Marketing Automation tools can be categorized into three different groups:
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The first, most basic group are the tools that only offer email marketing software.
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The second group are platforms that offer email marketing software plus other features that are useful to small businesses.
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The third, top tier group, includes features that are useful for teams of people.
Statistics show that most small businesses only utilize a scant 10% of top tier marketing automation platform’s capabilities.
What this means, is that one of the most common problems when choosing a marketing automation platform, is choosing the wrong tool.
If you’re a small business who chooses a top tier platform, but only uses 10% of it, then you’re wasting 90% of what you’re paying for the monthly cost of the tool.
This post will help you make a better choice by evaluating three of some of the most popular marketing automation platforms in the world:
Be aware of these common small business pitfalls
We’ve already mentioned the problem about small businesses using top tier marketing automation platforms, but wasting their money by not utilizing the full functionality of the tool. Here are other common mistakes businesses – in particular small businesses where the owner is the marketer – make when they select the wrong tool:
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Not being able to master the learning curve of top tier tools. Learning how to use these tools can take up a lot of time, and if you are new at online marketing, you will find it exceptionally hard to master. This is probably the greatest reason why small businesses only use a small per cent of the tool’s capabilities. If you insist on using a top tier platform, you may need to consider hiring some help.
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Choosing a tool you’ll outgrow before the next three years. When you select a platform, you’ve got to make sure you won’t outgrow it too fast. This is why planning is essential.
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The tool doesn’t integrate with the other software you already use. If you don’t use any other software, kudos to you. But if you’re paying for other software that needs to be integrated with the marketing automation tool of your choice, make sure it’s possible to do so, otherwise you’ll be wasting your money.
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Thinking the tool is going to maketh the marketing. The tool is just a tool. The real power is the strategy that is implemented by the tool. Don’t think the tool is going to be responsible for creating brilliant marketing results if the planning wasn’t there to begin with.
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Not having a strategy before selecting the platform. This ties in with the point before. You can only really select the right tool if you’ve done your due diligence first by having a marketing plan. This is because each tool offers varying features and you’ll need to choose the one that can implement your strategy.
Statistics suggest that the choice of a marketing automation platform needs to be based on two aspects to ensure you don’t waste your money:
1. Ease of use.
According to an Ascend2 study, 30% of marketers find marketing automation tools hard to figure out.
2. The tool that can best implement your marketing strategy.
Which tool is the easiest for small businesses to use?
To answer that question, we need to slot each of the tools we’re evaluating into the right group.
InfusionSoft is part of the top tier group, and is ideally used by companies who already have teams in place for marketing, sales and CRM. Having said that, their onboarding fee of $999 includes coaching, so you’ll know how to use the tool. Still, if it’s only you – the owner of the company – doing the marketing, you probably won’t use all the features, which makes going with InfusionSoft a waste of money (all $199 per month of it) until your business has grown.
That leaves us with GetResponse and ConstantContact; both tools that are categorized in the mid-level group, and perfect for small businesses. Not only are they affordable, but they offer the kind of features that can be utilized fully by entrepreneurs.
GetResponse was known for years as the “world’s easiest email marketing software”, and their marketing automation platform follows suit:
As you can see with this screenshot of the dashboard, GetResponse makes marketing automation easy.
Now that we’ve narrowed down the choices, it’s your marketing strategy which should determine which tool is best for you.
So let’s check out each of the features of all the tools, so we can make a fair comparison.
Common features GetResponse, ConstantContact and InfusionSoft offer
All three tools offer:
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Email marketing
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Email templates
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A/B testing
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Email automation
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Analytics
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Segmenting and tagging
That’s where the similarities end.
Major differences between the three platforms
|
GetResponse (Pro) |
ConstantContact (Email Plus) |
Infusionsoft (Essentials) |
|
|
Marketing campaign workflows |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Build landing pages |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Call to action form templates |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Webinars |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Shopping carts integration |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Website tracking |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Create a poll |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Create a survey |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Facebook promos |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Scoring |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
Funnel analysis |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
CRM integration |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Sales teams notifications |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Lead management |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Event marketing |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Collect donations |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Coupons |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Pricing per month |
$49pm |
$45pm |
$199pm |
|
One-time fee |
No |
No |
$999 |
Marketing campaign workflows
This feature makes planning email marketing campaign workflows a breeze.
GetResponse’s email automation workflows are simple to use.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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InfusionSoft
Landing page builder
If email marketing is the path to online success, then landing pages are the stepping stones.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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InfusionSoft
InfusionSoft’s landing page builder.
Sign-up form templates
Landing pages would be rendered null and void without sign-up forms to collect email addresses. Having templates make your life a lot easier.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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InfusionSoft
Webinars
Hosting webinars is a great way to attract new business.
GetResponse is the only tool out of the three that offers webinars, and all that goes with the planning of one.
Offered by
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GetResponse
Shopping carts integration
Important if you have an ecommerce business.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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InfusionSoft
Website tracking
Monitor and learn from customer behavior. Understand what went wrong if the shopping cart was abandoned.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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InfusionSoft
Creating polls
Engage prospects with polls that can be distributed to social media or added to your website.
ConstantContact is the only tool to offer poll-making functionality.
Offered by
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ConstantContact
Create a survey
Find out stuff from people by using a survey that can be distributed by email, added to your website, or via social media.
Offered by
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GetResponse
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ConstantContact
Facebook promotions
Offer promotions and run campaigns to get more Facebook followers.
Offered by
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ConstantContact
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InfusionSoft
Event marketing
Send out invitations and manage event responses.
Offered by
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ConstantContact
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InfusionSoft
Collect donations and offer coupons
If you’re a charity, you’ll appreciate the donation collection feature. Offer coupons to attract prospective business.
Offered by
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ConstantContact
Funnel analysis, CRM, sales team notifications, lead management
These features are only offered by InfusionSoft.
Conclusion
Marketing automation tools can be categorized into three different levels. The best fit for small businesses is a tool that resides mid-level like GetResponse, because the top tier tools include features that small businesses often don’t require.
Be aware of the most common mistakes made by small businesses when purchasing a marketing automation tool. The tool you choose should be easy to use and chosen for it’s ability to implement your marketing strategy.
