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Too often, customer experience becomes a service problem instead of a marketing opportunity. Updates happen via email chains, ticket systems exist behind login screens no one remembers, and the marketing team loses visibility of what happens next.

This is a missed opportunity, not just for customer experience, but for increasing revenue. Because when customers feel looked after, renewals and upsells follow naturally.

Enter the Softr client portal.

When combined with HubSpot, Softr gives marketers a simple, low-code way to create a branded space where customers can log in, see everything relevant to them — tickets, renewals, deals, documents — and even access curated content or offers. It’s a customer experience upgrade that doesn’t require another complicated system to maintain.

Better customer experience means greater ROI

Most marketers measure marketing ROI on acquisition campaigns by default. Conversions, cost per lead, and initial sale figures are clear. But the boardroom conversation is changing.

Leaders are looking at net revenue retention (NRR): how much revenue you keep, and how much you grow through renewals and expansion. These metrics are directly tied to how customers experience your brand after they buy.

If marketers want to prove long-term HubSpot ROI, we have to extend beyond the top of the funnel.

  • Retention beats acquisition. Keeping a customer costs far less than finding a new one.

  • Every post-sale touchpoint is brand reinforcement. Frictionless service is as powerful as a good ad.

  • Customer experience drives revenue growth. Positive experiences create advocates, cross-sells, and higher lifetime value.

A client portal gives marketing teams the visibility and influence to shape that experience, with measurable outcomes.

What makes a great client portal

Before we get into how Softr helps HubSpot marketers, it’s worth defining what good looks like.

A truly effective client portal should:

  • Feel like a natural extension of your brand, not a separate platform.

  • Give customers secure, self-service access to data that matters to them.

  • Offer personalisation: show each customer only what’s relevant.

  • Allow simple two-way communication, without endless email threads.

  • Reduce manual admin for your team through automation.

  • Look great on any device and grow as your business does.

In short, it should save time for both sides, while strengthening trust and transparency.

Free Customer Journey eBook

This handbook is a fast guide to strategic automated marketing that connects with the customer at each stage of their purchase journey.

  • Journey mapping
  • Integration & tracking
  • Automating journeys
  • Challenging assumptions
  • Single customer view
  • Channel selection
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3D eBook cover with text Creating Customer Journeys in Marketing Cloud

Why Softr stands out for HubSpot users

There are plenty of portal tools out there, but Softr hits a sweet spot for HubSpot users who want flexibility without a huge HubSpot development project. Here’s why:

1. It’s built for speed

Softr is a no-code platform, meaning marketers can launch quickly using drag-and-drop blocks and templates. You can go from concept to live portal in days instead of months.

2. It connects directly to HubSpot

The integration allows you to pull data from HubSpot — Contacts, Companies, Deals, Tickets, or custom objects — straight into the portal.

That means customers can log in and view the same data your internal team sees, without needing extra licences or manual updates.

3. It handles permissions beautifully

You can control who sees what. Each customer only views their own records, filtered automatically based on HubSpot fields like Company ID or Contact owner.

4. It’s fully brandable

From logos to fonts to domain, the portal looks like part of your company site. Like most things HubSpot-related, it’s polished, professional, and flexible.

5. It grows with you

Start with a simple dashboard showing deals and tickets, then add features over time, such as a resource library, renewal reminders, or an upsell section. You’re not locked into one structure.

6. It’s easy to maintain

Because it’s low-code, your marketing or ops team can make updates without waiting for developers. You own the platform and its evolution.

How HubSpot & Softr improve CX & ROI

1. A continuous data loop

Actions customers take in the portal — like viewing a renewal quote or clicking “request upgrade” — can trigger HubSpot workflows. This creates a closed feedback loop between customer behaviour and marketing automation.

2. A new post-sale channel

The portal becomes a new space to communicate, share resources, or promote offers. You’re not relying solely on email sequences to stay top-of-mind.

3. Personalisation at scale

Using HubSpot segmentation, you can show different portal content to different customer groups, from product tips to loyalty incentives.

4. Operational efficiency

The automation between HubSpot and Softr reduces manual tasks for service and sales teams. 

5. Clearer ROI attribution

Because everything flows through HubSpot, you can track how portal engagement correlates with renewals, upsells, or client satisfaction scores. That means marketers finally get the data to prove CX impact on revenue.

Metrics that matter

To keep your client portal accountable to results, build reporting around these key areas:

Focus area

Metric

Why it matters

Engagement

% of customers logging in, frequency of logins

Shows adoption and portal value

Efficiency

Reduction in support requests

Measures time and cost savings

Retention

Renewal and churn rates

Demonstrates long-term value

Expansion

Upsells and cross-sells generated via portal

Ties portal engagement to revenue

Satisfaction

NPS or feedback post-interaction

Tracks CX improvement

ROI

Incremental revenue divided by portal investment

Connects the project to business growth

These are all metrics you can pull into HubSpot dashboards, giving marketing a credible story to tell when it comes to proving ROI.

Tips for a smooth implementation

  • Start simple. Launch with the essentials and expand once users are engaging.

  • Map your data carefully. Only surface what’s relevant and accurate.

  • Plan permissions early. Get roles and filters right from the start.

  • Think onboarding. A clear welcome email and short guide make a big difference.

  • Use automation. Let workflows handle updates, reminders, and notifications.

  • Iterate. Collect feedback from users and keep refining the experience.

It doesn’t have to be perfect from day one, but it should feel effortless for your customers.

A Softr client portal is a way to close the loop between marketing, sales, and service, where every interaction adds to your customer’s confidence in your brand.

For marketing leaders using HubSpot, it’s also a chance to own more of the post-sale journey. You can improve retention, influence renewals, and finally connect experience metrics with revenue outcomes, all without heavy technical setup.

If you’re curious to explore what this could look like, you can try Softr via our referral link or talk to the MarCloud team about building a custom HubSpot-integrated portal for your business.

Tom Ryan headshot

Tom Ryan

Founder & CEO of MarCloud, Tom has been on both sides of the fence, client-side and agency, working with Salesforce platforms for the best part of a decade. He's a Salesforce Marketing Champion and certified consultant who loves to co-host webinars and pen original guides and articles. A regular contributor to online business and marketing publications, he's passionate about marketing automation and, along with the team, is rapidly making MarCloud the go-to place for Marketing Cloud and Salesforce expertise. He unapologetically uses the terms Pardot, Account Engagement and MCAE interchangeably.

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3D eBook cover with text Creating Customer Journeys in Marketing Cloud

Creating Customer Journeys in Marketing Cloud

From mapping your typical customer journey to understanding which Marketing Cloud Engagement products are right for your business, this handbook is a fast guide to strategic automated marketing that connects with the customer at each stage of their purchase journey.

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Free Customer Journey eBook

This handbook is a fast guide to strategic automated marketing that connects with the customer at each stage of their purchase journey.

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