As institutions in the higher education sector evolve, effective and efficient digital marketing tools have become essential. Many are evaluating the switch from Salesforce Marketing Cloud to HubSpot Marketing Hub to simplify campaign management, enhance lead generation, and unify marketing operations. This article provides an in-depth comparison of these platforms, focusing on features, ease of use, and support tailored to higher education marketing needs.
Covered in this article
HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Key Differences
HubSpot’s Advantages for Higher Education Marketing
Comparing HubSpot and Salesforce: Which Is Better for Higher Education?
Customer Testimonials
Conclusion: Why HubSpot Is the Right Choice for Higher Education
FAQs
HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Key Differences
1. Ease of Campaign Management
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Primarily designed for mobile messaging, Salesforce focuses on email, SMS, and push notifications. While powerful, these capabilities may be limited for educational institutions needing multi-channel outreach, such as ads and social media, which are essential for engaging prospective students across diverse platforms.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing platform offers intuitive, AI-powered tools for managing inbound and outbound campaigns at scale. HubSpot enables users to work across multiple channels—email, social media, and ads—all from one interface. This unified approach reduces the need to switch tools, making campaign management faster and less complex.
2. Lead Generation and Nurturing
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Salesforce’s lack of built-in lead generation tools, such as landing pages and lead scoring, can be a barrier for higher education marketing teams aiming to capture and nurture leads through digital content. Additionally, it often requires SQL coding for segmentation, which can be challenging for non-technical staff.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Known for ease of use, HubSpot includes landing pages, lead scoring, and automated workflows without the need for complex coding. Its lead generation capabilities help institutions generate and nurture leads more effectively. With a 105% increase in inbound leads within six months reported by customers, HubSpot is a reliable choice for capturing prospective student interest.
3. Unified Marketing Operations
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: While powerful, Salesforce requires additional integrations, like Data Cloud, to create a unified customer profile. This can complicate data management, especially if technical expertise is limited.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Built as a cohesive platform, HubSpot offers an integrated customer view across all marketing and sales functions. This single-source-of-truth framework improves efficiency by providing marketing teams with consistent, real-time access to student and prospect data, enabling more personalised engagement and streamlined reporting.
4. Campaign Reporting and Analytics
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Salesforce includes an ROI dashboard and detailed lead insights; however, these advanced analytics often require additional setup and customisation. The B2B marketing analytics dashboard is also an add-on, increasing costs.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: HubSpot’s reporting suite is straightforward and effective. It offers in-depth analysis capabilities, including lifecycle stage tracking, campaign ROI reporting, and event-based reports. Higher education institutions will benefit from HubSpot’s easy-to-use dashboards, enabling more effective tracking of campaign performance and student journey analysis without additional fees or extensive customisation.
5. Customer Support
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Limited to chat support during specific hours, and 24/7 support is only available at the highest tiers. This may not be ideal for educational institutions that often require rapid assistance, especially during enrolment periods.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Known for exceptional customer support, HubSpot provides live chat 24/7, along with email and phone support. This accessibility ensures that issues can be resolved promptly, critical during high-stakes times like admissions deadlines.
HubSpot’s Advantages for Higher Education Marketing
1. Simplicity in Building and Managing Campaigns
- Streamlined Workflow: HubSpot allows users to build blogs, landing pages, and emails using a drag-and-drop interface, eliminating the need for extensive technical knowledge. This simplicity supports teams that may lack technical expertise, enabling them to create high-impact content efficiently.
- Content Remix Feature: This feature enables users to repurpose content seamlessly across multiple channels. Higher education institutions can create and distribute content quickly, improving engagement with prospective students and current audiences without duplicating efforts.
2. Automation Tools to Nurture Prospective Students
- Lead Scoring and Workflow Automation: HubSpot’s lead-scoring feature uses both manual and AI-driven scoring, allowing teams to prioritise leads with the greatest potential. The automation of lifecycle stages enables higher education institutions to engage with prospects at the right time, maximising conversion opportunities from application to enrolment.
- Multi-Channel Outreach: With built-in support for email, social media, and ad campaigns, HubSpot provides a comprehensive solution for reaching prospective students across multiple platforms, helping to maintain consistent messaging throughout the student journey.
3. Enhanced Analytics and Reporting Capabilities
- ROI Tracking and Lifecycle Reports: HubSpot’s analytics tools offer clear insights into campaign performance, lifecycle stages, and ROI, empowering educational institutions to make data-informed adjustments to their marketing strategies. With detailed reporting, HubSpot enables institutions to assess key performance indicators critical to achieving enrolment and engagement goals.
- Contact Lifecycle Reporting: This feature tracks prospective students’ engagement through custom lifecycle stages. Institutions can measure and optimise interactions across touchpoints, from initial outreach to application, providing a data-backed understanding of student interest.
Comparing HubSpot and Salesforce: Which Is Better for Higher Education?
1. Usability and Onboarding
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Best suited to larger institutions with dedicated IT teams, Salesforce’s setup can be complex and may require technical expertise. Customisation options are available, but these often involve additional costs and support from IT or external consultants.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Designed for ease of use, HubSpot’s user-friendly interface simplifies setup and operation. The platform’s intuitive design means that even smaller marketing teams can adopt it quickly, enabling institutions to hit the ground running without extensive training.
2. Costs and Budgeting
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Known for high costs, Salesforce’s pricing structure can increase significantly with added features like Data Cloud and B2B marketing analytics. Educational institutions should assess whether these additional costs align with their budget and marketing objectives.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: Offering a flexible pricing model with multiple tiers, HubSpot is often more affordable. Many institutions report a strong ROI, seeing marked increases in inbound leads and engagement without the need for additional expenditure on integrations or technical support.
3. Content Creation and Distribution
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: While Salesforce offers powerful email marketing features, its lack of built-in SEO, blogging, and content management tools means additional platforms are often necessary to meet content goals.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: With built-in tools for SEO, blogs, and a CRM-integrated website builder, HubSpot makes content creation and distribution easier. For educational institutions focused on inbound marketing, HubSpot provides an ideal platform for attracting, engaging, and converting prospective students.
Testimonials
Educational institutions that have transitioned from Salesforce to HubSpot often highlight the operational benefits and improved ease of use:
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University of San Diego: The university reported that building landing pages within Salesforce was technically challenging, often requiring external developers to implement. After switching to HubSpot, smaller teams could handle landing page creation independently, reducing costs and improving campaign agility.
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Sandow Design Group: Sandow’s marketing team found that HubSpot simplified their operations, with one user noting, “HubSpot has removed the barrier for our smaller teams and brands that don’t necessarily have the technical expertise on staff.”
Conclusion: Why HubSpot Is the Right Choice for Higher Education
For higher education institutions looking to streamline their marketing efforts, HubSpot Marketing Hub provides a versatile, user-friendly solution that outperforms Salesforce Marketing Cloud in several critical areas. From unified campaign management to robust lead generation and analytics, HubSpot supports the unique needs of educational marketing teams. Its affordability, comprehensive support, and focus on ease of use make it ideal for higher education institutions seeking a more efficient and impactful approach to marketing automation.Call to Action
Interested in discovering how HubSpot can transform your marketing? Contact Velocity today to learn more about our partnership with HubSpot and explore the opportunities to elevate your institution’s marketing strategy. Book a free demo and see firsthand how HubSpot can support your goals in student recruitment and engagement.
FAQs
1. What are the key differences between Salesforce Marketing Cloud and HubSpot Marketing Hub?
The primary differences lie in campaign management, lead generation capabilities, and ease of use. HubSpot offers a more unified platform with tools that don’t require technical expertise, ideal for smaller teams in higher education.
2. How does HubSpot support multi-channel marketing campaigns?
HubSpot provides built-in tools for email, social media, and ad campaigns, making it easy to manage all channels in one place. This integration ensures consistent messaging, essential for higher education institutions aiming to engage prospects across platforms.
3. Which platform is more cost-effective for higher education institutions?
HubSpot is generally more budget-friendly, offering multiple pricing tiers and a strong ROI. Salesforce’s pricing can increase due to additional features and integrations, which may not fit all institutional budgets.
4. What types of analytics and reporting do these platforms provide?
HubSpot offers robust reporting with tools for lifecycle tracking, campaign ROI, and lead scoring analytics. Salesforce also has an ROI dashboard but often requires add-ons for advanced features, which can add to the cost and complexity.
5. Is HubSpot easier to use than Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Yes, HubSpot is known for its intuitive, user-friendly design that allows marketing teams to launch and manage campaigns with ease, whereas Salesforce may require IT support or advanced training.
6. How do customer support options compare between HubSpot and Salesforce?
HubSpot offers 24/7 live chat support, while Salesforce provides limited support access, with 24/7 availability only for Premier accounts. HubSpot’s accessible support model is highly beneficial during peak times in higher education, such as enrolment periods.
7. What content creation tools does HubSpot offer that Salesforce does not?
HubSpot includes tools for SEO, blogs, landing pages, and a CRM-integrated website builder, while Salesforce primarily focuses on email and mobile messaging, lacking these content management features.
8. Why might a higher education institution choose HubSpot over Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
HubSpot’s user-friendly interface, comprehensive support, affordable pricing, and strong ROI make it an excellent choice for institutions looking to streamline marketing operations and enhance lead generation without a heavy IT reliance.