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Why Small Businesses Need Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is a method of using software to automate repetitive tasks, and streamline and optimize marketing efforts.
Small businesses often have limited resources and a small team to handle all their operations, including marketing.
Marketing is a highly dynamic industry with repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, ad campaigns, and even onsite marketing.
Marketing automation software can help small businesses by automating repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on other essential aspects of their business.
And it’s not just for efficiency; marketing automation software also creates more personalized experiences for users and saves time.
For example, if you set up an autoresponder email series, add an AI chatbot to your website, or use a sales CRM tool to organize your leads and improve the user experience.
To display the current status and importance of marketing automation, here are some statistics from reliable sources:
- Using marketing automation in business increases the chance of effective marketing strategy results by up to 46, based on HubSpot’s The State of Marketing Report.
- When choosing the right marketing automation tool, pricing affects decision-making by up to 53%. This factor is followed by ease of use with 47%.
- According to Liana’s Marketing Automation Survey, the benefits of marketing automation by marketing professionals are as follows:
→ 60% of them note improved targeting.
→ 41% highlight enhanced efficiency and ROI.
→ 39% emphasize the positive impact on customer experience.
→ 34% report an increase in the number of leads.
→ 33% acknowledge improved lead quality.
17 Best Email Marketing Automation Tools of 2024
1. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Best for: Wide range of features to enhance your business’s email marketing
Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s G2 Rating: 4.0/5
Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides an email marketing automation solution to help businesses create impactful customer experiences.
By creating cross-channel campaign functionalities, Salesforce Marketing Cloud lets you interact with your audience during the full process by including AI for the content and targeting.
Top Features:
- Data Management Platform (DMP) of Salesforce Marketing Cloud to enhance segmentation and targeting
- Ad Studio opportunity to manage multi-channel campaigns
Pros:
- Creating custom content email design with effective templates
- Real-time drag-and-drop functions to navigate interactive content
- Chance to optimize emails to be mobile-friendly and adaptable
- Simple management of customer relationships in the customer cycle
- Use of AI in content, delivery times, frequency, and audience- segmentation in general
Cons:
- Sometimes, the users have a little learning curve due to extensive features.
- Because of pricing, small businesses may not be able to afford the tool in the first place.
Price: Salesforce Marketing Cloud has three different pricing plans. The first is Marketing Cloud Engagement, which starts at $1,250 per month when billed annually for email marketing. The second plan is Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, starting at $1,250 per month when billed annually for lead nurturing and scoring. The last plan, Marketing Cloud Growth Edition, starts at $1,500 per month when billed annually for AI-powered emails and campaigns. In addition to these plans, other marketing pricing plans of the tool could help, and the features can change accordingly.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is an effective tool with its features and practical dashboard. Also, since the tool provides extensive features, it increases the usage capability and creates little difficulty at the same time. However, if you want to extend the limit of your business's email marketing effort, Salesforce Marketing Cloud will be your best option.
2. Mailchimp
Best for: Pre-built journeys for providing recommendations
Mailchimp's G2 Rating: 4.3/5
MailChimp’s automation feature allows you to create targeted emails that are sent when triggered by a specific event, date, or activity.
It comes with a powerful set of design, scheduling, and segmenting tools so you can effortlessly inform, reward, and engage your contacts through automated emails, even if you are offline.
Top Features:
- Pre-built journeys to engage with your audience and get recommendations
- Data integration from apps and web services
Pros:
- 4/7 email & chat support
- Custom-coded and pre-built email templates
- A/B testing
- Enhanced automated customer journeys
- Predictive segmentation
- Campaign manager
Cons:
- On the free plan, there is only email support for the first 30 days.
- Might not be very budget-friendly.
- Users claim that the emails often end up in spam folders.
Price: There is a free plan available with very limited features. The Essentials plan starts at $ 13/month based on 500 contacts. And other pricing plans grow according to the feature set.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Mailchimp can be regarded as one of the most important email marketing tools since it is effective in creating campaigns and keeping track. You can have various pricing plans to choose from or you can prefer pay as you go model, and you can pay as much as you use.
3. Constant Contact
Best for: Dynamic content personalization for automated communications
Constant Contact's G2 Rating: 4.0/5
With Constant Contact, you can set up email sequences and send them automatically to your contacts.
Just like MailChimp, you can set up specific triggers, and your emails will go out based on user actions.
Top Features:
- Dynamic content personalization
- Automated communications (e.g., resend to non-openers)
- In-depth reporting, including conversion and sales
Pros:
- Hundreds of email templates
- Sign-up forms
- Integrations with popular tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, and Etsy
- Engagement reporting (i.e., views, clicks, etc.)
- Live chat and phone support
Cons:
- Support could be improved.
- Might be difficult to use if you are technically challenged
- The templates and design options could be more up-to-date and flexible.
Price: There is a 30-day free trial if you want to try it out first. The Lite plan starts at $12/month, and its price is based on the number of contacts
What Do We Think about This Tool?
As a successful CRM, Constant Contact has various features to appeal to in terms of email marketing for growing and tracking the growth at the same time.
4. Brevo
Best for: Unlimited contacts & details with real-time email statistics
Brevo's G2 Review: 4.5/5
Another all-in-one marketing automation software for small businesses is Brevo. It provides a great service for both email and SMS marketing.
Brevo allows you to build custom workflows that send out emails automatically. You can set up triggers to send emails based on the subscriber action on your website.
Top Features:
- Unlimited contacts & details.
- Real-time email statistics
- Workflow editor
Pros:
- Drag and drop builder
- Shared inbox to keep your team organized
- Transactional email
- Segmentation
- Signup forms
Cons:
- The editor could be more intuitive
- Customer support could be improved
- Customer reviews mention emails not being sent, though it looks like they did.
Price: There is a free plan available with unlimited contacts. The starter plan starts from $25/month with unlimited contacts.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Just like other email marketing tools in this list, Brevo helps your focus to grow your business and provides different pricing plans for this purpose. Also, you can use Brevo as marketing, sales, and conversation platform when you determine your aim.
5. Moosend
Best for: Behavioral analytics and custom reporting for personalized campaigns
Moosend's G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Moosend is an easy-to-use, all-in-one marketing automation software.
Similar to Constant Contact, Moosend comes with features like A/B testing, list segmentation, and user/website tracking, in addition to email marketing.
Top Features:
- Behavioral analytics
- Custom reporting
- 100+ integrations
Pros:
- Unlimited emails
- Landing pages/forms
- Multi-step marketing automation workflows
- Predicted location & demographics
- A/B testing
- Email heatmap analytics
Cons:
- You may need more than average knowledge to set it up.
- You may get contradictive information from customer support.
Price: There is a 30-day free trial, and the Pro plan starts at $9/mo for 0-500 subscribers.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Moosend provides the solution step-by-step for a marketer. With a fair pricing, you can send emails, manage audience, grow and automate your marketing, then track the results. Besides, the pricing is highly suitable for a small business to start and you can create bundles if you want.
6. Mailmodo
Best for: Drag-and-drop interface for creating emails
Mailmodo G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Mailmodo is a leading marketing automation software company that empowers businesses to create interactive and personalized email experiences.
With a user-friendly interface and powerful features, Mailmodo enables marketers to engage customers, drive conversions, and enhance their email marketing campaigns.
Top Features:
- Drag-and-drop interface to create interactive emails without coding knowledge
- Best bulk email service and transactional email service
- Dynamic content block for personalization
Pros:
- Pre-built 300+ email templates and 70+ email flows
- Integration with shopify and other tech-stack
- Email template builder for interactive emails
- Best bulk email and transactional email service
Cons:
- Limited support for non-English users
- No free plan is available
Price: Mailmodo does not offer a free plan but has a 21-day free trial. Post which, the Lite, Pro, and Max plan to start at $39/month, $99/month, and $249/month, respectively.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
In terms of Mailmodo’s product, the area of use is wide for you to create new contacts and their managing. In addition to widgets and API opportunity, it is possible for you to make the most out of this tool effectively.
Onsite Marketing Automation Tools
Onsite marketing automation tools are the ones that you can directly use on your website to market your service or product effectively.
7. Popupsmart
Best for: Collecting leads and engaging them via email automation
Popupsmart's G2 Rating: 4.2/5
One of the best marketing automation software for small businesses is Popupsmart, the popup builder.
Popupsmart provides a simple way to keep generating email leads and driving traffic to your products or campaigns. Besides, you can track your marketing campaigns with Leads and Analytics pages of Popupsmart to manage them more effectively.
Top Features:
- Gamified popups
- Powerful targeting features like SiteData targeting
Pros:
- Outstanding analytics features
- Gamification spin-to-win popups and lottery ball popups
- Popupsmart Shopify app to use on your Shopify store
- Promoting your products with video popups
- Collecting customer feedback and surveys
- Email automation feature to engage
Cons:
- A/B testing can be added.
Price: There is a free plan available, and the basic plan is perfect for marketers for $32.5 /mo if you choose to pay annually.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
From an objective perspective, Popupsmart is an impactful marketing tool that serves for different purposes, like driving sales, increasing engagement, sending automated emails and more. If you want engagement on your website and want something practical and effective to handle, Popupsmart can be your go-to choice.
8. Tidio Chatbot
Best for: Live typing feature to see user messages before they are sent
Tidio Chatbot's G2 Rating: 4.7/5
Tidio is one of the best live chat tools that are both efficient and budget-friendly.
This software allows you to create chatbots that work like virtual assistants and answer users’ questions 24/7, even if your live chat agent is offline.
Top Features:
- Live chat and unlimited conversations
- Up to 5 operators
- Email, 24/5 live chat support
Pros:
- Team departments should direct conversations to the best assistant.
- Analytics
- Native Shopify integration
- Live typing feature to see what customers are writing before they send them
- Viewed pages to track visitors
- Live visitors list
Cons:
- There is a learning curve if you’re new in the business
- Confirmation texts might not be 100% true
- The number of integrations could be increased
Price: A free plan is available, and the Starter plan starts at $24.17/mo when billed annually. This plan is ideal for small businesses and as you grow your business, you can upgrade your plan also.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Tidio Chatbot is nearly a suite tool to manage according to your own needs. Depending on the solution, Tidio Chatbot provides a solution in the pricing plan and lets you manage unlimited conversations.
9. Freechat
Best for: Simple customization options for branding without coding
Freechat is a live chat tool that helps businesses communicate with website visitors via messaging apps.
Thanks to customization options, you get the look you want easily. Since it literally takes minutes to set up, you will be ready to interact with your customers in real-time conversations in no time.
Top Features:
- Great user interface.
- No coding is required.
Pros:
- Super user-friendly
- Customization options for the branding of your business
- Secure & GDPR Complaint
Cons:
- More messaging apps could be added
Price: It’s totally free!
What Do We Think about This Tool?
For no price at all, Freechat is both a free and simple tool to set up on your website to reach your visitors. If you need a chat widget on your website, this is the most budget-friendly and practical option to start with.
10. Intercom
Best for: In-product messages for seamless customer communication
Intercom's G2 Rating: 4.4/5
Intercom is a customer communication platform that allows businesses to communicate with their customers through various channels such as email, live chat, and in-app messaging.
It can be used for customer support, sales, and onboarding tasks and its AI-powered chatbot, Fin, can help to automate business.
It also includes features like automatic messaging, customer data management, and analytics.
Top Features:
- Integration with 250+ tools
- In-product messages
Pros:
- Get company & behavioral data
- Useful reporting dashboards
- Conversation ratings & tags
- Chat & email support
- Targeted outbound email
Cons:
- Subscription management could be easier
- Constant updates and lagging can be problematic
- Admin configuration can be a bit complicated
Price: There is a 14-fay free trial without the need of any credit card. Then, Intercom has a Starter plan for very small businesses starting from $39 per month. The plans grow in terms of features about AI chatbot -Fin-, proactive support, channels, and platforms.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Intercom is another famous tool that is used by many businesses. If you choose to use Intercom, your small business takes a great but effective leap for the future. Since Intercom is a comprehensive tool, you might need to start with a starter plan and upgrade the plan later on based on your customer base.
Social Media Marketing Automation
Social media marketing can bring high-quality leads to your website, but it can also be time-consuming.
Luckily, there are social media management tools for marketing automation that can lift the burden off your shoulders.
11. Manychat
Best for: Integration with 2,000+ business tools
ManyChat's G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Manychat lets you send automated Instagram direct and Facebook messages so that customers can purchase products directly from Instagram Direct Messages and Facebook Messenger.
It’s very straightforward to build a bot with Manychat’s drag-and-drop visual editor and automate interactive two-way conversations.
Top Features:
- Integrations with 2,000+ business tools
- Segment your contacts with customer Tags
Pros:
- Build custom chatbot flows
- Keep the conversation going by combining the tool with SMS and email.
- Team member seats for collaboration
- Create custom Keyword triggers
Cons:
- Analytics could be more advanced.
- Instant message delivery can be laggy sometimes.
Price: There is a free plan available to engage up to 1,000 contacts free of charge. The pro plan starts at $15/mo and scales with a number of contacts.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Manychat is a practical, budget-friendly, and customizable social media marketing tool. Its integrations and solution-based perspective help a lot to specify your aim and needs.
12. Buffer
Best for: Hashtag manager for effective social media campaigns
Buffer's G2 Rating: 4.3/5
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that is designed to schedule your content ahead of time and automate your posts for social networks, including Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Pinterest.
With Buffer, users can schedule posts in advance and publish them automatically at the best times for engagement.
Top Features:
- Multi-channel campaigns
- Hashtag manager
Pros:
- Custom video thumbnails
- Link shortener
- Performance overview
- Individual post analytics
- Exportable and branded reports
Cons:
- Buffer’s data may not match with the social media platforms’ data
- The scheduling tends to be unreliable
- Might be hard to understand how to use
Price: There is a free plan available if you want to try it out first. The Essentials plan is for professionals who use publishing, analytics & engagement tools for $6/month per channel. For extra channels, $6/month is added.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
What makes Buffer a good choice is the tools it provides. Therefore, you can determine your main objectives for engaging on your social media. With its simple pricing, Buffer is beneficial for those who want to manage social media marketing effectively.
13. HootSuite
Best for: Professional analytics for managing social media presence
HootSuite's G2 Rating: 4.2/5
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows businesses and individuals to schedule and publish content across multiple social media platforms.
It also provides tools to help users manage their social media presence and engage with their audience.
Top Features:
- Professional analytics
- Customize your posts to suit each network
Pros:
- Unlimited posts
- Schedule posts in advance
- Publish them automatically at the best times for engagement
- Access to messages in one inbox
Cons:
- The support system should be improved.
- Some features are not very essential but pricey.
- Onboarding could be better.
Price: There is a 30-day free trial. The professional plan is €99/mo, but you can get 20% off if you skip the trial.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
HootSuite is a platform where you can make the scheduling most effective by reaching analytics to optimize your social media marketing process. Besides, to engage and keep it alive, you can manage messages in one inbox and increase efficiency.
Content Marketing Automation Tools
So, you have put effort and published tons of content; what now?
In order to make sure more people see and engage with your content, you’ll need to market them to the right audience.
That’s where content marketing automation tools come in.
14. SureTriggers
Best for: Customizable workflows for simplified and supercharged content marketing
SureTriggers' G2 Rating: 4.5/5
SureTriggers shines as one of the best automation tools when it comes to content marketing by simplifying and supercharging content marketing efforts.
It can help you connect multiple apps with each other to create customized workflows using triggers and actions.
Its robust capabilities enable you to schedule, create, and distribute content seamlessly.
SureTriggers can automate content posting across various platforms, schedule social media updates, and even trigger email campaigns to engage the audience.
The platform's versatility and automation options make it a valuable resource for content marketers, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and a wider reach for content strategies.
Top Features:
- Connect hundreds of apps and services with ease.
- Automates various tasks to save time and effort.
Pros:
- Customizable workflows.
- CMS and analytics tools integration.
- Deep integration with WordPress.
Cons:
- Some integrations may have limited features.
- Limited app integration options.
Price: There are three plans in total: Free, Pro, and Agency. There is a lifetime free plan to get started. It comes with 1000 tasks initially that can be upgraded based on your needs and requirements. Next, the Pro plan costs $9, and the Agency costs $19 per month.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
When evaluating SureTriggers, you will realize that there is a practical way to apply your triggers. Plus, the pricing plan is very suitable for a small business, considering the budget. Also, one of the best parts of SureTriggers is the integration options that you can take advantage of.
15. Zapier
Best for: Thousands of supported apps for connecting and automating workflows
Zapier's G2 Rating: 4.5/5
Zapier is one of the best marketing automation tools out there.
It is designed to connect two or more of your apps and software and automate different workflows.
It is an excellent way to move your content from one place to another.
For instance, you can create a “Zap” to automatically create a story on Medium or publish your content on WordPress.
Top Features:
- Supports thousands of apps and services.
- Automates repetitive tasks and saves time.
Pros:
- Customizable, with options for complex automation flows.
- Affordable pricing plans.
- Visual editor
Cons:
- Some integrations may not be as robust as native app solutions.
- Dependent on the reliability of integrations and 3rd-party APIs.
- Glitches might be frustrating.
Price: The forever-free plan includes unlimited Zaps. The Starter plan is for individuals with simple, multi-step automation needs for $19.99 USD/month, billed annually, including 750 tasks monthly.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Zapier is, for sure, one of the most effective marketing automation tools in this list because the Zaps you create will absolutely help your business grow and keep things going. By choosing the Zapier free plan in the first place, you will have options to give it a try and realize the features in detail.
Sales Automation (CRM)
If your sales team isn’t closing as many sales as you would like, despite the time spent on the campaigns, sales automation tools can help you increase your bottom line. With CRM (customer relationship management) tools, you can:
- Streamline processes
- Build better customer relationships
- Increase profitability
16. HubSpot
Best for: Visual pipelines for organizing and tracking the entire sales pipeline
HubSpot’s Service Hub G2 Rating: 4.4/5
HubSpot is a leading CRM software tool that offers a suite of all-in-one marketing.
This tool lets you organize your content and view your entire sales pipeline on a visual dashboard.
HubSpot’s Service Hub free features include:
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Conversations inbox
- Calling
Pros:
- Track and manage multiple currencies.
- Mobile inbox.
- Automatically assign incoming chats.
- Store, track, and manage marketing event data.
Cons:
- Might be hard to set the account to function as you need.
- Some features might be confusing if you are not very knowledgeable.
Price: The Starter plan is $18/mo and includes 2 paid users. There is a fee of $9/mo per additional user.
You can also get the CRM Suit, including Operations Hub Starter, Marketing Hub Starter, Sales Hub Starter, Service Hub Starter, and CMS Hub Starter, for $27/mo if you choose the annual subscription.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
HubSpot is the best friend of most of the marketers and business owners. From free tools to its suite, there are many options that a small business can benefit from. The best way to decide if you are going to use HubSpot is to decide what you need. Then, you can find a suitable solution for your marketing automation needs.
17. Pipedrive
Best for: Security alerts and rules for enhanced CRM data protection
Pipedrive's G2 Rating: 4.2/5
Pipedrive is another CRM designed to help you prioritize and manage leads, track communications, automate repetitive administrative tasks, and more.
Top Features:
- Security alerts and rules
- Web-to-mobile calls
- Group emailing and email scheduling
Pros:
- Create visual pipelines to organize and close deals
- Pool all your leads in one place, follow up, and qualify new leads
- Label and filter leads
- Chatbot and live chat
- Create and embed web forms
Cons:
- Data import might be problematic.
- The updates on pricing plans might be confusing.
- Might not be sophisticated enough for large enterprises.
Price: There is a 14-day trial if you want to try Pipedrive first
The Essential plan costs $12.50 per user per month, billed annually for businesses that want to get organized and set up simple sales processes.
What Do We Think about This Tool?
Examining Pipedrive, the tool is highly simple and effective in starting the processes. As a strong CMS, Pipedrive provides visual pipelines to encourage. However, it is better when the data import problem is fixed.
What Makes a Marketing Automation Tool the Best?
A marketing automation tool should be set and ready to use in the first place, but deciding what the must-have features can help you reach the best source.
Here are the top points to look for a marketing automation tool:
- User-Friendly Interface: Your marketing automation tool should be easy to navigate to save time and reduce training time.
- Automation Capabilities: The more features, the better. By eliminating complexity in tasks, it would be awesome if one tool could be used to nurture leads, apply email marketing, and perform other automated tasks.
- Multi-channel Integrations: If multiple platforms are used for communication, it is more possible to multiply the impact.
- Lead Management: Data appears when marketing is talked about. Therefore, you should be able to know the sales funnel, segmentation, and nurturing capabilities.
- Personalization & Customization: The success of your campaigns and marketing is based on the point that you can personalize or customize them as they should be.
- Analytics & Reporting: For marketing strategies, you need to get valuable insights and numbers into your campaigns.
- Tool Integration: It is better if your marketing automation software has a connection possibility with different CRM tools.
- A/B Testing: When you test different functionalities on your marketing campaigns, you can choose what fits your audience best with A/B tests.
- Compliance: Your tool should fit your business, ensure trust, and adapt privacy laws.
- Customer Support & Onboarding: If a tool's user onboarding is effective enough, it can increase navigation, and responsive customer support should be available just in case.
Before You Leave…
In conclusion, automation software helps to streamline processes, reduce manual labor, increase productivity, and save time and resources.
The best automation software depends on the specific needs of your business. However, we hope that this review has been helpful in guiding you toward finding the best automation software for your business.
Remember to carefully evaluate your needs and prioritize your goals before making a final decision.
With the right automation software in place, you can take your business to the next level of efficiency and success.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Marketing Automation Software, and How Does it Benefit Small Businesses?
Marketing automation software is a tool that automates repetitive marketing tasks and helps businesses manage their marketing efforts efficiently.
It benefits small businesses by saving time and resources, allowing them to focus on other important tasks, and providing valuable insights into their target audience and marketing performance.
2. How Does Mobile Optimization Affect Marketing Automation for Small Businesses?
Mobile optimization is crucial for all types of businesses. Therefore, choosing a marketing automation tool enables you to create campaigns that look and perform well on mobile devices, considering the increasing use of smartphones by consumers.
3. How Much Does Marketing Automation Software Cost for Small Businesses?
The cost of marketing automation software varies widely, depending on the specific features and capabilities you need.
Some options are free, while others can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month.
It is important to consider your budget and marketing needs when choosing the right marketing automation software for your small business.
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