The Top Four Marketing Automation Software Options for Small Businesses

Sustaining a solid content marketing strategy can sometimes be overwhelming for small businesses. There are so many moving parts to manage — and time, as well as staff, are not always in abundant supply.

Everyone knows that efficiency and organization is key to marketing success, but it can be challenging to do this without a little help. Thankfully, there are numerous marketing automation tools for small business teams to leverage. But which tool is best for you? Here's a look at the top-rated marketing automation tools for small businesses, based on their TrustRadius reviews.

1. Hubspot

Hubspot is one of the largest and most well-known inbound marketing tools. It has more than 18,000 customers and is used across 90 countries. It presents itself as an all-in-one automated marketing tool that includes a content management system for landing pages and blogs, a robust SEO system that ensures content can be found in search engines, lead management to track and collect leads, and a CRM system that captures all business contacts. Small businesses are the top users of this platform.

TrustRadius Score: 8.3 out of 10

2. Marketo

Marketo is not too far behind when it comes to popularity. It's a marketing automation program that offers a lot of options and customization for small businesses who want to ramp up their strategic marketing efforts. Teams can build automated and personalized marketing campaigns, trigger messages that promote conversions, and create valuable reports to understand the ROI behind marketing efforts. Features for marketers include social and web retargeting, email marketing, and SEO. Both B2B and B2C companies have been known to use Marketo in their marketing automation strategies.

TrustRadius Score: 8.0 out of 10

3. Hatchbuck

While not as well known as the first two on this list, Hatchbuck offers some excellent capabilities for those who want to look at a Marketo/Hubspot alternative. Hatchbuck also handles automated email responses, triggered and scheduled emails, lead segmentation, automated sales alerts, and CRM integration, but this tool seems to shine for businesses engaged in e-commerce — especially B2C companies. Hatchbuck can integrate with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify through a Zapier API integration. So, for small businesses who are selling items online, this may be a platform to invest in.

TrustRadius Score: 8.0 out of 10

4. LeadSquared

Along with the standard email marketing automation, mobile optimization, contact list management, social profile sharing, and lead nurturing features, this system has something unique up its sleeve. LeadSquared has a long list of integration capabilities. From GoToWebinar to WordPress and Olark, this program allows teams to seamlessly connect it to other apps, creating a connected and robust marketing automation experience. For those who have webinars as a part of their marketing strategy, the system does promote event and webinar marketing.

TrustRadius Score: 7.9 out of 10

Conclusion

With the vast amount of marketing solutions available to you, it can seem impossible to find the right marketing automation tool that fits your small business' needs. However, reviews from those who have already taken the plunge can help choose an option that is just right. Once small business marketing teams decide what their needs are, research and customer reviews can help them make a solid decision that will work in the short- and long-term.

Chanell Alexander currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. When she’s not traveling and trying new restaurants in the Metro Atlanta area, she writes about the latest technology and tools for TrustRadius.