SpotDev is a HubSpot Diamond Certified Agency Partner
Four months ago, we announced that SpotDev became a HubSpot Platinum Partner. In that blog post, I said the "journey to Diamond status will be a long one". I've never been happier to say that I was wrong.
As of today, SpotDev is a HubSpot Diamond Certified Agency Partner. That is the absolute top tier of the partner programme and ranks us among the top six HubSpot partners in the UK.
So, how did I get it so wrong? Why did I think the journey from Platinum to Diamond would take a year but we managed to reach the destination in just four months? Well, put simply, I couldn't have imagined the impact that our 'Better, Faster, Happier' policy would have.
In October, we redoubled all of our efforts to focus on customer experience. How could we help our customers to gain better outcomes, in less time and make sure that they have a smile on their faces every time they work with us? We've grown our team, improved our project management processes and refined our quality assurance.
And it works. We're helping more customers to grow their businesses in less time. That sounds like the ingredients to Everybody Smile More to me!
As our Director of Operations, Lucy Seymour, puts it:
“There is far less time wasted: the internal cogs of our agency are well-oiled, offering a slick, highly-functional flywheel.
Processes, processes, processes. That's what got us to Diamond.”
What does HubSpot say about SpotDev?
We've worked closely with many of HubSpot's team members but none more so than Brian Sexton and Rachel Ahearne. We're in such close communication with Brian and Rachel, that they really do feel like part of the SpotDev family. We reached out to them to ask their thoughts about our new status as Diamond partners.
Brian, Principal Channel Manager, highlights our customer-focused approach:
“What SpotDev has achieved in less than 28 months as a HubSpot partner, is nothing short of remarkable. The commitment, drive, enthusiasm, and customer-focused approach they have when it comes to identifying, selling and delivering inbound marketing as a service is incredible to watch.
"Their growth as an agency is the reason we have the HubSpot Partner Programme in place, and it's great to see them achieve the ultimate accolade in becoming a HubSpot Diamond Partner. From a personal perspective, they are incredible to work with and I am very excited to see what the future holds for SpotDev, as one of the top Global HubSpot Partners.''
Rachel, HubSpot’s EMEA AP Team Leader, points to our goal-focused approach to customer service:
"I am delighted to have had the pleasure of working with the SpotDev team from that very first day, all the way to Diamond within just over two years! What strikes me most about their journey is how humble they have been while they continued to break records, and retain and grow customers. A once two-person agency showed us all how hard work, a growth mindset and acting like customer goals are their own is the key to success.
"This milestone is only the beginning for SpotDev and I am excited to see how much more they achieve over the next two years!"
The next three steps of our journey
So, we've reached the top tier and people are saying nice things about us. Is that the end of our journey? Is it time to rest on our laurels?
That's not the SpotDev way.
We've planned out three core steps as part of our plan to continue providing exceptional value for our customers and the wider HubSpot community.
Step one: growing our team
With the larger customer base that grants us Diamond status, we're continuing to focus on customer experience. We have no intention of being an agency that grows so big that it becomes impersonal and ineffective. To ensure that we thrive on this demand (who wants to just 'cope with demand'?), we're continuing to grow our team. Today, Lucy and I are interviewing people to join us in our London office and, later this year, we're opening a second office.
Step two: resources to support the HubSpot community
Back in October, I mentioned that we're expanding our commitment to providing high-quality resources that any member of the HubSpot community can use. Our free content creation resources are already proving popular. Soon, we'll be launching free templates in the HubSpot Marketplace, which will allow anyone to create high-converting landing pages and engaging pillar pages.
We also see these resources as an added benefit for our customers, allowing them to quickly add top quality pages and emails to their portals - speeding up implementation without compromising on quality.
Step three: migrations & integrations
In Q2 2019, we're formalising our migrations and integrations service. We already offer our onboarding customers the opportunity to migrate from Salesforce, Marketo and other platforms over to HubSpot. Later this year, we'll be formalising this service into a fixed-cost package that allows businesses to confidently plan to bring HubSpot into their business without worrying about spiralling costs for complex projects.
Thank you... yes... you!
Lucy and I are acutely aware that this success hasn't happened in a bell jar.
SpotDev owes a huge debt of gratitude to so many people. Our family and friends have to be very high on that list. Our team members have worked incredibly hard and deserve so much credit. Then there are the HubSpot staff members that we've worked with so closely — Brian and Rachel especially but an honourable mention to Keith Grehan, Team May, Team Walsh, and Team Early/Carroll. We couldn't have done it without each and every one of you.
And, of course, our customers. Our inspiring customers. The people who keep us in business. The people who put their trust in SpotDev's ability to grow their businesses. Thank you so much for choosing to work with us — it's a genuine pleasure.
So, with the thank yous said, our plans announced and our new Diamond status official, I'm going to get back to those interviews and find the people who will help us to craft an even brighter future for SpotDev, HubSpot, the inbound community and, most importantly, our customers.