According to statistics from Salesforce, 67% of leaders in marketing use some type of marketing automation. Automating your marketing strategy not only makes your job easier, it increases your sales. HubSpot and Marketo are two of the biggest competitors in marketing automation software. Some agencies and marketers prefer one over the other, but both have awesome features. I’m breaking down both of these heavy hitters so you know which software will work best for you and your process.

Who Should Use It?

The automation software you choose will depend on your business size. Both HubSpot and Marketo are not necessarily one-size fits all—one will work better for your team than the other.

Are you a small or medium-sized business? HubSpot is great for marketers who are starting to integrate automation software into their team. However, if your team is larger and more experienced in marketing automation, this may be too base-level for your team.

Marketo is great for medium to larger-sized businesses. While it’s possible for beginners to utilize the software, it’s better suited for large companies with an internal IT department.

CRM Adaptability

Both Marketo and HubSpot adapt with popular CRMs for seamless integration. HubSpot integrates well with popular CRMs such as Sugar, MS Dynamics, and Zoho, to name a few. Marketo integrates with Netsuite, Oracle, and other popular CRMs on the market.

If you’re already using Salesforce, Marketo is your best option. Marketo was built using the Salesforce platform, so integration between the two is simple. Making changes in either platform will automatically sync on the other platform.

HubSpot has its own built-in CRM that’s absolutely free. This CRM makes it easy to move between HubSpot Marketing and the CRM so you’ll never move between spreadsheets and your leads again. The HubSpot CRM has a neat dashboard that keeps all your business’s information in one place.

Analytics

What’s marketing automation software without analytics? Your insights come from data on your customers and engagement. Both Marketo and HubSpot offer comprehensive analytics to track your marketing efforts.

Between the two, Marketo provides the most in-depth marketing analytics. For example, the software lets users perform predictive analytics based on customer behavior, preference for particular content, among other data. The Success Path Analyzer shows the connection between your campaigns and revenue over a set period of time.

Social Media

Social media automation is crucial when trying to keep up with customers and creating new leads. HubSpot’s social media automation takes some of the heat off your team and provides them with helpful tools to make your social media campaigns seamless. Users are able to use the publishing tool to schedule Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn posts. Use HubSpot to create targeted email alerts to better engage with customers. Users are able to create lists based on mentions, retweets, hashtags, and keywords to customize your engagements. HubSpot also gives users the option to follow social media ROI with easy to customize reporting.

Marketo makes it easy to integrate your social media platforms with your current marketing campaigns. The social media application allows customers to easily fill in landing page forms by way of their social media profiles. Marketo helps your team create customized social ads with the Ad Bridge offer. This allows you and your team to understand customers’ interests and engagements to create better, more personalized ads to increase your ROI.

Who Has Better Support?

Unless you never plan to have a question during setup, or are a technological wizard, you’ll need some type of tech support while using the software. Both HubSpot and Marketo have great support systems in place, but like anything else, it all comes down to preference.

HubSpot has phone support that’s available to paying customers. Users are able to submit a help desk ticket for technical issues—turnaround time is usually within one business day. HubSpot also has a great community of help within the HubSpot customer forum. HubSpot allows customers to search through a vast community of questions and answers in the customer forum.

The HubSpot Knowledge Base gives users the opportunity to search through thousands of resources including training videos, modular training, and even options for classroom learning. Once training is completed, HubSpot provides certification.

Marketo also offers users the ability to call in their inquiries anytime, 24/7. The Customer Community provides 24/7 access to a community of Marketo marketers. These marketers provide advice, best practices, and even new ideas.

The Marketo Knowledge Base is a great resource for those interested in training. The portal also offers users the option to submit a support request for resolution. Live chat support is included with a subscription, and users have 24/7 access to the Knowledge Base portal.

Marketo offers Premier and Elite support. For additional help, Premier users are assigned a Support Engineer and Premier Team. This team is trained to understand each aspect of the user’s business—this helps the team resolve all questions and escalated issues.

Elite users receive support from a Marketo Certified Professional who partners directly with the user’s business. They’re able to resolve tough issues and provide a deep level of professional support.

Pricing

When it comes down to it, you want the best price for your company. Both HubSpot and Marketo offer differing pricing.

HubSpot offers three tiers of pricing: Basic, Pro, and Enterprise.

If your team needs extra support outside of these bundles, HubSpot offers three add-on options:

  • Dynamic Website COS: $300/month
  • Advanced Reporting: $200/month
  • Ads Manager: $100/month

Marketo’s pricing isn’t provided on its website. In order to obtain pricing information, you must contact their sales department via phone or message. Like anything else, pricing will depend on the package you choose. Like HubSpot, Marketo offers predetermined bundles:

  • Lead Management
  • Email Management
  • Consumer Management
  • Customer-Based Marketing
  • Mobile Marketing

The Verdict

There’s no one-size-fits-all marketing automation software. Your preference is determined based on your business needs and team size. While HubSpot prides itself on inbound marketing, Marketo focuses on getting the most leads for your business in as many ways as possible. Take your time while determining which platform best suits your needs.