The Secret to Hubspot's Exponential Growth: 3 Simple Strategies

Last Updated:

March 21, 2024

Written by Carla Capriles & Juan Carlos Munoz

Every now and then, a company emerges that seems to have cracked the code on exponential growth, and HubSpot is one of those companies. As a CRM platform that helps other small to medium-sized businesses with sales, marketing, and service, it makes sense that HubSpot's growth is driven by its ability to consistently attract and retain happy customers themselves.

When you look at the numbers, it's clear that these strategies have helped HubSpot achieve an astronomical growth rate far exceeding that of most modern companies. The company's annual revenue for 2021 was $1.301 billion, a 47.3% increase from the previous year. With a customer base that has grown to over 100,000 customers since its founding and over $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, it's clear that HubSpot has quickly become one of the most successful companies in its industry.

But how have they achieved this explosive growth? What strategies have they implemented to attract and retain so many customers in an industry where competition is fierce, and trends change so quickly?

Whether you're looking to scale your own SaaS business or simply want to better understand how some companies achieve exponential growth, this article will give you insight into HubSpot's growth strategies that have led to their incredible success.

What are the three secrets to HubSpot's exponential growth?

While HubSpot's success is partly due to factors like solving real business problems well, they can credit much of their success to the company's focus on keeping customers happy and truly listening while actually implementing changes based on their feedback. HubSpot's "secret sauce" to growth as a SaaS organization has been its commitment to continuous innovation and a strong focus on the customer experience.

Let's take a closer look at some of the strategies that HubSpot has used to achieve this success, which can be boiled down to 3 key tactics.

Focus on customer happiness

Customer service is a keystone of HubSpot's operations, and it is one of the few true "customer first" companies out there. While many companies may say they care about their customers, HubSpot takes this commitment seriously and has put in place a number of measures to ensure that they are actually delivering on this promise.

From the start, HubSpot has made it a point to implement features based on customer feedback and actively listen to customer needs and requests. This focus on putting the customer first can be seen throughout HubSpot's operations and is clearly reflected in "The HubSpot Customer Code," which includes the following tenets:

Treat me like a person, not a persona.
Solve for my success, not for your systems.
Earn my attention, don't steal it.
Use my data, don't abuse it.
Ask for feedback, and act on it.
Own your screw-ups.
Help me, help you, by helping myself.
I don't mind paying, but I do mind being played.
Don't block the exit.
Do the right thing, even when it's hard.

These customer tenets are one of the biggest keys to HubSpot's success and are reflected in the company's culture and its actions toward its customers. Whether it's updating its platform based on customer feedback or making colleagues available to help whenever needed, HubSpot is dedicated to ensuring customers have a positive experience and continues investing in the organization's growth.

By consistently delivering high-quality products, focusing on their customers' needs, and ensuring that each one is satisfied and heard, HubSpot has created strong brand loyalty and has an incredibly high retention rate.

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Word of mouth

A happy customer is a loyal customer, and loyal customers can become huge advocates for your brand. We already discussed HubSpot's well-implemented "customer first" strategy, so it's no surprise that word of mouth, which is a powerful marketing tool, plays a big role in their growth because of this.

By delivering high-quality products and services, listening to feedback, and evolving based on customer needs, HubSpot has created a passionate community of customers who are vocal about their positive experiences. This has led to an incredible amount of word-of-mouth marketing for the company, driving even more growth.

HubSpot's ability to get customers talking about them is driven by the high quality of its products and services and its willingness to listen, act on feedback, and constantly evolve. By investing in creating a strong customer community around its platform, HubSpot has been able to leverage the power of word of mouth as a powerful marketing tool.

HubSpot's customers are passionate about their products and services, which means they will often share their positive experiences with others, creating even more brand advocates and potential customers.

Inbound Marketing

Now this one might seem a bit obvious, but it's worth noting that HubSpot has been at the forefront of inbound marketing for years. In fact, one of HubSpot's co-founders and CEO, Brian Halligan, originally coined the term "inbound marketing" when they decided to go with a value-based approach to "attract, retain, and delight" customers when it came to marketing. This approach worked, and HubSpot is now the number one inbound marketing platform on the market.

When HubSpot founders Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan started HubSpot, their goal was to focus on treating people like people, not just cold transactions, which eventually led to their discovery of an inbound marketing strategy.

HubSpot has successfully grown its brand and cultivated a strong customer base through its focus on inbound marketing and creating high-quality, engaging content that attracts customers' attention. HubSpot has effectively reached potential customers through blogs, social media, and other digital channels to funnel them toward their products and services.

Final Thoughts

The world of marketing is competitive, and plenty of other platforms and tools claim to be the best. The reason for HubSpot's exponential growth is that its strategies are rooted in customer satisfaction, passion, and a real understanding of customers' needs. By leveraging its product for its growth, continually focusing on these core principles, and staying ahead of the curve with inbound marketing, HubSpot has consistently delivered successful results and massive growth year after year.