It is vital to select the best marketing automation tool to suit the needs of your business. Doing so will help you to increase business growth, increase sales and enhance the customer’s buying journey. If you don't choose correctly you may risk missing out on new prospects and potentially damaging long-term growth.
However, with so many CRM systems available, we understand it can be difficult to know which system is the best for your business. Don't fret, Fuelius are here to support you. This article will enlighten you on some of the automation tools available. Check out our comparison between HubSpot and Pardot.
HubSpot is a fantastic comprehensive marketing platform that has been created with the idea in mind that teams should be able to harmoniously work together, with minimal implications. This is a particularly useful solution for small to medium enterprises who want a user-friendly system that helps businesses grow their inbound marketing campaigns, that is particularly based around social media and blog content.
There are several advantages of HubSpot, firstly it is very versatile and provides the perfect solution to those promoting services and products through SEO, web analytics, optimised content management, as well as social media marketing. When it comes to tools for content creation, HubSpot excels. Providing the resources to promote blogs, build engaging landing pages, create personalised CTAs and embedding videos.
If you choose to sign up for HubSpot as a premium user, HubSpot offers comprehensive training courses and resources to all users. Whether you have experience in marketing and design or not, the system is extremely user-friendly with a simple UX design making it a breeze for all users, no matter their ability. On top of this, social media is a major pro, with both scheduling and reporting on the top platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. In addition, the communication tracking function helps you to effectively document prospects information, offering useful insights for future decisions.
There is a free version of HubSpot, however to get the full use out of it you will have to pay for the Pro or Enterprise package, prices can vary depending on the size of your business. In addition, reporting can sometimes cause issues and the versatility of the system can prove confusing to new users, as the capabilities it offers can be overwhelming. Despite the vast range of templates, they can also be deemed slightly too basic for those who need more precision when making changes.
However, if you are an SME who relies on sales and inbound marketing strategies, with a strong focus on blogging and social media and the need for flexibility on a slightly less technical platform then HubSpot may be the best option for you.
On the other hand, if you work in a mostly B2B company, with the need for a thorough automation platform for high-traffic campaigns then Pardot may be the better option. Pardot is a strong B2B automation platform, with key features relating to marketing automation, email marketing and lead generation. This is a great choice for bigger organisations that use Salesforce CRM and want to boost high traffic email-based campaigns as their focused marketing strategy.
Salesforce owns Pardot and this is a great system for those already using Salesforce CRM and want little disruption when implementing a new automation solution. This solution is beneficial as it is reliable, especially with reporting in tracking ROI, campaign performance, email metrics and customer lifecycles.
As well it is a great tool for creating sales team tasks in relation to new leads and is helpful in setting reminders to create follow up emails in Salesforce. In terms of lead filters, it helps marketers to segment the present prospect database to empower the sales team and target warm/hot leads more effectively.
Unlike HubSpot, Pardot does not offer the best pricing plans for new starters, nor is social media management included in lower-level pricing. If you were hoping to implement an inbound marketing method that includes social media and blogging, then this may not be the right option for you.
In addition, the interface can be deemed as outdated along with basic landing pages. The onboarding can also often be overwhelming and there are not many learning resources for those who want to get quick answers.
As Pardot is mostly targeted towards B2B marketing, for those who are B2C sellers then this may not be the best option. The lack of content tracking is also an issue because each campaign needs to manually track incoming traffic which can be time-consuming. Not only that, but there is also little customisation with landing pages and forms, any customisation needed may have to be completed by a Pardot developer at a cost.
Depending on your goals and business needs will help you to understand which CRM system is best for you. Fuelius is an Elite HubSpot Solutions Partner, are you struggling with digital? Find out how we can help you, book a call.