Marketing automation is quickly gaining popularity in the business world. This is not surprising: In today’s world, tools that save time and money are usually quite successful. Marketing automation is no exception to that rule.

If you are unfamiliar with this term, here’s what you need to know: In simple words, marketing automation refers to platforms and technologies that aim at automating marketing tasks. Of course, marketing automation is much more than that. It encompasses the whole science of targeting prospective customers and then sending information at the right moment. When done properly, marketing automation has the potential to increase business sales dramatically.

While this might sound a bit too much to the average person, the good news is that many marketing automation software can be found out there. If you own a small business, then purchasing a customer relationship management that integrates marketing automation is definitely in your best interest. Customer relationship management (also known as CRM) is a system that is used to manage a business’ relationships with its current and prospective customers. Aside from marketing automation, CRM  usually comes with many other features such as contact management and project management.

While marketing automation is often part of CRM, CRM is never part of marketing automation. If your current CRM does not come with marketing automation, then you might want to consider switching over to one of the following CRM integrated with marketing automation:

Zoho

Ideal for small businesses, Zoho is quickly becoming one of the leading CRM out there — and for a reason. When it comes to marketing automation, this software certainly delivers. Zoho allows its customers to develop, execute, track and focus — four words that are heavily stressed in the marketing automation world.

Further to that, this software even provides its users with campaign management, email marketing and web forms features to generate leads.

ClickHook

The new kid on the block could have well been around for years and nobody would have noticed any difference. ClickHook, despite being relatively new on the CRM market, constantly amazes us with is ability to take flexibility to a whole new level. Aside from its wonderful email integration feature, ClickHook offers marketing automation features that are completely unparalleled in the industry.

Ever wanted to completely custom build your sales flows? Well it’s now possible with ClickHook. Better yet — ever wanted to create custom stages within those sales flows and add actions within those stages? Well, maybe you’ve never thought about it, but you have to admit that it’s a genius idea!

As you see, ClickHook is definitely a good choice for small business owners. It combines everything that you need to grow your business in a small, simple app that is easy to use. A definite must!

Infusionsoft

Another software that should never be overlooked is Infusionsoft. Slightly more expensive than ClickHook and Zoho, Infusionsoft works well with more established companies. Its marketing automation features offer users a wide array of tools to help them generate more leads. From automated campaigns to web activity monitoring, it is clear that Infusionsoft cares about every little detail. Once again, this CRM is recommend for more established businesses as its number of features could well prove to be a bit too much for small companies to handle.

Here is an example of Infusionsoft’s many automation marketing features:

So which one is best for you?

It’s a matter of trying them out. It’s also a matter of knowing your goals and how to get there. As an example, are you trying to know your leads better or are you trying to find better way to educate them? Every CRM software comes with different features. Finding out which ones work best for you can only happen through research and experience.

Marketing automation is not easy — but it’s worth it. The faster you begin, the more leads you will be able to convert in the long run. So what are you waiting for? 🙂