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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “We don’t need a marketing manager. HubSpot can do it all!” At first glance, it seems logical. HubSpot offers everything from email automation to advanced analytics, promising to streamline your marketing efforts and drive results. It’s powerful, efficient, and doesn’t need a salary or holidays. But here’s the thing—believing HubSpot can replace a marketing manager is like expecting a paintbrush to create a masterpiece on its own.
As someone navigating the challenges of marketing, you might wonder if investing in human expertise is really necessary when technology feels so advanced.
I get it—the appeal of cutting costs and simplifying processes is real. But marketing isn’t just about tools; it’s about the strategy, creativity, and decision-making that only a skilled professional can bring.
In this article, you’ll discover why HubSpot, as fantastic as it is, can’t fully replace the unique value of a marketing manager. More importantly, you’ll learn how combining the two can unlock the full potential of your marketing efforts and generate the results you’re after.
What HubSpot Does Well
HubSpot has earned its place as one of the most powerful marketing platforms on the market. For businesses looking to automate repetitive tasks, centralise data, and track results, it’s a game-changer.
Summary Table of HubSpot’s Key Features
| CRM Hub | Marketing Hub | Sales Hub | Service Hub | Operations Hub |
| Contact and deal tracking | Email marketing | Email templates | Ticketing system | Data syncing across apps |
| Activity logging | Social media management | Deal tracking | Knowledge base creation | Data cleaning tools |
| Pipeline management | Ad management | Pipeline management | Customer feedback surveys | Workflow automation |
| Email and call tracking | Lead nurturing & automation | Task automation | Live chat | Customised data fields |
| Custom reports and dashboards | Landing page and blog creation tools | Meeting scheduler | Customer support tracking | Integration with third-party platforms |
| Centralised customer data | A/B testing and analytics | Sales reporting and analytics | Customer satisfaction metrics | Real-time updates |
| Sales and marketing alignment | Content personalisation and optimisation | Lead scoring | Self-service knowledge resources | Unified data for centralised reporting |
Here’s a closer look at where HubSpot shines:
1. Streamlining Marketing Automation
HubSpot can handle tasks like scheduling social media posts, automating email campaigns, and nurturing leads with workflows. It takes the grunt work off your plate, so you can focus on bigger-picture tasks—or at least that’s the idea.
2. Centralising Data and Insights
From tracking website traffic to monitoring email open rates, HubSpot brings all your metrics into one platform. With its intuitive dashboards, it’s easy to see how your campaigns are performing and where adjustments are needed.
Read: How HubSpot Gives Businesses Full Visibility over their Sales & Marketing Activities
3. Supporting Lead Generation and Management
HubSpot’s lead scoring, CRM integration, and form builders help you capture leads and prioritise which ones deserve your attention. It even gives you tools to personalise outreach based on behaviour.
4. Scalability for Growing Businesses
Whether you’re a solopreneur or managing a team, HubSpot adapts to fit your needs. Its modular pricing means you can add features as you grow, making it a flexible solution for businesses of all sizes.
Read: HubSpot’s Pricing Explained (Updated)
The Reality Check: What This Means for You
HubSpot can make your marketing efforts more efficient. It’s a valuable tool, no doubt. But here’s the kicker—it’s just that: a tool. Without a clear strategy and someone to guide its use, it’s easy to get stuck chasing numbers or running campaigns that don’t connect with your audience.
HubSpot’s capabilities shine brightest when paired with the expertise of someone who knows how to use them effectively—and that’s where your marketing manager comes in.
So, in saying that, where exactly does HubSpot have gaps?
HubSpot’s Gaps in Automation
While HubSpot excels at efficiency and organisation, it falls short in areas that require human creativity, judgement, and adaptability.
Here’s what HubSpot—and any marketing automation tool—can’t do:
1. Develop a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy
- Tools like HubSpot can execute campaigns, but they can’t craft the bigger picture
- A marketing manager analyses your business goals, audience behaviours, and market trends to create a tailored strategy
- They ensure all campaigns align with your brand voice and long-term vision
2. Bring Creative Vision to Your Marketing
- Automation can’t brainstorm fresh ideas or write emotionally engaging content
- Marketing managers bring unique perspectives to ad copy, visuals, and branding elements
- They know how to craft messages that resonate with your target audience on a deeper level
3. Adapt to Market and Audience Changes
- HubSpot follows pre-set rules and workflows—it doesn’t pivot based on unexpected trends or data shifts
- A marketing manager can spot underperforming campaigns and tweak them in real-time
- They also interpret industry developments and adjust strategies to keep your business ahead
4. Foster Collaboration Across Teams
- Tools like HubSpot operate in isolation; they don’t integrate human relationships or cross-departmental collaboration
- A marketing manager bridges the gap between sales, customer service, and product teams
- They ensure a cohesive message across all touchpoints
What Does a Marketing Manager Bring to the Table vs What Does HubSpot Bring to the Table?
| What’s Needed | What HubSpot Does | What a Marketing Manager Brings |
| Comprehensive Marketing Strategy | Executes campaigns based on pre-set workflows. | Crafts tailored strategies aligned with your goals, audience, and market trends. |
| Creative Vision | Automates content delivery but doesn’t create original ideas or emotional messaging. Can develop draft content via HubSpot Breeze AI, but still needs human tweaking. | Develops engaging copy, visuals, and branding that connect on a deeper level. |
| Adaptability to Changes | Follows rigid workflows; can’t respond to trends or unexpected data shifts. | Reacts in real time to optimise underperforming campaigns and capitalise on trends. |
| Cross-Team Collaboration | Operates in isolation, handling only tasks. | Aligns sales, customer service, and product teams for cohesive communication. |
HubSpot is an incredible tool for automation and efficiency, but it lacks the strategic thinking, creativity, and adaptability a skilled marketing manager provides. To truly thrive, you need both working in harmony. How exactly do you do that?
Where Does the Marketing Manager Come into Play?
A marketing manager is the linchpin that brings strategy, creativity, and decision-making into your marketing efforts. They not only elevate the performance of tools like HubSpot but also ensure every part of your marketing engine works together seamlessly.
Without a strategic framework, your marketing can feel like a series of disconnected tactics. A marketing manager ensures every action contributes to the bigger picture.
Imagine you’re a SaaS company launching a new feature. HubSpot can schedule posts and emails, but a marketing manager orchestrates a full go-to-market strategy—coordinating between product teams, building hype through influencer partnerships, and tying campaigns directly to user acquisition goals.
Here’s a breakdown of their key contributions:
1. Strategic Planning and Execution
A marketing manager doesn’t just execute campaigns—they map out a strategy that ties all marketing efforts to your business goals.
They prioritise channels, allocate budgets, and ensure each effort builds towards the bigger picture.
HubSpot is the tool that allows you to do all of this… but it can’t think up and decide which channels your business should use based on your goals.
If you did try to replace a marketing manager with HubSpot, you’d find that you’d have all the tools to do what you need to do, but you’d lack the strategic direction and framework to get it done.
2. Deep Audience Understanding
Understanding an audience is more than crunching numbers—it’s about empathising with their needs and motivations.
A marketing manager dives deep into customer personas and combines data with intuition to craft messaging that resonates.
HubSpot’s Breeze AI can get you started on writing and producing content, but to truly connect with your audience, the human touch is needed.
3. Creative Leadership
Marketing isn’t just data and automation—it’s about storytelling and creating emotional connections with your audience. A marketing manager ensures your campaigns are not only visible but memorable.
Creativity makes your brand stand out. Without a human touch, your messaging risks blending into the noise, no matter how well it’s automated.
For example, a marketing manager might spearhead a campaign that uses an unexpected approach, like interactive content or user-generated stories, to captivate your audience. HubSpot can deliver the content, but it can’t dream up the concept that drives engagement.
4. Problem-Solving and Adaptability
The marketing landscape evolves constantly. A marketing manager is a navigator who ensures your campaigns stay relevant, even when algorithms shift, or trends emerge.
HubSpot follows the rules you set, but a marketing manager rewrites the rules when the game changes. They’re proactive, not reactive.
For example, say your target audience suddenly shifts to favour video content over blogs. A marketing manager identifies this trend early and reallocates resources to video production, giving your brand a competitive edge.
5. Team Collaboration and Leadership
Marketing doesn’t happen in isolation. A marketing manager works across departments to ensure alignment, collaboration, and a cohesive customer experience.
Can HubSpot align your team and manage everyone efficiently across teams to achieve an outcome?
Probably not.
That’s why a strong leader with marketing expertise is needed to fill that gap.
6. Aligning Marketing and Sales Efforts
The gap between marketing and sales is a common business bottleneck. A marketing manager bridges this divide, creating a seamless journey from lead generation to conversion.
Misalignment wastes resources. When marketing and sales are unified, you close deals faster and reduce friction in the buyer’s journey.
For example, a marketing manager might implement an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy, tailoring campaigns for high-value prospects and providing sales with warm leads ready to convert.
7. Managing Content Creation
Content isn’t just king—it’s the entire kingdom.
A marketing manager ensures your content is consistent, engaging, and serves a clear purpose.
Poorly managed content can dilute your brand. A marketing manager ensures that every blog, social post, and email reflects your business values and connects with your audience.
For example, for a retail business, a marketing manager could oversee a holiday campaign that ties blogs, gift guides, and email promotions into a cohesive narrative, driving seasonal sales.
8. Analysing Data and Making Decisions
HubSpot offers a wealth of data, but making sense of it requires expertise. A marketing manager interprets metrics and translates them into actionable strategies.
Data without context is just noise.
A marketing manager spots patterns, identifies opportunities, and avoids pitfalls that automated reports might miss.
For example, after reviewing campaign performance, a marketing manager might discover that long-tail keywords in blog posts are driving unexpected traffic. They then build a targeted content strategy around this insight, maximising ROI.
Bottom Line: A marketing manager turns tools like HubSpot into a powerhouse for growth. They provide the strategy, creativity, and adaptability that software alone can’t replicate.
Investing in their expertise isn’t an expense—it’s the key to unlocking your marketing’s full potential.
So, What Does This Mean for Your Business?
HubSpot is an incredible marketing tool, but it’s not a substitute for the expertise, creativity, and adaptability of a skilled marketing manager. While HubSpot excels at automating repetitive tasks, organising data, and streamlining workflows, it’s your marketing manager who sets the direction, makes data actionable, and ensures every campaign aligns with your business goals.
When these two forces work together, they create a winning combination. HubSpot amplifies your efficiency, while a marketing manager provides the strategic vision and human touch that drive authentic connections and long-term growth.
So, if you’ve been debating whether to hire a marketing manager or rely solely on automation, remember this: HubSpot is a tool—your marketing manager is the one who turns it into a true growth engine. Together, they can take your marketing from functional to exceptional.
Once you’ve got your Marketing Manager in the right place and you’ve got HubSpot working for you, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of HubSpot.
Read: Top 5 HubSpot Features
