Marketing automation despite the complexity has been adopted rapidly by enterprises. The benefits are numerous with improved lead management as well as email and campaign management. By mastering these functions enterprises can enhance efficiencies and help streamline the marketing and sales process. Finally, once marketing automation systems are implemented and integrated into CRM platforms, measurable results and insights about how to engage with prospects and customers follow.
Here are six reasons why companies must consider looking into marketing automation to grow their businesses.
Productivity
Marketing automation simplifies organizational and marketing tasks. It eliminates repetitive manual processes by substituting automated solutions. This, in turn, increases productivity as marketing department personnel can focus on tasks that require stringent manual monitoring.
Automated workflow
A successful inbound marketing campaign requires forms, calls-to-action (CTAs), and conversion pages, and thanks to the automated workflows that binds all of them together.
Marketing automation tools systemizes activities, processes, and documentation, allowing for a smoother marketing workflow. The more advanced software platforms also provide automation of internal marketing processes such as budgeting and planning, approval, workplace collaboration, and other related processes.
Channel agnosticism
Marketing automation tools can be used in different marketing platforms that include email, SEO, CRM tools, and social media. The platform also serves as a centralized hub for a variety of marketing activities thereby making the marketing professional’s job a lot easier.
Customer retention
Marketing intelligence is one effective tool in retaining customers. It provides relevant insight into customer intent. With this information companies can “predict” customer needs and decisions, enabling them to act accordingly without any waste of time.
Relationship marketing
Relationship marketing is a form of marketing with high focus on achieving customer satisfaction. Customers’ relationships with a brand entail repeat sales and word-of-mouth promotion, which, in itself, is a powerful marketing tool.
With marketing automation tools enterprises can personalize their relationships with every customer and every lead through relevant strategies that include lead qualification, nurturing, trigger campaigns, digital footprint analysis and sales and marketing alignment.
Tracking and monitoring marketing campaigns
The success of any marketing campaign tools depends on measurable data which is used to prepare precise tracking and monitoring. Marketing automation software not only helps in tracking marketing expenditures but also in monitoring responses to marketing campaigns based on specific parameters to determine success or failure.
To help achieve marketing automation, we present top 6 open source marketing automation tools that are free and provide the same functionality as their paid counterparts.
Leadsius
It is perfect for small businesses and offers one of the most robust marketing automation systems for free.
Features included in free version are:
- 2,500 contacts, Single user
- Form and landing page creator (unlimited), Email creator and templates
- List management (static only), Reporting – emails, forms, web analytics
- Support – knowledge base and community support
If you need more contacts, users, or advanced marketing automation functionality then you can always upgrade to one of the paid versions which start at $295 per month.
Jumplead
With Jumplead you can explore and learn for free. Starting with their free version, you can get a taste for what their marketing automation solution can do for your business.
Features included in free version:
- 200 contacts, 200 website visitors
- 100 emails, 1 SEO keyword
- Single user
Jumplead is really effective for small-scale campaigns. Go solo with just $49/month upgrade for the first paid level.
SalesAutoPilot
There are two free packages from SalesAutoPilot: Free and Starter. The biggest difference between the two is that the Starter package allows you to purchase add-ons, like extra emails and users; the Free version does not.
Features included in Free/Starter versions:
- 400 emails, single user
- Email and sales automation (event-triggered actions, landing pages, A/B testing)
- E-commerce module
- Text message sending, personalized PDFs, telemarketing support
- Sales CRM module
- Affiliate module
- Helpdesk module
The Pro level of SalesAutoPilot starts at $19/month. This marketing automation system depends a lot on the various extras you can add to your account.
InTouch
InTouch provides simple sales CRM and marketing automation for small business growth. The free version is just an option for businesses to explore the possibilities of marketing automation. However, with unlimited contacts (rare for marketing automation systems) it provides a great opportunity to test a campaign or two to see if your business could benefit from marketing automation.
Features included in the free version:
- 100 emails
- 2 users
- 1 custom field
- 1 web form
- Unlimited contacts
- Unlimited organizations
- Email marketing
Mautic
An open source solution, Mautic’s marketing automation system is fully customizable for your particular needs and situations. You can download it straight from their website and get started right away.
Features include:
- Monitor leads
- Create emails and build lists
- Landing pages
- Lead nurturing
- Reports
Mautic also has a community for its users to get involved with the product’s development.
ORBTR
ORBTR is a marketing automation system for IT and technology firms. It offers two versions of its WordPress native product: Ping and Connect. Ping, referred to as a plug-in, is free.
Features included in Ping:
- Email alerts for new and returning leads to your site
- Integrates with Gravity Forms, Jetpack Forms, and WordPress Comments for lead identification
- Track leads who click through email campaigns.