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• Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised October 2018)

  HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

  Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh

  HubSpot, an inbound marketing, sales, and customer relationship management (CRM) software provider, announced that it had acquired Motion AI, a software platform that enabled companies to easily build and deploy chatbots, fueled by artificial intelligence, to interact with their customers. Before unleashing bot-building technology to its B2B customers, HubSpot first needed to develop some best practices for the use of chatbots for CRM. First, the team had to clearly assess the trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency associated with the use of bots versus humans to create, nurture, and manage customer relationships. Second, they had to decide to what extent to anthropomorphize the chatbots. How human-like should they be? Was a conversational user interface (UI) the desired solution for B2B CRM, or would a stripped down, more functional UI produce more efficiency for the customers who interacted with the bot? Historically, HubSpot had “practiced what it preached,” using its own products to build its business. The team had to consider whether to use chatbots to nurture and service its own customer relationships and manage the effectiveness and efficiency of its sales funnel. Currently, a team of chat representatives worked with marketing to qualify and prime prospects for HubSpot’s sales team. Could they and should they be replaced with chatbots? Was HubSpot ready for bots to become the face of its brand to its prospective customers?

  Keywords: marketing; customer relationship management; CRM; marketing strategy; Sales; sales management; customer service; brands and branding; artificial intelligence; B2B vs. B2C; business marketing; software; SaaS; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Salesforce Management; Technological Innovation; Customer Relationship Management; Technology Industry; Service Industry; United States; North America;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill, and Thomas Steenburgh. "HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM." Harvard Business School Case 518-067, February 2018. (Revised October 2018.)  View Details

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• Module Note | November 2008 (Revised September 2018)

  Understanding Brands

  Anat Keinan and Jill Avery

  For many firms, the brands associated with their products and/or services are their most valuable assets, and, hence, much management attention is given to designing, communicating, nurturing, and protecting them. This note is designed to provide an understanding of brand management strategies firms use to build, sustain, and leverage their brands.

  Keywords: Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Value;

  Citation:

  Keinan, Anat, and Jill Avery. "Understanding Brands." Harvard Business School Module Note 509-041, November 2008. (Revised September 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2018

  Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Branding

  Jill Avery

  Using proprietary artificial intelligence technology, startup Tailor Brands set out to democratize branding by allowing small businesses to create their brand identities by automatically generating logos in just minutes at minimal cost with no branding or design skills required. As it sets out to raise its Series B, the founders make some critical changes to their business model, moving to a subscription model and adding additional products and services to automate other parts of the branding and marketing process. Can algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence help Tailor Brands outperform graphic designers and branding agencies in developing brand identities? And, can Tailor Brands differentiate itself from the many other logo generators popping up in the market?

  Keywords: marketing; brands and branding; marketing strategy; Startup; venture capital; services; technology; artificial intelligence; Machine learning; digital marketing; brand management; entrepreneurship; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Technology; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Model; Advertising Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; United States; North America; Israel;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill. "Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Branding." Harvard Business School Case 519-017, August 2018.  View Details

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