Month: December 2016

HubSpot Alternative on a Budget

HubSpot Alternative on a Budget

In my earlier post about Marketing Software – Detailed Comparison I covered the three most desired platforms based on capability, need and spend.

Today, I will share my experience on building a close HubSpot Alternative, minus the price tag.

Before we start let us understand what is it about HubSpot which gives it this unprecedented cult following amongst Marketers. Well, the simple answer is, it empowers Marketers to do their jobs more efficiently and provides them with all the tools in one single platform.

Below is a list of key capabilities provided by HubSpot and comparable alternatives for each of those capabilities.

#1 Content Management & Blogging Platform (Free*)

This one is a no-brainer. WordPress is by far the most successful Content Management System out there. Given its ease of use, functional breadth (via Plugins & Themes) & TCO there is no other like WordPress.

You will have to get your hands dirty if you want to achieve what HubSpot offers. For example, I really like HubSpot’s blog interface which provides me pro-active suggestions on use of relevant keywords, density, competitiveness, recommendations, etc. Such capability is not native to WordPress but you could install a plugin like Yoast SEO to implement similar functionality.

Similarly, there are other plugins which make up for the features provided by HubSpot’s CMS and Blogging Platform.

The biggest advantage for WordPress is the community support. There are thousands of Plugins, Themes both free and paid which makes it the most usable yet robust CMS. There are other CMS’s like Drupal and Joomla which may offer more diverse capabilities but they are more appealing to Developers than Marketers.

#2 Email & Marketing Automation (Starts at $49/ month)

Email and Marketing Automation is at the heart of most of your Marketing programs. This is also the strongest capability from HubSpot.

There are several extremely good Email Marketing tools like MailChimp which does what it is built for. But Marketing Automation goes beyond email and tracking. Marketers want to efficiently manage their funnel and run pro-active as well as reactive campaigns for each segment of their leads database.

For example, you may want to trigger an email campaign when a specific type of audience visits a specific page on your website or you may want to display a specific banner or CTA button based on where the lead is in your funnel. You will need a sophisticated marketing automation platform which will provide you such flexibility and features.

At a minimum the marketing automation platform should have:

  • Lead Scoring, Lead Tracking & Lead Management
  • Landing Pages & CTA’s
  • Email Marketing
  • Advanced Segmentation

I have shortlisted two platforms which provide these capabilities:

GetResponse
GetResponse is a decent HubSpot alternative. It offers most of the functionalities you will need i.e. Email, Landing Pages, Web Tracking, CTA Forms, Lead Scoring, Advanced Segmentation and more. It covers the complete lifecycle from lead acquisition to closure.

LeadSquared
LeadSquared is another powerful HubSpot alternative. What I really like about LeadSquared is its no-nonsense simplistic interface. I have done a detailed review on LeadSquared, you may want to skim through it to get a better understanding of its capabilities.

#3 Social Media Management (Free*)

I will not touch upon why you need an active and engaged social presence. I think that point has been well-addressed in my previous post.

There are two categories of Social Media tools out there. One which consolidates all your social channels and provides you the capability to automatically post and monitor your social engagement. And there are other tools like NinjaOutreach and BuzzStream which helps you to reach out to Influencers to build your network and relationships.

Today I will focus only on the former.

HootSuite
HootSuite has been here for a while. It is an efficient tool which provides minimal capabilities with its free version. Never the less it gets the job done, though I’m not a big fan of its interface. It looks dated.

Buffer
I discovered Buffer recently and I love what I see thus far. It has an integrated link shortener and image capture functionality which makes life that much easier if you regularly distribute your blog through social media. Their paid version also provides an integrated analytics dashboard which can be very handy to analyze your best-performing posts and engagement.

#4 Web Analytics (Free*)

Google Analytics is by far the most capable and advanced web analytics tool. Given Google’s control on its search engine and complementing products, that is no surprise.

The problem is, it can be overwhelming if you are a business focussed marketer or business owner, as you will need to regularly create custom dashboards and reports to make the analysis understandable for everyone.

Here are my two picks.

Picnic Metrics
Picnic Metrics integrates with your Google Account and extracts data directly from your Google Analytics database. It offers a very minimal and simplistic interface which makes a lot of sense. Check this screenshot for instance.

But this simplicity comes at a cost. Gone is the customization and flexibility of Google Analytics. But I can live with it.

Clicky
Clicky is another powerful alternative. It provides much more flexibility than Picnic Metrics and also simplifies the interface to some extent. I would say it is a good start before you learn your ways with Google Analytics.

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All the above recommendations are based on my experience while I constantly try to improve the performance of my marketing campaigns. Do share your thoughts if you agree or have other alternatives which I can add to this list.

As always, a big THANK YOU for reading my blog. Do let me know if you want me to cover a specific topic in my future posts.

Do consider sharing it on your social channels, it really helps in keeping this channel active.

Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Spectacular New Year. See you on the other side of 2017.

Cheers

LeadSquared Review

LeadSquared Review

LeadSquared is the new kid on the block. This three year old company from India is growing at a rapid pace. With close to 500 paying customers in such short period, it is making all the right noises.

I got a chance to experience their platform first hand and I must say, they do have a unique positioning with a budget price tag.

LeadSquared positions itself as a Sales Acceleration Platform which tries do a little bit of everything i.e. Marketing Automation, CRM & Analytics. Given its focus on mid-sized companies, it can get away as the only platform SMB’s would need for their Sales & Marketing operations.

If you refer to my previous post on Must-Have Marketing Tech, I have highlighted 6 types of marketing software needed by SMB’s. Taking that as a baseline and comparing what LeadSquared has to offer, I would say it is Email Marketing++ type of platform.

It has a solid Email Marketing backbone with Lead Capture, Web Tracking and basic CRM capabilities.

Here are the things which I like about LeadSquared.

Lead Capture

You can design your landing pages and contact forms using LeadSquared which automates the process of capturing leads from your website. The UX for landing pages is not as sophisticated like HubSpot or some of the other established players. But it gets the job done none the less.

Lead Insights

LeadSquared has an extremely functional lead tracking module, which monitors visitor behavior on your website. Whether the lead has been captured manually or via your website, it assigns lead score based on their activity as well as engagement. This comes in very handy for sales people to have meaningful conversations with the prospect.

Email Marketing

LeadSquared’s Email Marketing module is as good as what I have seen with other players in similar bracket. The UI is intuitive with loads of prebuilt templates for each type of email communication you would expect to send to prospects and customers. It also provides a robust email automation capability where you can schedule drip campaigns based on events, activities or preset schedule.

Things I did not like about LeadSquared.

CRM Capabilities

The CRM capabilities are very basic at best. Every lead is managed as an entity, so there is no relationship management between Leads or Accounts. You will not able to filter leads based on Companies or Accounts, nor will you be able to setup targeted Account based Campaigns.

Though LeadSquared’s CRM does manage to do what it is built for i.e. Managing the lifecycle from Lead to Customer.

All in all, LeadSquared is a powerful package in terms of what it offers and what you pay for it. For companies who are looking to start with their marketing automation programs LeadSquared could be the ideal platform.

As always, thank you for reading my blog. Do consider sharing it on your social channels, it really helps the channel.

Marketing Software Platforms – Detailed Comparison

In my previous post I covered The 5 Must-Have Marketing Tech for SMB’s in the B2B space. Today I will be doing a detailed comparison and analysis of leading Marketing software platforms.

Before we start, let us answer this question Why do we need a marketing platform?

Well, the simple answer is to put your marketing strategy and plan into action, which is:

  • To perform all your marketing activities using one single platform, without worrying about the technicalities.
  • Automatically measure all your marketing activities and campaigns.
  • Act on recommendations and continuously improve your marketing performance.

And what is the bottom line after all?

  • Build Brand Visibility.
  • Generate Qualified Leads.
  • Acquire new Customers and Create Brand Promoters.

Makes sense? Let us dive in then.

Which platforms we will evaluate?

  • HubSpot
  • Marketo
  • Act-On

HubSpot

HubSpot is by far one of the most comprehensive Inbound Marketing Platforms out there. It has most of the features and capabilities a marketer will ever need. HubSpot is not just a software platform, it’s an ecosystem which ties technology, people and processes together. It is mainly targeted towards SMB’s and Startups.

They boast about 99% renewals year on year. The reason for such high renewal rate is their consulting & implementation service. Their team will make sure you follow the best practices, processes and methods so that you can achieve your desired marketing goals. They also do not offer monthly or quarterly plans for this very reason. As the entire process of building a web presence, engaging prospects and closing deals takes time.

I would rate HubSpot amongst the best, especially for SMB’s and Startups who are just beginning with their marketing journey.

Marketo

Marketo is placed towards the higher end of the spectrum. It is built for enterprise customers who need complete control and flexibility with regards to their marketing platform.

Few capabilities which stand out for Marketo include Digital Ads, Predictive Content and Account-based-Marketing. Enterprises need these capabilities as they spend big on paid marketing and high-value account specific campaigns.

Given its capabilities and market focus, Marketo is highly priced compared to other platforms in this space.

Act-On

Act-On offers best of both worlds i.e. capabilities and relative affordability. It has all the key modules and features bundled in one robust platform. Inbound, Outbound, Automation, Account-based-Marketing – name it, Act-On has it all.

I would say it is more close to HubSpot in terms of capabilities and positioning. Their pricing is also based on active contacts which is unique, as most other vendors will bill you based on total contacts in your database as against the active ones.

The Verdict

So which one should you choose? Have I confused you even more in your hunt for the coveted Marketing Platform?

Well here is my take.

  1. If you have a decent budget but not enough skilled resources to execute your marketing plans, then go for HubSpot. Their Onboarding and Account team will make sure your Goals, Strategy and Plans are properly chalked out so that you don’t suffer setbacks later.
  2. If budget is not an issue, at the same time you need scale, effective paid and account based marketing then go for Marketo. It’s the best you can get.
  3. If you are tight on budget but have the skills to do it yourself then go for Act-On. It’s the most affordable of the lot, yet offers the complete package.

Bonus Tip

If you don’t have the budget nor the skills then watch out for my next post. I will be sharing my experience on how I built an integrated marketing platform using several low-cost disintegrated products.

Thanks for reading my blog. Do consider sharing it on your social channels, it really keeps me going 🙂

That’s your lot, bye for now.

5+1 Must-Have Marketing Tech

Marketing Tech is fundamentally changing the way we sell and market products and services to enterprises. With the advancement in digital technologies like mobile, social, cloud and reliance of the new-age customer on all these technologies; outreach is no more a challenge.

Today, we will look at all the marketing tech which is available to us. The reason i decided to write this blog post is to provide some perspective on different types of marketing software. There are so many of them that it becomes difficult to rationalize on which does what and whether do we really need to spend a fortune on enterprise-grade marketing software when similar alternatives exist at a fraction of the cost.

First, let us understand different types of marketing software needed by a company which has Digital Marketing as one of its primary strategy.

CRM Software – This is the primary system of record where you will store all your customer information starting from profile information, contact details, relationship history, etc. This is your base system which can extend to more forms depending on what you plan to achieve with your marketing programs.

Email Marketing Software – This is your mass mailing application, using which you will reach out to existing and potential customers. Whether it’s your newsletter, new offer, blog, focus campaign or something else. Email Marketing Software will be your vehicle to take your communication in front of the customer. Modern email marketing software can not only track opens and clicks of your email, they go one step further and can track every visit the customer makes to your website thereafter. Which essentially means you have installed a spy on your customers web browser which will report their activities on your website.

Content Management System – It’s advisable to build your website using CMS like WordPress or Drupal or Joomla so that you can make changes on demand without having to rely on a developer or external agency. Nevertheless, you will still need a powerful CMS to publish your blogs.

Business Blogging is imperative if you are serious about generating leads online organically. The purpose of your blog space would be to generate high-quality educational content for your prospects and customers. The idea is to be seen as a thought leader in your field of business.
 

Web Analytics – You definitely want to track who is visiting your website, what are they up to and how you can convert them to paying customers. Your web analytics platform will give you valuable insights on the same.

 

Social Media – As with Business blogging, it is imperative to have engaged, active social media presence. This not only ensures you have a continuous flow of qualified leads but also provides social credibility to your brand.

A Social Media marketing tool will make your life easier by automating your posts, follow-back, provide social insights, etc.

Add-ons – You will also need Live Chat software for your website, SEO Analytics tool to analyze and optimize your content, Website widgets for displaying context based offers, Lead Analytics and Scoring to know potential buyers.

All the above marketing tools are inherent in many sophisticated Marketing Automation platforms like HubSpot, Marketo, Eloqua, etc. The problem is, these software can eat up your marketing budget before you event start using them. For e.g. HubSpot whose primary market is SMB will cost you $12,500 in yearly subscription paid in advance. And mind you this is their lower range offering with 1000 contacts/ leads cap. Their enterprise offering is priced at $28,000 which can be quite steep for many SMB’s and startups.

Alternatively, there are many aggressively priced marketing automation as well as point solutions which can provide you equal capabilities at fraction of the cost.

In my next blog post, I will be doing a detailed comparison of leading marketing automation platforms followed by recommendations on each of the above-mentioned category/types of marketing software.

Thank you for reading this blog post. Do consider sharing it on your social channels if you liked it.

More on this in my next post.