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5 Marketing Solutions to Remember

Written by Peter Devereaux | May 1, 2013 5:00:00 AM

Digital enterprises turn to business automation software for a variety of reasons, but increasing revenue and speeding up growth certainly top the list.

This is why marketing automation continues to grow at a very healthy pace (in both the B2B and B2C space). So what is it? Marketo, in its Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation defines it as a category of software that streamlines, automates and measures marketing tasks and workflows. Some of these tasks and workflows include lead generation, segmentation, lead nurturing and scoring, relationship marketing, cross-selling and up-selling, retention and marketing ROI measurement. 

For companies looking to adopt automation solutions to improve operations and maximize their marketing ROIs, remember these five marketing solutions (rankings based on monthly traffic). 

1. Infusionsoft

This all-in-one sales and marketing software is built for small businesses and priced for them, too. It helps small businesses get organized, attract more customers, grow sales and save time. Infusionsoft is a small business's CRM, ecommerce, email and social marketing solution all in one place. 

Cost: Along with a one-time starting fee of $1,999, Infusionsoft offers three packages: standard ($199/mo), plus ($299/mo) and premier ($499/mo). Marketing automation is included in all three as are:

, úìContact management

, úìLanding page and Web forms

, úìWeb monitoring and tracking

, úìEmail, social and multimedia

, úìMarketing automation

, úìSmall Business CRM

, úìLead scoring and routing

+ More 

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 3,047,246

2. Eloqua (Oracle)

As a pioneer in the marketing automation field, Eloqua is known for its mature, flexible and feature-rich offerings that work for both B2B and B2C marketers. 

Cost: Eloqua's marketing automation packages start at $2,000 monthly for 10 marketing users, while a team of 50 will run a company $4,000 each month (each require a database of less than 10,000 contacts). Features that are inherent to both include: 

, úìCustomer Success: best practice programs and templates, success coaching, access to Eloqua topliners marketing community, standard support and on-demand product education sessions.

, úìCampaign Management: marketing content database; email marketing, landing pages and forms; dynamic content; lead nurturing, drip marketing and multi-channel campaigns; Eloqua social suite and social sign-on; and standalone events or webinars.

, úìContact Management: contact/lead database; and contact, account, opportunity, purchase history and activity-based segmentation.

, ‚àö‚à´‚àö¬®Lead Management: sales alerts, notifications and emailed reports; and real-time single active model lead scoring and routing. 

+ More

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 477,428

3. HubSpot 

This all-in-one marketing software that helps nearly 10,000 companies in close to 50 countries attract leads and turn them into customers. Applications in the software platform include blogging and social media marketing, SEO, website management, lead management, marketing analytics, landing pages, email marketing and marketing automation.   

Cost: HubSpot's base packages are basic ($200/mo), professional ($600/mo) and enterprise ($1,000/mo). Each include 50 users, and there is a $2,000 success training fee that is required at setup. It should be noted that marketing automation is only included in the professional and enterprise packages, also included in those two options are:

, úìWebsite hosting with HubSpot's CMS

, úìBlogging tools

, úìLanding pages

, úìEmail marketing

, úìContacts database

, úìMarketing analytics

, úìSocial media tools

, ‚àö‚à´‚àö¬®HubSpot Marketplace 

, úìExisting website integration

, úìCRM integration

, úìMarketing automation

, úìSmart content

, úìCustom lead scoring

, úìProspects

, úìConversion Assists

+More 

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 439,232

4. Pardot (an ExactTarget Company)

Pardot is a full-featured marketing automation system that's known for its ease-of-use. Its platform features CRM integration, email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring and grading, social posting and ROI reporting to help marketing and sales teams work together to generate and qualify sales leads, shorten sales cycles and demonstrate marketing accountability. 

Cost: Pardot offers three packages: professional ($1,000/mo), enterprise ($2,000/mo) and ultimate ($3,000/mo), all of which include unlimited users and up to 30,000 contacts. All three also feature:

, úìLead duplication

, úìCustom lead scoring

, úìReal-time sales alerts

, úìLead custom fields

, úìRouting and segmentation rules

, úìUnlimited emails

, úìLead nurturing programs

, úìLanding pages

, úìForms

, úìTracked social posts

, úìNative CRM integration

, úìEventBrite integration

, úìLive, weekly training

, úìUser forum

+More 

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 156,112

5. Silverpop

This digital marketing technology provider unifies marketing automation, email, mobile and social and helps companies engage individuals based on their behaviors and then automating personalized experiences that increase revenue, improves ROI and deepens brand loyalty. 

Cost: Unavailable

Silverpop features include:

, úìEmail marketing

, úìLead management

, úìLead and contact scoring

, úìLead nurturing

, úìLead generation

, úìMarketing automation

, úìReport and analytics

, úìData and list management

, úìMultichannel marketing

, úìSurveys

, úìLanding pages

, úìLocation-based marketing

+More

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 100,869

Bonus: Marketo 

Marketo has proven flexibility and its ease-of-use allows companies to get started quickly. It also connects seamlessly with key business applications through out-of-the-box integrations and extensive API. 

Cost: For annual contracts, there are three price ranges for less than 10,000 known leads: $1,195 (spark plan), $1,995 (standard plan) and $3,195 (select plan). All three include:

, úìEmail marketing

, úìLead nurturing

, úìStandard lead scoring

, úìEvent and webinar integration

, úìLanding pages

, úìForms

, úìBasic dynamic content

, úìOut-of-the-box native CRM integration

, úìBasic social sharing and social sign-on

, úìFacebook publishing

, úìReal-time performance reporting

, ‚àö‚à´‚àö¬®Marketo program exchange 

, úìOn-demand training

+More 

Unique Monthly U.S. Visitors (Compete.com): 49,351