Fines y Objetivos

What do these tools do?

The aim of a Marketing Cloud or Digital Marketing Hub service is to help brands to manage all points of contact between themselves and the customer through the customer life cycle; from lead to customer communications to develop loyalty and repeat purchase.

Why are they important to digital marketers?

One of the key promises of a CRM tool is the ability to provide a single ‘360 degree’ customer view. This requires integration of all a brand’s platforms which hold some sort of customer data. This single view, allows an accurate understanding of the customer and tight controls over how the brand manages its relationship and communication with that customer

Key things to consider before purchasing and using these tools:

þ Many of these Cloud services have been built by acquiring different services, so walkthroughs of common marketing campaign and ‘always-on’ ‘use-cases’ is essential to select a sufficiently integrated system that aligns with, or improves existing workflows. That said, ‘Marketing programme orchestration’ is a key selling point of these cloud services.

þ A CRM tool holds some, if not all, of the most valuable information about your customer. Be clear on the data security, recovery and back up procedures of your potential CRM provider.

þ A CRM tool can help bring all the data together but you won’t maximise its value unless you’re capturing the right data in the first place. Is the data you have actionable and does it enable you to build a better relationship with your customers? Try to identify the key moments and opportunities in your customer contact strategy and the data needed that will help you capture your customers’ attention at those key moments.

þ Is a lower-cost email service provider option (see section 29) sufficient for your business? These Cloud services are premium services which may be cost-prohibitive for a smaller business. Many ESPs and Marketing Automation systems now offer similar functionality and have the same data storage model.

28.1 Marketo

Paid service. No interactive demo.

Why do I need it? A single service to manage customer lifecycle marketing from acquisition to retention and growth. Suitable for B2C and B2B implementation.

What makes it stand out? Engagement marketing platform offers a range of tried-and-tested cross platform support for lead generation and nurture across desktop web, mobile apps, email, display and social media.

Key features þ Predictive analytics and audience insight for increased relevance delivered by on-site and email personalisation.

þ Multi-user team planning and collaboration tools

28.2 HubSpot

Paid service. Free Marketing Grader and CRM tools

Why do I need it? A cost-effective customer lifecycle marketing platform suitable for mid-size company B2B marketing.

What makes it stand out? A platform focusing on B2B Marketing Automation using content marketing.

Key features þ Integrated marketing automation and integrated sales service

þ Organic blogging and content marketing platform

þ Integrated analytics service making it easier to identify improvements than some services

The Smart Insights view Top 5 Tool

We have rated this highly in this category since it is a more widely-used, more cost-effective suite than other services (but with a higher fee than the ESP options in section 29 of this guide). It also includes a free contact management ‘CRM’ service and other free tools. It is most suited to B2B marketing in

comparison with the other tools selected in this category. Historically HubSpot is most focused on organic inbound marketing, rather than paid media.

Disclosure: HubSpot are Content Partners of Smart Insights.

28.3 Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Paid service.

Why do I need it? The Marketing Cloud service which is accessible to smaller businesses.

What makes it stand out? Platform now positioned as offering interactive management of cross-channels customer journeys. However, this ‘Marketing Cloud’ is an integration of

amalgamation of separate services.

Key features þ Customer journey ‘orchestration’ for planning ‘always on’ marketing activities and campaigns

þ Integrated customer data management and workflow across sales and marketing

þ Predictive intelligence and display remarketing

The Smart Insights view Top 5 Tool

Salesforce is THE original Software-as-a-Service Marketing cloud service which legitimised the category. However, as the name suggests, its initial provenance had a focus on Sales rather than Marketing Engagement and content marketing is why we haven’t rated it top. Pardot B2B Marketing Automation was acquired as a separate service which with time is becoming more integrated with the

28.4 Oracle Marketing Cloud

Paid services for large-medium enterprises.

Why do I need it? The strength of this service is integrating online and offline communications channels. So it’s main focus isn’t inbound marketing.

What makes it stand out? As with other ‘Marketing Cloud’ solutions, this is an integration or amalgamation of separate services, which were well regarded by analysts such as Forrester and Gartner before they were integration.

Key features þ Marketing orchestration for integrated campaign planning

þ Data management for 360 degree view of customer and their journey across online and offline channels using Oracle ID Graph that connects active cookies, mobile IDs, emails, registrations, and social IDs across platforms.

þ Capable Multivariate testing platform based on the acquisition of Maxymiser.

The Smart Insights view Top 5 Tool

Oracle is a leading marketing cloud contender because of its acquisition and integration of well regarded platforms for integrated marketing including Eloqua, a well-regarded Marketing Automation service which mainly focused on B2B activities plus Responsys email and campaign management and Blue Kai, a data management platform (DMP).

28.5 Adobe Marketing Cloud

Paid services for medium-large enterprises.

Why do I need it? The strength of this service is integrating online and offline communications channels. So it’s main focus isn’t inbound marketing.

What makes it stand out? Like Oracle Marketing Cloud, Adobe Marketing Cloud is positioned as offering ‘cross-channel marketing orchestration’.

Key features þ Design and automate customer experiences across channels, from one-off campaigns to triggered email or personalised web messages, with a graphically rich interface. Adobe Experience Manager is Adobe’s CMS (other cloud solutions don’t include this).

þ Deliver one-to-one messages across inbound and outbound channels through a dynamic and centralized offer catalog and optimise spend through Adobe Media Optimizer.

þ Adobe Audience Manager Data management platform to build audience profiles to segment and target across any digital channel.

The Smart Insights view Top 5 Tool

Adobe is well known for its services covering the whole of digital marketing, so we have included its cloud offering in the category. It is rated relatively low