You’re in the middle of preparing for your next webinar. The invitation should be sent out, follow-ups should be automated, sales must be involved – and ideally, it should also be clearly measurable in the end what it has achieved.
But what happens?
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The target group is stored somewhere in an Excel list.
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The segmentation is vague – “something with HR managers”.
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Sales gets the leads too late or not at all.
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The evaluation? A guessing game between registrations and gut feeling.
Welcome to the everyday life of many marketing and sales teams in the professional services industry.
They know that it can be better. They know that there are tools.
But which one really suits your setup?
Dynamics 365 Marketing Automation vs Hubspot
Two strong platforms – but with very different strengths, philosophies and entry points.
In this article, we’ll help you decide. Not by feature comparisons – but by looking at your reality.
Two tools – two schools of thought
HubSpot: Get started quickly, all in one place
HubSpot offers one of the most easy-to-use all-in-one platforms for marketing, sales, and CRM.
Many companies start with email marketing, then expand to landing pages, lead nurturing, and eventually grow into a complete inbound machine.
Well suited for you if:
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You want to generate a lot of leads via content
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You have a small team and want to start pragmatically
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You want to measure success quickly and build processes
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You don’t need complex integration
Typical situation:
“We have to invite 50 decision-makers to an event in two weeks – as automated as possible, but in person.”
Dynamics 365 Marketing Automation: Orchestrate instead of improvise
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys is aimed at companies that are already working in the Microsoft ecosystem or are looking for scalable structures for their marketing and sales processes.
The focus is not on speed in setup, but on consistency, precision and deep integration.
Particularly strong if:
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You work with several stakeholders per customer (buying center)
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Marketing and sales must be closely interlinked
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You plan targeted journeys, event campaigns or account-based marketing
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You use reporting & data strategy via Power BI
Typical situation:
“We want to specifically address our top customers with new offers – and to do so, we want to build cross-selling campaigns based on CRM data.”
What challenges do the tools really solve?
| HubSpot | D365 Marketing Automation | |
|---|---|---|
| Fast start with few resources | ✅ Ideal | 🔸 rather complex |
| Clear inbound process (content, SEO) | ✅ very strong | 🔸 optionally via third-party tools |
| Integration with Microsoft environment | 🔸 only via APIs | ✅ Deeply integrated (Outlook, CRM, etc.) |
| Buying Center & ABM | 🔸 | ✅ Clear advantage |
| Event-oriented journeys | 🔸 basic automation | ✅ ideal for events + follow-ups |
| Data-driven marketing & BI | 🔸 | ✅ Power BI, real-time journeys |
| Platform Strategy (One Microsoft) | ❌ not in focus | ✅ Perfectly embedded |
Conclusion: What do you need – now and in 12 months?
Both platforms are strong – but they solve different challenges.
🧠 Dynamics 365 Marketing Automation
is the right choice if you need a professional, scalable setup with data linking, sales integration and process intelligence. Especially if you already work with Microsoft Dynamics.
⚡ HubSpot
is perfect if you want to start pragmatically, generate leads quickly, and want a system that works without deep integration – ideal for agile, content-driven marketing teams.
Our tip: Think in situations, not in features
When considering which tool is right for you, ask yourself:
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What campaigns do we run regularly?
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Where do friction losses arise between marketing and sales?
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Do we need to scale – or create clarity first?
If you answer these questions, the tool fit often comes naturally.
And if not: We are happy to help.
