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Marketing Automation & its Importance for an Ecommerce Website


Marketing automation refers to businesses using AI-assisted tools to streamline their marketing process. While it was a domain of large businesses, times have changed. Today, marketing automation has become more mainstream. Statistics show that 75% of all marketers use it to improve their performance.
The reason is simple. They provide a lot of benefits for businesses that you cannot ignore. Also, another point to note is that they make it cheaper. It involves very little upkeep costs. This makes it a much better option for brands of all sizes to invest in. Also, there are a lot of tools that help with ecommerce SEO as well. This can help get a better ranking for your business website.
Let’s take a look at some more tangible benefits it offers.

1. Personalized Services

When it comes to attracting customers, personalization is the name of the game. Businesses are using powerful automation tools to ensure a customized look and feel. Custom websites have improved conversions and bounce rates for a lot of websites. Brands are pulling all stops to make sure that visitors of their websites get the VIP treatment. The personalization could be anything between curated shopping lists to remembering their birthdays. And it is a difficult task to carry out without some form of automated tool or other.

2. Saving Time

One of the most important aspects of market automation is that businesses can save a lot of time. This is apparent with sending out emails or website chat. Visitor chat boxes are a good example to consider here. Previously, you needed someone to monitor and respond to visitor queries. This would be a problem if you had to deal with numerous requests every day like an ecommerce business. But with the advent of AI-assisted chatbots, businesses can respond to their customers in real-time.

3. Increased Scalability

For an ecommerce business, the ability to scale is critical to their operations. Earlier, scalability also required hiring new people to meet the increased demand. But with the advent of AI, getting new people is not mandatory. This is because ecommerce businesses can maintain efficiency with automation. They can improve their growth and scalability since the focus on hiring is lower. Marketing automation is a better and cheaper alternative to hiring more people.

4. Improved ROI

The crux of every ecommerce business is the need to improve its revenue. But with the demands of the ecommerce niche, this can be difficult. Market automation has improved business throughput drastically through time-saving and streamlining. Every ecommerce brand uses marketing automation in one form or the other. Your turnaround times are reduced, as are your hiring numbers. Not to mention the increased conversions and more traffic you’ll generate over time. In short, getting the right automation tools can notably impact your ecommerce revenue.

List Of Top Marketing Automation Tools For Your Ecommerce Site


1. Marketo

This is one of the top choices for marketers all over the globe. It is one of those tool suites that has everything related to marketing automation. Plus, it has the added benefit of versatility as well. It is advertised as a full-featured tool that can automate. And it is very successful with demanding domains such as ecommerce. It has various tools that can enable marketing automation, content AI, and analytics. This gives it a depth which very few automation suites can match. Adobe has acquired it, which means it has much more reach now.

Since 2006
Demo Yes
Highlighting Features There are four packages available - Select, Prime, Ultimate, and Enterprise
Comprehensive package, has all the tools a business needs
Versatile and usable by everyone - the suite is comprised of several products can be used together or by themselves
Setup is quick and easy. Most people won't have problems with getting it up and running.
Offers great support through their extensive helpline either online or through telephone
Has powerful integrations including SAP C4C CRM and NetSuite CRM
Pricing Pricing is based on the number of leads and selected package
Basic $1195 - $2495 /month
Pro $1995 - $7195 /month
Elite $3195 - $11995 /month
Website www.marketo.com

2. Eloqua

Another big name in all-inclusive marketing automation suites is Oracle’s Eloqua. It is a cloud-based automation platform for both B2C and B2B marketers. It can target customers across many channels, including email, web, searches, and social media. It also offers in-depth analysis tools that are powerful and offer detailed information. With this tool, marketers can manage several marketing campaigns. Another advantage it has is because of Oracle’s huge partner network. It has over 500 vendors using its software. This allows Eloqua to integrate with over 700 different applications.

Since 1999
Demo Yes (Product Tour only)
Highlighting Features There are two packages available - Basic and Standard
One of the more expensive automation solutions available currently
Great for multi-channel campaigns and drip marketing
Contact profiling and segmentation
Part of the Oracle Marketing framework. It can connect to other Oracle services
Can integrate with over 700 applications and with Oracle’s Business Intelligence tool for more detail
Flexible campaign builder which is well-designed and functional
Comprehensive and customizable dashboard, can handle multiple campaigns.
Pricing Basic $2000 /month
Standard $4000 /month
Website www.oracle.com/cx/marketing/automation/

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3. ManyChat

These days website engagement is a huge selling point when it comes to brands. AAI-assisted chatbots are going to bring in high engagement numbers for brands. This is what ManyChat offers brands. It provides great features for brands to customize their responses to their visitors. It helps in several areas like FAQs, grievances, and information gathering, just to name a few. And the fact that it works on messenger is a huge advantage. The reason being that messenger has been able to draw in more people than email.

Since 2015
Demo Yes (Free plans for 1000 contacts)
Highlighting Features There are three packages available - Free, Pro, and Business
One of the most popular automated social media chatbots available
Best for creating different workflows and customer journeys
Has two options to build your chatbot basic builder and Flow Builder, latter slightly complex
Being AI assisted, it has the ability to accurately respond to matching strings and phrases
Convenient pricing strategy - it scales with the number of contacts, easier to implement for smaller brands
Several CRM integrations built in. Flexible and attractive choice
Detailed analytics and monthly subscriber reports show stats about your visitors
Pricing Pro $10 /month (500 contacts)
Website manychat.com

4. Hubspot

Hubspot is a popular platform with the best end-to-end support for marketing automation. The Hubspot Marketing Hub starts at about $50 for a month and is more than enough for people starting. It can get more pricey as your needs increase. It offers several options to reach out to people, including email marketing and a CRM app. That said, integration might not be as strong as some contenders here but has been improving.

Since 2006
Demo Yes (CMS Hub limited to 14 days)
Highlighting Features There are three packages available - Starter, Professional, and Enterprise
Full service marketing automation solution comparable to the best in the business
Gives you access to other Hubspot solutions like Sales Hub, Service Hub, and CMS Hub
Social Media Inbox Streams works great for inbound SMM marketing
Offers support for VoIP which is able to track and save call information
Hubspot has built in support for Facebook campaigns and Slack bots and analytics
Detailed Content Optimization System (COS) templates
Pricing Starter $50 /month (1000 contacts)
Professional $800 /month (2000 contacts)
Enterprise $3200 /month (10000 contacts)
Website www.hubspot.com

5. Omnisend

Like its namesake, Omnisend can channel your marketing through built-in tools. The focus here is on getting your message out there to your targeted customers. It has full Shopify integration with built-in automation workflows that you can use. It is very intuitive, and you don’t need to be a coder to make use of it. You can use this platform to send out newsletters and targeted campaigns. It also combines email, SMS, and push notifications to give you several options. This also saves you cash because you don’t have to pay for each of them anymore.

Since 2014
Demo Yes (14-day trial for paid services)
Highlighting Features There are four packages available - Free, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise
Priced effectively and a great tool for email and SMS marketing
Pre-built workflow automation and powerful email templates
Has a drag-and-drop automation editor, which is powerful and easy to use
Offers free SMS and MMS credits, which is topped up every month according to the plan you choose
You can set dynamic discount codes for your users which trigger on preset conditions
Endless personalization options based on customer shopping behavior. This improves conversions
Includes website automation such as popups, landing pages, sign-ups, and lucky draws
Pricing Standard $16 /month (15000 emails /month)
Pro $99 /month (15000 emails /month + $99 in free SMS credits)
Enterprise depends on requirement
Website www.omnisend.com

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6. Constant Contact

This started as a simple email marketing automation solution. But it has since then been expanding its feature set into a complete automation tool. Today, it has several tools that focus on integration, automation, segmentation, and personalization. They have been able to improve their integrations for their customers. It can work with Facebook, Salesforce, Shopify, and WordPress, to name a few. They are also improving their social media integration through Facebook. Finally, they are working on a built-in SEO tool that can give you a mid-level analysis of your website. Their email component is one of the strongest in the roundup.

Since 1995
Demo Yes (60-day trial)
Highlighting Features There are two packages available Email and Email Plus
Mainly focused on email marketing. Definitely comparable to leaders like Mailchimp
Easy to setup, copy, or edit campaigns with their automation tool
Several built in email templates and campaigns available. Also has full-fledged branded email builder
Comprehensive dashboard with a lot of information
Extensive A/B email marketing testing tools
Create interactive email campaigns
Campaign tracking feature which record opens, bounces, click-throughs and many other user operations
Pricing Email $20 /month
Email Plus $45 /month
Website www.constantcontact.com

7. Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been the standard to beat when it comes to email marketing automation. It is probably the most used email marketing tool in the industry, and for a good reason. It is flexible with many integrations. Mailchimp is powerful and intuitive, which makes working on it easy. But the most telling factor is that they’ve been in the industry for a long time. This has let them innovate and perfect their automation process. The good news is that they are also expanding into other areas of marketing automation. This includes CRM, website builders, hosting, and more.

Since 2001
Demo Yes
Highlighting Features There are four packages available Free, Essentials, Standard, and Premium
Benchmark for automated email marketing
Powerful integrations and features which enable connecting with a lot of applications and platforms
Effective pricing and feature rich free tier
Evolving quickly into an end to end solution for marketing automation including SM, CRM, and website management
Social media marketing automation includes powerful AI based techniques for powerful insights about your audience
Pricing Essentials $15 /month (50000 contacts)
Standard $25 /month (100000 contacts)
Premium $420 /month (200000+ contacts)
Website mailchimp.com

8. Hootsuite

Hootsuite has been around for a long time now. It is one of the top brands in the market for market automation. It offers several tools for automation and has solid implementation across all fronts. This allows brands to collaborate on campaigns and analyze detailed data sets. It has a huge number of available add-on components. You can use this tool to customize your automation process. Using this, you can tweak it until it’s just right for your ecommerce business. It also has complete integration with several social media platforms. This makes it a well-rounded automation tool.

Since 2008
Demo Yes (30-day trial period)
Highlighting Features There are three packages available Professional, Team, and Business
One of the best and most customizable all around SMM automation tools available today
Works really well for cross platform campaigns and multiple services
Huge array of apps and tools that are perfect for SMBs for social media requirements
Effective and responsive dashboard can monitor multiple SM streams
Several integrations including Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, and OneDrive
Options for scheduling social media posts and content. Deep listening and analytics about your SM user base
Pricing Professional $29 /month (1 user, 10 social profiles)
Team $129 /month (3 users, 20 social profiles)
Business $599 /month (50 social profiles)
Website www.hootsuite.com

9. Buffer

This comprehensive market automation tool is aimed at social media management and scheduling. Most brands prefer using Buffer because it has a huge ecosystem of tools. You can choose from a variety of functions for your automation process. This includes social media analytics, reporting, and content creation. Buffer Publish is one of the best publishing tools in this roundup today. You can adjust every part of your content publishing like title, description, and add GIFs. It can be a huge help when you’re promoting a post. You can use the publishing menu to review content as well.

Since 2010
Demo Yes
Highlighting Features There are four packages available Free, Pro, Premium, and Business
Makes social media posting and scheduling over multiple platforms easy for SMBs
Priced well, but other accessories can quickly get more expensive for larger companies
Integrates with over 2000+ apps through Buffer API
Buffer Publish, top choice for scheduling and publishing platforms and has a lot of features built-in for social media
Scheduling posts is easy with customizable post attributes including GIF images
Buffer Calendar is powerful and functional for scheduling posts even months ahead
Interface is straightforward, with very minimal clutter. Works really well for all user levels
Pricing Pro $15 /month
Premium $65 /month
Business $99 /month
Website buffer.com

10. CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a complete marketing suite; all rolled into one. It is a powerful platform that caters to businesses of all sizes that schedule content. Unlike other tools in the roundup, the focus here is on content marketing. You can also organize your social media posts and your marketing process with this tool. The most important part of the ecosystem is the CoSchedule Marketing Suite. It is divided into four different parts like Content, Work, Social, and Asset Organizers. You can also opt for add-ons like an Agency Toolkit or Marketing Academy to learn more.

Since 2013
Demo Yes (14-day trial period)
Highlighting Features There are two packages available Marketing Calendar and Marketing Suite
Powerful platform that combines social media scheduling, project management, and content organization
Since it is web-based, large teams of people can coordinate on the cloud effectively to manage online campaigns
Integrates with several popular platforms for content, social media, and email
CoSchedule's calendar is a powerful app for coordinating social media campaigns
ReQueue is a standout feature - it automates social media content using AI to share engaging content
Pricing Marketing Calendar $29 /month (per user)
Marketing Suite depends on requirement
Website coschedule.com

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joseph Schneider

He has spent more than 12 Years in strategising and executing SEO campaigns. He is interested to writing Digital-marketing, PPC and Social Media Marketing related topics.

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