Common Mistakes Small Businesses Make When Using HubSpot (And How to Fix Them)

HubSpot is a powerful tool that offers small businesses everything they need to manage their marketing, sales, and customer service in one place. However, like any platform, it’s only as effective as the way it’s used. Many small businesses fall into common pitfalls when using HubSpot, which can limit the platform’s potential and reduce its impact on growth.

In this blog, we’ll look at the most common mistakes small businesses make when using HubSpot and provide practical advice on how to fix them. By avoiding these errors, you can ensure that HubSpot works efficiently for your business, helping you maximise its value and see better results.

1. Not Fully Utilising HubSpot’s Free CRM

Many small businesses start using HubSpot’s free CRM but only scratch the surface of its capabilities. HubSpot’s CRM is far more than just a contact management system—it’s a powerful tool for organising leads, tracking deals, and nurturing customer relationships. Failing to explore all its features can result in missed opportunities to streamline operations and improve your sales process.

Common mistakes:

• Only using the CRM to store contacts: If you’re only using the CRM to store customer data, you’re not making the most of HubSpot’s features. You could be tracking interactions, setting reminders, and managing tasks to stay on top of leads and deals.
• Ignoring deal stages: Many businesses don’t set up proper deal stages in HubSpot’s CRM, meaning they can’t track where each opportunity is in the sales process. This can lead to missed follow-ups and a disorganised sales funnel.

How to fix it:

• Set up customised deal stages: Tailor your deal stages to reflect your sales process. For example, you can set stages such as “Initial Contact,” “Proposal Sent,” and “Deal Won,” helping you track every opportunity from start to finish.
• Track all customer interactions: Use HubSpot to log calls, emails, and meetings so that your entire team has a clear view of all customer communications. This helps ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
  
  

2. Neglecting to Segment Your Contact List

One of the most valuable features in HubSpot is the ability to segment your contacts into targeted lists. By failing to use segmentation, small businesses often end up sending generic marketing messages to all contacts, which can result in lower engagement rates and missed opportunities to tailor communications to specific audiences.

Common mistakes:

• Sending one-size-fits-all emails: Sending the same marketing message to your entire contact list is less likely to resonate with your audience, as different segments may have different needs, interests, or stages in the buying journey.
• Not using behaviour-based segmentation: Many businesses segment their lists based on simple criteria, like job title or location, but don’t take advantage of behaviour-based segmentation, such as website activity or email engagement.

How to fix it:

• Create targeted segments: Divide your contact list based on meaningful criteria, such as purchase history, engagement levels, or specific interests. For example, you can create a list of contacts who have downloaded a particular eBook and follow up with related content.
• Use smart content: HubSpot allows you to create smart content that adapts to the individual contact’s behaviour or preferences, ensuring they receive relevant messages based on their interaction with your brand.
  
  

3. Not Automating Key Workflows

Automation is one of HubSpot’s most powerful features, allowing businesses to streamline repetitive tasks and nurture leads at scale. Yet, many small businesses underutilise this feature, continuing to manage manual processes that could be automated to save time and increase efficiency.

Common mistakes:

• Manually sending follow-up emails: If your team is manually sending follow-up emails after a lead download or an enquiry, you’re wasting valuable time that could be automated.
• Forgetting to automate lead nurturing: Leads often need multiple touchpoints before converting, and failing to automate nurturing workflows can result in missed opportunities to keep them engaged.

How to fix it:

• Set up automated follow-up emails: Create automated workflows that trigger after a specific action, such as when a lead fills out a form or downloads a guide. These emails can provide valuable content and keep leads moving through the sales funnel.
• Automate lead nurturing sequences: Use HubSpot’s automation tools to create drip campaigns that deliver relevant content over time, helping you build relationships with prospects and move them closer to conversion without requiring manual intervention.
  
  

4. Overlooking HubSpot’s Reporting Tools

HubSpot’s reporting features provide essential insights into the performance of your marketing, sales, and customer service efforts. However, many small businesses fail to use these reports effectively, which can result in a lack of visibility into what’s working and what needs improvement.

Common mistakes:

• Not tracking key metrics: Focusing solely on vanity metrics, like total email opens or website visitors, without tracking more meaningful metrics such as conversion rates, customer lifetime value (CLTV), or deal close rates.
• Failing to create custom reports: Many businesses rely on default reports but don’t customise their reporting dashboard to track metrics that align with their specific business goals.

How to fix it:

• Set up custom dashboards: Use HubSpot’s reporting tools to create custom dashboards that track the metrics most relevant to your business. For example, you can monitor lead conversion rates, sales performance by rep, or the ROI of marketing campaigns.
• Track customer journey metrics: Use attribution reports to see which marketing touchpoints are most effective at driving conversions and focus your resources on the strategies that bring in the best results.
  
  

5. Not Integrating HubSpot with Other Tools

HubSpot is a versatile platform that can integrate with many other business tools, such as eCommerce platforms, accounting software, and email marketing tools. However, some small businesses fail to take full advantage of these integrations, leading to data silos and inefficient workflows.

Common mistakes:

• Manually entering data into different systems: If you’re manually transferring data between HubSpot and other tools, like your accounting software or email platform, you’re not using HubSpot to its full potential.
• Not syncing eCommerce data: Businesses with online stores may miss out on key insights by failing to integrate their eCommerce platform with HubSpot, preventing them from tracking customer behaviour and purchase history effectively.

How to fix it:

• Integrate your key tools: Use HubSpot’s built-in integrations or third-party connectors like Zapier to sync your CRM with other business tools, such as Shopify, QuickBooks, or Gmail. This will ensure that all your data is in one place, giving you a clearer view of customer interactions.
• Automate data syncing: Set up automated workflows that sync data across your tools, ensuring your team always has the most up-to-date information without needing manual input.
  
  

Make HubSpot Work for Your Small Business

HubSpot is a powerful platform that can transform how your small business manages marketing, sales, and customer service, but it’s essential to use it effectively. By avoiding these common mistakes and taking advantage of all HubSpot has to offer, you can streamline your operations, nurture leads more efficiently, and make smarter data-driven decisions.

Whether you’re just starting out with HubSpot or looking to improve how you’re currently using the platform, focusing on these key areas will help you unlock its full potential and drive long-term growth.

Ready to get more out of HubSpot? Start by optimising your CRM setup, automating your workflows, and diving into custom reporting to ensure you’re making the most of this powerful tool.