Marketing platforms are becoming more and more key to any comprehensive business strategy. From back-end office automation to customer-reaching tools, finding one that fits all of your needs and is easy to use can be challenging.
SharpSpring offers a powerful suite of sales and marketing automation tools that will integrate your goals into one platform. You can focus on a few key strategies now and still be ready to expand down the road.
A great first step is to take a look at your current system and consider where you want to go in the future.
If you run a small or medium-sized business, maybe you are thinking about automating your email correspondence and tracking your social media clicks. If you are a larger company, your focus could be on customer segmentation, sales coordination, delivery messages, and integration with existing tools.
Several companies offer a wide range of different marketing platforms. Check out the pages below to quickly and easily compare our packages to those of some of the main competitors in the market:
HubSpot https://sharpspring.com/hubspot-pricing-and-reviews/
Pardot https://sharpspring.com/pardot-pricing-and-reviews/
Marketo https://sharpspring.com/marketo-competitors-pricing-and-reviews/
Infusionsoft https://sharpspring.com/infusionsoft-pricing-and-reviews/
Act-On https://sharpspring.com/act-on-software-pricing-and-reviews/
Features to Look for in Marketing Platforms
When comparing our revenue growth platform to other marketing automation platforms in the market, we found several common priorities you should keep in mind. Depending on your needs, consider these options and the way each platform incorporates the features you find most necessary.
Pricing and Payment Plans
Marketing platforms involve many options, from the simple to the complex. Look at your budget and future growth plans, then compare pricing and available upgrades to determine what works for you.
If you find an ideal core plan with the basic features you need now, start there. Check the more robust features you can add later as your business expands. Always plan with growth in mind.
Marketing Automation Platforms
A powerful CRM gives you the tools to track and report past, current, and potential customer activities. A perfect marketing automation platform lets you review vital analytics on a dashboard that is easy to read and understand.
Keeping abreast of a customer activities and shopping cart purchases allows for optimal planning as well as targeted marketing strategies. Being able to integrate with Salesforce, for example, opens up enormous opportunities for streamlined processes.
Email Software
Integrated email templates designed to be sent automatically when a customer clicks are essential for quick follow-up and focused attention. If you can customize these emails, it adds a personal touch while keeping consistency with your brand.
Real-time data is key to building a productive strategy. After-the-click tracking calculates the success of your strategy and highlights areas for improvement.
Automation Features
More predictable processes can be automated, freeing up time to run the more complex parts of your business. Marketing platforms allow you to create personalized customer correspondence with just a few clicks.
Email follow-up, retargeting ads, and shopping cart reminders can all be programmed to trigger actions based on behaviors. Each of these keeps the customer engaged and moving through the sales funnel.
Form Building
Dynamic forms make it easy for customers to complete sign-ups and checkouts quickly and frustration-free, with features such as remembering customer information and auto-completing fields.
Creating forms that work for your customers and provide critical information for profiling and follow-ups can be built into marketing platforms, helping you better anticipate customer needs.
Contacts and Tracking Platforms
A successful marketing campaign includes tracking the actions of your website visitors. Every time a customer clicks anywhere on your page, it is tracked.
Analyzing the number of clicks, where they originated, and what actions resulted from them allows you to effectively tweak your pages and links.
Landing Page Software
How a customer lands on your page provides valuable insight into the efficacy of your tools. Marketing platforms can help you design the best experience with dynamic content and WYSIWYG interfaces.
Once customers are on your page, you can present them with personalized options, clear calls to action, sign-up forms, and copy that encourages them to convert.
Blogging Platform
Writing and publishing a blog gives your customers necessary information and encourages engagement. Marketing platforms make it a breeze to create and publish blog posts on an advanced schedule to a variety of social media platforms.
Social Media Software Comparison
Taking advantage of social media platforms can be a monumental task. A social-CRM integration plan that involves social profiling, monitoring, and tracking the success of posts ensures that you are directing your efforts to the right place. Analytics track the effectiveness of your campaigns by measuring conversion and click rates.
Software Integrations
You don’t have to reinvent your entire system. You can choose a marketing platform that communicates with the tools you already use. Integration with Open API, Zapier connections, or Salesforce guarantees team continuity and seamless communications.
Platform Support
Tying it all together in a dynamic space that has the support you need, including a library of resources and live chats with customers, is critical. As you migrate your existing systems to marketing platforms, you want to confirm that everything works together, with easy jumps from one page to another.
The Choice Is Yours
From creating a satisfying customer experience that results in clicks and purchases to integrations with sales and analytics software, marketing platforms offer a multitude of possibilities. Carefully assessing your company goals and customer needs is crucial.
Review your future growth plans, budget, and the time available to dedicate to development. From there, compare the options for each platform, keeping in mind the support behind the platform.
You can find the perfect marketing platform that will grow your business by leaps and bounds.
