{"id":45490,"date":"2020-10-13T03:41:52","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T20:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/act.com\/how-to-choose-the-best-marketing-automation-software\/"},"modified":"2023-03-21T10:50:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T17:50:42","slug":"how-to-choose-the-best-marketing-automation-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/products.act.com\/en-gb\/how-to-choose-the-best-marketing-automation-software\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose the best marketing automation software"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A marketing automation solution can help your business in many ways. From advanced email campaigns allowing you to nurture leads based on your prospects\u2019 behaviour, to lead scoring to help your sales team prioritise follow-ups,\u00a0marketing automation software<\/a>\u00a0offers a range of features that translate into smarter marketing activities, better sales and marketing alignment, and increased lead to sales conversions. However, with hundreds of marketing automation solutions available in the market, it can often become overwhelming for a person to choose the perfect solution for their company. Some marketing automation platforms are easy to use while some have a rich set of features; some are available on very good deals while some have been proven to be dependable and more stable compared to others. In such a competitive, crowded market, how should a person find a tool that\u2019s just right for their needs? In this article, we intend to make the decision easier by listing down some of the factors that should be considered prior to making the investment:<\/p>\r\n

Cost<\/h2>\r\n

The first and foremost factor that you need to consider is the cost of the platform you are buying. There are some vendors that offer deals that apparently look unbelievable but when it actually comes down to the first payment, you realise that there were a bunch of hidden fees that you weren\u2019t explicitly told about. The said fees can be for additional features or customer support. Some tools also charge per number of contacts and\/or per the number of emails you send. \u00a0In addition to this, some companies also tend to offer enticing prices in the first few months and then offer revised rates for the rest of the subscription, so make sure that you go through the specifics of your contract\/subscription beforehand. An ideal solution doesn\u2019t have any hidden costs and lets you know if you will be charged anything extra for any supplementary\/add-on features.<\/p>\r\n

Company size and scalability<\/h2>\r\n

Most marketing automation service providers offer different pricing plans depending on the size of the company. If you are operating on a small scale and don\u2019t expect to handle more than a thousand leads a month, then there is no need to purchase a gigantic subscription that allows you to manage a million leads per month. Even if the company that you like doesn\u2019t offer a subscription that\u2019s sized perfectly for your business, it\u2019s always an option to negotiate with the company over a customised software version for your company.<\/p>\r\n

Another aspect to consider while purchasing modern marketing automation tools is scalability. Every business dreams to grow (and not stop growing) and your marketing software should be capable of growing with you. A vast majority of service providers offer solutions based on the\u00a0software as a service (SAAS)\u00a0<\/em>model which entails that you pay for online access to the system and the number of users that got added or processed via it. These sophisticated solutions don\u2019t require you to download any software or set up any new hardware to handle more users and that\u2019s what makes them ideal for scalability purposes. Agree on a deal with your service provider that doesn\u2019t inhibit your ability to scale indefinitely.<\/p>\r\n

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Feature set<\/h2>\r\n

Marketing automation can help you increase your sales productivity by 14.5%, as reported by research done by Nuclear Research.<\/a>\u00a0This is why you need to be as picky as possible when it comes to choosing a solution that has the richest set of features. Here are some of the features that you just can\u2019t do without:<\/p>\r\n