What Is Automation Marketing [Examples + Tools]

Every business needs marketing to be successful. But just as customers develop, so does the marketing industry. This implies that you’ll have to increase your effort to stay on marketing strategies and trends.

That is a waste of time that could be spent on other tasks. But is there a way to make things simpler? Or even completely automate tasks? Yes! There is.

Automation marketing tools make your work a lot easier, allowing you and your team to devote more time and energy to other campaigns that increase revenue.

There are several automation marketing solutions in the market, each with a different interface and a focus on a particular marketing channel. This might be intimidating for people just getting started in the business.

Luckily for you, we’ve curated the best automation marketing tools to help simplify your marketing process. 

Table of Contents

• What is Automation Marketing?
• How Does Automation Marketing Tool Work?
• Factors To Consider When Evaluating The Best Automation Marketing Software
• The Essential Features Of Automation Marketing Tool
• 10 Automation Marketing Tools
• Final Thoughts

What is Automation Marketing?

Automation marketing is the act of using software to automate repetitive marketing tasks. Marketing teams can automate routine processes like email marketing, social media posting, and even ad campaigns. These duties can be completed quickly with the help of technology powering automation marketing. 

For instance, businesses can design an automated lead generation funnel that collects email addresses, provides a recorded demo, and then notifies the prospect that a live demo has to be scheduled. By 2023, it is predicted that the sector for marketing automation will be worth over $25 billion. So, it is not a pleasant technique to ignore.

Therefore, if you want to stand out from the crowd, use automation marketing. Additionally, automation marketing will save time and money while improving your marketing effectiveness.

That said, what is an automation marketing tool and its function?

How Does Automation Marketing Tool Work?

With automation marketing tools, you will develop confidence knowing that your firm is properly communicating with customers. There are several ways to do this.

For instance, you can design customized customer journeys where a customer’s path sets specific responses. Let’s say a customer buys a product and subscribes to your newsletter.

So, you can program your device to send an email to everyone who adheres to that instruction. Doing this encourages the consumer to begin a road toward more brand engagement.

Alternately, you might use an automation marketing tool to send bulk emails. Also, it can schedule the email delivery based on demographic information.

In addition, other data-driven tasks are frequently required by automation marketing software.

For instance, contact individuals on special occasions like their birthdays or anniversaries. Not just that, propose products to them, thank ardent supporters, and follow up on product sales. You can even remind customers to buy the things they left in their shopping cart.

These are just a few illustrations of how automation marketing tools may benefit you. And following that, there are more.

Factors To Consider When Evaluating The Best Automation Marketing Software

Some tools solely provide email activities, drip sequences, and CRM updates. While others assist with lead scoring, sales lead rotation, SMS, and other tasks.

But a more specialized solution is preferable for Small-and-Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) and Busines to Consumer (B2C) contexts. At the same time, Business to Business might need a platform with broader capabilities. 

The following factors should be considered before selecting automation marketing tools: 

1. Ease of Use

Automation isn’t easy to set up. Therefore, ensure the tool’s interface works with you rather than against you. Look for screengrabs of the user interface to see whether it appears basic and easy to use.

2. Flexibility And Pricing

If we are to summarize the benefit of an automation marketing tool, it will be: that it will make you more efficient, and it allows you to concentrate on the jobs that you like and yield the best return. So, you’ll want to weigh pricing alongside features.

A basic solution is ok for SMBs and B2C enterprises relying only on email. Meanwhile, for more complex requirements, higher-priced software is more cost-effective in the long term.

Hence, go for a service that is not only economically priced but can also grow with you as your demands change. Then again, reducing bloated activities is crucial to proper growth.

3. Reporting And Insights

The marketing automation tool should track the data that is most important to you. This is because you’ll need to evaluate the performance of any drip campaigns you are currently conducting.

B2B and enterprise contexts with several stakeholders may require additional reporting features such as customized dashboards or automated reporting via email.

4. Support

When you research the merits of marketing automation, you will arrive at this conclusion. Automation looks complicated, so seek services with rich knowledge centers, tutorials, and other forms of customer support.

5. Restrictions

Some automated software restricts the number of activities one can perform monthly, and some even limit the size of your database. Before evaluating any, determine the total number on your contact list. Also, consider the number of emails you send monthly and what you want the program to do. 

By doing this, you will avoid underestimating the price of your marketing automation tool.

6. Integrations

How effectively does automation marketing software integrate with your current stack? Integrations allow you to handle data and get additional value from your tools.

The Essential Features Of Automation Marketing Tool

Automation uses an omnichannel strategy to streamline every activity, from generating leads to lead capture. However, for marketing automation software to function well, it must contain specific features. As a result, these are the features of the best automation marketing tool.

1. Manage Leads

A good automation marketing solution will help you focus on essential leads by evaluating them based on their behavior and interests. 

2. Track Visitors

To create a tailored user experience, you must know your prospects’ interests. The visitor monitoring tool allows you to assess prospects interested in your product or service, and it does this by analyzing their behavior on your website.  

3. Monitor Campaign

Do you have an email marketing campaign going on? Automation marketing tools will help you manage the campaign using email tracking. It offers a report on email clicks and downloads so you can monitor performance.

4. Triggers Responses

Interacting with prospects and customers in real-time is essential to effective marketing. You may set up a time and date to engage with your clients so that you don’t abandon them.

5. Nurture Leads

To persuade your prospects to buy your goods or service, you must nurture them at every touchpoint.

As a result, you can use sequences to create a series of emails that offers value.

6. Streamlined Workflow

A prospect passes through several phases before becoming a client. And automation software may help you achieve this by defining each process.

7. Customized Engagement

When it comes to engaging with prospects, personalization is essential. Customized emails and messages make a significant impact in increasing your brand’s visibility.

Therefore, you will accomplish your marketing objectives with these vital features in an automation marketing tool!

10 Automation Marketing Tools

Here are some robust automation marketing solutions. Check them out!

1. Pardot

Salesforce’s Pardot is a powerful B2B marketing automation solution. It lets the marketing and sales teams work together to connect with customers. Also, it helps them close more transactions and develop long-term relationships. 

This tool has solid features such as lead creation and management, email marketing, and sale alignment. Other features are artificial Intelligence and comprehensive ROI reporting. These outstanding features help to complete more business and shorten the sales cycle. Pardot improves marketing efficiency, and significant companies love it. 

Pricing

• Growth plan – $1250/month.
• Plus plan – $2500/month.
• Advanced – $4000/month.
• Premium – $15000/month.

2. Hubspot

HubSpot is a CRM and a content management system (CMS). However, in terms of marketing, HubSpot’s Marketing Hub is pretty excellent. Its strategy to recruit, delight, and engage prospects, referred to as inbound marketing, is more comprehensive than other solutions.

For example, its marketing center extends beyond email marketing, and the platform’s knowledge covers content and search marketing.

In addition, HubSpot includes support and sales tools. The joint effect of these technologies is fantastic. With this software, you can create autoresponders through email, track and optimize social media engagements, and use live chatbots to qualify leads.

Pricing

• Starter plan: $14/month.
• Professional plan: $35/month.
• Business plan: $79/month.
• Enterprise plan: $210/month.

3. BIGContacts

BIGContacts is a comprehensive business tool that comprises CRM and marketing automation. This solution is simple to configure, install, and operate. Thus, it is a dependable choice for organizations of all sizes and sectors.

One can use BIGContacts to construct drip email campaigns, segmented lists, and personalized follow-ups. Its detailed reporting and analytics also allow you to track the effectiveness of your marketing activities. BIGContacts helps save time by creating email templates and automating sequences.

Pricing

• Big- $5/user/month.
• Bigger- $15/user/month.
• Biggest- $25/user/month.
• Enterprise- Custom pricing.

4. Oracle Eloqua

Oracle Eloqua is available to help you simplify your marketing and sales efforts. It’s a flexible marketing automation tool that lets you control cross-channel B2B marketing campaigns and develop prospects at every stage.

Oracle Eloqua is a great marketing automation tool that includes customer segmentation, lead management, Advanced Intelligence, sales and marketing alignment, and measurement. Oracle Eloqua is ideal for organizations with no financial constraints who wish to increase their income and establish great client connections.

Pricing

• Basic plan $2000/month.
• Standard plan $4000/month.

5. Constant Contact

Constant Contact is not as popular as HubSpot or Marketo, but it is still a powerful tool.

It is a platform with robust email automation designed for small enterprises. Its benefits include automated trigger campaigns, segmented follow-up communications, and automatic email gathering, to name a few.

Pricing

• Core – $9.99/month.
• Plus – $45/month.

6. Customer.io

Customer.io delivers customized emails, push alerts, and SMS communications directly to customers’ phones. A user-friendly, rich UI matches its versatility and control.

Companies like Reddit, Asics, and Shutterstock rely on Customer.io to boost their customer interactions.

You may use Customer.io to contact clients and obtain feedback routinely. Also, you can promote items using data-driven segmentation and re-engage dormant customers using automated triggers.

Pricing

• Basic – $150 (minimum per month).
• Premium.

7. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a one-of-a-kind marketing automation technology that enables people and automation to collaborate. Small and medium-sized enterprises use it to personalize their marketing efforts.

Did someone abandon an item in the cart? Use ActiveCampaign to notify them of their abandoned shopping cart. Identify which customers open your campaign emails and mark them as highly engaged customers. If you notice a contact’s visit to your website, send a follow-up email with compelling content. 

Pricing

• Lite – $29 per month.
• Plus – $49 per month.
• Professional – $149 per month.
• Enterprise – customizable.

8. Mailchimp

A well-known system with a strong emphasis on email marketing is called Mailchimp. Mailchimp, which has been around for a long time, is a dependable marketing tool to use for business operations. Your firm may use Mailchimp to build a website. Not only that, you can open an online store and manage your emails!

Other significant benefits of the platform include audience data and design tools for creative templating.

9. SharpSpring

SharpSpring is a simple and efficient marketing automation tool for companies of all sizes. It focuses on marketing and sales automation. And it assists businesses in increasing conversion rates and providing better customer service. With features like behavior-based email marketing, a workflow builder, visitor monitoring, CRM connection, and actionable reports to help you develop a more robust marketing plan, 

SharpSpring offers an omnichannel approach to automation. You can accomplish your marketing goals, since it automates the entire process.

Pricing

• It starts at $399/month and can be customized as per the requirements.

10. Omnisend

Perhaps the name will give it away, but Onmisend is an omnichannel marketing platform. This implies that its activities include Facebook Messenger, SMS, push alerts, email, and anything else that is appropriate.

Due to its outstanding usability, simplicity of setup, and excellent support, marketers prefer Omnisend above other marketing automation systems.

Furthermore, it integrates with various e-commerce platforms. They include Bigcommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. For automated email marketing campaigns, it is the ideal marketing automation tool.

Pricing

• Free plan. 
• Standard – $16/month.
• Pro – $99/month.
• Enterprise – Custom pricing. 

11. Drip

Drip takes pride in providing high-tech automation to e-commerce businesses. It offers a single channel for storing all your data, carrying out automated email marketing, and tailoring it following your business’s needs.

Automation workflows, One-off emails, email campaigns, email builders, multi-channel marketing, and perceptive analytics are just a few of Drip’s capabilities. If your business is an online retailer, Drip is something you should look into.

Pricing

•  $19/month (minimum).

12. Mautic

Mautic is open-source, which differs from most automation marketing software. Hence, anybody with the necessary skills can add to the platform’s source code. Over 1000 contributors and over 200,000 organizations are now using the Mautic platform. Users of Mautic can use the platform for email marketing, social networking, and content management.

The program relies heavily on reports, surveys, forms, and other campaign management tools.

Final Thoughts

A true game-changer for small and large firms is marketing automation. It helps in lead scoring, sorting, and nurturing throughout the sales cycle, and it also increases conversions by focusing on clients with the greatest purchase potential.

Above all, it enables you to lead the life of your dreams. What’s more? Automation marketing relieves you of those annoying duties and catapults you into the major leagues.