For a variety of reasons, including its effectiveness and high return on investment (ROI), email marketing is the crucial thing for digital marketers. Email marketing specifically for business-to-business transactions ranks third for the most reliable information source, but only after recommendations from colleagues and advice from industry leaders.
Email marketing also gives one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) of any marketing strategy you can use, with an average return of $30 for every dollar spent.
When it comes to planning and implementing email marketing campaigns, there are so many well-known platforms and tools available in the market. In fact, Among all of these options, it can be challenging to sort through the options and choose the best one. There are many excellent platforms, but it’s crucial to understand what makes email marketing automation tools great, which includes features like integrated customer relationship management (CRM), social media integration, advanced content capabilities, usability, as well as access training and customer support.
Here is the information you need to know about the current four most popular Email Marketing Automation platforms available today to assist you in making the best email marketing tool choice for your requirements.
Active Email Marketing Automation Campaign
Best Functions and Features
ActiveCampaign is a flexible and all-encompassing platform because it is made while keeping in mind both corporations and small and medium-sized businesses. You can segment your audience, personalise emails, and manage deliverability on the platform in addition to basic features like automating email responses, making calendars, and automated sending. You can track a lot of things about your targeted audience after an email has been sent, including who opened it, who clicked through, which pages they visited, and more. This tool also has you covered when it comes to ensuring the most effective campaigns, with important features and functions like:
- A/B testing
- Mobile optimisation
- Accurate analysis of Revenue, ROI, and keyword
- Building landing pages
- Monitoring online activity and search
Advantages and Disadvantages
Every user of ActiveCampaign will tell you that it has many advantages than disadvantages. In fact, it is really hard for most people to find the list of disadvantages. The platform’s ease of setup and use, the lack of an activation fee, and the unbeatable affordability of subscriptions starting at just $9 per month are its major advantages. Additionally, it has more than just the essential features you’d look for in an email marketing automation tool, such as social media integration. The reporting could be clearer. It is the only drawback some people point out, but you still have access to all the insights you’d expect from a tool like this.
Reasons to Choose Active Campaign!
The fact that Active Campaign has a built-in Customer Relationship management (CRM) that offers lead scoring and can be used to manage and nurture leads makes email marketing more streamlined and effective. This is one of the useful platform’s key features. Additionally, the tool’s integration with the CRM makes it simple to create effective campaigns based on information unique to each subscriber.
MailChimp
Best Functions and Features
Mail Chimp is an incredible email marketing automation tool. There are very few features and capabilities that MailChimp does not offer. You can segment your lists and send tailored emails to different groups. you can design your own emails from scratch or use templates as per your need. You can also send drip emails based on individual subscriber activity.
As you have already figured out that the RSS-to-email feature allows you to automate a number of processes, including the automatic sending of emails whenever you update your blog. Additionally, the platform offers some basic analytics on open, click-through, and other rates, and it can be integrated with a wide range of other platforms, including Shopify, Magento, and WordPress.
Additionally, you can make unique signup forms that are simple to integrate on websites and social media.
Advantages
People usually support MailChimp because it is so simple and convenient to use. The design and interface are very user-friendly, and importing and exporting lists is a breeze. This makes email marketing easy, even for a beginner who doesn’t know so much about the strategies. The many integration options are also very appealing because they boost usability and efficiency. Furthermore, MailChimp provides nearly all the features and functionalities you could desire in an email marketing automation tool when you have a paid subscription.
Disadvantages
Even though MailChimp offers a “forever free” version, there are still some useful limitations that you face, such as lower send limits, no auto-response, and a smaller contact limit. There is one more issue that users face from time to time. It necessitates double opt-in from subscribers (they must first sign up and then confirm their email address), which can reduce the size of your subscriber list and exclude subscribers who actually want to receive your emails.
Reasons to Choose Mail Chimp!
The fact that Mail Chimp offers a totally free version of their platform, in comparison to the majority of other email automation tools, draws particularly start-ups or small businesses that understand the value of email marketing automation but don’t have a sizable budget. You can send 12,000 emails per month to under 2,000 contacts with even the forever-free account, which is more than enough for some small and medium-sized businesses.
Marketo
Best Functions and Features
Marketo consistently ranks among the top automation platforms available on the market and is ideal for both B2B and B2C businesses. The extensive offering includes elements like segmentation, automated responses, email personalization, as well as fundamental reporting and analytics. The tool also enables the creation of dynamic content and the setting up of automated emails that can be triggered by more than 40 distinct subscriber behaviours. There are also other crucial aspects like:
- Testing A/B
- Automatic warnings
- Lead scoring, lead nurturing, and CRM lead integration options
- Marketing for events and webinars
- Ads, sharing, engagement, and listening with social integration
Advantages and Disadvantages
There are many amazing advantages of Marketo like it has no setup fees, and monthly subscriptions begin at $895. Despite not being the most expensive tool available, this does call for a budget. However, the complete feature set is well worth the cost since it also provides tools for sales teams and integration options with a number of other platforms. Because you can start with simple features and advance to more complex ones as you become familiar with the platform, Marketo is also beneficial for people who are just getting started with email marketing. The tool also receives high marks for setup simplicity and usability.
There aren’t many drawbacks mentioned by Marketo users, but one of them is that the landing page builder requires an update because it can be challenging to use without updating it. People also complain that the analytics and reporting need improvement because they are currently insufficient and laborious to produce.
Reasons to Choose Marketo!
The main factor that should be the major decision to choose Marketo is probably its usability. The platform is comparatively simple to set up, campaigns can start up quickly, and the interface is simple to understand and use. Additionally, Marketo provides excellent customer support for users who run into issues, and there is a sizable and vibrant community you can rely on for anything from technical problem-solving to campaign advice.
GetResponse
Best Functions and Features
There are good reasons why GetResponse is a popular marketing automation platform among many businesses. It has all the essential features you’ll require right away, such as automated responses, segmentation, personalization, dynamic content, reporting, and analytics. In addition, the platform allows you to build responsive forms and landing pages, and there are integration options for CRM and outside lead generation software. Additionally, it has sophisticated A/B testing options, tracking capabilities, and the ability to create automated emails based on different subscriber behaviours. The lead filtering, scoring, and tagging features are additional features.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Get Response is one of the least expensive platforms available (for $10 a month, you can access all the basic automation features), and it also offers a free 30-day trial. It is simple to use for both beginners and professional email marketers. The process of developing aesthetically pleasing and expert campaigns is made simpler by the hundreds of well-designed templates, stock photos, and other features it offers. In addition, users adore the following aspects of GetResponse:
- Only one opt-in
- Suggestions to send campaigns at the best times
- Excellent customer service
- Superior deliverability
However, despite having autoresponders, one of the main complaints about GetResponse is that the automation tools are simple and constrained.
Reasons to Choose Get Response!
Get Response strives to be beautiful in its simplicity. Even a novice will be able to manage email campaigns thanks to the platform’s drag-and-drop features, and experienced email marketers will be impressed by how simple everything is. You can create, segment, and select dynamic content using the drag-and-drop feature, making it simple to carry out automated campaigns.
Final Words
Although email marketing may be a real type of digital marketing, it is still vital and widely used today. Email marketing doesn’t have to take up your entire day just because it’s important. Like the ones mentioned here, email marketing automation platforms can boost your campaigns, efficiency, and return on investment from email campaigns.
