Manufacturing

A resource worth a look at before you read on:

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What are the benefits of using HubSpot in manufacturing?

HubSpot brings sales and marketing activity into one centralised platform - tracking and managing leads, running personalised email campaigns to specific segments, and measuring marketing ROI across the funnel - visibility most ERPs were never built to provide. Manufacturers use it as their CRM to stay agile in a market where the customer base expects the same digital experience they get elsewhere.

Streamlining sales and marketing efforts

One of the main benefits of using HubSpot is its ability to integrate various sales and marketing activities into one centralised platform. As manufacturing advancements race by, staying organised and efficient is crucial for success. With HubSpot’s ability to integrate various sales and marketing activities into one centralised platform, users can easily track and manage leads, ensuring that no potential customer slips through the cracks. This helps manufacturers identify opportunities for growth and make informed business decisions.

Its personalised marketing capabilities are second to none, enabling manufacturers on the platform to deliver targeted email campaigns that address the specific needs and challenges experienced by their different audience segments.

And at a time when every cost must be measured and counted for manufacturers to remain profitable, the tracked marketing ROI made possible through HubSpot clearly highlights where the biggest returns can be unlocked across sales and marketing, product and service.

Putting service first

In an industry measured on the quality and quantity of its output, HubSpot helps manufacturers put the customer first too: a centralised customer database, automated support-ticket management, and proactive communications like product updates, maintenance reminders and customer surveys - all of which build long-term loyalty.

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What does HubSpot integrate with for manufacturing?

HubSpot integrates with ERP systems including SAP, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics 365, alongside inventory management, demand-planning tools and IoT platforms feeding data from the factory floor. That network brings efficiency and automation to every step of the manufacturing workflow - from lead generation through to production and service data.

HubSpot doesn't compete with your ERP - it sits on top of it, syncing customer and order data, automating inventory-driven follow-ups, and giving sales and marketing the visibility most ERPs were never built to provide.

In practice this means:

• order and account data flowing into HubSpot without manual re-entry;
  
  

• inventory-triggered marketing - a restock notification when a part comes back in stock;
  
  

• real-time reporting that combines ERP transaction data with HubSpot engagement data in one dashboard.

Many ERP systems have their own bolted-on marketing tools, but they can't be compared to a purpose-built solution like HubSpot, where marketing sits at the core alongside sales, service and customer data.

Using HubSpot for forecasting

There are lots of ways HubSpot can assist manufacturers in this vital task, providing them with the insights they need to manage production lines and keep output levels accurate.

The valuable data stored in HubSpot CRM, such as purchase history, interactions, and preferences, can make it much easier for manufacturers to identify trends and patterns in customer demand. Integrated with inventory management systems or the aforementioned ERP software opens up the possibility of synchronising customer data with inventory levels, enabling manufacturers to correlate customer demand with inventory availability in real-time.

Two of HubSpot’s strongest forecasting features are its sales tracking and pipeline activity. Set up correctly, these can grant visibility over deals in progress as well as forecasted revenue. By monitoring sales activity and pipeline trends, users can anticipate future demand and adjust inventory levels accordingly. The more customer data you have, and the more you leverage HubSpot’s predictive analytics, the better this reporting will be.

HubSpot can also be integrated with a range of specialised demand planning tools and software that utilises more advanced algorithms and forecasting techniques. These tools can provide manufacturers with more accurate demand forecasts that even take into account “big picture” factors such as seasonality, market trends, and external influences.

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How do you get a manufacturing sales team to actually use HubSpot?

Manufacturing sales teams are often the hardest group to move off spreadsheets, email threads, or an ERP's basic contact list - not because the tooling is unfamiliar, but because a new CRM adds a step to a job they already know how to do.

The fix isn't more training, it's less friction:

• import existing account and order history so reps aren't starting from a blank pipeline;
  
  

• mirror their actual sales process in HubSpot's deal stages rather than a generic template;
  
  

• remove manual data entry wherever the ERP integration can do it instead.

Reps adopt a CRM when it saves them time in the first week - not when they're told it will eventually.

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How can manufacturers use HubSpot for forecasting and predictive maintenance?

Once ERP data is flowing into HubSpot, manufacturers put it to work on demand forecasting, IoT-triggered predictive maintenance, lifecycle-stage automation and cross-functional analytics. Here's where each delivers the most value:

• Demand forecasting: sales tracking and pipeline activity give visibility over deals in progress and forecasted revenue; combined with inventory data, teams correlate demand with availability in real time and adjust levels accordingly.
   

• IoT for predictive maintenance: HubSpot can ingest IoT data from factory-floor equipment to trigger automated maintenance workflows, flagging issues before performance suffers and scheduling tasks without manual monitoring.
  
  

• Automation, floor to funnel : trigger campaigns on lifecycle stage; send maintenance handbooks when a contact becomes a customer, and notify the account manager if they don't engage.
  
  

• Analytics for continuous improvement: insight into sales, marketing and service surfaces bottlenecks and inefficiencies, so decisions are made on data, not guesswork.

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What's next for HubSpot in manufacturing? AI and automation

AI-driven forecasting is what's next for HubSpot in manufacturing. Currently in beta, HubSpot AI forecasting uses machine-learning algorithms to predict future sales from historical trends, taking manual work out of forecasting while improving accuracy. Expect the same shift across HubSpot's analytics, automation and personalised marketing features as it leans further into AI - sharper insight into processes and customers throughout.

To stay competitive in the 1700s, manufacturers retooled their factories around Watt's new engine. The manufacturers who embrace AI and automation now will be best placed to work faster, smarter and with better visibility across the supply chain.

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Case study: Unipart

The challenge: visibility across a £1bn machine

In 2022, new CEO Darren Leigh needed group-level visibility over the pipeline to accelerate growth. The group's legacy CRM couldn't capture the data, deliver dashboards or standardise process across divisions - and any new system had to integrate with the group's SAP ERP and embed fast across a large, multi-country stakeholder group.

The solution: one standardised platform, globally

Guided by two design principles - prioritise user adoption, and avoid complexity - BabelQuest delivered the full HubSpot CRM Suite Enterprise, getting a business operating across 21 countries onto one deal pipeline and one standardised sales process, integrated with SAP. Responsibilities were split across the group using a RACI matrix rather than owned by any single team.

The results: delivered early, on budget, positive ROI

We delivered in six months - 18 months ahead of the group's original two-year estimate - on budget and to a scope that exceeded the initial brief, saving an estimated £250k in hidden internal-stakeholder and project-management costs and reaching positive ROI as the group put the platform to work sooner.

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Case study: Emtez Group

The challenge: a group divided

When recently appointed Group CEO David Byrne approached BabelQuest in 2022, the group's mission was far from formed. It operated under various names, region by region, with an outdated brand, legacy systems and siloed data. Critically, the group approach was not unified - its companies lacked universal processes and the technology systems to support them.

The solution: one brand, one platform

We led a complete rebrand - defining a value proposition, buyer personas, mission, vision and values at group level - then built seven new websites on HubSpot CMS and rolled out HubSpot Enterprise Suite to unify marketing, sales and service across every country, with training for the European marketing team.

The results: traffic and contacts climb

Since launching in 2023, Emtez has seen a 147% increase in monthly web traffic, a 218% increase in organic traffic and a 126% increase in new contacts - with full visibility and reporting over its country-specific websites from a single platform.

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Frequently Asked Questions