Are you seriously considering investing in a Marketing Software for your Inbound strategy? You probably heard or read about some of the most popular, but what is the best one of all? Here we’re going to explain to you the pros and cons of some of them and tell you what you need to know about it before you make your decision.
First of all and in order to know if you need marketing software, you have to ask yourself the question: Do I really need it? Let’s get real about the necessities of what your business needs and face if the specific set of professional (and sometimes complex) tools that come with this type of software are going to be helpful with your objectives and goals.
Become a pro with the right stuff for your business:
With a bunch of possible options in the market, here’s a guide about the best inbound marketing suites available:
MARKETO:
Purchased in 2018 by Adobe. Inc. Marketo started 10 years before as a Lead Management tool, followed by Marketo Sales Insight in 2009 and Marketo Revenue Cycle Analytics software in 2010.
Focused on healthcare, manufacturing, higher education, financial services and technology, this high-end marketing software is primarily thought for B2B associations. Marketo supports large enterprises to fast-growing small businesses.
- The PROS:
- The CONS:
It fits perfect if what you’re looking for is a highly advanced set of customizable reporting tools and detailed consumer profiles for your Inbound strategy.
Marketo demands a high level of technical expertise because of their large list of tools for enterprise scale customers.
ACTIVECAMPAIGN:
Pioneer of the visual automation sequence builder, ActiveCampaign was founded in 2003 by Jason VandeBoom. It started as a consulting firm and then as a software provider in order to help a bunch of small and mid-sized companies with their automate marketing tasks and contact management.
- The PROS:
- CONS:
The email marketing and the lead management tools, besides the cloud-based marketing and sales automation software and the visually and easy to use interface makes it one of the best options for an inbound strategy. Also, ActiveCampaigns offers a lot of features for a relatively low price compared to the others.
SEO, CTA, landing pages and automation tools are good but not the best of their kind so you better think and compare if this one is the right choice for your campaign necessities.
HUBSPOT:
The creator of the Inbound methodology (at least in the digital environment and recent marketing culture) is one of the most popular choices when it comes to providing Inbound marketing software services. Founded by Brian Halligan in 2006, HubSpot has been the principal promoter for good marketing practices, thanks to their successful software that combines marketing, sales and customer service all-in-one.
- The PROS:
- The CONS:
The knowledge and reputation of this tool are well-known for their expertise in the subject has been helpful in order to improve and enhance their software over the years. Basically, the suite is perfect for social media marketing, content management, web analytics, landing pages and search engine optimization from a single interface.
Also, analytics reports and optimization for SEO are some of the best and most complete you will find, HubSpot Academy, which serves as a complementary educational and certifications platform. Let’s not forget that HubSpot has a free version of their software, in addition to integration with almost every team-based marketing tools.
Unfortunately, as you and your business start growing you may need some premium (non-free) features that you can get with an upgrade to your account. Nevertheless, it is important to state that their software is really intuitive and easy to use, which for a non-technical small business can make all the difference.
KEAP:
“Helping thousands of small businesses succeed since 2001” as their website declares, Keap (previously known as Infusionsoft) can create, host and execute automated campaigns, track ROI, provide customer sales updates, database management and e-commerce functionality.
- The PROS:
- The CONS:
With integration with your favorite and most essential marketing tools such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Gmail, Instapage, Zapier or WordPress, Keap will connect your data, applications, and devices from across your organization in order to make your business more efficient and productive.
Their SEO and social media options may not be the greatest so, if your marketing campaign will use those practices, you will probably have to consider using another tool to complement those features.
So, what’s the best Inbound Marketing software choice?
Well, let’s say that all the options are great in their own way. In fact, we’re almost sure that there is no perfect Inbound Marketing tool just by the fact that every business, companies or brands are unique and their requirements are different according to their objectives and goals.
So, how can I choose the correct Inbound Marketing software for my campaign / brand / organization?
There are 3 indicators that can help you with your decision:
- STRATEGIC BUSINESS OBJECTIVES: What is the main goal of your campaign? How can I measure the success of it? How many leads do I have to generate and can I reach them?
- FUNCTIONALITIES: Which are the tools, insights and reports I need to possess in order to fulfill and gauge my results?
- PRICE: The ability to generate leads and profit has a price. How much money am I willing to spend? An Inbound Marketing Software isn’t cheap so you need to contemplate the expenses.
So, that’s it, remember that you can get the right choice about the ideal Inbound Marketing Software primarily knowing the right information about your client and their goals. So don’t lose more time and eliminate your goals and options.
What’s the ideal tool for you and your clients? As a growth agency, in Impactum we care about the best practices related to Inbound and Marketing in general for the companies.
Are you interested in learning more about how these softwares can be used inside an inbound marketing methodology? Click on the button below and download our guide: How to make your first digital marketing strategy with inbound.
