What Is the Best Omnichannel Marketing Platform?
To stay competitive, businesses need to engage customers across multiple channels, from email and social media to websites and chatbots. The key to making this work seamlessly is by using an omnichannel marketing platform, which allows companies to create unified, consistent, and personalized experiences across all touchpoints.
There are many platforms out there, but in this post, we’re focusing on three of the biggest names in the game:
HubSpot, Salesforce, and Marketo Engage by Adobe. Each of these platforms brings unique features and strengths to the table, but which one is the best fit for your business? Let’s break down each platform, so you can decide which tool will help you take your marketing game to the next level.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
Before we get into the platforms, let’s establish what omnichannel marketing is.
Whether a customer engages with your brand through social media, email, your website, or even in-store, the experience should feel unified and connected. The goal is to keep the conversation going, no matter where the customer is or how they choose to interact.
Unlike multichannel marketing – which also spans multiple platforms – omnichannel marketing takes a more in depth approach by integrating those channels to work seamlessly together. This guarantees that the customer experience is cohesive and personalized. For instance, a customer browsing your website today might receive a personalized email tomorrow with product recommendations based on what they viewed. That same customer might later see targeted ads for the same products when scrolling through social media.
Why is Omnichannel Marketing So Important?
Today’s consumers don’t stick to just one device or platform when they engage with brands. They might browse products on their phone, make a purchase on their desktop, and track their delivery through an app. If each touchpoint feels disjointed or disconnected, it can lead to frustration and lost sales. An omnichannel strategy helps ensure that your brand messaging, customer service, and overall experiences are consistent across every platform.
The result? Increased customer loyalty, better engagement, and higher revenue. Brands that embrace omnichannel marketing can see significant benefits.
According to studies, businesses with strong omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers.
Furthermore, omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using a single channel.
What Makes a Platform Omnichannel?
Not all marketing platforms are built for omnichannel strategies. A true omnichannel marketing platform doesn’t just support different channels, it allows businesses to create unified, personalized experiences across each one.
So, which features set omnichannel platforms apart?
Integration Across Channels:
An omnichannel platform allows you to seamlessly connect email, social media, websites, SMS, and more. All interactions should flow smoothly between channels, enabling personalized experiences based on customer behavior.
Unified Customer Profiles:
To deliver a personalized experience, an omnichannel platform must have a unified customer profile. This profile aggregates data from every interaction and channel into one place, allowing you to tailor messages based on where the customer is in their journey.
Automation and AI Capabilities:
Automation is key for omnichannel success. Platforms that enable businesses to automate tasks like personalized emails, retargeting ads, and follow-up messages across multiple channels help streamline operations and provide consistent experiences without manual intervention.
Data Analytics:
Omnichannel platforms come with advanced analytics to track customer interactions across channels. This helps businesses optimize their campaigns and measure performance, ensuring that every channel works in harmony with the others.
Now that we know what omnichannel marketing is and why it’s critical for modern businesses, let’s explore three of the most popular omnichannel marketing platforms: HubSpot, Salesforce, and Marketo. Each of these platforms has the tools businesses need to create consistent, personalized customer experiences across multiple channels, but they each have their unique strengths and weaknesses.
HubSpot: The All-in-One Powerhouse
HubSpot is a popular name in the marketing automation world, and for good reason. It offers a suite of powerful tools that cover everything from CRM and email marketing to social media, content management, and customer service. But what really sets HubSpot apart as an omnichannel marketing platform is its ability to integrate all these tools into one seamless system, allowing marketers to manage customer interactions across multiple channels effortlessly.
Features and Benefits
One of HubSpot’s biggest strengths is its user-friendly interface. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to navigate the platform or to get the most out of its features. HubSpot provides easy drag-and-drop tools for creating workflows, email campaigns, landing pages, and more. Plus, it offers a fully integrated CRM, so all your marketing, sales, and service data can live in one place, making it easier to create a unified customer experience.
HubSpot also excels in content management and SEO optimization. Its robust blogging, content repurposing, and social media tools make it easier to attract traffic, while its powerful SEO recommendations guide you to improve visibility.
Another great feature is the HubSpot Academy, offering free training and certifications to help users get the most out of the platform. The academy ensures that whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, your team can quickly become experts.
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Why We Like HubSpot (and Why You Should Too):
Salesforce: The Giant with Unmatched Customization
When it comes to marketing automation, Salesforce is often the go-to choice for large enterprises. With its Marketing Cloud platform, Salesforce provides an extensive array of tools that enable businesses to manage marketing campaigns across email, mobile, social media, and web channels, all while integrating with their robust CRM for an omnichannel experience.
Features and Benefits
Salesforce’s biggest strength is its customizability. If you have a complex business with intricate needs, Salesforce allows you to tailor its platform to fit your exact requirements. Its Customer Journey Builder is particularly impressive, allowing you to create highly personalized and complex customer journeys that adjust dynamically based on customer behavior.
The platform also uses AI-powered insights via its Einstein AI. With this, you can get predictive recommendations, automate decisions, and streamline workflows based on deep data analysis. This helps with everything from lead scoring to personalization.
Additionally, Salesforce offers impressive multi-channel integration, connecting seamlessly with other tools and platforms, making it a powerful option for businesses that need extensive customization and third-party app integration.
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Why Salesforce is a Heavy Hitter:
Salesforce is perfect for large enterprises or businesses with very specific needs. If you need deep customization and have the resources to manage it, Salesforce is a fantastic tool. The downside is that it can be expensive and requires significant expertise to set up and maintain. However, Salesforce’s ability to scale is nearly unmatched, making it a long-term investment for growth.
Marketo Engage: The Personalization Pro
Marketo, now owned by Adobe, is a leading marketing automation platform built with large B2B enterprises in mind. It excels in lead management and personalized engagement across multiple channels, which makes it a powerful omnichannel marketing platform. Marketo’s strength lies in its ability to create highly personalized campaigns that target specific customer segments and adjust dynamically based on user behavior.
Features and Benefits
Marketo shines in its lead nurturing capabilities. You can create detailed workflows that guide potential customers through every stage of the buyer’s journey, from lead generation to conversion. This platform allows you to track leads, score them based on their behavior, and automatically adjust campaigns to keep them engaged.
The platform is also known for its advanced analytics. Marketo allows you to dive deep into performance metrics, providing insights into campaign success, ROI, and more. It also integrates well with Adobe’s suite of creative tools, making it ideal for businesses that need a complete marketing and creative ecosystem.
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Why Marketo is Ideal for Big Businesses:
Marketo is best suited for companies with a focus on long-term lead nurturing and those that need advanced analytics to measure campaign performance. Its tight integration with Adobe products also makes it a top choice for companies that rely heavily on creative content. However, it’s not as easy to use as HubSpot, and it can be too complex for smaller teams.
Which Omnichannel Marketing Platform is Right for You?
Choosing the right omnichannel marketing platform is a crucial step in elevating your marketing strategy. It’s not about picking the “best” platform, but rather the one that best aligns with your business’s unique needs.
Whether you need robust CRM features, seamless integration, or advanced automation, understanding how each platform serves your goals is key. Take time to assess your current challenges and long-term objectives before making your decision. And remember, whichever platform you choose, the end goal is to create a seamless, cohesive customer experience across all channels.
At Vonazon, we’re all about helping you find the perfect marketing solution for your business. Our expert team has extensive experience on all major platforms and can help ensure you get the most out of your omnichannel marketing platform investment. Contact us today and let’s chat about how we can help you unlock the full potential of omnichannel marketing automation.
