From fitness chains to freight networks, HubSpot’s CRM is stretching across industries with surprising ease
When marketers talk CRMs, the conversation usually splits along familiar lines. Enterprise versus SMB. B2B versus B2C. You know the drill. But lately, there’s a quieter shift that’s starting to matter more; not who the CRM is for, but what it can flex to become. And
right now, HubSpot’s making a case for itself as the Swiss Army knife of CRM platforms. Not by shouting about it, but by quietly showing up in places you wouldn’t expect, like gyms and freight depots, and actually working.
Fitness First: A Surprising CRM Contender
Let’s start with fitness. A $257 billion industry fueled by memberships, class schedules, and the constant churn of people trying to stick to a routine. You’d think this space would be dominated by niche platforms like Mindbody or Glofox, which were built specifically for gyms. And they still have a foothold. But HubSpot? It’s sneaking in through the side door. Gold’s Gym SoCal, for example, reported its strongest six-month sales stretch after switching to HubSpot. Why? Part of it is the free tier with unlimited contacts, which is a rare find. But more importantly, it’s the full-stack flexibility—sales pipelines, automation, lifecycle marketing, and yes, even class scheduling, all under one roof.
That last part matters. Because in fitness, retention isn’t just about a good workout; it’s about consistent, personal communication. HubSpot’s marketing DNA makes that easy to scale, whether you’re running a nationwide franchise or a boutique yoga studio with three instructors and a candle budget. You’re not just offering features. You’re building fit.
Logistics Without Limits
Now shift gears. Logistics. Not exactly a sector known for warm customer engagement. It’s where complexity lives—routes, shipments, warehouses, and a lot of spreadsheets. And yet, HubSpot is showing up here too, for completely different reasons. Take Handled, a fast-scaling logistics startup that went from zero to 121 locations in 18 months. They’re using HubSpot not for marketing, but for operations: mobile tracking, automated shipment updates, and workflow customization.
That sounds more like ERP territory, right? Except ERPs are heavy, expensive, and usually overkill for companies that are still figuring out how to scale without tripping over their own growth. HubSpot’s modular setup and open API let teams like Handled build what they need without dragging along a bloated tech stack. It’s not replacing Salesforce at the enterprise level, but it’s carving out real ground among mid-sized logistics firms that need speed, not bureaucracy.
Beyond Niches: A CRM for All Seasons
So what’s the takeaway here? It’s not that HubSpot is better than niche tools; it’s that it’s becoming something else entirely. A CRM that can stretch to fit the shape of the business, rather than forcing the business to fit the software. And that’s a shift worth paying attention to. Because vertical software used to mean vertical silos. Now? Adaptable infrastructure is winning.
And HubSpot’s not stopping with gyms and freight. Restaurants are next. According to a new ranking, it’s now leading the CRM pack for food service too, thanks to loyalty automation and personalization features that actually work for chains and independents alike. See the full list here.
What’s Next? Conferences and AI Mentions
Meanwhile, if your calendar is starting to fill up for 2025, Ahrefs just dropped a list of content marketing conferences worth circling. A few big names, a few under-the-radar picks, and a good reminder that not all learning happens in webinars.
And one more from Ahrefs—this one’s a little nerdy, but worth a look. They ran a study connecting brand mentions on high-authority pages with increased visibility in AI-generated content. Translation: if your brand shows up on heavily linked pages, AI tools like ChatGPT are more likely to reference you. It’s not quite SEO. Not quite PR. But it’s sitting in that weird, emerging space between the two. Read the full study here.
That’s it for today, folks.
Catch you in the next post.
Until then, keep building.
– Perfect Sites Blog