Marketing automation software can assist you to capture leads, build relationships and move prospects through the sales funnel. It allows you to harness customer data from multiple sources and apply it to develop marketing strategies across multiple media. Marketing automation lets you scale your efforts to develop and sustain meaningful relationships with prospects. It also offers the same experience for customers regardless of their needs or preferences.

There are numerous platforms on the market, all with different features and interfaces that help you to market better to your prospects. So how do you decide what's best for your business? Here are 10 points you should consider when searching for the perfect product.

Your dreams

Each marketing software for small business will offer various features, so be sure you're choosing an option that provides the features you require. It's best to clearly define your objectives for marketing prior to you begin to research which automation platform to choose. Furthermore, making your list of features that you require prior to conducting your research will aid you in choosing the right platform. Consider the possibility of customizing the platform. You need an option that is able to be tailored to fit your needs and your clients.

Price

Pricing structures may differ from platform to platform but most will offer a set cost per contact. There are a few questions: What is the platform's base price? How many contacts are you permitted to keep? How fast can your contact database scale? What features or benefits affect the price? Is it within your budget to purchase additional features or choose the more costly option? These costs should be included in your budget.

As a general rule, the simpler and more transparent a company's approach to their pricing structure and pricing structure, the better. A sales rep will help you determine the exact cost of your service based on your database size along with the features that you need and the goals of your business.

User interface

Think about how easy or difficult the platform's user interface is designed. Ask for a demonstration to check if the user interface is easy to navigate. Does it have clear navigation? Do you have any context information? Did you need to jump through multiple hoops in order to complete an easy task? These questions will help you and your team to adopt the new platform quickly, and painlessly.

Setup and Onboarding

When you've purchased your brand new platform for marketing automation You'll need some help getting it started. Take into consideration the costs associated with the setup and onboarding of a platform. What do they cost? You should also consider whether you are able to manage a guided onboarding or need a partner who can do the task for you. Moving from one system to the next? It may require additional assistance to ensure that everything is transferred correctly.

Personalisation

The lead generation and marketing battle going to be decided by creating context. Personalisation can increase the engagement on your website and emails. To what level can you tailor your experience to the uniqueness of your customer? You can tailor the content of your landing pages, emails, and web pages.

Native integrations

Consider your existing technologies and the ones you want to incorporate with the new platform. Does the system natively integrate with your existing technologies to ensure the proper transfer of data? Open APIs are a different consideration. This can be essential when you are planning to have developers create custom assets.

Alignment

A top marketing automation system aligns to the entire funnel and connects to sales. Be sure that the platform provides transparency between sales and marketing and gives transparent and consistent definitions for your funnel stages and pipeline stages. Many platforms fail to realize that your entire goal in running a marketing program is to boost sales.

Customer service

When adopting a new technology, you'll want to receive the best assistance you can get. If you are purchasing a brand new marketing-automation, some kind of technical support is normally offered. What kind of support can you expect and how quickly? The majority of people can receive help via email, telephone or via live chat. Being able to communicate with an actual person will help you solve unique issues quickly. If customer support is not accessible, are there any other resources available to you? Consider online documentation or community forums.

Learning tools and resources

If you are purchasing marketing software for small business purchasing marketing automation software, having online resources will assist you in getting the most benefit from the new device. Certain platforms offer guides, how-to videos or even webinars to aid you in understanding how to use the software. Take into consideration the availability of resources and the information it provides. Also , consider whether these resources are up to date and relevant to the date you're buying the platform.

Analytics and reporting

The ability to gauge the results, monitor and report on your marketing progress is among the most crucial aspects of marketing. What is the level of performance that the platform you're considering provide insight into what's working and what's not? Does it truly eliminate the need to evaluate the performance of your long- and short term goals? You should consider what reports you are provided with, and ensure that you are able to quickly retrieve or develop any custom reports that could be needed down the road.