The 8 Most Effective Marketing Automation Tools

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With the advent of technology, the marketing industry has grown leaps and bounds. There have been many changes, and the rise of marketing automation tools is one of them.

So, what exactly is marketing automation?

Marketing automation refers to the process where technology and software tools are used to ‘automate’ repetitive tasks.

There is an endless abyss of marketing automation tools out there. But they all have a common aim: to boost productivity and marketing efficiency.

Research has shown that the companies using marketing automation tools have witnessed their sales productivity improve by 14.5%. Now, that really is something.

In this read, you will learn about some of the best marketing automation tools out there and how you can use them to develop smarter marketing strategies.

Best Marketing Automation Tools and What Makes Them Click

Are you wondering what a great marketing automation tool looks like? Using the tools listed below, there’s a lot you can achieve, ranging from moving leads from the sales funnel faster to impeccably landing new clients.

See how these tools can make things happen.

1. HubSpot Growth Suite

HubSpot Growth Suite is one amazing tool that you can use to effortlessly streamline your marketing, customer service, and sales operations.

The Growth Suite comprises five major sections: the Marketing Hub, the Sales Hub, the Service Hub, the CMS Hub, and the Operations Hub. Together, you’ll have access to essential services like:

• Advanced CRM functions
• Sales automation and engagement tools
• Email marketing tools
• Multi-pronged revenue attribution
• Real-time advertisement tracking features

The Growth Suite has numerous pricing plans to choose from, so you’re sure to find one that fits your budget.

2. Constant Contact

We all know that email marketing is the business equivalent of the king in a game of chess. This is where services like Constant Contact can be really useful. They offer a marketing automation tool that works well for email and social media marketing alike.

Here’s what you can do with this tool:

• A centralized dashboard that allows you to monitor everything from one place
• Create detailed schedules for marketing across the different social media channels
• Generate updated and comprehensive email lists
• Develop customer feedback forms

You can even build an uber-cool business website from scratch using Constant Contact. Their plans come at reasonable prices, making the whole deal a lot sweeter.

3. Marketo Engage

From the creators of Adobe, Marketo Engage is as good as marketing automation tools can get. The 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Automation Platforms has recognized this tool as a trailblazer in the automation category. Marketo Engage is an excellent choice for:

• Content personalization
• Experience automation
• Marketing data environment and marketing impact analytics
• Cross-channel engagement

While the tool comes with a slightly hefty price tag, the massive database that you’ll get access to makes it worth the investment.

4. Customer.io

If your priority is hassle-free customer communication, Customer.io is the tool for you. To put it simply, you can use this marketing automation tool to build marketing campaigns around different messaging channels – email, text messages, newsletters, etc.

What’s more, Customer.io also allows you to control when and how the messages are sent to your customers. You can also use the tool to:

• Collect customer feedback
• Track customers’ preferences to create product-specific campaigns
• Launch re-engagement campaigns
• Onboard new users with customized welcome emails

The list is endless. Depending on your marketing needs, you can choose between the basic and premium plans.

5. EngageBay

If your business’ marketing strategies are hinged upon customer satisfaction, you will like EngageBay. Like HubSpot, this tool’s USP lies in its ability to unite the marketing, sales, and support functions.

What makes this marketing automation tool standout are its remarkable features:

• The Visual Designer – you can use this to design lead forms and landing pages
• Create effective drip email campaigns
• Get your leads scored real-time and with accuracy
• Achieve optimum customer segmentation
• Engage customers who visit your website

With lucrative monthly, yearly, and biennial plans up for grabs, EngageBay is a tool that you must definitely consider.

6. Eloqua

Eloqua is a marketing automation tool from Oracle. If your marketing strategies require the services of third-party sources, this tool’s amazing integration feature ensures that you have everything in one place.

However, there’s a lot more that makes Eloqua a tour-de-force to reckon with:

• Targeted lead progression tools
• Extensive personalization
• Create feedback forms that work, using the Content Blocks feature
• Get your leads scored
• Top-notch customer engagement via Program Canvas

If your business has varied marketing needs, you’ll consider Eloqua’s have-it-all marketing automation platform a huge blessing.

7. Pardot

As far as marketing automation tools for B2B businesses are concerned, you cannot ignore Pardot.

Designed to bring the sales and marketing units together, this tool makes strategic use of artificial intelligence to help you achieve the following:

• Smooth lead management
• Effective email marketing
• Marketing and Sales integration
• Real-time and in-depth ROI statistics and reports
• Long-lasting relationships with B2B clients

The entire platform is easy to use, so you needn’t worry about training your team. Further, with Pardot’s Growth, Plus, Advanced, and Premium plans, you can choose the exact services your business needs and drop the rest.

Oh, and, Pardot is proudly presented to you by Salesforce.

8. Hootsuite

Here’s a scenario. You’ve gone through your marketing strategies, and you find that most of them revolve around social media channels. Now, you require a social media marketing automation tool. Hootsuite is just the tool for the job.

Driven by the motto, “Social is your Superpower,” Hootsuite supports integration across all social media channels. With this tool, you can:

• Organize your business social media posts around a schedule
• Actively monitor customer engagement with your posts
• Follow the latest trends and adapt accordingly
• Engage with your customers
• Promote your content

Their four dedicated plans – Professional, Team, Business, and Enterprise – are designed to let you decide what you need and what you don’t.

Wrapping Up

It’s super easy to lose yourself in the melee of countless marketing automation tools. However, tools like Hootsuite, Eloqua, Pardot, Constant Contact, EngageBay, Customer.io, the HubSpot Growth Suite, and Marketo Engage promise performance and great value for your money.

Identify your business marketing needs, and cross-reference them with the features that characterize the different tools. And, et voila, you’ll find one that’ll be a great addition to your marketing team.