EE204: Business Management for
Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists

HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0

Read

  1. Read: "Rethinking Marketing"
  2. Read: "HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0"

Case Summary

This case follows the growth of HubSpot, an entrepreneurial venture which faces significant challenges including: developing a market segmentation, deciding which customer to serve and which customers to turn away, configuring a pricing strategy which is aligned with the value being delivered to customers, and determining whether inbound marketing programs can generate enough scale to grow the business or whether traditional outbound marketing methods need to be employed to accelerate growth. The HubSpot case focuses on issues around marketing channels, specifically inbound marketing and the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications such as blogging, search engine optimization, and social media.

Discussion Questions

  1. Analyze HubSpot’s Marketing Mix in the context of an overall Marketing Strategy
  2. Do you agree with HubSpot that the "rules of marketing" have changed? If so, how? Is inbound marketing the answer? Why or why not?
  3. Is HubSpot finding and serving the right set of customers? Given its position as a start-up company, should it widen its focus to serve any customer that comes its way? Or narrow their target, by focusing exclusively on either Owner Ollies or Marketer Marys? Or by focusing exclusively on either B2B or B2C customers?
  4. HubSpot has begun to differentiate its products as it has learned more about its customers. Should it do more? Should its pricing strategy change too? Does the software-as-a-service (SaaS) pricing model work for both Marketer Marys and Owner Ollies? Should HubSpot try to immediately capture more value for either of these customers?
  5. Are Halligan and Shah being too stubborn by not doing any outbound marketing? Or should they continue to practice what they preach by focusing on inbound marketing alone?
  6. Halligan and Shah want HubSpot to be to marketing, what salesforce.com is to sales. What would your plan of action be to make this happen? Why would you take these actions? What keeps you up at night about your plan?