Evaluating A Marketing Automation Solution for your Business

Table of Contents

The vastness of the internet has created a separate world and a space full of business marketing opportunities. As more and more digital channels continue to flood the marketplace, the need for a comprehensive approach to omnichannel selling becomes a must for any small business, entity or enterprise. In 2016 it has been heralded the year for marketing automation. The reasons for marketing automation adoption include the following:

Marketing Automation drives a 14.5 percent increase in sales productivity and a 12.2 percent in marketing overhead. (Nucleus Research)
Exactly 77 percent of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) at top performing companies indicate their most compelling reason for implementing marketing automation to drive up revenue. (Gleanster)
Marketing automation companies increased from 51 totals in 2014 to 83 in 2015. (Scott Brinker)
Precisely 86 percent of marketers said “ease of use” was the most important factor when choosing a marketing automation platform. (Regalix)

Companies that invest in marketing automation will benefit on great return on investment (ROI). In addition, organizations will witness faster sales cycle, decrease in marketing spending, improvement in quota achievement and increase sales productivity.

Shopping around the web for accuracy and reliability for marketing automation can be tricky. To assist you in your search for reviewing and ranking software online CrowdReviews.com recently released a guide that offers assistance in the search of marketing automation solutions.

A Summary of top Marketing Automation Providers

GetResponse:

The email marketing service provider was founded in 1999 and one of the early startups for email marketing campaigns. As for marketing automation, it scores positively as an excellent and a great tool for great marketing automation for small and medium-sized business. It is ideal for business and considered as an easy-to-use interface. One of the best marketing tools on the market with impressive features (email creation, sending and reporting feature, contact management, etc.).

HubSpot:

Founded in 2006 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is considered ideal for small and mid-sized business. A versatile content management system (CMS) with learning curve and characterized by a semi-clunky file storage interface. It is an advanced marketing automation platform with multiple CRM systems that comes with special features (CMS, online marketing capabilities, lead management features, reporting, analytics, etc.), but difficult to really master.

Marketo:

The Company was founded in 2006 and introduced a lead management product in the early stages. The marketing automation software is extremely robust and at times the user interfaces a bit out of date. It is ideal for mid-sized business and out of reach for smaller business organizations. The software is good for social media marketing, bulk emailing, consumer marketing, and mobile marketing.

Infusionsoft:

The web-based solution was founded in 2001 as marketing software for small businesses. This comes loaded with e-commerce tools to help the online business grow and an efficient online marketing solution. It is ideal for small business and not the most affordable. You have the option to visualize the email marketing campaign all from within the application.

SimplyCast:

The Company founded in 1999 that provides marketing software and service for various organizations across the globe. The application allows you to adapt and market to the different channels maximizing impact from an executable marketing campaign. It is ideal for small, medium-sized and enterprise organizations. An interface designed into a 360 tool and able to offer easy-to-use template builder.

MailChimp:

Founded in 2001, the company´s interface is lightweight and simple. It offers an attractive free plan for beginners (up to 2,000 emails at the base and up to 12,000 emails a month). The platform is easy to learn and you are provided templates that can be edited or select to upgrade to a premium pack. It is ideal for small and mid-sized business.

Silverpop:

The Company founded in 1999 is a digital marketing software company transforming customer experiences. It offers the ability to manage contacts, creates schedules, customizes dashboard, etc. Acquired by IBM in 2014 and is a tool ideal for mid-sized business. It is can help with marketing automation yet not 100 percent reliable. The price tag is expensive compared to other competitors in the marketplace.

Takeaways and Conclusions

From the statistics initially provided and the list of marketing automation providers proves the need to adopt this software. Independent of the whether you are a small business, mid-sized business, or enterprise you want to integrate a platform that aligns with your business goals.

For example, if your marketing processes are lagging behind upgrading or migrating part of the operations will improve your efforts. It is about ease of use, affordability, features and ability to reach your targeted audience. If a provider had to be chosen as a viable option Style Factory recommends GetResponse for a number of reasons and is a comprehensive solution for small businesses.

Automating marketing is the next best thing for any business. Explore a provider’s capacity to provide good customer service around the clock, a solid knowledge base support, and simplicity for deploying marketing automation software.