Marketing automation is of magnifying importance for current day businesses for a variety of reasons. When implemented the right way, it serves as a great tool. In the case of startups and small companies with limited number of staff, it makes it easy to run even complex campaigns along with managing their time efficiently. And for larger organizations, it makes it possible for them to connect with their customers or clients in a personalized level that can be hard to achieve manually.

Marketing automation tools help you save a lot of time. You will be able to create numerous posts and campaigns and schedule them for any specific date and time. It also enables you to connect with each of your customers. Instead of segmenting clients manually based on their preferences, a marketing automation software tool will enable automatic separation or segmentation of customers. With such software, you will also get regular reports, as it will keep track of your messages, posts, campaigns, and more.

To help you choose a good marketing automation software suite that will suit your business operations and needs, we have reviewed two of the most popular ones on market today: Marketo and Eloqua.

Overview

Marketo

Established in the year 2007, Marketo happens to be one of the most preferred marketing automation solutions by businesses all over the world. The software is designed to help you cope with the intricacy of connecting with your clients in real time through email, web, video, mobile devices, online and offline events, etc. The user interface of this tool is solid and makes it easier for you to create your campaigns. The simple drag and drop interface can be used by any individual and doesn’t require any specific technical skills.

When it comes to the integration with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Marketo enables seamless integration with Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce. In the case of the Lead Management feature offered by this system, it enables lead scoring based on different factors such as: sales rep input, demographics, prospect behavior, and product-specific scoring. For social media marketing, this system offers different applications, including Facebook tab publishing, shareable videos, share buttons, and more. Also, Marketo can be integrated with a long list of business applications, which is yet another impressive feature.

Learn more about the product on our Knowledge Base.

Eloqua

From one of the most trusted brands, Oracle, Eloqua is a solution that enables you to create and implement marketing automation campaigns along with offering a personalized experience to your prospective customers. While many users have reported that the system is not really user friendly, however, program or campaign building process in Eloqua happens to be better than the previous tool. Customization options in this system are also easier to manage.

The email platform in Eloqua is highly robust and you can choose from and customize different templates. When it comes to CRM integration, the service’s “integration studio” syncs natively with Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle CRM, and Salesforce, more like many other marketing automation systems. The product implements Co-Dynamic Lead Scoring technology that makes use of common definitions such as Timeline, Authority, and Budget. Its social media marketing feature offers several tools to engage with your customers, drive revenue by analyzing social data, publish relevant content, etc.

Learn more about the product on our Knowledge Base.

Benefits

Marketo

• Easy to use.
• Enables real-time personalization.
• Offers a wide range of solutions.
• Offers customer support through different sources.

Eloqua

• Provides free demos.
• Integrates with numerous apps.
• Offers comprehensive marketing solutions.
• Offers different services including campaign, implementation and strategic services.

Head-to-Head Matchup

Conclusion

Both these solutions offer a comprehensive array of services that can help businesses in different ways. Ultimately, the marketing automation system that is best for your business will depend on the list of components and features you are looking for and your specific requirements.