Marketing can feel overwhelming at times, especially when there are so many tasks to juggle. That’s where marketing automation tools come in. They help businesses save time by handling repetitive marketing tasks automatically, so teams can focus on creativity and strategy instead.
These tools make it easier to reach the right people with the right message, exactly when they need it. They also help keep track of how campaigns are performing so marketers can make informed decisions and improve results over time.
If you’re looking for ways to work more efficiently and connect better with customers, marketing automation tools offer a smart solution. In this article, we’ll explain what marketing automation tools are, what features to look for, and how to find the best marketing automation software fit for your needs.
What is marketing automation and how does it work?
Marketing automation tools is software that takes care of routine marketing tasks for you. Instead of doing everything by hand, you can set up digital marketing automation workflows that send emails, post on social media, or follow up with leads at just the right time.
These tools help you generate new leads, nurture relationships, and move potential customers closer to buying—all without constant manual effort. Features like segmentation, lead scoring, and triggered messaging make sure your messages feel personal and timely.
Unlike old-fashioned marketing, where every step requires manual work, marketing automation connects different parts of your marketing efforts smoothly. Plus, it gives you clear data so you know what’s working and where you can improve.
What features should you look for in the best marketing automation tools?
Choosing the right marketing automation tools means understanding the features that really make a difference. The right set of tools can simplify your work, boost personalization, and help you track success clearly.
Here are some features that stand out:
Campaign builder and templates: Look for software that offers easy-to-use campaign builders with customizable templates. They help speed up the process of creating email sequences or social media posts without starting from scratch every time.
CRM integration: Marketing automation is most powerful when it works smoothly with your customer relationship management (CRM) system. This ensures all your customer data is synchronized, enabling more personalized and relevant communication.
Analytics and reporting: To make smart decisions, you need clear insights. The best tools provide detailed analytics, showing which campaigns perform well and where there’s room for improvement.
Lead scoring and segmentation: Knowing which prospects are most engaged means you can focus your efforts on leads ready to convert. Features like lead scoring and segmentation help you target the right audience with tailored messages.
Multi-channel outreach: Successful marketing uses more than just email. Look for automation tools that support multiple channels like SMS, social media, and push notifications to reach customers anywhere they are.
AI and personalization capabilities: Modern marketing automation tools rely on artificial intelligence to analyze behavior and personalize content automatically, making your campaigns feel more relevant and timely.
Workflow automation and triggers: Automating routine tasks means fewer manual steps and fewer mistakes. Workflow automation lets you set up triggers to send messages or assign tasks based on user actions, keeping everything running smoothly.
When these features are combined, marketing automation tools can save you time, enhance engagement, and improve overall campaign performance.
Who uses marketing automation tools and why?
Marketing automation tools aren’t just for big corporations. In fact, businesses of all sizes and industries are discovering the benefits.
Marketing teams: Marketing professionals use automation to handle complex campaigns that require nurturing many leads at once. Automation helps coordinate tasks and maintain consistent communication without burnout.
Sales teams: Integrated sales and marketing automation tools provide sales teams with valuable insights and timely follow-ups, which speeds up deal closing.
Small and medium-sized businesses: For smaller teams, automation boosts productivity by handling repetitive tasks. It lets businesses compete more effectively by enabling personalized marketing without needing a large staff.
E-commerce businesses: Marketing automation solutions help e-commerce marketers deliver timely offers, abandoned cart reminders, and personalized product suggestions, leading to higher conversions.
Nonprofits and educational organizations: Even outside of traditional business, marketing automation helps organizations engage donors, students, or supporters through targeted communications.
Quick glance at 10 top picks of marketing automation tools
When searching for the best marketing automation solutions, it helps to have a clear idea of what’s available and what each tool brings to the table. The marketing automation software market offers various options designed to fit different business needs, from startups to large enterprises.
Let’s look at some of the leading marketing automation examples that marketers rely on to automate, optimize, and elevate their marketing efforts.
Lark: Best for integrated collaboration and marketing teams
HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best for growing businesses seeking all-in-one tools
ActiveCampaign: Best for SMBs needing powerful personalization
Marketo Engage: Best for enterprises with complex marketing needs
Pardot: Best for B2B companies using Salesforce CRM
Mailchimp: Best for beginners and small businesses
GetResponse: Best for multi-channel marketing campaigns
Constant contact: Best for agencies and mid-sized businesses
Brevo: Best for simple email and SMS automation
Eloqua: Best for large enterprises craving deep analytics
1. Lark
Overview:
Lark is an all-in-one collaboration platform that combines chat, video conferencing, cloud storage, and calendar functions. While primarily known for team collaboration, it also offers marketing automation features that help streamline communication workflows and campaign coordination across teams. Lark supports businesses aiming for unified marketing and project management tools.
Key features:
Automated marketing workflows: Streamline your marketing processes by setting up triggers and actions within Lark Base. Automatically move leads through sales pipelines, update customer segments based on engagement, send personalized follow-up messages, and effortlessly sync campaign information across various tools.
Flexible campaign approval workflows: With Lark Approval, create multi-level, role-specific review and approval sequences for marketing content. This automation ensures consistent quality control without the hassle of manual tracking.
Real-time data insights: Lark Base offers AI-powered dashboards that deliver up-to-the-minute analytics on campaign performance, helping you make informed decisions quickly.
Integrated multi-channel communication and collaboration: Lark Suite brings together Lark Messenger, Lark Meetings, and Lark Docs to facilitate smooth team communication and campaign coordination. Coupled with Lark Mail, it enables unified email marketing across channels, reducing manual workload.
Customizable marketing bots: Utilize Lark’s intelligent bots to automate notifications—whether it’s alerting your team about new leads or tracking campaign milestones—enhancing responsiveness and overall team productivity.
Pre-built marketing automation templates: Access a broad selection of ready-made templates tailored for emails, social media campaigns, lead nurturing, and customer engagement, all customizable to fit your brand’s needs.
Free plan: Includes 11 powerful products, supporting up to 20 users, 100 GB storage, 1,000 automation runs and unlimited AI translation in chats, docs and email.
Paid plans: Starts at $12/user/month, supporting up to 500 users. Includes unlimited message history, 50,000 automated Base workflow executions per month.
Enterprise plan: Custom pricing.
👉Try Lark’s Savings Calculator: Switching to Lark’s Pro plan can lead to significant cost savings— for example, a 100-employee company using Slack, Google Workspace, and Airtable could save approximately $25,200 annually by consolidating their tools with Lark.
Best for:
Businesses that want to combine marketing automation with team collaboration in one platform and improve cross-functional efficiency.
2. HubSpot Marketing Hub
Image source: hubspot.com
Overview:
HubSpot Marketing Hub is a top marketing automation platform designed to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers. It combines powerful automation tools with a robust CRM and sales integration, offering a seamless way to nurture leads and measure every stage of the customer journey.
Key features:
Visual automation builder: Drag-and-drop workflow editor to design complex marketing sequences without coding.
Email marketing and personalization: Create targeted campaigns with dynamic content based on user behavior.
Lead scoring and segmentation: Automatically prioritize leads and segment audiences for tailored messaging.
Multi-channel campaign management: Automate outreach across email, social media, and ads within a single platform.
Detailed analytics and reporting: Track campaign performance and ROI with insightful dashboards.
Pricing:
Free Tools
Marketing Hub Starter: $9/seat/month
Starter Customer Platform: $9/seat/month
Marketing Hub Professional: $800/3 core seat/month
Best for:
Growing businesses and marketing teams seeking an intuitive, scalable automation platform integrated with sales.
3. ActiveCampaign
Image source: activecampaign.com
Overview:
ActiveCampaign delivers powerful marketing automation combined with email marketing, CRM, and machine learning capabilities. Its strength lies in enabling highly personalized customer journeys and sophisticated automation workflows that respond dynamically to user behavior, making it a favorite among small to mid-sized businesses.
Key features:
Advanced automation workflows: Build multi-step sequences triggered by user actions, allowing for personalized experiences.
Predictive sending and split testing: Optimize email timing and content with AI-driven recommendations and built-in A/B testing.
Lead scoring and contact management: Automatically score and organize contacts to prioritize high-value leads.
CRM and sales automation: Align marketing and sales processes by automating follow-ups and managing pipelines efficiently.
Pricing:
Starter plan: Starts at $15/1000 leads/month
Plus plan: Starts at $49/1000 leads/month
Pro plan: Starts at $79/1000 leads/month
Enterprise plan: Starts at $145/1000 leads/month
Best for:
Businesses wanting sophisticated, behavior-driven marketing automation with strong personalization and sales alignment.
4. Marketo Engage
Image source: itmunch.com
Overview:
Marketo Engage, an Adobe company, is a robust marketing automation platform tailored for enterprises with complex marketing needs. It supports large-scale, multi-channel campaigns and offers deep analytics to optimize customer journeys. Marketo excels in helping businesses execute account-based marketing, lead nurturing, and personalized engagement at scale.
Key features:
Advanced campaign management: Build and automate cross-channel marketing campaigns including email, web, mobile, and social media.
Account-based marketing (ABM): Target and engage high-value accounts with personalized content and multi-touch campaigns.
Lead scoring and nurturing: Use customizable scoring models to identify sales-ready leads and automate lead nurturing workflows.
Behavior tracking and segmentation: Track detailed user interactions and segment audiences to create highly targeted campaigns.
Powerful analytics and reporting: Gain insights into campaign effectiveness, lead contributions, and revenue impact.
Pricing:
Growth plan: Custom pricing
Select plan: Custom pricing
Automate plan: Custom pricing
Ultimate plan: Custom pricing
Best for:
Large enterprises seeking a scalable, feature-rich platform for complex marketing automation and account-based marketing strategies.
5. Pardot
Image source: salesforce.com
Overview:
Pardot, a Salesforce product, is a B2B marketing automation solution designed to streamline lead generation and nurture long sales cycles. It offers strong sales and marketing alignment through deep integration with Salesforce CRM, enabling teams to automate personalized marketing campaigns and track ROI effectively.
Key features:
Salesforce CRM integration: Synchronize data seamlessly to improve lead management and pipeline visibility.
Lead nurturing and scoring: Automate tailored campaigns based on prospect behavior with dynamic lead qualification.
Engagement and ROI tracking: Measure the performance of campaigns and their impact on sales revenue.
Email marketing automation: Create drip campaigns and triggered emails with easy-to-use tools.
Marketing analytics: Generate detailed reports on lead activity, campaign performance, and conversion metrics.
Pricing:
Growth plan: $1250/month
Plus plan: $2750/month
Advanced plan: $4400/month
Premium plan: $15000/month
Best for:
B2B companies invested in Salesforce, seeking tight marketing-sales alignment and automated lead nurturing.
6. Mailchimp
Image source: mailchimp.com
Overview:
Mailchimp is a popular, accessible marketing automation tool for small businesses. It started as an email marketing service but has expanded to include automation workflows, audience segmentation, landing pages, and CRM features. Mailchimp is ideal for marketers looking for ease of use with essential automation functions.
Key features:
Email automation workflows: Set up welcome series, abandoned cart reminders, and follow-ups based on user actions.
Audience segmentation: Group contacts by demographics, behavior, and engagement to send targeted campaigns.
Pre-designed templates and drag-and-drop editor: Quickly build professional emails without coding skills.
Basic CRM tools: Manage contact information and track customer interactions all in one place.
Reporting and analytics: Track campaign open rates, clicks, and e-commerce performance to optimize results.
Pricing:
Free plan
Premium plan: $276.61/month
Best for:
Small businesses and beginners wanting straightforward marketing automation with a focus on email campaigns.
7. GetResponse
Image source: getresponse.com
Overview:
GetResponse is a versatile marketing automation platform designed for small to medium-sized businesses. It combines email marketing, landing pages, webinar hosting, and automation workflows into one accessible platform. This all-in-one approach enables marketers to manage the entire customer journey and automate engagement across multiple channels easily.
Key features:
Marketing automation builder: Drag-and-drop workflow editor to design triggered campaigns when users subscribe, click, or convert.
Multi-channel marketing: Automate email, webinars, and landing page interactions to nurture leads at different touchpoints.
Advanced segmentation: Group audiences based on behavior and demographics for highly targeted messaging.
Webinar automation: Run automated webinars integrated with marketing campaigns for lead generation and nurturing.
Performance analytics: Track conversions and funnel performance with detailed reports.
Pricing:
Starter plan: $15/user/month
Marketer plan: $48/user/month
Creator plan: $56/user/month
Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Best for:
Small to medium businesses looking for an affordable, all-in-one marketing automation platform with webinar capabilities.
8. Constant Contact
Image source: constantcontact.com
Overview:
Constant Contact is a user-friendly marketing automation platform primarily focused on helping small businesses and nonprofits build meaningful customer relationships. Known for its straightforward email marketing tools and automation capabilities, Constant Contact simplifies campaign creation, follow-up sequences, and audience engagement, making marketing automation accessible without requiring advanced technical skills.
Key features:
Behavior-based automation: Trigger campaigns based on detailed visitor activity and company behavior tracking.
Dynamic content personalization: Tailor emails and landing pages dynamically based on contact segmentation.
Built-in CRM: Manage leads, contacts, and sales pipelines within the same system for seamless collaboration.
Lead scoring and grading: Identify high-quality leads quickly to prioritize sales outreach.
Robust analytics: Access comprehensive campaign and funnel reporting to optimize marketing efforts.
Pricing:
Custom pricing
Best for:
Agencies and mid-sized businesses that want a unified marketing automation and CRM solution with dynamic personalization.
9. Brevo
Image source: brevo.com
Overview:
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a versatile marketing automation platform designed to help businesses engage their audiences through multiple channels, including email, SMS, and chat. Focused on ease of use and affordability, Brevo combines essential automation features with powerful communication tools, making it suitable for small to medium businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts and enhance customer relationships.
Key features:
Multi-channel automation: Automate marketing workflows across email, SMS, and chat, allowing consistent messaging over different touchpoints.
Drag-and-drop campaign builder: Easily create professional emails and SMS messages without coding.
Contact segmentation: Filter and categorize contacts for targeted marketing.
Transactional messaging: Send automated order confirmations, password resets, and notifications.
Real-time analytics: Monitor campaign success and customer interactions with clear dashboards.
Pricing:
Free plan:
Starter plan: $8.08/user/month
Business plan: $16.17/user/month
Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Best for:
Small businesses and startups looking for simple but effective email and SMS marketing automation.
10. Eloqua
Image source: oracle.com
Overview:
Oracle Eloqua is a premium marketing automation platform designed for large enterprises requiring advanced campaign orchestration and deep data integration. It supports complex customer journeys across many channels, providing powerful tools for account-based marketing and detailed performance analytics.
Key features:
Multi-channel campaign orchestration: Manage email, web, mobile, display ads, and social media in one system.
Advanced segmentation and targeting: Use rich customer data to create precise audiences for personalized campaigns.
Lead management and scoring: Prioritize and nurture leads with sophisticated scoring models.
Integration with CRM and data warehouses: Connect marketing data seamlessly with other enterprise systems for unified insights.
Comprehensive analytics: Visualize customer journeys, campaign ROI, and pipeline impact with detailed dashboards.
Pricing:
Basic plan: $2000/month
Standard plan: $4000/month
Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Best for:
Large enterprises needing a scalable, highly customizable marketing automation platform with advanced analytics.
How to choose the best marketing automation tools for your business
Choosing the right marketing automation tools can be a game-changer for your marketing strategy. With so many options available, it’s critical to understand what factors truly matter to your business. I’ll guide you through the essential considerations to help you pick the best tool that aligns with your goals, budget, and team capabilities.
Understand your business needs first
Before diving into the features or pricing, start by clearly defining what marketing challenges you want to solve. Are you aiming to nurture leads more effectively? Do you want to automate repetitive email campaigns? Or perhaps you need a tool that integrates smoothly with your existing CRM? Knowing your priorities will streamline your search and prevent overwhelming choices.
Evaluate core features against your goals
Not all marketing automation tools are created equal. Look for platforms that offer the features you need most, such as multi-channel campaign management, advanced segmentation, lead scoring, and real-time analytics. Consider whether the tool supports personalization and AI-driven automation if that’s important for your strategy.
Check integration capabilities
Seamless integration with your current software stack, especially CRM systems, is vital for data consistency and workflow efficiency. Whether you’re using Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, or other platforms, make sure the marketing automation software can connect and sync customer data smoothly.
Consider ease of use and team training needs
Your marketing automation tool should empower your team, not slow them down. Evaluate user interfaces, onboarding processes, and availability of support or training resources. A steep learning curve might delay implementation and reduce adoption rates.
Examine scalability and pricing transparency
Look for solutions that scale with your business growth, both in terms of contact volume and feature needs. Additionally, pricing should be transparent and predictable, avoiding hidden costs. Many platforms offer tiered plans with clear feature upgrades.
Conclusion
Selecting the right marketing automation tools is crucial to unlocking productivity and driving meaningful engagement with your audience. When chosen thoughtfully, these tools save time, personalize communication, and provide valuable insights to refine your strategies continuously.
If you’re looking for a solution that goes beyond just automation — one that fosters team collaboration, integrates workflows, and streamlines communication — why not give Lark a try. It combines marketing automation capabilities with collaboration tools, helping you unify your efforts and deliver better results. Choose the best marketing automation service provider and make your workflow smarter!
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