10 marketing automation platforms to bring your wildest scenarios to life
Comparing one marketing automation platform with another is essential when choosing which tool to implement. Some features are already well known, such as the integration of landing pages on your website, or the automation of email marketing campaigns.
VSEs, SMEs, ETIs and large corporations all have different inbound marketing strategies. We've already explained in this dedicated article the benefits of generating contacts through your blog content, then nurturing your leads with a lead nurturing approach. Beyond company size, the way in which leads are converted into customers varies according to different criteria, such as the nature of the B2B or B2C market, the sales generated per lead, and so on.
In this article, appvizer presents a benchmark of the market's leading marketing automation solutions. Before looking at our marketing automation software comparison, we'd like to give you a few useful tips to help you make your choice:
Marketing automation platform comparison chart
Here's a summary table to sweep up all the marketing automation platforms at a glance. đź’ˇ We'll be right back with some additional video tips to show you that the right tool doesn't make the right marketer!
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 Webmecanik Automation |  ACTITO |  Plezi |  Eloqua |  Pardot |  Act-On |  ActiveTrail |  Jumplead |  Marketo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For companies with more than 1 employees | For all companies | For companies with 2 to 5000 employees | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For companies with more than 1 employees | For all companies | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about Webmecanik Automation | Learn more about ACTITO | Learn more about Plezi | Learn more about Eloqua | Learn more about Pardot | Learn more about Act-On | Learn more about ActiveTrail | Learn more about Jumplead | Learn more about Marketo |
3 French-language marketing automation software
Let's start our marketing software comparison with French-speaking RGPD-compliant solutions. France has a lot to be proud of: in the marketing automation market, two software products have now reached maturity and rival the American behemoths!
Actito software
Overall opinion: Actito is a Belgian marketing automation platform whose strengths lie in its ability to leverage customer data to segment and predict behavioral patterns that encourage contact engagement.
Useful information for your marketing automation benchmark:
- Actito 's customers include UNADEV, Radio France, arte, La Croix Rouge de Belgique, MisterFly, avatacar, etc. ;
- The publisher provides services to help companies deploy their solution, such as Actito support dedicated to marketers;
- The interface is available in: English, French and Dutch. If you want to use marketing automation software in French, this Belgian cousin makes it possible;
- Price: on request.
Notable features of the Actito marketing automation platform:
- Actito datamart, bringing together all customer data,
- personalized campaigns,
- messages sent via all channels (SMS, push notifications, etc.),
- statistics tracking,
- interoperability with MAgento, Prestashop, Microsoft Dynamics, blendr.io, Zapier.
ACTITO
The Plezi solution
General opinion of French marketing automation software Plezi: this B2B marketing automation software enables B2B companies to generate qualified leads for their sales force. Plezi's mission is to help marketers save time while structuring their digital marketing strategy.
The editor's many resources:
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Plezi is aimed at a wide range of B2B companies, from start-ups to ETIs, such as NOVRH, Budgetbox, Groupe d'aucy, Lemonway, Deuxième Avis, Talenco, SolaireBox, Digora, Open Bee etc... Plezi also partners with some thirty agencies;
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Plezi has set up a Happiness Factory designed to help its customers improve their knowledge of Plezi and digital marketing, and provides a wealth of content: articles, guides, tips and FAQs;
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Plezi rates: €169/month for 1,000 contracts (Plus package), €599/month for 4,000 contracts (Star package) and €1,999 unlimited (unlimited package).
Main features of Plezi marketing automation software:
- email editor, automated newsletter,
- automation/Workflow/Scenario,
- intelligent campaigns: automated and personalized nurturing,
- social network management,
- content hosting,
- landing page and form creation (template, drag and drop editor),
- lead scoring and tracking (pages visited, clicks, downloads, etc.),
- intelligent, automatic prospect segmentation,
- dashboards for KPI tracking,
- CRM synchronization (Salesforce Sellsy, Hubspot CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, etc.) and integrations (Gotowebinar, EventBrite, Slack, Intercom, Unbounce etc.).
Plezi
The Webmecanik platform
Opinions on Webmecanik are unanimous among the 60 partner agencies that have obtained Webmecanik certification: the French marketing automation software has become one of the benchmarks capable of competing with the American marketing automation giants, with an advantageous quality/price ratio.
Find out more about the French publisher's expertise:
- Webmecanik 's customers range from ambitious start-ups to major accounts: Bic, Renault, blue by Engie, Docapost, AT Internet. Agencies include Okédito, Cybelimage, Invox, Marketive and Indexel;
- Based on the Mautic kernel (an open source tool), Webmecanik enables users to customize their solution to suit their own needs and the buying cycle of their customers;
- The interface is available in: Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Slovak and Spanish;
- Support responsiveness, FAQ and knowledge base are highly appreciated;
- Price: €400/month up to 10,000 contacts (decreasing rate thereafter) or €100/month up to 1,000 contacts for startups.
Key features of the Webmecanik marketing automation solution:
- integration of landing pages, popups and forms on your website,
- campaign automation (SMS, email, autoresponders, social networks, etc.),
- IP tracking of visitors, - creation of customized scenarios,
- complete webinar management and hosting,
- interoperability with Salesforce, Pipedrive CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, Ines CRM, Webikeo, Vtiger CRM, Sugar CRM, GoToWebinar,
- dashboard with tracking indicators.
Webmecanik Automation
appvizer's take on these 3 French-language platforms
- French and Belgian publishers are now competing with the American giants. Even the most chauvinistic can shout "Cocorico! Simplicity, ergonomics and performance come together.
- We also note the constant efforts made by publishers to support their customers and popularize best practices, both in inbound marketing and marketing automation. We can only encourage them to continue along this path.
3 American monsters with optional CRM
The first marketing automation software was developed in the United States. Some publishers have enriched their offering, either by acquiring a mature marketing automation platform, or by developing it specifically to work with the software that made their name, such as a CRM. Let's continue our benchmark of marketing automation tools with these famous American giants.
Eloqua, owned by Oracle
General opinion: the Eloqua solution is resolutely designed for large accounts that need to manage substantial databases. Oracle's solution is designed for complex environments, and requires a technical approach. The deployment of such a solution requires the support of an expert and a long timeframe.
Let's take a look at this major player in the American marketing automation market:
- Among Eloqua's 70,000 customers are Clarks, Lacoste, Philips, JD Williams, WNS and NGA Human Resources;
- Oracle Marketing Cloud benefits from an extensive customer history and community of U.S. users, enabling it to offer a wealth of services and features;
- The solution is available in 18 languages: French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. ;
- Prices start at around €3,000/month for 10,000 contacts.
Key features that make Eloqua marketing software so powerful:
- a highly accurate segmentation and lead scoring tool,
- interoperability with Oracle CRM (and others),
- combination of visitor tracking with your database,
- management and optimization of campaigns across all channels,
- customizable dashboards,
- website creation and content management,
- numerous interoperable marketing tools,
- real-time ROI tracking.
Eloqua
Hub Marketing from the renowned HubSpot
General opinion on HubSpot: the company is not stingy with advice through its FAQ, articles and white papers. Inbound marketing is its religion, and the company demonstrates this through its content marketing approach on its respective blogs.
In theory, HubSpot aims to be accessible to all types of business, from the very small to the very large. In reality, however, the technical expertise and time spent deploying the tool and mastering its many functions can quickly add up - too much for the VSE:
- Prices for Hub Marketing, a solution integrating all marketing automation tools, start at €46/month and can exceed €3,000/month (annual billing);
- HubSpot also offers a wide range of paid services, including :
- a CMS to create your own website from €280/month,
- a specific tool for editing dashboards from €185/month,
- an advertising manager from €90/month,
- inbound marketing consulting from €325/month (only available in English),
- a technical consulting package from €600/month (only available in English),
- premium consulting from €1,100/month,
- if HubSpot CRM is free, the rest is not.
Here's some more information on the American reference for inbound marketing:
- HubSpot's 10,000 customers include Stellar, Casio, BBC and Critizr. If you're looking for a HubSpot partner agency, here are a few names: La Super Agence, Gradientz, Invox, Inbound Value.
- The interface is available in: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese.
- For some marketers, HubSpot certification is a guarantee of expertise; for others, it borders on "brainwashing". Opinions are therefore divided.
Key features of HuSspot's marketing automation solution:
- interoperability with HubSpot CRM, but also with Salesforce Sales Cloud,
- landing pages, forms, automated email sequences,
- integrated SEO tools,
- Google search console integration,
- contact management,
- attribution reports,
- lead nurturing and lead scoring management,
- conversational chatbots, etc.
Pardot from Salesforce for B2B
Overall opinion on Pardot : if you're already using Salesforce Sales Cloud CRM with great satisfaction, Pardot is the marketing automation platform to seriously consider. The completeness of the solution makes it a highly effective tool for small and medium-sized businesses and large accounts wishing to generate a higher volume of better-qualified B2B leads.
Good to know for your marketing automation benchmark:
- Key accounts using Pardot include Michelin, Thalys, Barclays, Quiksilver, Finalcad and Amazon;
- A forum, chat or phone support (depending on the subscription package chosen) and on-demand training videos enable users to better exploit all Pardot's possibilities by combining it with Salesforce CRM;
- An online ROI calculator is available to assess sales potential;
- The interface is available in: English only.
Rates for the 3 subscription packages offered up to 10,000 contacts (annual billing):
- 1,250 per month for standard marketing automation,
- 2,500 per month for advanced marketing automation,
- 4,000 per month for personalized marketing automation.
We also offer a sales and marketing alignment module at €50 per month/user, including alerts, reporting and campaign management.
Core features of the Pardot marketing platform:
- all the tools you need for marketing automation,
- integrated artificial intelligence for progressive prospect profiling,
- a fine-tuned engagement process for lead nurturing,
- a real-time alert system to interact with the right lead at the right time,
- interoperability with Salesforce CRM, Google AdWords, EventBrite and webinar tools,
- fine-tuned contact management to generate quality leads,
- collaborative features for better sales/marketing alignment,
- ROI analysis based on numerous evaluation criteria available on a dashboard.
Pardot
appvizer's take on these 3 American solutions
- These giants are able to offer everything: website, CRM, marketing automation software, dedicated sales tool, and so on. As a major account, if you opt for the "complete package", you should experience it as a comfort: the publisher should facilitate the various connections between all your marketing tools;
- However, you can become dependent on these giants if you put "all your eggs in one basket". Take HubSpot, for example, which lets you create your own website using its in-house CMS: if you stop paying, your site disappears. A good alternative would be to retain ownership of your site, just in case you feel like changing your marketing automation platform.
4 alternative marketing automation platforms
Now that you know the main tools, would you like to complete your marketing software comparison ? Here are some other options to include in your marketing automation benchmark.
The Act-On marketing tool
General opinion on the American Act-On : this marketing automation software is designed for SMEs, with long-standing customers in the banking/insurance sector. Companies benefit from a complete, high-performance solution. ETIs and key accounts will find this tool limited.
What you need to know about this digital marketing tool:
- Corporate customers include: VmWare, SixFlags, NYU, Celtic Bank, American Founders Bank;
- On the service side, customer support is included in the subscription price, and a resource library and videos guide new users;
- Interface language: English only.
There are two levels of annual invoicing for 2,500 contacts:
- 875 per month for 3 marketing users and 50 sales users,
- from €1,925 per month for 6 marketing users and 100 sales users.
In addition, there are integration costs.
Top features for the marketing automation platform:
- all the features you need to create high-performance sales tunnels,
- connection with social networks, Google AdWords,
- visitor tracking,
- lead scoring tool,
- message personalization for lead nurturing,
- A/B testing and email automation,
- an integration ecosystem for interoperability with GoToWebinar, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce and NetSuite,
- analytical features for campaign and sales performance reporting.
Act-On
ActiveTrail: email marketing automation
Overall opinion of ActiveTrail: this Israeli email marketing software has proved its worth with small and medium-sized businesses, and particularly with e-commerce players, thanks to its specific connectors with Prestashop and Magento and its module for increasing the average shopping basket. The tool allows you to exploit all the facets of email marketing, combining it with SMS campaigns to boost conversion rates.
ActiveTrail? More than just newsletter software:
- Companies using ActiveTrail include Avis, Hilton, Omobli, VISA and Crocs;
- Users have access to a learning center to find answers to their integration or usage problems, as well as chat, email and telephone support;
- The interface is available in: German, English, Spanish, French, Hebrew.
Pricing options :
- monthly email packages: from €7/month for up to 500 contacts to €21/month for up to 2,500 contacts,
- prepaid email packages: from €19 for 1,000 emails to €69 for 5,000 emails,
- SMS packages: from €32 for 500 SMS to €168 for 3000 SMS.
Key features for email marketing :
- landing pages, autoresponders,
- creation of emailing campaign scenarios,
- mass e-mailing and SMS messaging,
- survey module,
- management of automated paths,
- segmentation of your contact lists,
- A/B testing, campaign reporting,
- social network centralization,
- APIs and connectors for communication with your WordPress CMS, Google Analytics, e-commerce site (Magento, Prestashop), Salesforce CRM (partnership), Facebook lead Ads, Zapier, etc,
- an active commerce plugin to boost online store sales.
ActiveTrail
Jumplead marketing software
Overall opinion of Jumplead: the tool offers all the simplicity and functionality that small businesses desire. It's a no-frills marketing automation solution for VSEs and freelancers, with an English/French interface that meets the needs of small businesses. Please note, however, that if you have a large database, this tool is not suitable for you.
Important information about the marketing automation solution:
- Jumplead customers include: SearcherMagnet, Praecom Oy, SmartEdTech, AlayaCare, DecisionWise ;
- A knowledge base and marketing guides are available to help users understand the tool;
- Interface language: English only.
Pricing :
- 49 per month for 3,000 monthly visitors to your website,
- 99 per month for 7500 monthly visitors,
- 199 per month for 20,000 monthly visitors,
- 299 per month for an unlimited number of visitors.
Outstanding features of the digital marketing tool:
- landing pages, forms,
- automated email scenarios based on triggers,
- popup subscription window,
- segmentation of your contact lists,
- lead nurturing with performance analysis,
- Live Chat integrated into your website to engage your visitors in conversation,
- native integrations to communicate with the WordPress CMS, Zapier,
- interoperability with HubSpot CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, pipedrive, Google Contacts, Zoho CRM.
Jumplead
Marketo, the American giant acquired by Adobe
General opinion on Marketo: Adobe, owner of the solution, delivers on its promise of a " multi-channel engagement platform for the fearless modern marketer ". Experienced marketers working in small and medium-sized businesses and large accounts now have software capable of structuring large-scale customer acquisition campaigns. Be patient: such a war machine can't be deployed in 3 days...
Here's some information about the marketing platform:
- Companies using Marketo include: Fujitsu, Roche, ca technologies, Hortonworks, bnz, Panasonic, RingCentral. If you're looking for an agency with Marketo expertise, here are a few names: Markentive, Merlin/LĂ©onard (Gold Partner), Keizerlead ;
- Webinars, demonstrations, marketers' club, blog dedicated to developers (...): Marketo is not stingy with resources to help novices! User support is equally effective, with an active community sharing best practices;
- The interface is available in English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish;
- Marketo pricing: it's complicated! The publisher offers different packages for each module: lead management, email marketing, consumer marketing, customer base marketing and mobile marketing. In addition, there are installation and training costs.
Main features of the marketing automation tool :
- all functions for marketing automation,
- emails, landing pages and forms,
- all the tools needed for lead management,
- contact segmentation, A/B testing,
- multi-channel interaction with contacts (email, social networks, website, etc.),
- detection of the best opportunities,
- native integration with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics,
- dashboard and results analysis reports.
Marketo
appvizer's opinion on these 4 software alternatives
- Companies with small or large teams manage their marketing activities. We think it's a good idea to suggest some lesser-known solutions, but which are just as effective for small or large structures, in order to provide you with the broadest possible benchmark.
- A marketing automation project depends on the size of your organization and your development strategy: to caricature, the choice between ActiveTrail and Marketo is obvious. If, on the other hand, you prefer a French interface, support and contact person, it would be wiser to turn to solutions such as Plezi or Webmecanik.
6 questions to ask yourself when choosing a solution
The choice of a solution should be guided by your company's strategic objectives. The effectiveness of marketing automation will of course depend on the software's functionality, but above all on how you use it. Here are six important criteria to consider when making your marketing software comparison.
1. What do I want to achieve with the solution?
The implementation of a marketing automation solution needs to be thought through in advance, based on your target audiences. Each sales tunnel must be adapted to your typical prospect.
Depending on your business, marketing software can help you to:
- optimize customer relations as part of a relationship marketing approach,
- track visitors to observe their behavior,
- generate more leads thanks to tailored email scenarios,
- detect a lead's maturity in the purchasing process,
- better qualify prospects for referral to sales reps,
- shorten your sales cycle,
- increase your sales efficiency and results.
2. What features are required?
What features does the solution absolutely have to integrate to enable me to achieve my objectives?
Here, for example, is a list of essential marketing automation features:
- integration of landing pages on your website,
- connection with autoresponders,
- automated email campaign triggers,
- SMS campaign sending,
- an email campaign editor and manager,
- connection with social networks,
- a dashboard with indicators for tracking performance,
- interoperability with your CRM tool to enrich your contact database,
- etc.
The solution must also enable you to comply with the RGPD.
3. Is integration with my tools possible?
Some marketers, dazzled by the multiple functionalities of a marketing automation platform, forget this vital question. Interoperability between the marketing automation software and your existing tools must work perfectly.
Some essential integrations need to be checked, such as those that enable communication with :
- CRM software (Sellsy, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Inès CRM, etc.),
- social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter,
- analytics solutions such as Google Analytics,
- its website and CMS such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla,
- platforms for webinars, etc.
4. Will the software allow me to evolve?
What will my future needs be? Will the marketing platform allow me to evolve?
Here are a few criteria to check with the software vendor:
- The deployment of a marketing automation solution is intimately linked to data migration: it's vital to define your needs by projecting yourself into the future;
- Most publishers create an API that allows developers to customize the solution, just like connectors that enable communication with other software. It's a good thing to evolve;
- The best software publishers evolve and survey their users in order to perfect their platform and better meet their customers' expectations. For example, a software vendor that doesn't enable its users to comply with the RGPD would be one to shun.
5. Will I be well supported by the publisher?
What is the quality of service/price ratio? Can the publisher help me deploy the solution or migrate from one marketing automation solution to another ? Will user support be up to scratch?
Josélito Tirados, from the Merlin/Léonard agency, advises companies on implementing their digital strategy and improving the customer experience. His advice is to "choose a partner rather than features".
6. What are the hidden costs?
When it comes to pricing, you're naturally thinking of monthly subscription packages: this is the usual way of billing for SaaS (Software as a Service) software.
However, we would like to draw your attention to a number of cost factors that need to be taken into account:
- implementation of the marketing platform,
- training your team on the tool,
- data hosting, etc.
You need to discuss with the publisher what is included in the price and what services are not. At the outset, it's essential to invest in the configuration and training of your staff: do you have these resources in-house, or do you need to enlist the help of a technical expert?
The right tool doesn't make the right marketer
Automation Day is the event dedicated to marketing automation in France: marketers, publishers of marketing automation platforms and agencies meet there every year.
In the following video, discover Manuel Diaz's (Emakina agency) 2018 "no bullshit" intervention that shakes up the old ways.
Get useful information to convince and apply the best methods internally:
Article translated from French