If a few years ago, marketing automation was mainly reserved for companies with large budgets and a marketing team, this practice is much more accessible today.
Now, all companies can benefit from the advantages and functionalities of automation tools : sending emails, SMS or notifications, scheduling posts on social networks, segmenting prospects and customers, etc.
However, it is not easy to find your way around because the offer is so varied. This is why we have made a selection of the best marketing automation software in 2024.
Thumbnail for the Benchmark of the best marketing automation software in 2024, showing a robotic hand interacting with a virtual screen, illustrating the importance of artificial intelligence and automation in digital marketing.
How to choose marketing automation software?
Before getting to the heart of the matter and presenting the best marketing automation software, it seems essential to take stock of the selection criteria. Indeed, the best tool does not exist! Well, yes… It is the software that corresponds to your needs, your budget, your skills in marketing automation, etc.
Here, our ambition is to guide you in your thinking about the software that will meet your expectations . Thus, you will be able to better analyze and compare the software that we will present to you next.
Define the essential features for your marketing automation
It seems obvious, to choose the best marketing automation software, you need to know your needs and identify the essential features for your business and the organization of your company. To help you, here are the key functions of a marketing automation tool.
Integrated campaign management helps you plan, execute, and measure your multichannel marketing campaigns by creating automated workflows and personalizing customer journeys . Advanced features can also help you create, optimize, and manage ad campaigns to automate the ad buying process.
Advanced contact segmentation is essential to create targeted communication. It is based on different criteria, such as online behavior, demographic data, purchase history, etc.
Lead scoring is an essential function to measure the maturity level ig database of your audience ( hot or cold prospects ). It allows you to assign scores to your prospects, based on their interactions on your site or your marketing campaigns, and therefore to identify those who are ready to buy.
Sending automated and personalized emails allows you to address the right target in the most appropriate way. This is possible thanks to the segmentation and lead scoring of your prospects.
Interaction tracking and analysis helps you understand how your prospects and customers interact with your content. This feature therefore gives you detailed tracking (email opening rates, click-through rates, download rates, etc.), which feeds other features, such as lead scoring.
Dynamic website personalization allows you to adapt content in real-time based on the past behavior of prospects and customers. With such a feature, you deliver the most personalized customer experience.
Social media automation is an indispensable aid today, as networks have become so important in marketing. Automation software can help you through automated planning, publishing, and tracking of campaigns on different social platforms. Moreover, the platform helps you analyze user engagement on social media.
Predictive analytics help you identify the best leads and anticipate their behaviors by analyzing historical data. This way, you can better refine your strategy and targeting.
Automated A/B testing allows for continuous optimization of your marketing campaigns by trying different versions of your content (emails, landing pages, etc.) and identifying what works best for you.
An important point to consider: the integration of the marketing automation software into your CRM (customer relationship management tool). Indeed, make sure that its integration is possible (and easy, ideally) so that you and/or your team can easily transfer your qualified leads to the CRM and ensure a smooth continuity of your sales cycle.
Define the budget to allocate to a marketing automation tool
We don't need to tell you that the price of marketing automation software is an important criterion when making your choice. After all, the more advanced the features, the higher the prices can be . But more than just a question of price, it's important to take into account what the formula allows you in terms of:
Number of contacts;
Number of emails sent per month or per day;
Number of users;
Rich in features.
Remember that such a tool aims to save you time and allow you to move on to higher value-added missions. In addition, it contributes to better conversion of prospects, and therefore, to making more sales. Finally, this is the case if the chosen software is up to your objectives.
Ask about ease of use
The ergonomics and ease of use of marketing automation software are also criteria that should not be overlooked. Indeed, such a tool should allow you to save time and not waste it.
