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Marketo has been around since 2006 when technology leaders in San Mateo, California decided to create a platform that would help CEOs better understand their marketing impact and analyze their leads' behavior. Since then, it has quickly emerged as one of the top marketing automation platforms and has customers across a variety of industries.
Those interested in finding the best platform for their B2B technology company’s marketing strategy will want to evaluate Marketo against other platforms to identify which one is the best for their unique goals.
Pros of Marketo for B2B Technology Companies
Marketo offers a variety of benefits for businesses working to scale their organization and drive leads. The platform helps brands improve their lead nurturing strategies while also carefully tracking their analytics so they get a better idea of what works and what needs improvement.
High degrees of control and personalization
Customers uncover a high degree of customization on the Marketo platform. Users can control nearly every aspect of the platform and the workflows according to their own marketing goals. This feature enables each business to use the platform as it suits them best.
Great Salesforce integration
When the designers of Marketo began to design their marketing platform, they wanted to create a marketing option that would work well with Salesforce. Their goal was to enhance the experience of the many organizations already using this marketing CRM. Therefore, this platform integrates easily with Salesforce for a comprehensive view of the buyer’s journey.
Great capacity for scoring leads and engaging customers
To help businesses better nurture their leads, marketers can use Marketo to create personalized communication streams for their customers. The content is then tailored to the precise needs of that lead, creating a more personalized experience. This can be done without having to get into overly complex logic, simplifying the process for many.
Marketo also offers a complete look at lead progression through precise lead scoring and analytical insights. Therefore, as leads move through personalized nurturing, businesses can closely track their progression.
Excellent analytics
Marketo simplifies the process of creating marketing reports. Brands can closely track their performance and create highly detailed analyses and visuals so that marketers can understand their progress and report on their successes to others at the company.
Those who invest in the upper tiers of the subscription will also have access to additional reports about how the marketing initiatives impact revenue growth and additional information regarding customer behavior, such as content preferences.
Cons of Marketo for B2B Technology
While Marketo does offer a number of benefits for customers, there are also several drawbacks that interested customers should be aware of before they make their purchase.
Buying add-ons
To begin, to tap into many of the best features of Marketo, customers have to buy a variety of different add-on features. This includes certain integrations, such as a NetSuite CRM integration, as well as account profiling and some of the more in-depth analytics features. Other platforms, such as HubSpot, offer more of an all-in-one package, which can be appealing for many users.
Pricing
Marketo also has one of the highest prices on the market, which can be a big drawback for many customers. The prices are based on the size of the user’s database and the level of subscription the user wants. Subscriptions are divided into Select, Prime, Ultimate, and Enterprise levels.
Marketo also does not allow for free trials to give users a chance to see how they like the platform before buying.
Need to have a strong IT background to get full use out of the platform
Another significant drawback of Marketo lies in the importance of having an IT background to get full use out of the platform. The platform expects users to have background knowledge in topics such as HTML and CSS in order to successfully use and maintain the various features. While robust IT teams might not see this as a problem, other marketing teams might find this intimidating.
Why Customers Choose Marketo
Customers select Marketo because it does offer a host of different capabilities for lead generation and analysis. It was built for advanced marketing and offers significant power of marketing automation.
Customers also appreciate the ‘Marketing Nation’ feature which allows users to ask questions and connect with others who know the platform well.
In summary, customers appreciate the:
- Integration capabilities with Salesforce and other popular programs
- Advanced analytics
- Quality customization options
Additional opportunities for learning through the Marketo University and certification options can also help people better master their usage of the program and improve their marketing skills.
When it comes to selecting the best marketing automation tool for your B2B technology company, Marketo offers a good option, particularly for advanced marketers with a background understanding of some basic coding.
