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  • February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
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HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:24
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Abstract

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

CRM; Sales Management; Customer Service; Artificial Intelligence; B2B Vs. B2C; Business Marketing; SaaS; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Salesforce Management; Technological Innovation; Applications and Software; Customer Relationship Management; AI and Machine Learning; 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 2019.)
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About The Author

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
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Related Work

    • April 2020
    • Faculty Research

    HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

    By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
    • February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

    By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
Related Work
  • HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
  • HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
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