Ever since businesses discovered marketing as a way to increase awareness, drive leads, and close sales, things have never been the same. Companies have always been on the lookout for unique strategies to implement in marketing campaigns to help them stand out from the crowd. And thanks to the fast-paced digital transformation, marketing has been fused with technology, birthing modern-day marketing as we know it today.
As a result of this evolution, marketers are now armed with an arsenal of tools, including email marketing software, social media management platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and more. But which one is right for your business? To answer this question, we'll look at two leading marketing automation solutions—HubSpot and Marketo—side by side. We'll discuss what they are, how they're different from one another, their key features, and pros and cons for each. We'll also highlight how to choose the best platform for your business.
Marketo is a cloud-based marketing automation platform designed for business-to-business (B2B) companies. Launched in 2006, the platform provides everything you need to automate lead generation, nurture prospects, convert leads into customers, and track customer interactions. With Adobe Marketo, you can create personalized emails, landing pages, web forms, surveys, and more. You can then use these automated messages to send targeted offers or promotions to individuals.
Founded in June 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot is a CRM-powered marketing automation solution that helps small- and medium-sized businesses grow their online presence. The platform includes modules such as Customer Relationship Management, Sales Intelligence, Social Media Management, Lead Nurturing, Content Creation, Website Tracking, SEO/PPC Optimization, Analytics, and Reporting. It has over 143,000 active users across more than 120 countries.
While both HubSpot and Marketo offer similar core functionality, each has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Let's examine some of the most important differences between the two platforms.
Let's look at the strengths and weaknesses of both Marketo and HubSpot to see which CRM-powered marketing platform is better for your business's needs.
No doubt, both platforms have several similar features and capabilities that make them suitable for their customers. Common core features across both platforms include SEO tools, content marketing, email automation, landing pages, A/B testing, lead nurturing, reporting/analytics, and many more. However, each platform has unique features that make it more attractive to certain types of companies. Here's a quick comparison of their key features.
1) Lead Nurturing
Unlike HubSpot, whose focus is inbound marketing, Marketo has traditionally focused on lead nurturing. The platform has concrete features that help nurture leads through various stages of the buying process. These include automated follow-up emails, dynamic content, personalized messages, and more.
2) Financial Management
Marketo's robust financial management system helps you manage your finances while growing your company. You can effortlessly see how much money you spend on different activities and set budgets accordingly. It also lets you generate reports and analyze data to know where you're losing money.
1) Built-In CRM
Unlike Marketo, HubSpot offers its own built-in customer relationship management solution. That means you don't need an additional third-party application like Salesforce to run your sales pipeline, nurture leads, and close deals.
2) Blogging Tools
HubSpot provides a blogging feature that allows you to write blogs about your products and services. You can also schedule posts, assign tags, and publish them automatically. In addition, you can integrate other social media channels, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, right into your blog posts.
3) Transactional Emails
HubSpot comes with a powerful transactional email builder that lets you send customized emails based on user actions. For example, if someone subscribes to your newsletter, you can send them a welcome message; if they click on a link in the email, you can send them a thank-you note; and if they download a file, you can send them an invoice.
If you want to grow your business, you should definitely consider using one of these two popular marketing software solutions. But settling on one of the two enterprise CRM solutions will depend on various factors, such as your specific needs and business model.
You should choose Marketo if:
You should opt for HubSpot if:
Both HubSpot and Marketo offer robust features and capabilities that can take your business to the next level through automation, personalization, and optimization. There are some critical differences between the two platforms, however, that can make it difficult to decide which one is better suited for your business. These include pricing, integrations, and support options.
But overall, if you value affordability, ease of use, scalability, and customization, HubSpot may be the best enterprise CRM platform that fits your requirements. Conversely, Adobe Marketo might be the perfect fit for your company if you're in the market for a premium, feature-packed, and sophisticated marketing automation solution.
Eternal Works is a Virginia Beach marketing and growth agency focused on helping businesses succeed online. Our goal is to leverage top-tier marketing technologies, strategies, and expertise to help our clients achieve their goals faster and smarter. We specialize in digital marketing, content marketing, SEO, PPC management, conversion-rate optimization, lead generation, and more. To learn more about how we can help your business grow, contact us today.