Up until recently, most websites contained static pages. That isn’t to say that they didn’t contain videos, animations, contact forms, or other interactive elements. They simply didn’t change based on automated data.
That’s quickly changing. Thanks to advancements in content management system (CMS) technology, businesses can now publish web pages that adapt automatically based on automated data inputs and user data.
If you’ve ever experienced a custom advertisement that looks like it was written just for you, you’ve already experienced this. This type of personalization pays off significantly. According to a report by software company Monetate, website visitors who viewed three pages of personalized web content had a conversion rate of 3.4%—double the rate of those who were exposed to only two pages with personalized elements.
The good news is that you don’t need fancy technology to make this happen on your company’s website. If you’re a HubSpot customer, you can create dynamic CMS pages using data inputs from your HubSpot CRM.
Here’s how it works.
What is a CRM-Powered CMS?
CRM stands for customer relationships management, but it usually refers to customer relationship management software. A CRM-powered CMS is a website platform that is connected to and powered by an underlying CRM system.
Many companies use separate brands of software for their websites and their CRM. For example, a company might publish their website using WordPress, but use Salesforce as their CRM.
Typically, companies that do this have plenty of website capabilities. Organizations like Salesforce design their products to integrate with other popular business software. But if you aren’t using the same brand for both your website and your CRM, you may not be able to take advantage of as many capabilities as you could otherwise.
A CRM-powered CMS is a website platform that uses automated software to leverage CRM data in the display, rendering, and content population of a website. Instead of the website’s pages existing in static form, they are automatically populated with content in certain places based on data intelligence and who is accessing the website.
For example, a returning customer might visit your website. If they’ve been there before, your website will have already dropped cookies into their browser, allowing your website to recognize them. Once this happens, the website can automatically pull information from their profile in your CRM, then use that information to inform what type of content they see.
How Does a CRM-Powered CMS Work?
Most CRM-powered CMS’s work by leveraging “objects” that exist in your CRM. Objects are pre-defined digital artifacts or designations that you can use to segment your data. HubSpot comes with four pre-defined objects: contacts, companies, deals, and tickets.
You can now also create custom objects in HubSpot. These can represent almost anything you want, depending on your business. For example, if your company works with outside sales representatives, you can create objects for each of them to help them keep track of their progress when they log into their portal on your website.
When you go to create a dynamic web page in HubSpot, you’ll be able to create dynamic content modules that pull information directly from your CRM objects. HubSpot makes this easy using its drag-and-drop website-building interface.
This way, if the objects change in your CRM, the information displayed on your website changes as well. This is a great resource for companies that sell products that change based on the market. A car dealership, for example, could create dynamic web pages based on each of the “Car” objects they have in their CRM, ensuring any data related to those cars is automatically updated.
Why Should You Use a CRM-Powered CMS?
There are many reasons why you may want to create dynamic web pages. CRM-powered web pages can add a significant level of personalization to your website automatically, helping you convert more visitors. If you sell products through your website, a dynamic page could help you ensure your product information is automatically updated once it’s changed in your CRM.
You can also create both public and private dynamic web pages with HubSpot.
Public dynamic pages can be designed using the following HubSpot objects:
- Products
- Marketing events
- Custom objects
A private page could be an internal business page that’s password-protected, or it could be a members-only page for your customers. Private dynamic pages can be designed using the following HubSpot objects:
- Contacts
- Companies
- Deals
- Quotes
- Tickets
Perhaps the most important reason to use a CRM-powered CMS is the ability to introduce automation into your publication process. With dynamic pages, you’ll never have to make your team do the busy work of manually updating web pages based on changes at your business or in your CRM.
Start Building Dynamic CMS Pages
If you already use HubSpot as your CRM and your CMS, you can start building dynamic pages by creating a web page, then navigating to the “Advanced Options” section.
Although HubSpot makes this relatively easy, it can still take some learning to get right. You need to be sure the data source you select is accurate and that any automations that interact with your web page are implemented properly.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of a CRM-powered CMS or you’d like to start building dynamic web pages, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’ll conduct an audit of your current technologies and help you get started.
