Ask any business owner what is the most tedious yet crucial task and you will get effective marketing as an answer. Though it is essential to bring your business into the limelight, it is an uphill struggle that ask for life and blood.
However, marketing professionals or businesses that are using marketing automation are taking a breather while enjoying the best ROI from existing marketing campaigns. It is the talk of the town for good reason.
Also Read: Developing and Implementing Lead Scoring Solution For A Service-based Business
The adoption of marketing automation in a business ecosystem has shown positive and lucrative outcomes at every front. If you still have no idea what marketing automation is, this post is just for you.
Marketing Automation – The Game Changer
As the name suggests, marketing automation is the process of automating menial and repetitive tasks of the marketing domain. It is obtained via the implementation of assorted software, AI technologies, and custom-build tools.
For instance, using lead management software for marketing allows a team to set-free from the burden of lead sorting, continual follow-up, transferring the lead to the concerned department, and many others. All of these jobs will be done without asking for human intervention.
When implemented rightly, marketing automation tools will have a positive impact on businesses’ growth, revenue, and marketing presence. Have doubts? Pay attention to the below-mentioned statistics:
- Marketing automation is the need of the hour and more and more businesses are adopting it. Recent research revealed that around 51% of companies adopted marketing automation by 2019.
- Chatbots, an integral part of marketing automation, is going to take over 95% of customer service by the end of 2021.
- Business owners have witnessed around a 77% spike in ROI and conversion rates after implementing marketing automation rightly.
- 75% of marketing professionals who have used marketing automation once have admitted that it is essential for success in the e-Commerce world.
- A study by Invespcro has revealed that marketing automation can bring around a 14.5% spike in sales team productivity and a 12.2% dip in marketing-related expenses.
- Presently, 75% of marketers are using at least one type of marketing automation tool.
After reading the above text, no confusion must be there in your mind regarding the viability of marketing automation in an ecosystem. If you are using it then congratulations as you have made the right choice.
If you haven’t adopted it then it’s high time that you should do it. You should get a cutting-edge marketing automation tool for your business. While you do so, keep all your sense awake and make the right choice as only a feature-rich and functional marketing automation tool is capable to reap all the benefits that we have stated.
Here are some things to keep in mind while picking up a marketing automation tool:
Pay attention to features
A Marketing Automation Software is only good if it has the right set of features. Features make or break any option. Features like lead management, email campaigns, reporting & analysis, alerts, team collaboration, social media marketing, and marketing tracking are some of the essential but not limited features of a marketing automation tool. There are many other advanced features as well. Choose as your business demands.
Learning curve
Do you know that 86% of marketing professionals prefer ‘ease of use’ tools for marketing automation?
There is no point in getting a complex marketing automation tool as your team won’t be able to use it properly. Your money will be wasted for sure. Make sure it comes with an easy learning curve and is easy to implement.
Try to pick the one that offers free off-site on-site training. It lets your team have a better understanding of its modus-operandi. A free live demo or trial for certain days is a cherry on the cake as it helps the business to find out the real-time viability of the chosen tool in its ecosystem.
Integration
Marketing automation is not the only tool that you must be using for your business. There must be CRM, HR, Invoice, and various other kinds of software as well. A tool that offers multiple integrations and can collaborate with other existing software is a blessing when streamlines are considered.
Cost Involved
This one is a brainer. No matter what, pick the one that falls into your budget. If you don’t have a budget, set one before making any decision.
Going for an option that offers multiple kinds of subscriptions s good as you can always upgrade without any hassles.
Mobile App
Mobile apps are boon for humankind. They have made our lives easier than ever and have increases productivity. With a marketing automation mobile app, you can work on the go. It will surely have a positive impact on the team’s productivity.
Even if you remain aware of all these deciding factors, making a wise choice would be a tough task. Don’t forget; there are thousands of options to compare. No business can afford to squander away crucial work hours on this task. This is why; we are suggesting your top three marketing automation options. Scroll down to know more about them.
The 3 Top Marketing Automation Platforms
D365 for Marketing – The Leader by All Mean
Offered by Microsoft, D365 or Dynamics 365 is a high-end and AI-driven integrated marketing management tool designed to bring effortlessness in marketing operation, planning, execution, and implementation of marketing strategies across all the operational areas. It is capable to do lead management across multiple campaigns and can increase the quality of the leads.
Finding out leads and nurturing them becomes easy as it can connect the sales and marketing departments over a single platform. Not only it keeps marketing jobs in place, but it also keeps you updated with the latest marketing trends.
It can be implemented on the cloud and on-premises which is a great thing. One more thing that has impressed us about Dynamic 365 is its ability to integrate effortlessly with Microsoft Power Platform, Office 365, and LinkedIn. It improves productivity at the multi-dimensional level.
It allows you to generate multiple dashboards for Sales, Goals, Marketing, Tool, and Collateral sections. The dashboard will show charts, graphs, and widgets that you want. This way, it gives an in-depth overview of your marketing operations.
The social media marketing feature is capable to capture leads from the online platforms and disperse them to the concerned department.
Their responsive customer care support ensures that none of your queries and questions goes unanswered.
Suitable For
- Amazing integrations. The recently launched versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM are included.
- Provided real-time marketing reports and do regular data analysis.
Against the tool
- A little bit complex for first-time users.
- Many users have experienced fewer features in mobile apps.
Mobile App – Yes; for iOS and Android platforms.
Costing– $1,500 per tenant, per month only for a marketing tool. If other Dynamics 365 apps are used, costing would be $750 per tenant, per month.
Salesforce – A Stellar Performer
Salesforce needs no introduction. It has already garnered a lot of praise and appreciation for its amazing products. Pardot is its AI-driven marketing automation tool. It is a very easy-to-use tool and comes with a clean interface.
Because of a wide range of email automation, lead management, and many features, it is going to streamline every front of marketing. It offers a dedicated Engagement Studio wherein you can create specific marketing campaigns.
As far as social media marketing is concerned, you can share your marketing posts in real-time directly to platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Suitable For
- Amazing automation branching
- Wide range of features
- In-built email builder
- A dedicated search marketing tool
Against the tool
- No drag-and-drop facility
Mobile App – No
Costing – Basic plan starts with 1,250 per month.
HubSpot – A Pocket-friendly Choice To Make
If you’re looking for a high-performing marketing automation tool without spending too much, HubSpot Marketing is the best bet. With generous features and amazing integration, this marketing automation is winning hearts.
Small to medium and enterprise scale businesses that are looking to strengthen out the marketing core can pick this one. Its dynamic browser-based email editor and builder will empower your email marketing.
To be very honest, its email creation is the simplest out of all three and can generate basic emails in the blink of an eye.
One thing that makes it stand out of crowd is its ability to update contacts after each interaction. So, businesses don’t have to invest much time and effort to update the database.
Its online marketing tool is robust enough to fetch the demographic details by simply using the URL. When you are using it for Facebook, it allows you to create Facebook-specific lead generation campaigns. It will auto-capture the submissions and bring them to the HubSpot. This way, online marketing will become an effortless job.
Suitable For
- Ample of options in social media management
- In-built CRM integration
- Supports VoIP
Against the tool
- Poorly-performed SEO feature
Mobile App – Yes.
Costing – Beginner plan starts with $50 per month.
Wrapping Up
If you are not using marketing automation tools then you are missing a lot. This single tool has all the powers to leverage your team’s productivity, reduce marketing overheads, and churn out more results for efforts made.
While you are planning to introduce this tool into your system, make sure that you’re choosing one which is feature-rich, easy to use, cost-effective, and can blend easily into your system. If you could manage to pull off of this, handling the marketing activities will become a cakewalk for your business venture.
To get expert help during the integration of marketing automation capability in your system, you may rely on Stridely Solutions. Our team is capable, experienced and reliable. With years of experience, we can consult you for perfectly deploying this new efficiency for your business and make it work in your favor. Contact today.