First of all, what is a Marketing Automation tool? For those who know, head 1 scroll further ⬇
A Marketing Automation tool
“Marketing Automation software is a tool that automates marketing campaigns under predefined scenarios based on the behavior of a lead (prospect). It works like an algorithm that responds to a condition and then executes a program, called a workflow. This software also enables you to manage your prospecting database, send e-mails and promotional SMS messages, and feed your company’s CRM. Indeed, most of these programs can be connected to a CRM such as Salesforce or Hubspot. The aim is to follow a prospect’s journey from start to finish, from his or her visit to a store or website, right through to the sale” article written by Steffi Nicolaïdes, Les Echos Solutions.
Now that you know what a Marketing Automation tool is, the questions you need to ask yourself are:
- Which tool do I need to meet my needs? How to choos a Marketing Automation tool?
- Do I really need the most comprehensive one in anticipation of future business growth?
To answer these questions, you need to look at the features you need to make your marketing and sales strategy work.
Define your needs in order to choose a Marketing Automation tool
Suggested e-mail templates 📧
As with the choice of a CRM, this functionality is essential. In this case, it gives you a not inconsiderable choice of templates when you don’t want to waste time on e-mail marketing structure. All the more appreciated by beginners or those who are simply overwhelmed.
Possibility of A/B testing an e-mailing campaign 🥇
If you’ve never heard of A/B testing, we can explain! It’s a testing technique used to find out which e-mail works best.
- First, you need to choose a target from your database, say 3,000 contacts.
- The tool will then separate 5, 10, 15% (normally your choice) of these 3000 contacts into 2 parts.
- Let’s take 10% of these 3000 contacts. That makes one half called A of 150 contacts, then another half called B of 150 contacts.
- You then choose what the test is based on: the subject of the e-mail or its content.
- 24 hours will pass, and the statistics will tell us whether A or B has intruded more with its subject or e-mail.
This feature gives you a clear market view of current trends.
Precise target segmentation 🎯
Any Marketing Automation tool allows you to segment your database when sending e-mail. But! This is sometimes not very precise.
For some tools, it’s possible to segment based on the behavior of your contacts. Behaviors such as :
- A contact who has never opened any of the e-mails sent
- A contact who has clicked within the last 3 e-mails
- A contact who replied to the last e-mail
Basic and advanced statistics for e-mailing campaigns 📈
As with any Marketing Automation tool, you can access the statistics of the e-mailing campaigns you send out. These statistics are very often the number of opens, the number of clicks, then the number of unsubscribes. Then you have access to unsubscribe rates.
And sometimes, certain tools provide access to advanced statistics such as heat maps of the e-mail sent, click maps to find out exactly which link was clicked, etc.
Landing Page creation and management 💻
This functionality is sometimes managed by the CRM, but can also be handled by the Marketing Automation tool. The idea here is to create single-purpose web pages. Where only a single piece of information is indicated to encourage the prospect to perform the action proposed on the page. Often this action is the download of a document (white paper, customer case study, etc.) or the testing of a brand pitch with a contact form available.
Landing pages are often used for Google ads (or Facebook or Instagram, for example).
Creating and managing forms 📝
Sometimes also managed by a CRM, this functionality is normally managed by a Marketing Automation tool. It’s used to manage all your forms, especially those on your website(s).
Setting up automation scenarios, also known as “Nurturing” 🍔
Sometimes also managed by a CRM, this functionality is Thanks to this functionality you can write e-mail sending scenarios based on several criteria. These scenarios can look like this:
- If the contact has clicked on e-mail N°4, then alert the sales rep to contact him/her.
- If the contact hasn’t clicked on any of the 5 e-mails sent on subject A, then send him e-mail N°1 on subject B.
- If the contact has not responded to any of our e-mail campaigns for 1 year, remove him from the main contact database.
- etc.
These scenarios ensure that your prospect base is always supplied with e-mails when you have less time to manage them. We often select our least active prospects to check whether they really are active. From there, we decide whether or not to remove them from the database after this “nurturing” period. Not forgetting that this can also lead to a customer opportunity. It’s used to manage all your forms, especially those on your website(s).
But also features that are sometimes overlooked
Create and manage SMS mailings 📱
The Marketing Automation tool can also be used to send SMS messages to prospects in our database. Of course, anyone giving their telephone number must have given their prior consent.
Creating and managing a ChatBot on a website 💬
As with CRM, this functionality is available via the Marketing Automation tool. A ChatBot is a messaging tool present on our websites in the form of a message exchange bubble. Managed by a sales person, a pre-sales person, or a founder at the start-up of his company, the ChatBot enables you to start a discussion with this same person.
API connections to other tools 🔗
Indispensable for any tool today, your Marketing Automation tool should be able to connect easily to your other tools, such as your CRM.
Link with Instagram or Facebook Ads in particular 📢
Increasingly, you’ll find a link to your Instagram or Facebook ads in your tool.
Comparatif Marketing Automation
Si comme nous, vous avez besoin de voir sous un tableau chacune de ces fonctionnalités face aux différents concurrents, voici notre version de ce tableau.
Dans ce tableau de comparaison, nous avons décidé de sélectionner qu’un certains nombre d’outils, avec notre sélection de fonctionnalités.
N’est pas compris dans la comparaison : les différences de prix, ainsi que la variance de ces derniers par le nombre de contacts autorisés dans la base de données lors de la prise d’un abonnement.
Parfois cette limitation est au niveau du nombre d’envois d’e-mails par mois. Cela peut donc modifier le prix mensuel/annuel, ou bien vous pousser à choisir un abonnement supérieur.
A savoir : aucun de ces outils ne rassemblent toutes les fonctionnalités dans leur 1er prix !
Des outils plus poussés comme Marketo, sont davantage utilisés par les grands groupes.
A vous de choisir maintenant ! Et d’associer votre CRM à ce dernier.
