Table of Content
Marketing automation has become all the rage for enterprises and their digital marketing entourage. With the estimated market size nearly doubling up at a CAGR of 12.8% to US$ 9.5 billion during the forecast period (2022-2027), there’s no sliver of doubt that marketing automation is the unequivocal ace for outplaying competitors. The optimum usage of cutting-edge technology suits, like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Automation, and others, has helped organizations to mitigate operational challenges pertaining to efficiency and productivity. Also, automated marketing tools have stepped up efforts to skyrocket sales growth while keeping customers engrossed with the services and driving them for further purchases.
Rising internet penetration and adoption of smart devices have catalyzed the paradigm shift in business operations to digitalization, with a surge of tech-enabled applications spiraling demand for marketing automation platforms.
The outcome of this transition can be recapitulated in the following facts:
- Automation reduces marketing overhead by 12.2% or more.
- The automated solution stack boosts sales productivity by 14.5%.
- Marketing automation software increases the chances of attracting qualified leads by 451%.
- The smart tools scale marketing ROI by 45%.
Role of Marketing Automation in Digital Marketing
Digital marketing had signaled the ‘Death of the Traditional Agency Model’ long before enterprises fully came to terms with it. The contemporary approach to gaining visibility and attracting more eyeballs has encapsulated every profitable and non-profitable organization, from SMEs to fully matured enterprises. Digital marketing is currently the De Facto element to stay relevant amidst raging competition. However, both online and conventional marketing models are like kindred spirits with respect to time, cost, and labor factors. Therefore, an articulated implementation strategy for a digital marketing automation platform ensures a streamlined workflow of recurring, tactical tasks. This migration of mundane responsibilities allowed resources to focus more on strategic and creative problem-solving areas.
Marketing automation tools streamlined subsequent processes supporting digital marketing campaigns, like campaign management, audience segmentation, behavioral analysis, website monitoring, lead scoring, and many more.
Automation in B2B Digital Marketing
B2B digital marketing automation platforms enable owners and marketers to streamline their responsibilities through automated workflows and triggers. Modern technology is explicitly leveraged to heighten digital marketing teams’ productivity and efficiency levels as they nurture leads for higher conversion rates. From the messaging standpoint, automated content and campaigns focus on educating, nurturing, and directing leads through a predefined sales funnel.
Here’s a list of common workflows improved by B2B marketing automation:
- Automate subsequent workflows like lead follow-ups once a prospect visits a high-intent product/category web page.
- Initiate educational workflows for new customers, like educational resources and knowledge base articles.
- Auto-generate email campaigns for a higher volume of leads nurturing per audience requirements.
- Auto-update data fields to eliminate manual entries.
Automation in B2C Digital Marketing
B2C marketing automation also focuses primarily on elevating the efficiency levels of in-house resources while accelerating deliverables for higher customer engagement, business, and revenue. However, the major point in difference would be in handcrafting hyper-personalized customer journeys through relevant messaging and customized campaigns directed towards specific buyer segments.
Here’s a list of common workflows improved by B2C marketing automation platforms:
- Auto-tracking customer data for personalized service recommendations.
- Customizing content for nurturing a long list of delightful visitors, leads, and customers.
- Auto-generate personalized messages for targeted audience segments.
- Share survey forms to capture user feedback on specific product updates.
- Auto-generate welcome and reminder emails to new and existing subscribers.
Role of Marketing Automation in Ecommerce Business
Notwithstanding the unbeatable benefits of marketing automation, only 25% of companies worldwide are extensively leveraging the new-age technology. There is a huge opportunity scope, especially for Ecommerce businesses, as they need the extra helping hand to win an edge over increasing competition.
Ecommerce marketing automation can easily override time-intensive manual efforts intervening in every facet of the operations, from generating leads, engaging customers, and sending emails to closing deals, tracking contacts, etc. Modern Ecommerce website development agencies provide in-built platform features and applications, like CRM and OMS, to automate enterprise operations and accelerate data-driven marketing deliverables, ensuring a ten times growth rate for owners.
For example, Most Ecommerce service providers cite the assistance of auto-generated welcome emails to build a promising connection with prospects as soon as they land on the respective site and submit details. Follow-up emails, promotional texts with tailored offers, thank-you emails, and feedback questionnaires are sequentially shared to keep buyers engaged and satisfied. The same approach is often instrumentalized to up-sell or cross-sell other products and bring customers into the repeat purchase loop.
Benefits of Marketing Automation Software for Ecommerce
Ecommerce business growth and market penetration will continue and reach 23% by 2025. Convenient shopping experience is probably the primary factor contributing to the sector’s success today. But significant drivers would be dominating usage of AI and Automation. Personalized product recommendations being one of the principal benefits, marketing automation for Ecommerce businesses has redefined how owners can connect, engage, and retain buyers for an extended period.
1) Enhanced shopping experience
With the apt utilization of AI tools, customer purchase and browsing history data are captured and analyzed. The insights enable marketing teams to craft personalized product recommendations, and marketing automation tools are leveraged to share targeted messages, thereby elevating buyers’ interest and engagement. These efforts enhance their shopping experiences and increase conversion and sales percentages.
2) Optimized pricing strategies
AI and Automation tools evaluate various parameters, from market trends to demand and competition. Such datasets are extremely valuable in determining the optimal price structure for every product under each category/sub-category. Accurate and relevant pricing strategies significantly boost business profitability and market competitiveness.
3) Expanded reach and traffic
With the help of smart and automated marketing solutions, like optimizing targeting, bidding, ad creation, Smart Display, and Smart Shopping campaigns, Ecommerce brands can narrate more relevant messages to the right audience. Apart from hours of manual work saved, marketers can simultaneously manage multiple campaigns directed at various buyer segments. Hence, a wider market can be easily targeted for more qualified traffic.
4) Increased conversions and sales
By automating product information updates on Merchant Center, shoppers can conveniently identify relevant stores and required products amidst myriad options. This improves click-through rates, especially when prospects receive accurate product details for every related search query. Further, such features boost online sales and returns on ad spending while bringing down the cost per click.
5) 24 x7 guided assistance
AI chatbots existed long before marketing automation services in ecommerce businesses became an expected practice. These AI chat messengers are programmed to assist customers and walk them through a pre-defined process in a human-like conversation. These chatbots can answer questions, process order/return and refund requests, provide product recommendations, remediate challenges, and improve customer experiences. With automated chat responses in service 24×7, companies can elevate their customer support service without burdening their service teams.
6) Crafted stronger relationships
Ecommerce marketing focuses on building a robust engagement system to solidify customer relationships through guided assistance and stellar shopping experience. This can be achieved in numerous ways:
- Auto-generated personalized offers for specific customer segments help migrate site visitors through the sales funnel into loyal customers.
- Marketing automation systems optimize customer support to resolve conflicts, provide help on autopilot and improve overall customer experiences.
- In-built ticketing systems allow owners to easily track, manage, and resolve simple issues automatically.
7) Enabled multichannel engagements
Ecommerce platforms embedded with popular marketing automation tools can access customer activities across multiple touchpoints. The insights are aptly utilized to direct marketing processes toward capturing leads across all channels and touchpoints. Again, this is a major factor in increasing the engagement rate among prospects.
8) Trackable performance and insights
Ecommerce marketers access the platform’s automation systems and other AI tools to track and monitor website performance over a given period more accurately than manual methods. Data thus captured and analyzed help build more cost-effective and result-driven marketing activities.
Furthermore, automated marketing platforms provide apt insights for digital marketers to craft winning strategies and scale online business revenue.
Common Software Features for Ecommerce Marketing Automation
Ecommerce businesses are facing tough competition from e-retailers and established brands. Today, launching a spectacular website and maintaining a strong social media presence will not cut a mark. They need a bigger hammer to survive and outsmart the competition. Choosing the most-fitting Ecommerce platform embedded with an automation tech stack can be the most profitable investment for your online business. Of course, owners can reap the maximum benefit only when appropriate tools/features are added based on their marketing objectives.
An ideal Ecommerce marketing automation should comprise the following capabilities:
Email Marketing Automation
- Automated email campaigns
- Automated campaign workflows
- Abandoned cart campaigns
Mobile Marketing Automation
- Automated text messages
- Automated push notifications
On-Site Marketing Automation
- Virtual assistant and live chat
- Customized social feeds automation
- Content marketing automation
- Social media marketing automation
- Account-based marketing
- Sales automation and CRM analytics
- Workflow automation
- Campaign management
- Lead management
How to Select the Best Marketing Automation Software
The decision to opt for a niche marketing automation platform or one with wider capabilities depends solely on your business model. However, the software selection criteria are universal and entail a comprehensive analysis of the service provider, from the features offered to the price charged and so on.
Here are some key parameters to consider before selecting your vendor partner:
1) Determine your marketing objectives
Operational efficiency is the linchpin of marketing automation. Correspondingly, your marketing objectives should be to chase profitable returns and higher growth for your business. Therefore, compare the vendor’s offerings with your expectations and goals. And decide only when the software features aptly fill the gaps within your marketing operations.
2) Decide your investment budget
Keep an eye on the budget while considering the software capabilities. A scaled-down system is good enough for a niche requirement, but extended features can add to the overall cost for advanced needs. Therefore, determine your budget, compare software prices and features, and select the best fit for your needs and preferences. Here, you might want to reduce bloated operations to scale your automation program and enjoy the optimum benefit.
3) Evaluate the software features
Automation is not a simple platform integration; it is more complex than using a messenger for office communications like Slack. In order to avoid any poor investment decision, evaluating the software features aforehand is paramount. Here’s a list of elements you would want to consider during the software selection:
- Align the software UI with your ecommerce platform
- Determine the software UX and navigational capability
- Look for robust knowledge bases and software tutorials
- Understand the provider’s customer support options
- Check for the platform’s advanced reporting capabilities
- Consider the potential limitations of the software
- Reconsider the price based on the above factors
4) Research integrations
Adequate integration will enable you to enjoy the optimum benefits of the software solution. Therefore, determine how well the automation platform aligns with your existing tech stack before you handpick one for your ecommerce business.
5) Request a demo
The best way to understand how your new automation software works is by first requesting a complete demo and then sign up for free trial offers. Getting a hands-on experience will help determine the ideal features your business requires alongside identifying any software limitations before you say yes to it.
What is a Marketing Automation Tool
Whether for an ecommerce platform or a B2B enterprise, marketing automation tools enable companies to effectively target, engage, and convert customers with automated marketing messages across various channels. The software tools scale up repetitive tasks, like CRM updates, lead scoring and rotation, drip sequences, email and SMS actions, and many more, to generate and nurture qualified leads for higher conversions.
Automated software solutions for ecommerce marketing can help improve operational efficiency while providing resources with enough bandwidth to work on high-value projects. Furthermore, the tools capture valuable insights for generating hyper personalized marketing campaigns. This would eventually improve conversion rates.
9 Popular Marketing Automation Tools for Ecommerce Businesses
Marketing automation for agencies and ecommerce businesses elevates the marketing stack and generates profitable outcomes. With the power of automation, a major part of repetitive marketing deliverables is streamlined and accelerated to allow your business to dominate the competition repeatedly.
The automation tech stack is endless, covering an entire range of services and options to choose from.
Below is a complete marketing automation tools list crucial for ecommerce businesses need to succeed:
1. Email Marketing Automation
Email automation is a powerful marketing tool for sharing targeted messages to subscribers based on events and triggers like specific customer actions. Owners can automate sales communication with clients and push notifications or share chatbot messages for better performance by leveraging appropriate email automation tools.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | Can be complex for beginners, Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 2 | Avada | 1. Affordable 2. Easy to use | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Customer support could be better | Free plan, Pro Plan starts at $16/month, Advanced plan covers 2500 contacts for a rate of $47/month | Ecommerce, POD |
| 3 | Brevo (Sendinblue) | 1. Good SMS marketing feature 2. Free tier available 3. Unlimited contacts | 1. Limited design options 2. Some features only available on higher-tier plans 3. Pricier plans | Customized plans covering unlimited contacts. Free plan with limited features. Pro Plan ranges from $1575-$4075/month | Marketing, Ecommerce, Agencies, SaaS, Digital Banking and Others |
| 4 | Drip | 1. Excellent email automation features 2. Good integration options 3. Cost-effective solution | 1. User-unfriendly, especially for beginners 2. Slow and average customer support 3. Limited lead capture and popup editing features 4. Technical glitches | 14-days free trial plan, Pro plan starts from $39/month for 2500 contacts | Ecommerce |
| 5 | GetResponse | 1. Easy to use 2. Good for small businesses | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Pricey plans 3. Poor customer support 4. No live chat support 5. Unsatisfactory UI | Free plan with limited accounts and features. Pro Plan starts from $13/month for 1000 contacts | Ecommerce, Marketing, SMEs and Large Enterprises |
| 6 | Klaviyo | 1. High level of customization 2. Advanced segmentation 3. Excellent for Ecommerce | 1. Challenging for beginners 2. Pricey for extended email contacts 3. Slow customer support 4. Technical glitches 5. Average UI | Free plan for limited accounts of 250, Pro Plan starts from $20/month | Ecommerce and Retail |
| 7 | Listrak | 1. Advanced segmentation 2. Personalizes customer journeys 3. Unique features 4. Offers instructional knowledge-base 5. Comprehensive help center and 24/7 tech support | 1. Non-user-friendly for beginners 2. Not upfront with pricing 3. No free version available 4. Considered expensive | Customized plans. No free plans. | Ecommerce, Retail Marketers, and Other Enterprises |
| 8 | Mailchimp | 1. Easy to use 2. Better AI recommendations 3. Good for small businesses 4. Decent reporting tools | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Limited flexibility in design and templates 3. Daily email recipient list limit 4. Pricing increases for larger lists | Free plan. Pro plan starts from $9.34/month | Ecommerce and Other Enterprises |
| 9 | Omnisend | 1. Easy to use 2. Great for eCommerce 3. Extensive range of features and design templates 4. Great value for money | 1. Challenging for beginners 2. Difficult to set-up 3. Complex UI 4. Limited flexibility with templates 5. Slow tech support 6. Marginally expensive | Free plan covering 250 contacts. Pro plan starts from $16/month supporting 500 contacts | Ecommerce |
| 10 | Ortto | 1. Affordable 2. Suitable for small businesses 3. Easy to use 4. Incredible customer service | 1. Limited features 2. Somewhat expensive 3. Basic email editing suite 4. Limited connectivity to other apps 5. No free trials and plans 6. Expensive plans | Customized plans starting from $99/month | Nonfarm Payrolls, Ecommerce, Startups, and Other Enterprises |
2. Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management is the cornerstone of every marketing aspect for ecommerce businesses and other B2B/B2C enterprises. A tech-enabled system can help improve business relationships, allowing owners to stay closely connected with current and future customers. CRM can easily streamline operations and inside processes while enhancing business profitability. business profitability. With the power of automation, the mundane long-haul tasks within the system can be easily scaled up to simplify complex tasks, generate more leads, and boost conversions.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sendinblue | 1. Good SMS marketing feature 2. Free tier available | 1. Limited design options 2. Some features only available in advanced plans | Free plan available. Pro plan starts from $15/month | SMBs, Startups, Agencies, Ecommerce, Enterprises |
| 2 | Zoho | 1. Complete suite of business applications 2. Affordable pricing 3. Support multiple integration 4. Accessible on mobile 5. Refund guaranteed | 1. Heavy and outdated interface 2. Customer service could be better 3. No integrations for free plan 4. Limited custom fields | 30-day free trial. Standard plan starts from $9.75/month | Automotive CRM, Large and Small Enterprises, Retail, Real Estate, Insurance, Life Science, Financial Services, Startups, Non-Profit |
| 3 | EngageBay | 1. Responsive customer support 2. Affordable, with a range of helpful features 3. Ease of use and integration with legacy/other platforms 4. Cost-effective all-in-one software solution | 1. Slow interface 2. Limited advanced features 3. Auto-save option not available 4. User interface is heavy and clunky 5. Lesser international payment options | Free plan, Pro plan starts at $11.04/month, All-in-One plan available at $12.74/month | B2B and B2C Startups, IT Services and Consulting, Marketing and Advertising |
| 4 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6.Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consuting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 5 | Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) | 1. Great for small businesses 2. Top-notch customer support | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Additional monthly charges for add-on integrations 3. Contact-based pricing 4. A steep learning curve for beginners 5. Frequent updates required constant training | Free trial available. Pro plan starts at $199/month for 1500 contacts | Small and Large Enterprises, Ecommerce, Startups |
| 6 | Marketo (Adobe Marketo Engage) | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to integrate with existing platforms and software tools | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Expensive tools and features 3. Outdated and complex UI 4. Difficult to customize embedded templates 5. Slow technical and customer support | Price on request | B2B Marketing, Supply Chain, IT Services, NGOs, Consumer Goods, and Others |
| 7 | Ontraport | 1. Highly customizable 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to use | 1. Interface is not intuitive 2. Expensive plan 3. Technical glitches 4. Auto-save option unavailable | 14-Days free trial plan, Basic plan starts at $24/month and Pro plan starts at $124/month | Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Small Businesses, Ecommerce, and Others |
| 8 | Pardot by Salesforce | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Convenient integration | 1. Pricey software 2. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration 3. Lacks standalone mobile apps 4. No free plan | Default plan – $1,250 USD/company/month. Discounts available for Non-Profits | Non-Profit Organizations, Manufacturing, Healthcare, ONGC, Transportation, Insurance, Retail, Construction, and Others |
| 9 | Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement | 1. Extensive features 2. Reliable customer support 3. Easy to set-up 4. Integration with 1000+ other platforms 5. Flexibility for customization 6. Good value for the price | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Pricey compared to others 3. No free plan | Free 30-Days trial available. Basic plan starts from $25/user/month | IT, Sales and Marketing, Ecommerce, Small and Large Enterprises, |
| 10 | Thryv | 1. Comprehensive small business solution 2. Easy to use 3. Free trial and freemium version available 4. No set-up fee 5. Stellar customer service | 1. Limited customization 2. Pricing is not transparent | Pricing avaliable on request | Small and Large Business, Constructio, Accounting and Insurance, Cosnumer Services, Marketing and Advertising |
3. Social Media Marketing Automation
Social media marketing has emerged as an important tool to drive website engagement, but it sure does occupy a big chunk of time and efforts of in-house resources. Social media marketing automation can easily do the heavy lifting on behalf of your resources and handle scheduling and publishing content across multiple channels and generating automated responses. Furthermore, this would enable ecommerce business owners to easily track website visitors via social media accounts.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mailchimp | 1. Easy to use 2. Better AI recommendations 3. Good for small businesses 4. Decent reporting tools | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Limited flexibility in design and templates 3. Daily email recipient list limit 4. Pricing increases for larger lists | Free plan available, Standard plan starts from $3.51/month | Ecommerce and Other Enterprises |
| 2 | Sprout Social | 1. Comprehensive and intuitive tool 2. Robust posting options 3. Comprehensive features and reporting 4. Strong social CRM and Help Desk features | 1. Poor customer support services 2. Limited number of social networks 3. Comparatively pricey 4. Limited social listening and keyword monitoring options 5. Adding multiple users increases the software price | Free 30-days trial, Pro plan starts from $249/month | Small and Medium Businesses, Enterprises and Agencies, Retail, Travel and Hospitality, IT and Education |
| 3 | Social Pilot | 1. Numerous customizable post templates 2. Good value for money 3. Regular updates for new features 4. Easy to schedule and reshare multiple posts simultaneously | 1. No automatic posts queue alert 2. Inconsistent reporting 3. Limited attempts for recycle posts 4. Third-party integration is limited | Free 14-days trial, Pro plan starts from $50/month | Real Estate, Ecommerce, App Developers, Marketing, and Others |
| 4 | Hootsuite | 1. Frequent updates based on customer feedback 2. Great customer support | 1. Onboarding training could be better 2. The free version is slighly disappointing | Basic plan starts from $23.32/month. Free 30-days trial available | Government, Education, Healthcare, Real Estate, Financial Services |
| 5 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6. Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consuting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 6 | Social Bee | 1. Integrated with all major social platforms 2. Comparatively affordable 3. Excellent reporting and analytics features 4. Easy to generate content for all social media accounts with a click 5. Unique content categories available 6. Incredible customer support 7. All-inclusive and user-friendly dashboard design | 1. User interface could have been better 2. Technical glicthes 3. Slow and average UX 4. Could be a steep learning curve for beginners | Free 14-days trial, Pro plan starts from $29/month | Solopreneurs, Small Businesses, Agencies, Real Estate, Non-Profits, Education |
| 7 | CoSchedule | 1. Good for scheduling posts 2. Robust and feature-rich tech suite | 1. Expensive package, with most advanced features available for a price 2. Non-intuitive software 3. Limited customization options 4. Technical glitches 5. User-friendly software design 6. Steep learning curve | Free plan supporting two profiles available, Basic plan starts from $29/ month for every user | Marketing |
| 8 | Zoho Social | 1. Extremely valuable reporting and analytic features 2. Stellar customer support | 1. Less-friendly customer service 2. Difficult to customize posts and templates | Free 15-days trial, Standard plan starts from $7.32/month (businesses) and $168.41/month | Large Enterprises and Agencies |
| 9 | BuzzSumo | 1. Intuitive interface 2. All-inclusive and feature-packed dashboard | 1. Expensive platform solution 2. Unaffordable for small businesses | Free 30-days trial, Basic plan starts from $119/month for 1 user | Marketing, IT, Hospitality, Media, and Other |
| 10 | SocialFlow | 1. Easy to manage multiple accounts 2. Great reporting and analytics features 3. Easy to use software | 1. Clunky interface 2. The platform dashboard is overwhelming 3. Twitter metadata unavailable for viewing 4. Non-supportive of recycling posts from Facebook 5. Basic templates and designs | Pricing avaliable upon request | Brands and Publishers |
4. Lead Management Automation
Lead generation using Automation, AI, and the combined capability of inbound and outbound marketing solutions can source qualified leads without manual intervention. Automation and related tech stack can easily set up relevant triggers for every customer action based on pre-defined lead qualification criteria and prompt owners for every prospective visit or asset download. This allows marketers to quickly nurture leads and convert them without letting go of any potential buyer.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 2 | Pipedrive | 1. Affordable and easy to use 2. Comprehensive reports and analytics 3. Simple and intuitive UI | 1. Limited brand-specific customizable features 2. Challenging for new beginners for its steep learning curve 3. Customer support could have been better | 14-days free trial, with complete access of all key features available. Pro plan starts from $14.90 | SaaS, Marketing and Sales, Customer Relations, and Others |
| 3 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6. Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consulting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 4 | Salesforce | 1. Extensive features 2. Reliable customer support 3. Easy to set-up 4. Integration with 1000+ other platforms 5. Flexibility for customization 6. Good value for the price | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Pricey compared to others 3. No free plan | Free 30-Days trial available. Basic plan starts from $25/user/month | IT, Sales and Marketing, Ecommerce, Small and Large Enterprises, |
| 5 | Mailchimp | 1. Easy to use 2. Better AI recommendations 3. Good for small businesses 4. Decent reporting tools | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Limited flexibility in design and templates 3. Daily email recipient list limit 4. Pricing increases for larger lists | Free plan available, Standard plan starts from $3.51/month | Ecommerce and Other Enterprises |
| 6 | LeadSquared | 1. Lead management is easy and user-friendly 2. Easy to map sales performance 3. Smart views of all leads and their details | 1. Slow customer response and support 2. Integration is difficult 3. Technical glitches and bugs 4. Limited reporting capabilities | Basic plan starts from $15.22/month per user | Healthcare, Education, Financial Services, Agriculture, Real Estate, Travel, Manufacturing, and Others |
| 7 | Freshsales | 1. They offer a forever free plan 2. Various automations available 3. They offer both web and mobile versions 4. User-friendly and highly intuitive interface | 1. Mobile version could have been better 2. Slow customer care support 3. Support is available only during weekdays | Free plan available. Basic plan starts at $15/month | Small Business, SaaS Business, Real Estate, Hospitality, Ecommerce |
| 8 | Zendesk | 1. Free trial available 2. Less pricey compared to other tools 3. Flexible customization | 1. Reports and analytics need improvement 2. Poor customer support 3. Complex and time-intensive initial setup 4. Slow platform | Free trial available. Basic plan starts from $19/month | Financial Services, Education, Energy, Government, and Others |
| 9 | Insightly | 1. Robust security features 2. The platform is fast and user-friendly | 1. Limited customization possibilities 2. Plans are pricey compared to other options 3. Free plan is extremely limited | Prices vary depending upon your choice of services. Basic plan ranges between $29-$349 | IT, HR, Operations, Sales and Marketing, Finance and Accounting |
| 10 | Act-On | 1. Responsive customer support 2. Great tracking and reporting features 3. Robust set of automation tools | 1. Pricey software 2. No free trial or freemium options available 3. Manual elimination of unused contacts 4. Additional licenses are expensive | Basic plan starts from $900/month | Financial Services and Advisors, SaaS, Insurance, Banking and Credit, Manufacturing, B2B Services, and Others |
5. Sales Automation
Like every other automation tool, sales automation scales up repetitive tasks while building simple and profitable customer journeys. As an integral part of CRM, lead generation, and email marketing software tech, sales automation tools eliminate any form of human intervention and allow the sales team to focus more on closing sales instead. Your team can easily accelerate the sales pipeline and find more conversions with automated follow-ups and prompt, data-driven lead closures.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pipedrive | 1. Affordable and easy to use 2. Comprehensive reports and analytics 3. Simple and intuitive UI | 1. Limited brand-specific customizable features 2. Challenging for new beginners for its steep learning curve 3. Customer support could have been better | 14-days free trial, with complete access of all key features available. Pro plan starts from $14.90 | SaaS, Marketing and Sales, Customer Relations, and Others |
| 2 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6. Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consulting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 3 | Mailchimp | 1. Easy to use 2. Better AI recommendations 3. Good for small businesses 4. Decent reporting tools | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Limited flexibility in design and templates 3. Daily email recipient list limit 4. Pricing increases for larger lists | Free plan available, Standard plan starts from $3.51/month | Ecommerce and Other Enterprises |
| 4 | Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) | 1. Great for small businesses 2. Top-notch customer support | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Additional monthly charges for add-on integrations 3. Contact-based pricing 4. A steep learning curve for beginners 5. Frequent updates required constant training | Free trial available. Pro plan starts at $199/month for 1500 contacts | Small and Large Enterprises, Ecommerce, Startups |
| 5 | Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement | 1. Extensive features 2. Reliable customer support 3. Easy to set-up 4. Integration with 1000+ other platforms 5. Flexibility for customization 6. Good value for the price | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Pricey compared to others 3. No free plan | Free 30-Days trial available. Basic plan starts from $25/user/month | IT, Sales and Marketing, Ecommerce, Small and Large Enterprises, |
| 6 | Omnisend | 1. Easy to use 2. Great for eCommerce 3. Extensive range of features and design templates 4. Great value for money | 1. Challenging for beginners 2. Difficult to set-up 3. Complex UI 4. Limited flexibility with templates 5. Slow tech support 6. Marginally expensive | Free plan covering 250 contacts. Pro plan starts from $16/month supporting 500 contacts | Ecommerces |
| 7 | Salesloft | 1. User-friendly, feature-packed solution 2. Good reporting and analytics | 1. Poor customer service 2. No freemium/free trial options available 3. A few third-party integrations are not helpful 4. Not suitable for B2C models | Pricing available on request. Pro plan starts approximately at $125/month per user | Sales and Marketing, Computer Software, IT, Internet, Financial Services and Others |
| 8 | Zapier | 1. User-friendly interface 2. Easy to use 3. Cost-effective solution | 1. Slow software loading speed 2. Difficult to modify workflows 3. Limited editing capability 4. More tasks could be added per subscription | Free plan available. Pro plan starts from $20.42/month – billed annually | Marketing, Business Owners, IT, Sales Operations |
| 9 | GetResponse | 1. Easy to use 2. Good for small businesses | 1. Limited advanced features 2. Pricey plans 3. Poor customer support 4. No live chat support 5. Unsatisfactory UI | Free plan with limited accounts and features. Pro Plan starts from $13/month for 1000 contacts | Ecommerce, Marketing, SMEs and Large Enterprises |
6. Content Marketing Automation
Content marketing processes are time-intensive and recurring, with high chances of human errors reducing the outcome efficiency. However, content automation tools can easily optimize the entire workflow, from content creation to distribution and management of digital content, without too much human involvement. This improves the content production process and helps improve website traffic.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6.Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consuting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 2 | Keap | 1. Easy to use 2. Intuitive and clean UI | 1. Pricey than some alternatives 2. Difficult to retrieve unsaved data 3. Non-cooperative customer support team | Basic plan starts from $159/month for 1500 contacts | Small Businesses, Sales and Marketing |
| 3 | Marketo | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to integrate with existing platforms and software tools | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Expensive tools and features 3. Outdated and complex UI 4. Difficult to customize embedded templates 5. Slow technical and customer support | Price on request | B2B Marketing, Supply Chain, IT Services, NGOs, Consumer Goods, and Others |
| 4 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 5 | Act-On | 1. Responsive customer support 2. Great tracking and reporting features 3. Robust set of automation tools | 1. Pricey software 2. No free trial or freemium options available 3. Manual elimination of unused contacts 4. Additional licenses are expensive | Basic plan starts from $900/month | Financial Services and Advisors, SaaS, Insurance, Banking and Credit, Manufacturing, B2B Services, and Others |
| 6 | Pardot | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Convenient integration | 1. Pricey software 2. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration 3. Lacks standalone mobile apps 4. No free plan | Default plan – $1,250 USD/company/month. Discounts available for Non-Profits | Non-Profit Organizations, Manufacturing, Healthcare, ONGC, Transportation, Insurance, Retail, Construction, and Others |
| 7 | Omnisend | 1. Easy to use 2. Great for eCommerce 3. Extensive range of features and design templates 4. Great value for money | 1. Challenging for beginners 2. Difficult to set-up 3. Complex UI 4. Limited flexibility with templates 5. Slow tech support 6. Marginally expensive | Free plan covering 250 contacts. Pro plan starts from $16/month supporting 500 contacts | Ecommerce |
| 8 | Ontraport | 1. Highly customizable 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to use | 1. Interface is not intuitive 2. Expensive plan 3. Technical glitches 4. Auto-save option unavailable | 14-Days free trial plan, Basic plan starts at $24/month and Pro plan starts at $124/month | Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Small Businesses, Ecommerce, and Others |
| 9 | Hootsuite | 1. Frequent updates based on customer feedback 2. Great customer support | 1. Onboarding training could be better 2. The free version is slighly disappointing | Basic plan starts from $23.32/month. Free 30-days trial available | Government, Education, Healthcare, Real Estate, Financial Services |
| 10 | SEMrush | 1. The convenience of accessing hordes of features 2. Quality of content generated 3. Provides an extensive suite of services | 1. Pricer subscriptions | Pro plan starts at $119.95/month. Customized plans available | Ecommerce, Agencies, and Others |
7. Growth Automation
Growth management strategy leverages the best of modern marketing techniques and advanced technology like AI and Automation, enabling businesses to engage customers directly with relevant messaging and conversion tactics. By combining hyper-personalized offers, omnichannel engagements, and lifecycle marketing programs, businesses can increase customers’ lifetime value and drive repeat purchases.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Insider | 1. Personalized marketing 2. Strong mobile focus 3. Highly scalable and efficient platform | 1. Interface can be confusing 2. On the expensive side 3. Free trial available 4. Not transparent about pricing | Free trial, Price shared on request | Retail, Automotive, Finance, Media, Travel, Telecom |
| 2 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 3 | Zapier | 1. User-friendly interface 2. Easy to use 3. Cost-effective solution | 1. Slow software loading speed 2. Difficult to modify workflows 3. Limited editing capability 4. More tasks could be added per subscription | Free plan available. Pro plan starts from $20.42/month – billed annually | Marketing, Business Owners, IT, Sales Operations |
| 4 | Hootsuite | 1. Frequent updates based on customer feedback 2. Great customer support | 1. Onboarding training could be better 2. The free version is slighly disappointing | Basic plan starts from $23.32/month. Free 30-days trial available | Government, Education, Healthcare, Real Estate, Financial Services |
| 5 | Pardot | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Convenient integration | 1. Pricey software 2. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration 3. Lacks standalone mobile apps 4. No free plan | Default plan – $1,250 USD/company/month. Discounts available for Non-Profits | Non-Profit Organizations, Manufacturing, Healthcare, ONGC, Transportation, Insurance, Retail, Construction, and Others |
| 6 | Ontraport | 1. Highly customizable 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to use | 1. Interface is not intuitive 2. Expensive plan 3. Technical glitches 4. Auto-save option unavailable | 14-Days free trial plan, Basic plan starts at $24/month and Pro plan starts at $124/month | Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Small Businesses, Ecommerce, and Others |
| 7 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6. Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consulting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 8 | Unbounce | 1. Easy to use intuitive platform 2. Easy to integrate with other tools 3. A powerful and feature-packed platform 4. Delivers good value for money | 1. Poor customer service 2. Basic design templates 3. Heavy and slow performing interface | Basic price starts from $99/month | Ecommerce, SaaS, Agencies, Small Businesses, B2B Marketing, professional Services |
| 9 | Constant Contact | 1. Free tier available 2. Good SMS marketing feature | 1. Limited design options 2. Some features only available in expensive plans | Starts at $12/month | Ecommerce |
| 10 | LeadSquared | 1. Best tool for marketing and growth management 2. Excellent set of features 3. Frequent updates for new features | 1. Slow customer response and support 2. Integration is difficult 3. Technical glitches and bugs 4. Limited reporting capabilities | Basic plan starts from $304.49/month per user | Healthcare, Education, Financial Services, Agriculture, Real Estate, Travel, Manufacturing, and Others |
8. Omnichannel Automation
Omni-channel marketing crafts a unified brand experience across several channels. By automating omnichannel marketing processes, strategies can be segmented and tailored to target individuals; also, defining when to deploy what kind of content so you don’t bombard your customer. Additionally, each channel has its unique message while observing the brand’s core strategy.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 2 | Marketo | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to integrate with existing platforms and software tools | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Expensive tools and features 3. Outdated and complex UI 4. Difficult to customize embedded templates 5. Slow technical and customer support | Price on request | B2B Marketing, Supply Chain, IT Services, NGOs, Consumer Goods, and Others |
| 3 | HubSpot | 1. Easy to use 2. Excellent customer support 3. Regular updates and frequent introduction of new tools | 1. Pricey compared to other tools 2. Limited advanced features 3. Complex UI for beginners 4. Non-flexible and less customizable features 5. Integration requires third-party tools/tech expert support 6. Unbreakable contract | No free plan available, Pro plan starts at $800/month for businesses and enterprises, Pro plan for individuals and small teams start at $30/month | Marketing Agencies, Financial Services, Software and Consuting, Communications, Events, and Others |
| 4 | Keap | 1. Easy to use 2. Intuitive and clean UI | 1. Pricey than some alternatives 2. Difficult to retrieve unsaved data 3. Non-cooperative customer support team | Basic plan starts from $159/month for 1500 contacts | Small Businesses, Sales and Marketing |
| 5 | Pardot | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Convenient integration | 1. Pricey software 2. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration 3. Lacks standalone mobile apps 4. No free plan | Default plan – $1,250 USD/company/month. Discounts available for Non-Profits | Non-Profit Organizations, Manufacturing, Healthcare, ONGC, Transportation, Insurance, Retail, Construction, and Others |
| 6 | Ontraport | 1. Highly customizable 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to use | 1. Interface is not intuitive 2. Expensive plan 3. Technical glitches 4. Auto-save option unavailable | 14-Days free trial plan, Basic plan starts at $24/month and Pro plan starts at $124/month | Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Small Businesses, Ecommerce, and Others |
| 7 | Constant Contact | 1. Free tier available 2. Good SMS marketing feature | 1. Limited design options 2. Some features only available in expensive plans | Starts at $12/month | Ecommerce |
| 8 | Sendinblue | 1. Good SMS marketing feature 2. Free tier available | 1. Limited design options 2. Some features only available in advanced plans | Free plan available. Pro plan starts from $15/month | SMBs, Startups, Agencies, Ecommerce, Enterprises |
| 9 | Braze | 1. Great for mobile app engagement 2. Good customer support | 1. Lacks standalone mobile apps | Pricing available on request | Retail, Ecommerce, Health and Wellness, Financial Services, Media and Entertainment, Travel and Hospitality |
| 10 | Dot digital | 1. Extensive features 2. Good integration options | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Expensive | Pricing available on request | Ecommerce, Retail, Travel, B2B, Finance, Education, Non-Profit, and Others |
9. Mobile Marketing Automation
Mobile marketing automation uses smart tools to execute, monitor, and automate multichannel marketing strategies. It enables marketers to create sophisticated campaigns while garnering millions of customers with relevant and personalized experience.
| Sl. No. | Tool | Pros | Cons | Price | Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CleverTap | 1. Excellent for mobile marketing 2. Real-time user insights 3. Intuitive design and user-friendly interface | 1. Interface can be confusing 2. Customer support could be better | Free trial available. Customized plans as per requests | Financial Services, IT, and Others |
| 2 | Active Campaign | 1. Great automation features 2. Good customer support 3. Customized software solution, with unique pricing for 3/5/10 users | 1. Can be complex for beginners 2. Pricier than some alternatives | Free plan, Pro Plan ranges from $49 – $149/month | Marketing, Sales, Ecommerce, and Agencies |
| 3 | Keap | 1. Easy to use 2. Intuitive and clean UI | 1. Pricey than some alternatives 2. Difficult to retrieve unsaved data 3. Non-cooperative customer support team | Basic plan starts from $159/month for 1500 contacts | Small Businesses, Sales and Marketing |
| 4 | Marketo | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Easy to integrate with existing platforms and software tools | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Expensive tools and features 3. Outdated and complex UI 4. Difficult to customize embedded templates 5. Slow technical and customer support | Price on request | B2B Marketing, Supply Chain, IT Services, NGOs, Consumer Goods, and Others |
| 5 | AppsFlyer | 1. User-friendly interface 2. Excellent reporting and analytics feature 3. Prompt and helpful customer support | 1. Advanced features are available for a higher package 2. Download option unavailable for over 90 days old reports 3. Not very scalable in terms of use cases | Free plan available. Advanced plans are customized as per client requirements | Shopping, Gaming, Finance, Food and Drink, Entertainment, Health, Fitness, Travel, Agencies, and Others |
| 6 | Salesforce | 1. Extensive features 2. Reliable customer support 3. Easy to set-up 4. Integration with 1000+ other platforms 5. Flexibility for customization 6. Good value for the price | 1. Complex for beginners 2. Pricey compared to others 3. No free plan | Free 30-Days trial available. Basic plan starts from $25/user/month | IT, Sales and Marketing, Ecommerce, Small and Large Enterprises, |
| 7 | Pardot | 1. Extensive features 2. Good customer support 3. Convenient integration | 1. Pricey software 2. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration 3. Lacks standalone mobile apps 4. No free plan | Default plan – $1,250 USD/company/month. Discounts available for Non-Profits | Non-Profit Organizations, Manufacturing, Healthcare, ONGC, Transportation, Insurance, Retail, Construction, and Others |
| 8 | Leanplum (CleverTap) | 1. Leanplum has been acquired by CleverTap 2. It offers free trial for new users 3. The platform is feature-packed and versatile 4. Exceptional customer support 5. Ease of use | 1. Requires Salesforce apps for convenient integration | Price available on request | Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises |
| 9 | Braze | 1. Great for mobile app engagement 2. Good customer support | 1. Lacks standalone mobile apps | Pricing available on request | Retail, Ecommerce, Health and Wellness, Financial Services, Media and Entertainment, Travel and Hospitality |
| 10 | Eloqua | 1. Strong services expertise 2. Provides a centralized customer information repository 3. Best suited for any type of business | 1. No free plan | Basic plan starts from $2000/month | All Industries |
The Future of Marketing – Marketing Automation or Account-Based Marketing?
It is easier to get caught in the crossfire between marketing automation and account-based marketing. However, some experts and analysts believe that the future of marketing lies in the unique combination of account-based marketing (ABM) and marketing automation. And this customer engagement strategy has recently attracted momentum across industries. This rare success formula can put business sales on steroids.
Here’s a brief overview of some significant benefits:
- Add precision to marketing tactics
- Deliver a much higher ROI
- Focus on client retention more
- Prioritize high-intent accounts for remarketing
- Streamline and accelerate marketing efforts
- Generate hyper personalized campaigns
Get Started with Marketing Automation Today!
When it comes to choosing the ideal marketing automation software, the market is spoiled for choices. But which platform best pairs with your ecommerce business depends largely on your marketing objectives, budget, and technical expertise. However, the entire selection would be a trade-off – be it a budget-friendly platform or a software system offering limitless features at a higher rate.
The list mentioned above, however, will provide you with a good place to start. Contact Now
Satish Kumar
Author
Accelerating tech-focused firms, including AI, Automation, IT & SaaS, from MVP to market dominance through SEO & Performance Marketing.
