Different Company Types... My understanding

Smart CRM & Sales Hub CRM
1

Hi,

First, thank you for this amazing application and to make it free for the CRM.

I am José from France.

Although, your site is very clear,

I would like to share with you my understanding of “Company Types”.

Your definition:

  • Type - The company’s relationship to you (Prospect, Partner, Reseller, Vendor, or Other)

1. Prospect, very clear.

2. Partner: I imagine a branch of my company or a business partner (Layer…)

3. Reseller: Can we consider one of my provider? or the company which will sell my products?

4. Vendor: It’s not clear for me… Is it us? or the company which will sell my products?

I am about to modify this list in the following way:

1. Prospect (my targets)

2. Provider (my providers)

3. Partner (Business partners like an ingeniering company…)

4. Customer (already customer) I hope there is a way to transform a “Prospect” type into a “Customer” type after the first success deal.

5. Other

I do not like this kind of classification because a provider for a business could become a prospect for a different business. But this is the rule with a CRM :).

Thank you for sharing your comments.

And thank you again for this application.

Best regards, José

2

Hi @JRelland

I’m not from HubSpot, but from a partner agency.

I think your interpretation of Company Type is mainly correct. I think the general interpretation would be:

  • Prospect - potential buyer of your product
  • Partner - someone you go to market with
  • Reseller - a distributor of your product
  • Vendor - agreed, this is confusing. Could be someone you buy from.

Thankfully, as you have discovered, this property is totally customisable to meet your needs.

When customising it to your business, I would recommend you try to remove all confusion and use only terms that have a common meaning internally. Otherwise, everyone will be guessing.

It also may not make sense to include customer in your types. Customer is a lifecycle stage that can be set automatically when a company is associated with a closed deal - so there is not need to duplicate it in type. This implies, I think, that you always leave businesses you can sell to in the prospects type.

Hope this helps.

3

Phil,

I am setting up our CRM and can’t figure out how to update the list of Company Types. Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks - Laurie

4

Hi @LaurieAdX

To view and edit the ‘Company Types’ Company property follow the instructions here: View and edit properties

Hope this helps.

5

I have thought about the comment you made on duplication of the use of the term “Customer” between Company Type and Life Cycle Stage. I have not loaded a deal yet as this is our intial configuration

1. So if the Company Type = Propsect and a Deal changes Closed Won - Does Company Type Change and if so change to what?

2. I would assume the Type can only be what is included in the list and would think it stating prospect is confusing, so what is the downside to have Customer here? Could I not build a workflow to change the value on Closed Won?

I see value in

Prospect

Partner-Integrator

Partner-Reseller

Influencer

Customer

Other

6

Q: Company types?

Short A: Source: HubSpot’s Default Company Properties

Longer A:

While company ‘type’ is a default HubSpot company property, HubSpot does allow you to modify its settings. However, HubSpot already classifies customers using lifecycle stage -- i.e., the built-in auto-synchronized non-editable company and contact property.

7

I know this is an older post, but “Vendor” is for the company that supplies something to you. It could be office supplies that you use. Or unfinished (raw) materials that your company then processes into a product or offering that you, in turn, sell.

It is used in construction and finished goods all the time. Not so much in technology and information systems.

8

We are going through the same exercise. As a Manufacturer’s Rep, representing multiple manufacturers from everywhere in the world and from our research, we’ve come to this conclusion. “It all depends on the industry you’re in.”

For example in relation to the construction industry supply chain:

1. Partner = Manufacturer - Produces New Products

2. Vendor = Wholesale Distributor - Procures from the Manufacturer

3. Reseller = Contractors/VAR (Value Added Reseller)- Procures from the Distributor and sells them on end-users with an added value such as the installation and commissioning of the goods and would typically add their markup on the products themselves.

We use “Company Type” as a way to distinguish the different types of companies in the construction industry that we regularly deal with on a daily within the Supply Chain.

Also, something to consider, Hubspot Insights automagically fills the Industry Property which is a very nice feature. Although, they should allow for us to change the LABEL to match our industry terms (ei: the ability to change Wholesale to Distributor)

Much more to be said on this topic! But will leave at that.