaces.” The platform is famously intuitive – perfect if you’ve struggled to drive adoption elsewhere.
Scorecard
4–6 ticks → HubSpot is almost certainly a strong match.
2–3 ticks → Worth a trial; ROI will depend on specific processes and integrations.
0–1 tick → Consider lighter options (e.g. Pipedrive) or heavier ones (e.g. Salesforce) before deciding.
4. When HubSpot might not be ideal
| Scenario |
Why it could be a blocker |
Alternative to explore |
| Highly bespoke, on-premise workflows needing full code-level access |
HubSpot is cloud-only and API-driven |
Microsoft Dynamics 365, SugarCRM |
| Ultra-tight budgets with no room for growth |
Starter is affordable, but Pro/Enterprise can be a jump |
Zoho CRM or Capsule |
| Industry-specific compliance requiring local hosting |
HubSpot hosts in the US & EU only |
Self-hosted SuiteCRM or Odoo |
5. HubSpot vs common SME contenders (quick glance)
| Platform |
Learning curve |
Customisation |
Marketplace apps |
Typical UK entry price |
| HubSpot |
Very low |
High at Pro+ |
1,500+ |
£0–£21 p/m |
| Zoho CRM |
Low |
Moderate |
1,000+ |
£12 p/m |
| Pipedrive |
Low |
Low–Mod |
400+ |
£14 p/m |
| Salesforce Starter |
Medium |
Very high |
3,000+ |
£20 p/m |
HubSpot wins on time-to-value and bundled marketing automation; Salesforce wins on raw configurability but at a much higher TCO.
6. Getting it right first time
Even the most intuitive platform benefits from the right set-up:
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CRM system setup – align pipelines, custom properties and user permissions from day one.
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Data migration & cleanse – move your spreadsheets/legacy records without rubbish data.
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Process mapping – bake your sales methodology into stages, automated tasks and playbooks.
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Team enablement – live and on-demand training to drive adoption.
As a HubSpot partner and autistic solutions architect, Inbound Orbit spots patterns others miss and designs friction-free systems that people actually use. Whether you need full CRM implementation for small business or occasional HubSpot CRM help, we’re here to improve your sales process and let you focus on growth.
7. Next steps
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Book a free discovery call – we’ll audit your current tech stack and quantify the upside.
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Trial HubSpot Free with our guidance – no commitment, real data.
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Launch your RevOps flywheel – streamline marketing, sales and service on a single platform.
Ready to see if HubSpot is your perfect-fit CRM?
Let’s chat and get your business orbiting growth.
