Marketing automation tools help marketers and business owners to optimize and automate several tasks in the marketing and sales departments. However, you need to choose an automation marketing tool that suits your business if you want to enjoy all the benefits that come with this technology. 

With so many marketing automation tools in the market today, it can be challenging to know the one that suits your business. Some of the top-rated marketing automation tools include HubSpot, Pardot, Marketo, Braze, and many more. All these tools have great features and functionalities. However, not all of them are the perfect fit for your business. 

To help you find the marketing automation tool that suits your business, we have compiled a list of factors you need to consider before making this choice. 

Let’s dive in right away!

Integration with other tools in your technology stack 

This is one of the most important factors you need to consider because it will have a huge impact on your user experience down the road. You need to choose an automation marketing tool that integrates with the rest of the applications in your ecosystem. So, while going through the list of features a given platform offers, don’t forget to check if it integrates with the rest of the apps in your tech stack. 

You may also contact their support team to get confirmation and more details of how the integrations actually work. The ideal choice would be going for an automation marketing tool offered by a platform whose apps you are already using in your ecosystem. For example, if you are using other salesforce apps, syncing them with Pardot will be a lot easier than if you chose a marketing automation tool offered by another brand. 

Customization of the reporting module 

Reporting is another crucial aspect you have to find out before choosing which marketing automation platform to subscribe to. You need to choose a platform that gives you the freedom to customize and export your reports in whatever way you need. A platform that limits flexibility in customizing reports is not the best choice, even if it has other great features. 

Migration to and from the platform 

Technology keeps evolving, and a marketing platform that was great five years ago may not be the best choice today. That is why you need to choose a platform that makes it easy for users not only to migrate their data from their old platform when they are joining, but also to migrate it to another platform if they want to try out something different in the future. 

You also need to know the procedure, duration, and costs involved while performing the migration. These details are always hidden and may not be listed among the features you will find on the platform’s site. So, you may have to contact the platform's customer support to find out all these details. 

Consider all the costs involved. 

Most marketing automation tools have several other hidden costs that may not be displayed on the pricing plans list on their website. You may have to dig deeper or even contact the support team to seek details of all the costs involved in purchasing and using their platform. Some of the common hidden fees are usually associated with average, training, and implementation.

Trial period 

Most marketing automation tools have free packages that usually come with limited features.  The paid packages also have trial periods that give you access to all features for a certain period before you commit to subscribing. You need to choose a platform that gives you enough time to try it out before committing to subscribe. You should also find out all the terms and conditions for their trial period. 

Details of the platform’s customer support 

Customer support is one of the most important attributes you need to properly assess before choosing which marketing automation platform to subscribe to. You will often get issues that require help from the platform’s support team. So, you need to be sure of the level of customer support you will get based on the package you intend to subscribe to. 

Most marketing automation platforms offer a different level of support based on the package one subscribes to. The cheaper packages are usually given less priority than the premium ones. These details are usually listed in the features the platform offers for each package. 

Value for money 

Marketing is a business cost, so the money you spend on a marketing automation tool has to be worth it. The good news is that all the top-rated platforms offer most of the core marketing automation features. Your choice will usually be influenced by the price of the different packages they offer. Make sure you choose one that offers all the core features you need but at the least possible cost. 

How the platform measure success 

You are choosing to use marketing automation to boost your chances of reaching more customers and possibly increase your revenue.  Any reliable marketing automation tool should be able to track, report, and measure your return on investment (ROI) within any given period. 

For example, if you are running Ad campaigns on YouTube and Instagram, your marketing automation tool should be able to tell you which of the two platforms brings in more returns. This information will help you decide how to run future campaigns and the platforms to prioritize. 

Bottom line 

The factors we have just discussed are all important and will affect your user experience down the road as you use the platform. It may take you a couple of hours or even days to analyze all these factors thoroughly. However, this time investment is worth it. We also recommend you to check out review platforms like  G2 Crowd, TrustRadius, and  Capterra to learn about the opinions of the previous users of the various marketing automation platforms.

We have been evaluating and finding the best tools for our clients for over a decade.  We've worked with over a dozen marketing automation tools, so let us help you make the right choice.   Reach out and let's chat!