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Marketing Automation For Small & Mid-Sized Companies

Jamie Shanks
Jamie Shanks

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is hot. We all know that. It is one of the highest growth areas in marketing and sales technology today, and from many of the top analysts is expected to continue that way for at least the next 3 years. It is getting added to many company’s budgets as a line item for the first time. But what number should a company place in that box? Obviously, companies want to spend the least amount of money possible while still getting maximum return on their investment.

If your company is a small or mid-sized organization, you have a good number of choices these days. Net-Results, Pardot, Act-On, Hubspot and Marketo can all ably meet your needs most likely, so pricing may be one of the final criteria for decision-making. And that’s where it can get a little interesting. Interesting in that what some of the vendors market for their pricing vs. what you actually pay can be and many times are very different. I point directly at Hubspot’s new $200/mo. price blitz and Act-on’s $500/mo. tout. But a simple view of the number of contacts you get for those prices puts it all in perspective. For Act-On, 2,500 contacts, and for Hubspot…50. That’s right, you can nurture the 50 people in your database for that incredibly low price! I don’t mean to pick on Hubspot, but come on. If you’re selling marketing automation to an organization with 50 contacts, they need a lot more help than what marketing automation can provide.

Let’s say you’re a company with 50,000 contacts, want to integrate with your Sugar or Salesforce CRM, as well as your Google AdWords and GoToWebinar accounts. You also want to have access to their API for other 3rd party integrations you have, as well as a dedicated IP for your email sends. What will you really be paying? Here is what I come up with based on today’s (10/24/12) data that we have gathered:

  • Pardot – $2,300/mo
  • Act-On – $1,500/mo
  • Hubspot – $2,300/mo
  • Marketo – $3,995/mo
  • Net-Results – $1,200/mo

The Bottom Line

Each of these vendors will meet your needs, but at very different price levels. It’s important to understand what you get for your investment so make sure you do your homework before you buy! It will definitely pay off in the long run.

If you’d like some guidance in selecting your Marketing Automation software, we can lend a hand. We’ve worked with them all so don’t hesitate to reach out to me on my below calendar to book a call to discuss.

George

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