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As we round off 2022, many businesses are already planning for the year ahead and asking questions like:
- How do we launch more impactful marketing campaigns that reach better-quality leads?
- How can we speed up strategy execution to become more market-responsive?
- How do we use marketing data for more effective decision-making?
- Are there cost-savings to be made by consolidating our marketing tech stack?
The marketing tools you currently use may work a bit like a patchwork quilt –– as you've expanded your strategy and added new elements to your campaigns, you've had to stitch different tools together to achieve the desired functionality. Some tools may work for email marketing, others for social media management, and so on. Eventually, however, things may start to look a bit... well... patchy.
If the features you need to launch an integrated marketing campaign are scattered across multiple platforms, it becomes difficult and costly to oversee and report on projects.
Generally speaking, organisations that really need a full all-in-one marketing automation platform have already hit on a handful of marketing channels that work for them—regardless of which channels those are. That means:
- You've seen success across more than 1 or 2 channels
- You're already investing financially in scaling your marketing operation
- Your team needs to either scale the channels that are working and/or experiment with additional avenues
If that sounds like your team, these marketing automation tools can handle it all. From email automation to ad buying and lead nurturing, all-in-one automation tools can help add scale and streamline every aspect of your marketing operation.
What is marketing automation software?
When executed strategically, routine marketing tasks will provide excellent results. But, for businesses with ambitious growth targets, manually performing these tasks day in and day out can be counterproductive and expensive. Cue marketing automation software —— the smart solution that takes human action out of the equation and allows you to target customers and personalise your communication at scale.
Lead generation, customer connection building, and conversion optimisation are all made easier with marketing automation. Repetitive tasks that are necessary for a campaign's success can be automated, freeing up valuable time and resources. It is possible to tailor the customer experience by delivering relevant information and targeted promotions to each customer.
Marketing automation software for your business
Now, even though marketing automation tools make marketing campaigns more convenient and responsive for organisations, there is still no substitute for human interaction. Customer service can be greatly improved by utilising automated bots; however, most consumers can tell the difference between a canned script given by a bot and a genuine human's heartfelt response.
The best marketing automation consultant (a human) is the only one who can successfully plan and implement campaigns with all of the tools available for marketing automation.
Choosing a marketing automation tool that does everything you need requires some consideration about the individuals and teams within your organisation who will be using this software. Choose the wrong solution, and you'll struggle to get buy-in from stakeholders.
To help you make a decision that fits the needs of your business, we've reviewed nine of the most used and rated marketing automation tools on the market. We discuss the cost, usability and impact that they can have on your business and its goals.
Whichever one piques your interest, don't forget to ask for a demo or give the software a trial run ( if a free trial is available ). You'll want to press all the buttons, explore the interface and be certain that the features the marketing automation software offers align with your needs.
Top 9 Marketing Automation Software of 2022
- 1. HubSpot Marketing Hub
2. Constant Contact
3. GetResponse
4. OptinMonster
5. ConvertKit
6. Marketo
7. Keap Max Classic (Infusionsoft)
8. Mautic
9. SalesForce
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HubSpot Marketing Hub
Founded in 2004, HubSpot is one of the most well-known brands in the marketing industry. Built on the principles of the inbound methodology, the multi-faceted platform allows you to grow your business in a customer-centric manner, turning every activity into a catalyst for growth.
All of the tools you need to automate a wide range of marketing operations can be found in the Marketing Hub. A visual editor lets you create workflows that are both sophisticated and narrowly focused. In addition to simple follow-up communications, you can also utilise this tool for elaborate campaigns with several touch points throughout the customer journey. Pre-set triggers, conditions, and lead actions are also provided by HubSpot for your convenience. This makes it simple to use drip campaigns to send out automated emails.
At $50 per month, you can get access to the HubSpot Marketing Hub. The entire automation benefits aren't included in that bundle, however. Monthly fees for HubSpot's marketing automation tools add up to $800 per year for a starter package. This feature-rich option is affordable for startups and small firms with limited resources. There are many other benefits to purchasing a product from HubSpot besides software. HubSpot's customer service is exceptional and certainly one of the big selling points here.
Constant Contact
If you've ever worked in sales, you know that most leads aren't eager to get started right away. Getting a lead ready for a sales call takes time and care. Automated email campaigns can go a long way in helping you achieve this goal. Not all leads respond the same to the same messaging; this has been a long-standing problem. Personalisation is, therefore, extremely important. Drip campaigns from Constant Contact let you precisely control which leads receive emails and at what times. Every one of these options may be found in Constant Contact's Plus subscription package. The cost of it depends on the number of contacts you have:
> 500 contacts or fewer: $45 per month> 501 to 2,500 contacts: $50/month
> 2,501 to 5,000 contacts' cost: $95 per month.
> 10,001 to 5,001 contacts: $125 per month
> 10,001 to 15,000 contacts each month at $195
Pricing goes up to $335/month for 50,000 contacts, and Constant Contact may set up a custom plan for anything above that number for an additional fee.
GetResponse
GetResponse is a powerful and affordable marketing automation platform. GetResponse has everything you need, from lead generation to e-commerce conversion to abandoned cart recovery. An automated customer journey can use conditions, actions, and filters to trigger consumers along a specified path based on their behaviour. Your efforts will improve with enhanced segmentation and lead scoring. GetResponse analyses internet behaviour to find abandoned shopping carts. They'll show you related products. GetResponse has a $15/month package. This includes welcome emails, drip campaigns, click-and-open follow-ups, and contact tagging. Get Response's Plus subscription costs $49 per month. The upgrade includes custom workflows, automation builder, abandoned cart recovery, site tracking, event tracking, and automatic segmentation. You can create five custom workflows at this rate. If you need more than five workflows, get GetResponse Professional for $99/month. GetResponse features a difficult-to-navigate automation software. GetResponse can be frightening for automation beginners. GetResponse offers the most automation features at the lowest price. They offer a 30-day free trial as well.
OptinMonster
OptinMonster is unique among the software possibilities we've listed here. This isn't a complete marketing automation solution. Their lead generation and customer acquisition technology use marketing automation to develop your email list, reduce cart abandonment, and enhance revenues. OptinMonster is one of the most popular options on the market. OptinMonster helps you create lead-generating landing pages, popups, and website campaigns. You can then construct automatic campaigns based on website users' actions. Create campaigns for new vs repeat visitors. Visitor time or page views can trigger a popup or offer. Their tools enable user-triggered landing pages. OptinMonster is a top online lead generator. Marketing automation, however, is lacking. OptinMonster doesn't offer email or CRM integration. It's an affordable add-on to your existing solution, beginning at $9 per month. 14-day OptinMonster trial. No questions asked, 100% refund if you're disappointed.
ConvertKit
Simple marketing automation software is ConvertKit. ConvertKit is a must-have for digital marketing beginners. ConvertKit is an email marketing platform, but its marketing automation features are more complex. Create automated funnels that trigger when a subscriber takes an action(e.g., downloads a file). It guarantees you send tailored material at the proper time. Easy-to-use ConvertKit Simple automation rules can trigger a campaign without sophisticated workflows and settings. Even people with no marketing automation experience can utilise the visual editor.
ConvertKit has marketing automation tools for content sites, eCommerce, and SaaS. Convert Kit's pre-built automation is great. They feature automation for webinars, product launches, and subscription surveys. Convert Kit's free lifetime package for new businesses includes 500 subscribers. Visual automation funnels don't have that. ConvertKit's premium plans start at $29/month. Annual contracts include two free months. 14-day trial.
Marketo
Marketo is highly intuitive and praised for its simplicity of implementation and use. Occasionally, the tool might be sluggish and buggy, but overall, it's a solid piece of software. Marketo has three regular pricing tiers, with prices of $895, $1,795 and $3,175 each month. Each tier unlocks new options; thus, a handful of extra functionalities may cost an additional $900 to $1,400 per month.
Marketo's platform is praised for being simple and straightforward to use. It might not have the most aesthetically pleasing user experience; everything is clearly labelled and straightforward to use, making it much easier to acquire than other programs. Marketo offers amazing Salesforce connectivity. Although synchronisation between Salesforce and Marketo can indeed be time-consuming, the two products function together seamlessly. Compared to a few of Marketo's competitors, implementation and setup are comparatively simple. Marketo has an excellent customer care team and a very registered user community that assists one another with advertising and technical concerns.
Marketo was not originally designed as a marketing automation application. While the majority of the service has been upgraded, there are still a few vestiges that are complex and hard to use, also including their home page builder. The much more prevalent complaint regarding Marketo relates to its inadequate reporting and analytics capabilities. Without extra extensions, this could take quite a long time to generate reports that should be generated with a single click.
Keap Max Classic (Infusionsoft)
Infusionsoft by Keap is a popular small business marketing automation platform. Users can link Infusionsoft to a wide range of solutions via its 300 apps and connections. Infusionsoft features a user-friendly interface for marketing automation. Their graphic campaign makes developing complex nurturing sequences fun and easy. Customers may link Infusionsoft to hundreds of third-party products using over 300 apps, its API, and Zapier. Infusionsoft's customer service has won numerous awards. Infusionsoft uses universal tracking to track a contact's behaviour across marketing channels. Infusionsoft integrates work orders, payment systems, fulfilment, and inventory tracking.
Hiring an Infusionsoft expert to help set up your first few programs is beneficial but expensive. Infusionsoft doesn't integrate with other apps. Many of their more than 300 apps and extensions have ongoing fees. Despite Infusionsoft's claim that its deliverability rates are above 98%, user tests reveal that its reliability is lower than competing solutions. Infusionsoft doesn't allow dedicated IP addresses for email distribution, unlike competing alternatives.
Infusionsoft by Keap is by no means cheap. Your monthly fee will increase according to the number of contacts you have, starting at $199 per month for 500 contacts and one user. All plans include unlimited emails, CRM, marketing automation, sales automation, e-commerce and other useful sales automation tools. Targeted towards small businesses, Infusionsoft's one-time setup fee is a reasonable $499.
Mautic
Mautic claims to be the antithesis of "old-school marketing automation platforms". Although this tool is undoubtedly powerful, it requires some technical expertise because it's essentially open-source. The advantage is the ability to integrate with many different platforms and offer deep audience intelligence. This helps you connect with your customers in a more meaningful way. It ties together all of your digital properties and channels so that your customers have a seamless experience. Suitable for small businesses, you'll be able to execute cross-channel campaign management, create nurture campaigns, personalise messages, A/B test marketing activities and measure results.
While there is community support, expect bugs with integrations and perhaps a tougher user experience than you'd get with similar solutions. Mautic doesn't have a module for following up with leads, and it can be hard to hit the ground running with this tool. They offer a full-range service providing all the features at $500/month and having no setup fee.
Salesforce
Many firms use Salesforce for CRM. Here are its team uses. Large sales and marketing teams use Salesforce. Smaller companies don't need complex software. Pricey for small businesses. Salesforce's $125/month complete edition contains small-business CRM solutions. The program is useful, but the price is exorbitant for small businesses. A team of four pays $500 per month per user. Salesforce allows 500 mass emails. Unlimited email is restricted to 1000. The basic subscription allows 250 emails. Salesforce has a severe learning curve. It's not instantly functional without installation. Salesforce users may need a 'master.' For lookups, users must click buttons. As a large software developer, many praise Salesforce's customer service, while others are frustrated with what feels like a continuous churn of new customer reps.
Cloud-based Salesforce is portable, helping multi-location businesses and companies with remote staff. Salesforce supports all browsers and is browser-agnostic. The software makes it easy to monitor worker activities —— check for completed assignments, emails, and calls to see your team's progress. While Salesforce is an established and reputable CRM, user experience is perhaps its biggest downfall, with many clients eventually getting frustrated with the dated look and feel of the interface.
HubSpot or Salesforce? Compare the two platforms here.
Klood recommends...
Marketing automation software helps you claim back time and money, making your team more productive and effective. As a HubSpot Diamond Partner, there's no point beating around the bush: We love HubSpot —— and not just because of our affiliation, but also because we use this powerful marketing tool ourselves.
Its easy-to-use drag-and-drop features make bringing new employees on board a smooth task. The high level of customer support and free learning resources make HubSpot one of the most intuitive marketing automation software we've come across.
Whichever solution you choose, the aim is to pick a tool that increases reach and exposure for your brand while alleviating your team from mundane tasks. This opens the door to more strategic initiatives, professional development, and, of course, tangible growth for your business.
If you're curious to learn more about how HubSpot can help you create a consistent buyer's journey across all of your digital marketing channels, let's arrange a no-obligation conversation. We can discuss your company's current needs and show you how our onboarding and training service can help you hit the ground running should you make HubSpot your number one choice for marketing automation.