Marketing is a ton of work! You've got many campaigns to handle across many different channels, and each of those campaigns involves several tasks and subtasks. That's why marketing automation software was created in the first place. A solid marketing automation platform improves customer experience, enables your team to use their time better, improves data quality and decision-making, enhances lead generation and nurturing, and helps you make better use of your budget.
After thorough testing and drawing from my experience as a former full-stack marketer, I've narrowed it down to the 8 top winners for the best B2B marketing automation capabilities.
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The 8 Best Marketing Automation Tools
Best Enterprise Marketing Automation Software: HubSpot
Since both my former employer and my current one use HubSpot for marketing and sales, I've had the chance to test the tool in several situations. I must say, it truly stands out as a premium omnichannel marketing automation solution. What impressed me was how the Marketing Hub integrates so smoothly with HubSpot's CRM, CMS, customer service, and other offerings. Despite its extensive features, I’ve found it very easy to use. I also keep returning to Hubspot’s free marketing courses—they’re super practical and insightful.
Best for Customization Features: Customer.io
I’ve picked Customer.io for its adaptability and user-centric design. This tool’s customizable nature is incredible—you can use as much or as little code as you want to tailor your messages. My favorite feature has to be the custom object creator, which allows you to contextualize messages and personalize experiences based on how customers relate to a custom object. Amazing, isn’t it?
Best for Reliable First-Party Data Tracking: Ortto
When it comes to tracking and reporting on user activity, I think Ortto is among the best. Unlike universal tracking scripts, its first-party checkmate tracking can't be stopped by AdBlock, email servers, or browsers. For marketers, this means higher click-through rates and better deliverability! I've also found the support to be easy to reach.
Best Marketing Automation Software for SMBs: Omnisend
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve mentioned Omnisend when asked what the best marketing tool is for small businesses. This solution has a very attractive free plan. Plus, starting at just $16 a month for their paid plans, it feels like a steal, considering what you get. And I’m a big fan of its self-service—it boasts one of the best resource academies I’ve ever seen.
Free Marketing Tool with Built-In Appointment Scheduler: Brevo
For teams on a budget, Brevo is an affordable email marketing automation tool worth trying. It has a free plan, and for more advanced features, its pricing starts from just $8 a month. Feature-wise, I am particularly drawn to its customizable templates and appointment scheduling. They are straightforward, and I can imagine how appreciative marketers must feel as they no longer have to start every campaign from scratch or bounce between multiple platforms to arrange meetings.
Best Marketing Automation for eCommerce: Klaviyo
To me, Klaviyo is a no-brainer for eCommerce operations because it seamlessly integrates campaigns and workflows right into the user sales site. Not to mention, it’s intuitively simple to use. You can drag and drop to set things up basically everywhere, be it workflows, dashboards, or forms. I also like that I can start workflows in many different ways, from preventing lost sales to building customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases, and keeping customers updated on their order status.
Best Email Marketing Automation Software: Mailchimp
Most of my marketing buddies and I rely on Mailchimp almost every day. One apparent reason is its highly functional email marketing capabilities, even within the free plan. More so, I love how it scales with your business. Based on my experience and seeing the same with many startups, starting with Mailchimp’s free plan seems like a no-brainer. We all tend to stick around and upgrade to its reasonably priced paid plans as our email lists grow. Beyond email, Mailchimp can handle different types of content, such as websites and social media. This platform’s integration capability is also one of the best in the market.
Best for Multi-Lingual Capability: ActiveCampaign
When it comes to reaching a global audience, I think ActiveCampaign is a winner for the extensive library of multilingual workflow automation. The platform is one of the rare few I’ve tested that offers workflows in Portuguese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish besides English. On top of that, I came across multiple AI features in-app, from making email content to predicting the best time to send emails, and most of them worked well during my testing.
What Is a B2B Marketing Automation Platform?
Marketing automation software is a business tool specialized in automating repetitive marketing tasks to help businesses increase awareness, generate demand, and convert leads efficiently. Aspects where marketing automation platforms can help include creating and running omnichannel marketing campaigns and tracking and enhancing their effectiveness.
How to Choose Marketing Automation Software
When you're looking for a marketing automation platform, there are a few things you'll want to keep in mind:
1. Know Your Goals
Before sourcing vendors, take a step back and map out exactly what you hope to achieve with your about-to-onboard marketing automation tech. For example, a retailer focused on local sales within certain states in the U.S. might find ActiveCampaign's multi-lingual capability unnecessary, while a business aiming to enhance its email marketing efforts might consider giving Mailchimp a shot.
2. Easy-to-Use Interface
Marketing automation tools are supposed to make your life easier, not give you a headache. That’s why it’s worth it to always place a high emphasis on user-friendliness during your selection process. User-friendly can be pretty subjective, though. What I've learned from test-driving dozens of these tools (which I think you should try, too) is to look for one with a clean layout, comprehensive tutorials, and intuitive drag-and-drop features that even the least tech-savvy team member can navigate.
3. Integration Capabilities
You should jot down all the existing tools and platforms your business currently uses that your new marketing automation software needs to play nice with. Depending on your business, this could range from your CRM system to your e-commerce site, accounting software, and social media. I’ve been burned before by assuming a vendor would seamlessly integrate with one of my existing tools without extra charges. Now, I don’t leave it up to assumption. I ask upfront.
4. Multi-Channel Support
Starting with one marketing channel might seem sufficient until it’s not. Choosing a platform that supports multiple channels (think email, text, social media, web notifications) will help prepare you for scaling up and ensure you meet your customers wherever they hang out.
5. Scalability
The dilemma of switching vendors, because your current choice can't keep up with your growth, is so real and awful. My rule of thumb is to go for scalability from the get-go—a strategic move that will save you many future headaches.
6. Analytics and Reporting
One of the things I love most about marketing automation platforms is the power they give marketers to track, monitor, and change their marketing activities for good. If you want to be more data-driven in your digital marketing, this is the kind of feature you must look out for.
7. Customer Support and Training
You can't expect to get top-notch support if you're using free software. However, you can take some time to find out if their self-help support can still do you good. And for those on paid plans, you’d want to know whether the available support and training truly help you make the most of the platform—reaching out to (ex)customers can be a good source of information here.
