CRM System Optimization in Sales and Marketing

Customer relationship management (CRM) covers the area of relationships with customers, from continuous creation to upkeeping and developing relationships. (Bergström & Leppänen 2021, 418). In recent years B-to-B and B-to-C companies have increasingly utilized CRM systems to manage customer relationships more efficiently. The usage of cloud-based CRM system solutions in Finnish companies increased from 12% in 2014 to 31% in 2021 (Statistics Finland 2022). As the systems are applied more widely, the opportunities that the systems bring are becoming an increasingly relevant area of study. This thesis examines the optimization possibilities for HubSpot CRM in Company X. The focus is optimizing the beginning processes of selling and marketing functions with the cloud-based CRM system. First, the literature is collected to gain a knowledge base regarding CRM and the beginning processes of customer acquisition. The emphasis then shifts to optimizing HubSpot's CRM system. Company X currently leverages HubSpot as its CRM system. However, the benefits of a more advanced plan are studied in conjunction with the prerequisites for Company X to achieve the benefits of the advanced plan