HubSpot launched a new Shopify integration to help growing ecommerce businesses win against Amazon
By Nancy Riley, VP and General Manager — App Hub at HubSpot
If I were to rank all of the innovations over the last 50 years from most impactful to least impactful, the ability to buy things online would be very close to the top. It fueled the first dot com boom, has spawned millions of new entrepreneurs, and has more recently turned Amazon into 664 billion dollar company.
The internet has challenged customers to buy things online that we used to think had to be purchased in person. Today, nobody thinks twice about buying eyeglasses, food, or cars online. The convenience and speed of ecommerce push the majority of us to check online first before buying something. In fact, solo parents like me consider online ordering a critical survival tool.
This is great news for both entrepreneurs and those of us who love shopping online. This industry still has a lot of room to grow.
Thanks to companies like our friends Shopify — it’s never been easier to create an online store and start a business.
But while it’s never been easier to start an ecommerce business, it’s still extremely difficult to scale one.
Building an initial audience for a niche segment is relatively easy and effective but once you have product market fit and are ready to scale, there is one massive obstacle in the way–Amazon.
Amazon and the other online retail giants are giant for a reason.
They offer the best price, fast and cheap delivery, excellent customer service, and are not above taking an initial loss just to gain long-term customer loyalty.
So what’s a burgeoning — Shopify-powered — company to do? How can they stand out, retain customers, and increase existing revenue in a world dominated by giants? Our customers showed us the answer.
Inbound and Ecommerce
The fundamentals of inbound marketing are a perfect match for ecomm and there is a long history of ecommerce marketers using HubSpot and inbound to personalize their marketing at scale, save time, and build a brand through content and social media.
Inbound is a secret weapon in the fight against the ecommerce giants.
It helps you build a connection with customers that Amazon can’t replicate. It’s also a breath of fresh air for consumers who, as the ecomm industry grows, are bombarded by irrelevant ads, spam emails, and ineffective commercials.
HubSpot for Shopify
Now live in HubSpot is a free integration for HubSpot and Shopify users that enables inbound marketing for ecomm. In HubSpot you can now connect all your Shopify data with just a few clicks. With Shopify data flowing into HubSpot a new version of HubSpot emerges, one tailored to the ecommerce marketer:
- Segments are pre-built with your new data
- Abandoned cart and new customers welcome workflows are waiting
- And a new ecommerce dashboard full of pre-built charts is ready to tell you how it’s all working.
1. Sync
The sync pulls in data from Shopify (products, customers, orders) and translates them into HubSpot data (products, contacts, deals). This allows you to use your Shopify as a sales and marketing signal. You’ll see deals in a new board in the CRM and store customers as contacts, complete with a shopping and marketing timeline.
2. Segment
Inbound marketing resonates with audiences because the message is tailored to them. With Shopify store data in HubSpot you have new ways to tailor your message. You can target customers with a specific email about a product, purchase, and more.
3. Automate
HubSpot workflows have been reimagined specifically for this integration. We’ve turned them into a platform-level feature that any app can leverage. When users connect their store they’ll see three pre-built workflows in settings, specific to ecommerce.
If you haven’t yet tried abandoned cart email nurturing now is the time. It’s built into this integration and the results are hard to argue with.
4. Report
Once the integration is installed you’ll find a new ecommerce reporting dashboard. This new home for results will share data on orders, new sales, lifetime value, abandoned cart recovery, and how your marketing efforts relate to revenue.
Battling the giants will always be a challenge, but the HubSpot integration with Shopify goes a long way towards leveling the playing field.
Just ask these HubSpot and Shopify customers, Love Your Melon, Kettlebell Kings, Justbats.com. They’re all sophisticated marketers with modern brands, and are flourishing even though similar products can be found on the Amazon or Walmart websites.
We’re excited about this new integration and will continue to work closely with Shopify and our customers to make it better over time. Ecommerce is a compelling space. I’m looking forward to working with more startups and growing companies in this space and helping them grow better with inbound.
