Marketing your small business, whether online or off, is a time intensive process. As your business grows, managing lead capture, nurturing, converting and relationship management become too big to handle manually, which is why small business owners turn to marketing automation software to manage the load.

In general, automation brings many benefits to your small business including speed, lower costs, and time savings.

However, because the promotion, selling, and relationship management processes involve so many steps, many of which are repeated for each customer, marketing is particularly suited to automation. And that’s where marketing automation software comes in.

Benefits of Marketing Automation Software for Small Businesses

Marketing automation software revolutionizes how businesses approach their marketing strategies, offering a plethora of benefits that streamline processes and enhance efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks, these tools allow companies to focus on strategic, creative aspects of marketing, ensuring better use of time and resources. They provide insightful data analytics, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and tailor their marketing efforts to target audiences more effectively. Moreover, marketing automation fosters consistent, personalized communication with customers, enhancing customer engagement and loyalty.

Benefits of marketing automation software include:

Efficiency in Operations: Automates repetitive tasks, saving time and reducing manual errors.
Enhanced Customer Experience: Delivers personalized content and communication, improving customer engagement.
Data-Driven Insights: Offers valuable analytics and reporting for informed decision-making.
Lead Management: Streamlines lead nurturing processes, enhancing the conversion of leads to customers.
Scalability: Adapts to the growing needs of a business, making it easier to scale marketing efforts.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces labor costs and increases ROI by optimizing marketing strategies.
Consistent Brand Messaging: Ensures consistent brand communication across various channels.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with other tools and platforms, providing a unified marketing approach.
Campaign Management: Facilitates the creation, management, and tracking of marketing campaigns.
Enhanced ROI Tracking: Provides clear metrics on marketing campaigns, helping to track and improve ROI.

Methodology for Selecting Marketing Automation Software

In our journey as small business owners or entrepreneurs to find the ideal marketing automation software, it’s critical to weigh several key factors. These criteria ensure the software not only aligns with our marketing goals but also integrates seamlessly with our existing operations. Here’s an overview of the criteria we considered when crafting our list:

Ease of Use and User Interface

Scale of Importance: 9/10
The software should have an intuitive interface and be user-friendly, ensuring that our team can easily navigate and utilize its features without extensive training.

Integration Capabilities

Scale of Importance: 8/10
It’s crucial that the software integrates smoothly with other tools and platforms we are already using, like CRM systems, email platforms, and social media.

Scalability

Scale of Importance: 7/10
The software should grow with our business, capable of handling increased demands as our marketing efforts expand.

Feature Set

Scale of Importance: 8/10
Essential features like email marketing, social media management, lead nurturing, and analytics should be included. The more comprehensive the feature set, the better the software can cater to our diverse marketing needs.

Cost Efficiency

Scale of Importance: 7/10
While ensuring quality, the software should also fit within our budget. It should offer a good return on investment, without hidden costs or exorbitant upgrades.

Customer Support and Training

Scale of Importance: 7/10
Reliable customer support and access to training resources are important for troubleshooting and getting the most out of the software.

Data Analytics and Reporting

Scale of Importance: 9/10
Robust analytics and reporting capabilities are vital to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and to make data-driven decisions.

Compliance and Security

Scale of Importance: 8/10
The software must adhere to data protection regulations like GDPR and ensure the security of our and our customers’ data.

Customization and Personalization

Scale of Importance: 6/10
The ability to customize and personalize marketing campaigns to address our specific audience segments enhances the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.

Automation and Workflow Capabilities

Scale of Importance: 9/10
The core functionality should include robust automation and workflow capabilities to save time and resources while ensuring consistent marketing efforts.

Marketing Automation Software

Happily, there are many marketing automation software options for small businesses. These solutions can handle a few, or all types, of automated marketing techniques. In other words, they include various automation features such as:

Forms and landing pages,
Automated email campaigns,
Trigger emails based on set or custom rules,
Built-in eCommerce functionality or integration with eCommerce platforms;
Lead scoring,
Built-in CRM or CRM integration,
Smarter segmentation and
Website behavior tracking.

Note: Not all solutions offer every feature.

While you may be hesitant to try one because of either cost or learning curve, you should be aware that many marketing automation software vendors:

Charge based on use (number of customers, features used, etc.) so the cost scales, and is manageable, as you grow; and
Offer solid help as you learn to use their tool including free training, customer support representatives, comprehensive documentation and a supportive user community forum.

Are you considering marketing automation for your small business? If so, here’s a list of marketing automation software solutions to consider.

GetResponse

GetResponse calls itself the “all-in-one online marketing platform to grow your business” and a look down the features on their home page shows just how complete the software is.

While it’s one of the most affordable solutions on this list, GetResponse brings the same, if not more, of the features and functionality offered by the  more expensive solutions on this list. That said, the price does increase with use, but a small business should be able to handle the increase as it grows.

ActiveCampaign

Another affordable solution, ActiveCampaign, offers everything a small business needs to automate its marketing efforts including a robust, built-in CRM system.

GreenRope

Calling itself a “small business CRM”, GreenRope is almost a small business management suite. Starting with marketing automation, you’ll find website tracking, landing pages and more in this affordably-priced solution.

GreenRope also offers sales and operations functionality setting the tool apart.

Keap

One of the more well-known marketing automation software options, Keap (formerly Infusionsoft), offers everything your small business needs at a reasonable price. One feature that shows off the power of this solution is the flexibility of the campaign builder. This tool enables you to create elaborate workflows one time and then implement them again and again. These workflows can include many types of steps including eCommerce, appointments, behaviors and actions, webinar attendance and many more.

Additional Resources

Infusionsoft Propel Supplies Mobile Marketing Experience
Get More Done with New Products from Infusionsoft

HubSpot

The only tool on the list to offer a website builder, HubSpot aims to integrate your entire marketing effort in one place. One of the more powerful features of the tool is the ability to personalize your website with “smart content” based on a number of factors.

Additional Resources

5 Key Product Enhancements for Marketers from HubSpot Inbound 2015
HubSpot Adds Sales Platform and Free CRM to Its Marketing System
Mike Volpe of HubSpot: On Sales and Marketing Alignment, New CRM System
Jeanne Hopkins of HubSpot: All Leads Are Not Created Equal

Act-On

Act-On offers a robust marketing automation platform. The software offers automation workflows and triggers as well as website behavior tracking, integration with many popular CRM platforms, and more.

One of the more interesting, and useful, features of Act-On is it’s funnel reporting. By setting up a sales funnel, you can track the effectiveness of your overall marketing efforts. Here’s a sample:

Additional Resources

Michelle Huff of Act-On: Adaptive Journeys Leverage Machine Learning to Scale Personalization for Customers
Andy MacMillan of Act-On: Marketing Automation Adoption is at its Tipping Point
Raghu Raghavan of Act-On: Now is the Time to Dive Into Marketing Automation

Marketo

Marketo Engage, a product run by Adobe, offers a powerful solution with many features. One thing that stood out however was their customized product bundling, an approach that may make the tool attractive for small businesses that want to dip their toe in the water.

SharpSpring

In addition to it’s marketing automation features, SharpSpring offers additional features including a blog builder and VisitorID tool which attempts to identify anonymous visitors to your website.

Also, the vendor enables you to use your buyer personas to automatically offer unique, targeted content by segmenting your customers based on how closely their profiles match.

Additional Resources

SharpSpring Gives Small Businesses More Access to Images Through Shutterstock

SALESmanago

While a look at SALESmanago‘s home page may make you run, don’t let the complexity of the vendor’s offerings chase you away. This solution literally has it all and, if that’s what you need, then it’s certainly worth a look.

SoftwareKey FeaturesPricing StructureUnique Selling PointsStandout Functionalities

GetResponseAll-in-one marketing platform, comprehensive featuresIncreases with usageAffordable, feature-rich compared to pricier optionsWide range of marketing tools at a competitive price

ActiveCampaignMarketing automation, robust CRMAffordable pricingRobust built-in CRM systemComprehensive marketing automation with integrated CRM

GreenRopeMarketing automation, website tracking, landing pagesAffordably pricedSales and operations functionalityCRM and business management suite suitable for small businesses

KeapCampaign builder, eCommerce, appointments, webinarsReasonable pricingFlexible campaign builderElaborate workflow creation for various business processes

HubSpotWebsite builder, “smart content” personalizationNot specifiedIntegrated marketing solution with website builderPersonalization of website content based on visitor behavior

Act-OnAutomation workflows, CRM integration, funnel reportingNot specifiedFunnel reporting featureDetailed tracking and analysis of marketing funnel effectiveness

MarketoCustomized product bundling, comprehensive featuresNot specifiedAdobe-backed powerful solutionTailored product bundling suitable for diverse business needs

SharpSpringMarketing automation, blog builder, VisitorID toolNot specifiedUnique content targeting using buyer personasIdentifying anonymous website visitors and personalized content delivery

SALESmanagoComprehensive range of featuresNot specifiedExtensive functionalitiesAll-in-one solution for complex marketing needs

Wrapping Up

No matter which marketing automation software solution you select, make sure you’re getting the most out of the tool. And remember, you can automate processes beyond marketing, too, so be sure to consider how leveraging other tools can help streamline your small business.

Automated Marketing Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “Marketing Automation Software: 9 Options to Take Your Business to the Next Level” was first published on Small Business Trends