In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, marketing automation software has become an essential tool for businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts and drive better results. 63% of marketers plan to raise their marketing automation spending soon.
With so many options available in the market, finding the best marketing automation tools for your business can be overwhelming. From small startups to large enterprises, marketers are seeking a robust and user-friendly platform that can help them optimise their marketing strategies and achieve a higher return on investment (ROI).
Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or new to marketing automation, this article will provide valuable insights about the top marketing automation tools that stand out from the competition with their comprehensive features, intuitive interface, advanced customer data analytics, and exceptional customer support.
So, let’s dive in and discover the ultimate that can revolutionize your strategies for different marketing channels and boost your overall marketing success.
Hubspot – A very complete marketing automation tool
When it comes to the best marketing automation software tools, one name that stands out is HubSpot because of its comprehensive features, user-friendly interface, and proven track record. One of the key features that make HubSpot a top choice for many businesses is its robust email marketing capabilities. HubSpot allows you to create, customise, and automate email campaigns with ease.
You can choose from a wide range of pre-designed email templates or create your own using the intuitive email editor. HubSpot also provides advanced segmentation options, allowing you to segment your email list based on various criteria, such as demographics, behaviour, and engagement. This enables you to send targeted and personalised emails to different segments of your audience, resulting in higher open and click-through rates.
Click here to learn about how often you should send out email newsletters.
Lead scoring & lead nurture
In addition to email marketing automation, HubSpot offers powerful lead scoring and nurturing features. The platform allows you to set up scoring rules based on different criteria, such as engagement level, website visits, and social media interactions, to identify the most qualified leads.
You can then create automated workflows to nurture these leads with relevant content, offers, and promotions, guiding them toward a conversion. This helps you prioritise your efforts on the most promising leads and increase your chances of converting them into paying customers.
Furthermore, HubSpot provides robust social media management capabilities. The platform allows you to manage and schedule social media posts, monitor social media conversations, and track social media performance, all in one place. This allows you to streamline your social media efforts and engage with your audience effectively, driving better brand awareness and customer engagement.
Hubspot Pricing
Starter Plan
The Starter plan starts at $18 per month and is designed for individuals and small teams.
Professional Plan
The Professional plan starts at $800 per month and offers more advanced features for businesses and enterprises.
Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise plan starts at $3,600 per month and is designed for larger businesses with more complex marketing needs.
Marketo
Marketo is another great marketing automation tool that is widely recognised for its robust features and integrations. Marketo is a cloud-based platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools that streamlines the sales pipeline by automating lead generation, nurturing, and lead scoring. In addition to email marketing and lead scoring capabilities, Marketo also offers landing page creation and management tools.
Businesses can create customised landing pages with pre-designed templates, drag-and-drop editors, and A/B testing capabilities to optimise landing page performance. Marketo also provides lead capture forms that can be embedded on landing pages or websites to capture leads and integrate them seamlessly into the marketing automation workflows.
Lead nurture
Lead nurturing is another key feature of Marketo. The platform allows businesses to create automated workflows to nurture leads throughout their buyer’s journey. Businesses can create personalized drip campaigns, send targeted content based on lead behaviour and engagement, and track lead activities to gain insights into their interests and preferences.
One of the strengths of Marketo is its wide range of integrations with other platforms. Marketo integrates with popular CRM systems such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and SugarCRM, allowing for seamless data syncing and lead management.
Marketo Pricing
Marketo offers 4 plans named Growth, Select, Prime, and Ultimate. Marketo does not publicly disclose its pricing on its website, as its pricing structure is tailored to each business’s unique needs and requirements. Marketo offers custom pricing based on factors such as the size of the business, the number of users, the level of features and functionality needed, and the desired level of support and service.
Pardot
Pardot is a popular marketing automation tool designed specifically for B2B (business-to-business) marketing. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for lead generation, leads nurturing, and lead scoring to help businesses effectively manage their marketing campaigns and drive results.
One of the key features of Pardot is its seamless integration with Salesforce CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which allows for easy synchronisation of data between marketing and sales teams. This integration enables businesses to track and manage leads throughout the entire sales funnel, from initial contact to conversion, ensuring a seamless flow of information and a unified approach to customer engagement.
Pardot also provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing businesses to track the performance of their marketing campaigns, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions. Businesses can access a wide range of reports, dashboards, and insights that provide valuable insights into campaign effectiveness, lead generation, and overall marketing performance.
Pardot Pricing + Marketing automation features
Pardot offers 4 plans for smarter marketing automation.
Growth Plan
The first Growth Plan starts at $1250/month and includes features such as email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring, and ROI reporting.
Plus Plan
The second Plus Plan starts at $2500/month and includes additional functionalities such as A/B testing, custom object integration, and more advanced reporting capabilities.
Advanced Plan
The third Advanced Plan starts at $4000/month and includes all the features of the Plus plan, along with advanced analytics, AI-powered lead scoring, and advanced customisation options.
Premium Plan
The fourth Premium Plan starts at $15000/month and is the top-tier plan offered by Pardot and includes all the advanced automation features, along with additional functionalities such as custom user roles, dedicated IP addresses, and phone support.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is the next best marketing automation software that empowers businesses to create personalised and effective marketing campaigns. Let’s take a closer look at the features and pricing of ActiveCampaign.
ActiveCampaign Pricing
ActiveCampaign offers four main pricing plans: Lite, Plus, Professional, and Enterprise. Here’s a breakdown of these plans:
Lite Plan
The Lite plan is the most basic plan starting at $29/month and includes features such as email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM integration. It allows businesses to create automated email marketing campaigns, set up basic automation workflows, and manage contacts. The Lite plan is ideal for small businesses or those who are just starting out with marketing automation.
Plus Plan
The Plus plan starts at $49/month and builds on the features of the Lite plan and includes additional functionalities such as lead scoring, SMS marketing, and contact and lead scoring. It also offers access to CRM and integrations with popular CRMs such as Salesforce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more. The Plus plan is recommended for businesses that require more advanced automation and CRM integration capabilities.
Professional Plan
The Professional plan starts at $149/month and includes all the features of the Plus plan, along with additional features such as site messaging, attribution, and in-depth reporting. It also offers custom branding options and a dedicated account rep. The Professional plan is suitable for businesses that require more advanced reporting and customisation options, and need to manage larger volumes of data and campaigns.
Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise plan’s pricing can be customised according to business requirements. The plan includes all the features of the Professional plan, along with additional functionalities such as a custom domain and a dedicated Deliverability Consultant. It also offers advanced customisation options, including custom reporting and custom domain. The Enterprise plan is recommended for large enterprises or organisations with complex marketing automation needs.
Eloqua
Eloqua, by Oracle, is designed to help businesses streamline their marketing efforts and drive meaningful results through lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead scoring.
Some of the key features of Eloqua include email marketing, landing pages, lead scoring, campaign management, and analytics. With its intuitive interface and user-friendly tools, Eloqua makes it easy for marketers to create, automate, and optimise their marketing campaigns.
Another notable feature of Eloqua is its extensive integration capabilities. Eloqua seamlessly integrates with a wide range of other platforms, including CRM systems, social media platforms, web analytics tools, and more.
Eloqua Pricing
Eloqua follows a quote-based pricing model, which means that businesses need to request a quote directly from Oracle to get accurate pricing information based on their specific needs. Eloqua offers various pricing plans that cater to different business sizes and requirements, allowing businesses to tailor the pricing to their unique needs and budget.
The pricing of Eloqua typically depends on factors such as the number of contacts or leads in the database, the level of features and functionalities required, and the level of support needed.
Infusionsoft by Keap
Infusionsoft, now known as Keap, is a marketing automation platform that caters specifically to small businesses. Infusionsoft provides a comprehensive set of features that cover various aspects of marketing automation, including email marketing, CRM integration, and lead generation. Small businesses can utilise these features to create targeted email marketing campaigns, track customer interactions, and nurture leads to conversion.
Infusionsoftby Keap also offers automation workflows, which allow businesses to create automated processes for tasks such as sending emails, updating customer information, and triggering actions based on customer behaviour. This feature helps small businesses save time and effort by automating repetitive tasks and ensures that the right message is delivered to the right customer at the right time.
Moreover, according to Gartner, by combining hyper-automation technologies with enhanced operating procedures, operational costs might be reduced by 30% by 2024.
Additionally, Infusionsoft by Keap provides lead generation and nurturing tools to help businesses capture and nurture leads through the sales funnel. It offers landing page builders, lead capture forms, and lead scoring capabilities to help businesses identify and prioritise their most qualified leads for further nurturing and conversion.
Infusionsoft by Keap Pricing
Infusionsoft offers two plans named Pro Plan which starts at $149/month and Max Plan which starts at $199/month.
The Pro Plan includes features such as email marketing, CRM integration, automation workflows, lead capture forms, automation workflows, e-commerce capabilities, and integrations with third-party applications.
The Max Plan includes all the features of the Pro plan, plus additional features such as custom branding, advanced reporting, and appointment scheduling.
The Final Verdict – Is marketing automation software a necessity?
In conclusion, marketing automation is a must in 2023. Furthermore, choosing the best marketing automation solution for your business is a critical decision that can greatly impact your marketing efforts and business success. Using marketing automation tools, businesses can optimise the customer journey by delivering personalised content at every touchpoint, from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement.
With the myriad of options available in the market, it’s important to carefully evaluate the features, capabilities, and pricing of different marketing automation platforms to determine the best fit for your specific needs.
Each platform suits different needs
HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, ActiveCampaign, Eloqua, and Infusionsoft (now Keap) are all top contenders in the realm of best marketing automation solutions, each offering unique features and pricing plans.
When evaluating marketing automation software, it’s important to consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, customisation options, integrations with other tools and platforms, customer support, and overall value for money.
It’s also essential to understand the pricing structure, including the base plans, add-ons, and any potential additional costs, to ensure that it fits within your budget and provides a positive return on investment (ROI).
Ultimately, the best marketing automation solution for your business will depend on your unique needs, goals, and budget. Carefully research and compare different options, consider your business requirements and growth plans, and take advantage of free trials and demos to test the platforms before making a decision.
