Marketing automation tools have become essential for businesses aiming to streamline their marketing efforts and boost efficiency. With around 56% of companies already leveraging these technologies, the demand for effective automation solutions is on the rise. However, navigating the myriad of options available can be overwhelming, especially when each platform offers unique features tailored to different needs. In this article, we’ll guide you through the top marketing automation platforms, helping you find the right fit for your team and objectives.
A majority of businesses use marketing automation tools nowadays — in fact, studies cite around 56% of businesses currently use the technology, and that number continues to grow.
While marketing automation software can help companies increase efficiency by streamlining their workflows, there are so many options to choose from, full of different solutions with various features and use cases.
We’ll help you cut through the noise to find the top marketing automation platforms, highlighting what they do and how they can help your team.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What are marketing automation tools?
- How I Tested the Best Marketing Automation Software
- The Best Marketing Automation Tools
- How to Choose the Best Marketing Automation Software
What are marketing automation tools?
Marketing automation tools use software to automate repetitive marketing tasks.
Some platforms only offer email actions, drip sequences, and CRM updates. Others may help with lead scoring, sales lead rotation, SMS, and more.
Automating your marketing tasks can benefit your business by increasing overall efficiency and allowing you more time to work on high-level projects.
For example, you can use marketing automation tools to collect valuable data that can be used to create more personalized marketing campaigns and increase conversion rates.
1. HubSpot Marketing Automation
HubSpot’s marketing automation functionality is one of the most powerful tools on this list in terms of features. According to the G2 Grid for Marketing Automation, it’s also one of the most popular in terms of customer sentiment.
Of course, HubSpot has a full growth suite that includes sales software, marketing software, and support software, which all integrate automatically with HubSpot’s CRM.
In my opinion, the combined effect of having all of your data and growth activity in one place can unleash tons of creative automation possibilities that would be difficult or impossible if you used separate tools.
As a standalone, HubSpot‘s marketing automation functionality includes an easy-to-use visual board where you can craft simple or highly sophisticated conditional workflows.
I’ve found it can take time to master the tool (you’ll scale up more quickly with the help of HubSpot Academy), but once you get a grasp on it, the creative possibilities are endless.
You can set up simple email list autoresponders or build a smart and complex network of rules designed to target specific users with the exact right email, live chat, website experience, and more.
Basically, HubSpot’s automation tools go far beyond email, so you can scale your growth and spend less time on repetitive tasks.
Price: HubSpot’s email and form marketing automation tools are free. Paid versions of Marketing Hub, which start at $15 per user/month, offer increased access and features.
2. Sender
Sender is a top email and SMS automation tool that is affordable for small and growing businesses. It has everything you need for successful campaigns, from a simple drag-and-drop email builder to in-depth analytics and a heatmap.
I like Sender because you can grow your email list with high-converting pop-ups, customize pre-made email templates, and employ an email design builder to create high-converting emails.
Once your email is ready, you can create automated workflows without a hassle and send the right message to the right audience using smart segmentation.
When I tested Sender, I appreciated that I could get started right away for free. Setting up my first workflow (as shown above) was also very easy and included pop-ups that guided me through the process.
Price: Sender has a Free Forever plan that offers many premium features for up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month. Paid plans start around $15 per month.
Best for: With its emphasis on email and SMS automation, Sender is best for ecommerce brands.
3. ManyChat
Marketing automation isn’t just about email. Imagine automating some of the most repetitive conversations you have with customers on other platforms.
ManyChat functions as a chatbot that can do just that on Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct Messages, WhatsApp, and SMS.
I think ManyChat is great because you can build a bot in minutes with its templates and easy-to-use interface. Plus, the information you learn about your users can be synced to your CRM and other tools.
Price: ManyChat offers a free monthly plan that allows engagement with up to 1,000 contacts via Instagram Direct Messages, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Additional access and features are available through ManyChat’s paid plans, which start at $15 per month.
What I like: I’m a big fan of using templates to save time and brain power. With ManyChat, you can use one of their many templates or its AI assistant to generate automated messages.
4. MailModo
Mailmodo is a one-step email marketing solution platform. It allows you to create and send AMP-powered interactive emails without coding.
I like that you can use their drag-and-drop template editor to build email templates with interactive widgets that give your emails app-like functionality.
If you don’t want to build one from scratch, you can choose one from their template library, which contains templates for various use cases.
Mailmodo also has a visual customer journey editor that follows the same drag-and-drop concept, making setting up email automations a breeze.
For example, you can set up automations that send an email after a fixed interval or by condition, like when a customer opens an email, clicks on a link, or submits a response.
These workflows are easy to set up and highly customizable to your needs.
Mailmodo’s other features allow you to segment your subscribers dynamically, set up send time optimization to send emails at the most optimal time, test different versions of the same email before sending, and view the performance of your email campaigns in a dashboard.
Mailmodo also offers AI-powered features, such as its AI subject line generator, AI content generator, and an AI template creator.
Price: Mailmodo has three pricing plans: Lite ($39/month), Pro ($79/month), and Max ($159/month). Each plan allows you to send emails to 2,500 contacts, with monthly send limits that increase with each plan tier.
What I like: Free trials were one of the features I looked for when testing these marketing automation platforms, so I was excited to see that Mailmodo offers a free 21-day trial period
5. SureTriggers
SureTriggers is an automation tool that optimizes workflows and simplifies business procedures.
The plugin assists in the automation of repetitive processes, the reduction of manual mistakes, and the enhancement of productivity on your WordPress website.
I think its ability to integrate with other CRM and marketing tools makes it simple to automate numerous processes and boost productivity.
SureTriggers is a useful solution for companies of all sizes wanting to optimize their marketing automation efforts since it includes features like custom workflows, automation triggers, and reporting.
It also offers an effective and user-friendly solution for automating repetitive operations like lead management, customer service, and email marketing in the field of marketing automation.
By automating these processes, users may save operating expenses, enhance lead generation, and boost customer interaction, all of which contribute to better marketing results.
Price: SureTriggers offers a free forever plan for one WordPress website. Paid plans start at $9 per month.
Best for: SureTriggers is designed for WordPress websites, making it a niche solution for the WordPress network of plugins and tools.
6. LeadSquared
LeadSquared is a one-stop solution for sales execution and marketing automation.
You can capture leads across various campaigns and sources, track their activity, and even segment them based on demographics for a targeted approach to marketing.
The omnichannel platform helps you touch base with leads over email, WhatsApp, SMS, social media, self-serve portals, and more.
Once you plan to scale your marketing efforts, you can set up automated and trigger-based workflows to ensure consistent outreach across platforms.
LeadSquared also allows you to set up dashboards and in-depth, real-time reports for insights into campaign performance.
Price: The marketing automation suite is available in four tiers:
- Essential for $150.
- Basic for $400.
- Standard $1,200.
- Enterprise for $2,500.
What I like: The best part about the emails and landing pages on LeadSquared is that they require no code, which is convenient if you’re a less technical marketer like me. The pages can be completely customized with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
7. SendPulse
Having started out as an email marketing service, SendPulse gradually evolved into a full-scale marketing automation platform with a variety of channels to reach existing and potential customers.
Established brands and small businesses alike can build highly personalized message flows that combine emails, chatbots, and SMS notifications.
I found the visual chatbot builder itself to be very versatile as it allows users to create chatbots for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber. It also supports ChatGPT integration, which will make the chatbot even more human-like.
Price: SendPulse provides a monthly free plan. Paid plans start at $8 per month.
What I like: SendPulse is an all-in-one platform that even offers an online course builder. If you’ve considered monetizing your knowledge or using courses for lead generation, this platform could be a great option.
8. Moosend
Moosend is an email marketing automation platform that caters to various industries, including ecommerce, SaaS, and agencies.
The automation feature uses advanced website tracking and triggers that allow you to send the right email campaign to those in your contacts who are interested in a specific product or service.
For example, you can set up a cart abandonment series to target potential customers who left their shopping carts without making a purchase.
In my experience, collecting and managing customer data can come in handy as you can use it to craft product recommendation campaigns based on product views.
This data also allows you to create detailed reports of the campaign’s progress and the users’ activity so you can optimize the effectiveness of your promotional messages.
Price: Moosend offers a 30-day free trial, so you can try before you buy. After that, Pro plans start at $7 per month.
Best for: One of my favorite parts of testing Moosend was seeing its agency-side features. Moosend can act as a personal client management hub where you can work on multiple client projects from one place. Plus, it comes with customizations, making this a great option for agencies.
9. Bardeen.ai
Bardeen is an AI automation tool that optimizes workflows. With Bardeen.ai, automation is now as simple as texting a friend.
Bardeen helps streamline your workflow with AI, whether you need to keep your CRM clean and updated, personalize outreach campaigns, or synchronize data across various tools your internal team uses.
What I like best about Bardeen is that it’s a Chrome extension. This made it easy to get started and connect it with my existing workflow right away.
The ability to integrate with other CRMs like HubSpot and over 100 other integrations makes it easy to automate numerous processes and boost productivity.
Bardeen is a useful solution for companies of all sizes looking to optimize their marketing and sales automation efforts. Getting started is easy, with thousands of ready-to-use automation templates to choose from.
Price: Bardeen offers a free forever plan, while a Professional plan starts at $10 per month.
Pro tip: Bardeen is a Chrome extension, so you must be a Google Chrome user to take advantage of this workflow tool
10. Omnisend
Omnisend is an omnichannel marketing automation platform built for ecommerce. Offering powerful automation workflows, you can get started quickly with pre-built templates that keep online merchants in mind.
With Omnisend, you can add several channels within the same automation workflow: email, SMS, Facebook Messenger, push notifications, and more.
I like that Omnisend also uses a user-friendly visual builder and templates, which make creating workflows, forms, landing pages, pop-ups, and emails quick and easy.
Price: Omnisend offers a free plan with basic email marketing automation that is best suited for small businesses just starting out. Medium- to larger-sized businesses will most likely benefit from Omnisend’s paid plans, which start at $16 per month.
What I like: While I wasn’t able to see too many features available since I don’t have an ecommerce shop (most features required me to connect my shop before I could explore), I like Omnisend’s interface. It’s organized and easy to understand, which makes setting up workflows less intimidating.
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Original article posted on hubspot.com
