INBOUND25 didn’t just bring product updates. HubSpot introduced an entirely new framework called Loop Marketing, built for the AI-first world we’re all trying to navigate. The immediate question: does this replace inbound marketing? The short answer—no. Inbound is still the foundation. The Loop is how you build on it. That said, before we dive into what the Loop is and why it matters, let’s clear up one big question: where does this leave inbound marketing?
Is Inbound Marketing Still Important?
Inbound remains, and always will be, the backbone of HubSpot’s philosophy. That won’t change. HubSpot even spelled it out: “The core components of inbound marketing are still essential, but they aren’t enough.”
Attract, Engage, Delight is still the formula—but the way we execute those stages has shifted. Buyers expect faster responses, hyper-relevant personalization, and experiences that stretch far beyond a single website. Inbound hasn’t lost its relevance—it’s being supercharged by new tools and new expectations.
What is Loop Marketing?
Loop Marketing is an AI-powered playbook layered on top of inbound. It’s designed as a continuous cycle with four stages that feed into one another. Here’s how each works—and where teams can stumble if they’re not careful:
Express – Get Ideas Into Market Faster
Express is all about momentum. In the old inbound world, launching a campaign could take months of planning, drafts, reviews, and sign-offs. With AI at your side, those timelines shrink dramatically. Teams can move from idea to execution in days, experimenting with messaging, creative, and even new channels without getting bogged down.
Where teams get stuck: moving too fast without guardrails. AI can help you publish at lightning speed, but speed without strategy just creates noise. If your content isn’t grounded in your brand’s voice, purpose, and values, you’ll end up with assets that sound generic or—worse—inauthentic. The Express stage should speed you up, not push you off-course.
Tailor – Personalize at Scale With AI and CRM Data
Tailor takes the speed of Express and makes it relevant. Using your CRM data, behavioral insights, and AI-driven tools, marketers can adapt messages for different audiences and contexts automatically. Done right, it makes every email, landing page, or ad feel like it was written for a single person—even when you’re communicating with thousands.
Where teams get stuck: dirty data. If your CRM is riddled with incomplete records or outdated fields, personalization goes from magical to messy. Imagine sending an “exclusive offer” to a customer who already bought—or addressing someone by the wrong name. Instead of delight, you create distrust. Successful Tailor work depends on data hygiene and alignment across your marketing and sales systems.
Amplify – Meet Buyers Across Every Channel
Amplify extends your reach. Your buyers are no longer finding you just through a Google search or your website. They’re discovering brands on TikTok, Reddit threads, industry Slack groups, podcasts, and—more and more—through AI search tools that surface answers without clicks. Amplify is about ensuring your message is consistent and discoverable everywhere buyers are making decisions.
Where teams get stuck: treating every channel the same. Repurposing content is smart, but blasting a LinkedIn post word-for-word on TikTok isn’t. Each channel has its own style, expectations, and context. Ignoring those differences can make your brand feel out of touch. True Amplify work requires you to adapt your voice to the medium while keeping the core message aligned.
Evolve – Iterate in Days, Not Months
Evolve is the engine that keeps the Loop spinning. Instead of treating campaigns as one-and-done, you continuously test, learn, and optimize. AI accelerates this process by surfacing insights you might miss—like which headlines convert, which audience segments respond, or which CTAs underperform. The result is compounding growth: each cycle of the Loop is sharper and more effective than the last.
Where teams get stuck: slipping back into old campaign habits. Too many teams still launch a campaign, let it run for a quarter, and only then analyze results. That mindset doesn’t fit the Loop. The Evolve stage demands agility—looking at performance in real time and making adjustments while the campaign is live. When marketers embrace this, they build a growth engine that gets smarter every day.
Why the Loop Now?
The buyer’s journey no longer follows a neat path. HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan explained it best: “Attention is scattered, consideration is compressed, and buyers are everywhere except your website.”
The old funnel, and even the flywheel alone, can’t fully capture today’s reality. With AI reshaping search, personalization becoming table stakes, and customer attention scattered across dozens of channels, marketers need a system built for speed and adaptability. Loop Marketing is HubSpot’s answer.
What Loop Marketing Means for Marketers
Loop Marketing isn’t a shiny replacement—it’s a practical way to keep inbound relevant in the AI era. For marketers, it changes the pace and precision of execution. Campaigns can launch in days instead of months. Content can flex to feel personalized at scale, backed by CRM insights and AI assistance. Messaging isn’t tied to a single channel—it follows your buyers across platforms, communities, and even AI-driven search results.
Most importantly, Loop Marketing is designed for iteration. Instead of waiting on quarterly reporting cycles to make adjustments, teams can gather feedback in real time and evolve campaigns continuously. The payoff is clear: lower acquisition costs, stronger connections with audiences, and a marketing engine that doesn’t stall when customer behavior shifts.
Our Take on the Flywheel Question
Now if you're anything like us and have made to this portion of the blog post, I know you're probably wondering: So does The Loop replace HubSpot's Flywheel Model??? I know that was one of our most pressing questions and even as a Diamond HubSpot Partner we have no HubSpot answer here. Our best guess is no, or at least not yet. To our analytical mind, it would seem that the Flywheel still applies to customer-driven growth while The Loop is more tactical on the AEO (AI Engine Optimization) front. Could that balance shift in the next couples of weeks or months? Absolutely.
So whats the conclusion here? Inbound marketing remains the core of HubSpot’s strategy—and ours. The Loop isn’t a replacement; it’s an accelerator that helps inbound thrive in a world increasingly shaped by AI. HubSpot has invested in making sure marketers can adopt this new framework quickly, from product updates to practical tools. If you’re wondering where to begin, their new Marketing Loop Prompt Library is a great place to start experimenting.
