Resources of Interest: 5 ROI-Driven Software Investments You Should Be Thinking About Putting in Your 2026 Budget

Budget season is upon us, and it’s time to decide which marketing and business development tools and resources will be included in your team’s 2026 tech stack.

For teams using HubSpot, here are some of the most intriguing tools I learned about at the INBOUND conference that caught my attention and, in my view, deserve a spot in the conversation as you think about driving efficiency, growth and measurable returns in the year ahead.

Event Hapily – Event Automation & Attribution 

In a post-COVID world, in-person events are back in full swing, so tracking event ROI and attribution is a MUST for modern marketing organizations.

Event Hapily is an event management tool installed in your HubSpot ecosystem. It helps automate and build time-intensive logistical communications for virtual and in-person events while providing tagging capabilities within records, allowing for true ROI reporting.

What really stood out to me was the on-site demo. The rep who showed me this tool did a great job of showing off some of the system’s capabilities, including how the tool can also help automate business development follow-up efforts if your teams prioritize working tradeshow conferences.

VidYard – Video Platform

If you don’t have this tool yet, it should definitely be on your list!

VidYard is a video platform that helps businesses create, host and share videos with internal and external audiences.

I have used VidYard’s Chrome Extension for years, first as an account manager at an agency, but later as someone who needed to train a team quickly and efficiently with limited resources. Having an easy-to-use video tool at my disposal for quick, personalized messages has been a game-changer in my ability to build relationships while improving team efficiency and collaboration.

The HubSpot integration component allows users to connect their VidYard library to their portal, enabling personalized videos to be embedded into sequences, emails, webpages and more.

ZeroBounce – Email Validation & Deliverability Tool

ZeroBounce was another tool that I was intrigued to learn about at INBOUND.

This technology provides various tools that help validate and enrich data to ensure proper email list hygiene for your emailing system.

Most marketing and business development teams can find value in having a tool like this in the budget for their 2026 tech stack – whether because they’re frustrated from chasing bad leads through the sales process or the ACTUAL COST of storing bad contacts in your database.

Grammarly – Writing Assistant with AI Detection

Grammarly is another tool that I have been a fan of for many years. If it is not on your budget for 2026, consider adding it.

Grammarly is one of my favorite tools because it can help improve you and your team’s writing and grammar across any app or website. It also has a number of cool new features, including AI detection and a style guide repository that can be used for consistency across all firm-wide communications.

Sendoso – Online Gifting Platform

The other technology that has gotten my wheels turning is Sendoso. This digital platform allows businesses to delight their prospects and customers through automated gifting and direct mail.

I love the possibilities of this tool from a Client Experience standpoint. I especially liked that it can provide a litany of options for the individual to choose from, ranging from gift cards to physical gifts and even handwritten notes.

The integration with HubSpot allows teams to track and report on what has been gifted while also providing automation capabilities through the workflow tools. This means that ROI tracking for this investment can easily be identified for your firm’s leaders.

Conclusion

As budgets for 2026 start to take shape, tools like these demonstrate how the right technology can do more than streamline tasks. It can strengthen relationships, boost efficiency, and ultimately drive measurable ROI for your marketing and business development teams.

The key is not simply adding more tools for the sake of adding tools, but choosing the ones that will truly integrate into your workflows, support your business’s goals and help you get the most out of every dollar you spend.