Marketers are continuously searching for the most effective marketing automation software for small businesses in order to optimize their operations and enhance productivity.
By employing these tools, you can streamline repetitive tasks like email marketing and social media management, enabling you to prioritize other critical aspects of your business.
We have conducted research and put together a list comprising the best options for small businesses to enhance their marketing efforts, ranging from email marketing platforms to social media management tools.
Why Small Businesses Need Marketing Automation
Small businesses frequently encounter restrictions in terms of resources and a limited team that handles all aspects of their operations, including marketing.
In the ever-changing field of marketing, there are various recurring tasks that play a crucial role, including email marketing, posting on social media, running ad campaigns, and carrying out onsite marketing activities.
By automating repetitive tasks, marketing automation software can assist small businesses in prioritizing other crucial aspects of their operations.
Marketing automation software not only increases efficiency but also delivers personalized experiences to users and saves time.
If you implement an autoresponder email series, integrate a chatbot onto your website, or utilize a sales CRM tool to organize your leads and enhance the user experience,
Marketing Automation Tools
- Mailchimp
You can use MailChimp’s automation feature to generate personalized emails that are sent in response to a particular event, date, or activity.
Even if you are offline, you can effortlessly inform, reward, and engage your contacts through automated emails using its powerful set of design, scheduling, and segmenting tools.
Features at the top:
- Pre-built journeys to engage with your audience and get recommendations
- Data integration from apps and web services
Advantages:
- 24/7 email & chat support
- Custom-coded and pre-built email templates
- A/B testing
- Enhanced automated customer journeys
- Predictive segmentation
- Campaign manager
Downsides:
- On the free plan, there is only email support for the first 30 days.
- Might not be very budget-friendly.
- Users claim that the emails often end up in spam folders.
The pricing includes a free plan with minimal features, while the starting cost for the essential plan is $13 per month, calculated for 500 contacts.
- Constant Contact
By using Constant Contact, you can establish email sequences and have them sent to your contacts in an automated manner.
Similar to MailChimp, you have the ability to configure specific triggers, resulting in the delivery of emails that are based on user actions.
Features at the forefront:
- Dynamic content personalization
- Automated communications (e.g., resend to non-openers)
- In-depth reporting, including conversion and sales
Advantages:
- Hundreds of email templates
- Sign-up forms
- Integrations with popular tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, and Etsy
- Engagement reporting (i.e., views, clicks, etc.)
- Live chat and phone support
Disadvantages:
- Support could be improved.
- Might be difficult to use if you technically challenged
- The templates and design options could be more up-to-date and flexible.
The price of the service includes a 30-day free trial option for those who wish to test it initially. The starting cost of the core plan is $9.99 per month, and it varies depending on the number of contacts.
- Brevo
Brevo is another all-in-one marketing automation software that caters to small businesses, offering excellent services for email and SMS marketing.
Brevo enables the creation of customized workflows that automatically dispatch emails. Triggers can be established to send emails according to subscriber activities on your website.
Here are the top features:
- Unlimited contacts & details.
- Real-time email statistics
- Workflow editor
Advantages:
- Drag and drop builder
- Shared inbox to keep your team organized
- Transactional email
- Segmentation
- Signup forms
Disadvantages:
- The editor could be more intuitive
- Customer support could be improved
- Customer reviews mention emails not being sent though it looks like they did.
There is a free plan with unlimited contacts offered at no cost. The starter plan begins at $25 per month and also provides unlimited contacts.
- Moosend
Moosend is a software designed for marketing automation that is user-friendly and comprehensive.
Moosend, like Constant Contact, offers features such as A/B testing, list segmentation, and user/website tracking, alongside email marketing.
Key Features:
- Behavioral analytics
- Custom reporting
- 100+ integrations
Advantages: – The text should be rephrased in a step-by-step manner while keeping the meaning intact. No additional information should be added, and no information should be removed.
- Unlimited emails
- Landing pages/forms
- Multi-step marketing automation workflows
- Predicted location & demographics
- A/B testing
- Email heatmap analytics
Disadvantages:
- You may need more than average knowledge to set it up.
- You may get contradictive information from customer support.
The price includes a 30-day free trial, and the Pro plan commences at $9 per month for a subscriber base of 0-500.
- Mailmodo
Mailmodo is an acclaimed marketing automation software company that enables businesses to generate interactive and personalized email experiences.
Marketers can engage customers, drive conversions, and enhance their email marketing campaigns using Mailmodo, which offers a user-friendly interface and powerful features.
Key features:
- Drag-and-drop interface to create interactive emails without coding knowledge
- Best bulk email service and transactional email service
- Dynamic content block for personalization
Advantages:
- Pre-built 300+ email templates and 70+ email flows
- Integration with Shopify and other tech-stack
- Email template builder for interactive emails
- Best bulk email and transactional email service
The downsides are as follows:
- Limited support for non-English users
- No free plan available
Mailmodo does not provide a free subscription but does offer a 21-day trial period. Afterward, the Lite, Pro, and Max plans are priced at starting rates of $39 per month, $99 per month, and $249 per month, respectively.
- Popupsmart
Popupsmart popup builder is considered to be one of the top marketing automation software options for small businesses.
If your goal is to continue generating email leads and directing traffic to your products or campaigns, Popupsmart is available to handle the more challenging aspects of the task, providing a straightforward solution.
Here are the main features:
- Gamified popups
- Powerful targeting features like SiteData targeting
Advantages:
- Outstanding analytics features
- Generating email leads and sending autoresponders to subscribers
- Promoting your products with video popups
- Collecting customer feedback and surveys
The following are the disadvantages:
- The number of templates could be increased
There is a free plan offered, and if marketers choose to pay annually, they can opt for the basic plan priced at $32.5 per month.
- Tidio Chatbot
Tidio is a live chat tool that is both efficient and budget-friendly, making it one of the best options available.
Even if your live chat agent is offline, this software enables you to generate chatbots that function as virtual assistants and respond to users’ inquiries around the clock.
Key Features:
- Live chat and unlimited conversations
- Up to 5 operators
- Email, 24/5 live chat support
Advantages:
- Team departments to direct conversations to the best assistant.
- Analytics
- Native Shopify integration
- Live typing feature to see what customers are writing before they send them
- Viewed pages to track visitors
- Live visitors list
Drawbacks:
- There is a learning curve if you’re new in the business
- Confirmation texts might not be 100% true
- The number of integrations could be increased
There is an option to use a free plan, while the Communicator plan starts at $15.83 per month, with billing done per operator.
- Freechat
Freechat is a tool for live chatting which assists businesses in engaging with website visitors through messaging apps.
Thanks to the available customization options, achieving the desired appearance is a breeze. With a quick and effortless setup process, you’ll be able to engage in real-time conversations with your customers within minutes.
Key Features:
- Grate user interface.
- No coding is required.
Advantages:
- Super user-friendly
- Customization options for the branding of your business
- Secure & GDPR Complaint
Drawbacks:
- More messaging apps could be added
The price is absolutely zero!
- Jotform
You can utilize Jotform for various purposes when it comes to email marketing. Jotform’s form templates consist of an email signup form, a blog newsletter signup form, an email list form, and an opt-in form. By using these forms, you can automate the process of collecting information and thereby enhance the initial phase of your email marketing strategy.
Jotform provides various table templates, such as an email marketing calendar, an email signup sheet, an email list, and an email subscription list template. These templates can be used as databases to oversee your email lists and email marketing endeavors. Consolidating all your information in a single location facilitates the tracking and monitoring of the efficacy of your marketing efforts.
- HubSpot
HubSpot offers a variety of email marketing tools that are valuable for creating and customizing marketing emails, all without the need for a designer. By using this tool, you can enhance your open and click-through rates and easily send automated, personalized emails to recipients based on specific actions they take.
Thanks to HubSpot’s wide range of email templates and its drag-and-drop editor, creating email campaigns becomes effortless.
- Salesforce
Salesforce provides a multitude of options for small businesses, however, this customer relationship management (CRM) platform additionally assists in attaining a better understanding of your customers for enhanced email marketing effectiveness.
The CRM data can be utilized for improved connection and engagement with your customers. Salesforce provides real-time insights to ensure you are always using the most up-to-date data. By leveraging AI technology, you can enhance the personalization and effectiveness of your emails.
- ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a platform for automating customer experiences that enables you to generate exceptional experiences. It is applicable for e-commerce, B2C, and B2B businesses, and provides support for various types of email marketing such as broadcast emails, triggered emails, targeted emails, and others.
You can easily use the drag-and-drop designer that incorporates customer data for targeting specific groups with the messaging that is most effective for them.
- GetResponse
With a range of email automation features, GetResponse is a robust marketing tool that facilitates tasks like email newsletters, autoresponders, automated emails, and transactional emails. Its user-friendly design tools simplify the process of creating an email, and the platform’s deliverability rate of 99 percent ensures improved marketing outcomes.
