Season 1, Episode 16 of Martech Masters:
Samantha has been leading the marketing teams that are responsible for acquiring, enabling, educating, and delighting HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem for two and half years. The ecosystem just crossed the important milestone of having over 500 apps listed in their marketplace.
Learn more about the HubSpot Partner Ecosystem, why it’s worth the investment, how it helps lead generation, and how it can benefit an agency in this episode of MarTech Masters.
Listen to the Podcast version of this episode:
Guest-at-a-Glance:
Name: Samantha Ceppos
What She Does: Director of Global Partner and Platform Marketing
Update 2021: Samantha Ceppos is now the Head of US Performance Marketing at gohenry.
Find Samantha on the web: LinkedIn
Top Takeaways:
Why is Joining the HubSpot Partner Ecosystem Worth the Investment?
According to a 2019 annual report on SaaS trends from Blissfully, businesses are using an average of 137 apps to run their business, and that number is only growing. However, many of these apps may not work in conjunction with each other.
“When these apps don't speak to each other and there's no system of record, the view of their customers becomes really fragmented,” Samantha says. “But as more apps integrate with platforms like HubSpot, it allows businesses to actually have a more seamless experience managing their apps, but also create a more seamless experience for the customers.”
How Would Someone Decide Which Platform to Develop On?
If your company is looking to build an app in one or two or three platforms, how do you decide which platform to build on?
“I'd say there are three key markers of an ecosystem that you should want to be a part of: Do they have a great marketplace? Are they transparent with their partners? And is there a vibrant partner community?” Samantha says.
What are the Benefits of the HubSpot Ecosystem to an Agency?
“Working with an open platform provides a lot of opportunity for agencies and other client services businesses to expand and diversify your services and your revenue streams,” Samantha says.
“You know, the apps that integrate with the platform that are available in a marketplace can help solve some of your clients' unmet needs,” Samantha says. “Just like customers can seek out apps to extend what HubSpot can do, you can do that for your clients, you can be that expert in the variety of technologies that will expand what it can do for you.”
Samantha’s Top Quotes:
[1:21]
“The solutions partner program actually turned 10 this year (2020) and includes thousands of partners worldwide of all shapes and sizes. Our app partners build apps that integrate with HubSpot that augment and extend the functionality of our core product.”
[4:31]
“By integrating with another platform, you're making your product more useful in more contexts so you're basically expanding your total addressable market.”
[12:48]
"And I think our partners have found that (using apps from the marketplace) makes you more indispensable to your clients. They're doing more for them which means it's harder for them to leave because they see more value and I think that that speaks for itself."
[18:21]
"I think [the community] is what sets the HubSpot ecosystem apart and it's something [to consider] if you are evaluating an ecosystem to join, try to see if there's a community. Because I think that's one really hard thing to find. You want to be able to learn from each other and from the company itself and sort of have those, build those relationships."
Learn More:
Check out these resources from the episode.
