The HubHeroes Podcast

Personalization in inbound marketing (email, smart content, and more) can be a powerful thing – in fact recent data shows that 80% of buyers prefer brands that use personalization. And 90% of marketers say that personalization significantly contributes to achieving sales and other business objectives.

🔎 Related: HubSpot email marketing strategy best practices we love (HubHeroes Podcast)

But the line between successful personalization that fosters meaningful connections and buyer engagement, and personalization that is off-putting and downright creepy is a very, very thin one. Of course, HubSpot itself provides a ton of personalization features and capabilities – some are obvious, like the naming tokens you can use in emails and smart content. Some are not so obvious and, quite frankly, criminally overlooked.

So, this week, the whole gang is here and we’re throwing ourselves down the personalization rabbit hole. We talk about what folks are getting right with personalization, what so many of us are getting wrong, what most inbounders are totally missing with personalization opportunities, and how to maximize your personalization capabilities in HubSpot.

But, you know, without being a total creeper. There's a fine line between helpful and Big Brother, folks.

What We Talked About

• How effective is personalization really, from our perspectives as both marketers and consumers?
• What are some of your favorite examples of personalization you’ve either created or experienced?
• Where do you draw the line between personalization that is CHEF’S KISS perfect and Big Brother Creepy?
• George loves to say, "Keep it human, not creepy," but what the heck does that mean?
• What's the difference between "declared" and "undeclared" consumer preferences, and why does it matter to the privacy and personalization conversation?
• What are some of the most common mistakes you see folks make with personalization, particularly when using HubSpot?
• What are your favorite ways to use HubSpot to create exceptional personalization experiences?
• In what ways do we encourage inbounders to think about personalization differently in 2024? Has anything changed about personalization in the past few years?

And so much more ... 

Additional Resources

• AI website agents and is Google in trouble?
• How to use AI for marketing (examples + best practices)
• AI, ChatGPT, and the future of inbound marketing (HubHeroes podcast)
• What Jorge Learned: Owner's mentality, content UX, and the truth about ChatGPT
• Your unforgettable, completely unhinged #INBOUND23 recap (HubHeroes podcast)
• A thought-provoking AI fireside chat with George B. Thomas (HubHeroes podcast)

In this episode, we're joined by David Gable, the head of sales at Kixie. (For those who don't know, Kixie offers automated calling and texting solutions for sales teams that using leading CRMs — including HubSpot!) David joined us for an exciting topic that's also pretty controversial, depending on who you ask.

What roles should SMS and text messaging play in your inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight your customers? Or is SMS an invasive relic of the past that should be set aside by brands, because it does more harm than good to the relationships we want to establish?

The answers to these questions are not as black-and-white as you may think. So, strap in folks! In this passionate, hot take-filled episode, we are going deep down the SMS rabbit hole to help take your inbound strategies to new heights.

What We Talked About

• What do most inbound marketers get wrong about SMS marketing? What are the most common myths and misconceptions?
• How should inbound marketers and brands think about SMS marketing? What mindsets should they possess? How should they be looking to SMS as part of their broader strategies to attract, engage, and delight?
• What are great examples of SMS we've seen out in the wild from brands?
• How does social selling fit into the sales process?
• What are the most common mistakes folks make when implementing SMS as part of their inbound program?
• Let's talk technology — how easy is it to integrate SMS if you're using HubSpot for your business?
• How would you like to see brands challenge themselves in 2024 with SMS texting?
• How does Devyn really feel about being the recipient of SMS campaigns from brands? And what will happen if you send him anything?

And so much more ... 

Additional Resources

• What is the HubSpot Flywheel really? (HubHeroes podcast)
• Back to the HubSpot Flywheel: Unpacking inbound physics (HubHeroes podcast)
• Buying has changed, sales hasn't — now what? (HubHeroes podcast)
• Email marketing and HubSpot 101 (HubHeroes podcast)
• What is customer delight and who is responsible? (HubHeroes podcast)