How One Agency Replaced 5 Tools with Dewx and Saved $1,800/Month
Prospect Engine, a B2B growth agency managing 15 active clients, was drowning in tools. Their monthly SaaS bill had crept up to $2,100/month — and their team was still missing messages and forgetting follow-ups.
Here's how consolidating to Dewx changed their operations.
Key Takeaways
- A 15-client agency was spending $2,100/month across 5 tools with overlapping features
- After switching to Dewx, their tool cost dropped to $0 (beta) with better functionality
- Response time improved from 4.2 hours to 22 minutes (5x faster)
- Client retention increased from 78% to 91% in 90 days
- The team saved 12 hours/week previously spent switching between tools
The Problem: Tool Sprawl
Here's what the agency's stack looked like before Dewx:
| Tool | Monthly Cost | What They Used It For |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM (Professional) | $890 | Pipeline, contacts, email sequences |
| Mailchimp | $80 | Client newsletters, drip campaigns |
| Calendly (Team) | $96 | Meeting scheduling (8 users × $12) |
| Intercom | $200 | Website chat, client support |
| Zapier | $50 | Connecting everything together |
| Total | $1,316/month |
Plus hidden costs:
- Integration maintenance: 4 hours/month fixing broken Zapier workflows ($200 equivalent)
- Context switching: Each team member checked 5 apps daily, losing 1.5 hours/day ($3,750/month across team)
- Missed messages: Estimated 8-12 client messages/month fell through the cracks (immeasurable cost to relationships)
True total cost: ~$5,266/month in direct costs and lost productivity.
The Switch: What Changed
Week 1: Setup
The team set up Dewx in 3 days:
- Day 1: Imported 2,400 contacts from HubSpot via CSV. Created 3 pipelines (New Business, Active Clients, Renewals). Connected email accounts.
- Day 2: Connected WhatsApp Business API and LinkedIn accounts. Set up the website chat widget (replacing Intercom).
- Day 3: Built automation flows — welcome sequences, follow-up reminders, meeting scheduling. Trained the team.
Week 2-3: Parallel Operation
Ran both systems simultaneously:
- New leads went into Dewx
- Existing HubSpot deals stayed in HubSpot temporarily
- Team used both, comparing experience
- Identified 3 workflow gaps and created workarounds
Week 4: Full Cutover
- Migrated remaining active deals to Dewx
- Cancelled HubSpot, Mailchimp, Calendly, Intercom, Zapier
- Saved contact exports and data backups
The Results (After 90 Days)
Cost Savings
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly tool cost | $1,316 | $0 (beta) | -$1,316/mo |
| Integration maintenance | $200/mo equivalent | $0 | -$200/mo |
| Context switching time | 1.5 hrs/person/day | 0.3 hrs/person/day | -80% |
| Total monthly savings | ~$1,800/month |
Performance Improvements
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average response time | 4.2 hours | 22 minutes | -91% |
| Missed messages/month | 8-12 | 0-1 | -95% |
| Client retention (quarterly) | 78% | 91% | +13 points |
| Proposals sent/month | 8 | 14 | +75% |
| Team satisfaction (1-10) | 5.2 | 8.7 | +67% |
Why Response Time Improved So Dramatically
The biggest change wasn't technology — it was visibility. Before Dewx:
- WhatsApp messages sat in the phone app until someone checked
- LinkedIn messages were checked 1-2x/day
- Website chats expired if nobody responded within 5 minutes
- Email was the only channel with desktop notifications
After Dewx, every channel feeds into one inbox with real-time notifications. The team sees new messages immediately regardless of channel. Dew AI drafts responses, so even complex replies take 2-3 minutes instead of 10-15.
Why Client Retention Improved
Three specific changes drove retention:
- No more missed messages — Clients stopped feeling ignored
- Faster responses — Issues resolved same-day instead of next-day
- Proactive communication — Automated weekly updates meant clients always knew what was happening
Lessons Learned
What Went Smoothly
- Contact import (CSV worked perfectly)
- Email and WhatsApp integration (connected in minutes)
- Team adoption (simpler than HubSpot, everyone preferred it within 1 week)
- AI assistance (Dew drafts saved 30+ minutes/day per person)
What Was Challenging
- Historical data: HubSpot had 3 years of conversation history that didn't transfer (we kept HubSpot read-only for reference for 90 days)
- Custom reports: HubSpot's reporting was more advanced; we adapted to Dewx's analytics and supplemented with spreadsheets for custom metrics
- Habit change: Some team members kept checking old apps out of habit for the first 2 weeks
What We'd Do Differently
- Export and label ALL HubSpot data before cancelling (we missed some custom properties)
- Train the team on Dew AI features on Day 1 (we waited until Week 2 and wished we'd started sooner)
- Set up all automation flows before going live (we built some reactively)
Would This Work for Your Agency?
This consolidation makes sense if:
- You're spending $500+/month on CRM + messaging + scheduling + automation separately
- Your team checks 3+ apps daily for client communication
- You've had clients complain about slow responses or missed messages
- You're managing 10+ active clients
It might NOT make sense if:
- You need Salesforce-level customization (custom objects, complex permissions)
- You have deep HubSpot Marketing Hub workflows you can't replicate
- You're locked into annual contracts on existing tools (wait for renewal)
Ready to Try?
Dewx is free during beta. The worst case: you spend 3 days setting it up and decide it's not right. The best case: you save $1,000-2,000/month and your team stops drowning in tools.
FAQ
How long did the full migration take?
4 weeks total: 3 days for setup, 2 weeks of parallel operation, and 1 week for full cutover. The team was fully productive on Dewx by Day 5. The parallel operation period was more for confidence than necessity.
Did any clients notice the switch?
Yes — positively. Three clients commented that responses were faster. One client said, "I love that I can WhatsApp you and you actually reply quickly now." Nobody noticed the backend change; they just experienced better service.
What happened to HubSpot's marketing automation?
We rebuilt the essential workflows in Dewx (welcome sequences, follow-up cadences, renewal reminders). Dewx's automation is simpler but covers 90% of what we used in HubSpot. The 10% we lost was advanced lead scoring and multi-touch attribution — features we realized we weren't actually using.
Is this a realistic savings for most agencies?
Yes, if your stack includes a CRM + separate messaging/support tools. Most agencies spend $800-2,500/month on 4-7 tools. Consolidating to one platform typically saves 50-70% of that cost. The productivity gains (faster responses, fewer missed messages) are often worth more than the cost savings.
