Unlocking Growth: The Power of Marketing Automation Tools for Small Businesses

If you want to grow your small business without getting stuck in the weeds, you should be using marketing automation tools – it’s that simple. Just like other conveniences (think food delivery services and skincare subscriptions), automation tools are designed to streamline your workflows, improve productivity, and free up your time for other, more important things.

However, in 2024, picking the right marketing automation software is like trying to name your favorite TikTok creator – we’re spoiled for choice! To take all the guesswork out of finding the right tool and put the power back in your marketing team’s hands, we’ve rounded up five of our go-tos.

What are Marketing Automation Tools?

Marketing automation tools are platforms and software that automate repetitive tasks across areas like email marketing, customer relationship management, social media, and even content creation. They take care of manual processes like sending eDMs and posting to social media, making it easier to holistically manage your marketing campaigns.

Why Should You Use Marketing Automation Tools as a Small Business?

Many platforms, especially email marketing automation tools, have gotten a bad rap for being expensive – which renders them inaccessible for most small business owners. But as time has gone on, more marketing automation tools have emerged, and now, there are plenty of low-cost options available.

Fewer Manual Tasks

Gone are the days of asking your intern or marketing assistant to post to social media – instead, let an automation tool do it for you! Perhaps the biggest benefit of onboarding a marketing automation software is a decrease in manual tasks performed by your team members, such as social media posting, sending out marketing emails, building customer lists, and even writing captions or selecting hashtags.

Increased Productivity

With this in mind, marketing automation tools could be a game-changer for your team’s productivity. By alleviating the boring, rote tasks from your days, you’ll free up more time to get important things done, such as strategizing, relationship-building, and executing bigger campaigns.

Good Return on Investment (ROI)

Now there are many tools on the market that cost less than $20 USD per month, the potential ROI for your small business has grown exponentially. Automation tools can help you get lots done, leaving you more time to level up your business and focus on your broader marketing strategy.

Streamlined Operations

By using a marketing automation platform, you can keep everything in one handy place, such as your assets, lists, and content (depending on the tool you choose). This means less room for human error and a streamlined process if you need to onboard someone new.

The Best Marketing Automation Tools for Small Businesses

Mailchimp

Best for: Small teams who need intuitive, easy-to-use email marketing automation tools.
Key features: Pre-built customer journeys, a simple email builder, and functionality for forms and landing pages.
Pricing: Plan options include Free, Essentials (starts at $13 USD/month), and Standard (starts at $20 USD/month).

Mailchimp is the OG of email marketing automation tools – and for very good reason. Since its inception in 2001, it has remained at the forefront of email marketing automation, innovating to keep up with market demands. Millions of customers worldwide use Mailchimp to build customer journeys and automated flows, communicate with their audiences, and improve conversion rates through analytics, segmentation, and enhanced content. Its standout features include an easy-to-use interface, customizable templates, and robust data management functions.

Blaze AI

Best for: Solopreneurs or small businesses who want to double down on content creation in half the time.
Key features: Content writing support in over 40 languages, the ability to create different brand voices, and over 60 types of content on offer – all harnessing the power of AI.
Pricing: Plan options include the Creator Plan (starts at $22 USD/month) and the Team Plan (starts at $47 USD/month).

As marketers, we all understand how critical creating good content is to business success – but the issue lies in finding the time, energy, and resources to bring great content to life every week. Enter Blaze AI, the AI-based content marketing automation tool that can do it all for you. With Blaze, you can write content for 60 different mediums, from press releases to blog posts to social media captions – in 40 different languages. You can train Blaze on your brand voice, then use this to generate bulk content for your business.

Brevo

Best for: Small-to-medium-sized businesses with a growth focus looking to combine email marketing with a sales CRM.
Key features: SMS and WhatsApp campaign functionality, in-app notifications, and customizable plans based on your contact list and key features.
Pricing: Plan options include Free, Starter (starts at $8.08 USD/month for the Marketing Platform only), and Business (starts at $16.17 USD/month for the Marketing Platform only).

Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is another well-loved email marketing automation tool that can help streamline your operations and amplify engagement. It covers all the basics of email marketing with a simple drag-and-drop email builder, detailed analytics, and smart email nurture flows. However, where Brevo gets really juicy is its other communications tools, which include SMS, WhatsApp, web and app push notifications, and even mobile wallet automations.

AdRoll

Best for: Small-to-medium-sized businesses who want to 10x their paid ads growth without putting in hours of extra work.
Key features: Automated creative optimization, advanced audience targeting, and bid support to ensure you don’t overspend.
Pricing: Pay as you go for your ads, or $36 USD/month for the Marketing & Ads + package.

AdRoll is the solution to the problem you didn’t know you had, summarizing your paid ads into one platform for easier workflows and better oversight on your activity and your spend. AdRoll’s self-service option is great for those who don’t want to hand over their ads to an agency just yet but need some extra support getting bang for their buck.

Plann

Best for: Small businesses and solopreneurs looking for a streamlined, supportive social media management solution.
Key features: All-in-one social media scheduling, AI-generated captions and content ideas, built-in hashtag suggestions, a Canva integration, and more!
Pricing: Plan options include Power User (starts at $12.50 USD/month), Build (starts at $25 USD/month), and Grow (starts at $62.50 USD/month).

Plann is a wildly easy, intuitive, AI-driven social media scheduling tool that can help you automate showing up online for your small business. With Plann, you can schedule social media posts across all major channels and use AI-powered Caption and Content Generators to spark inspiration without using valuable brainpower.

Level Up Your Social Media Marketing Game with Plann

Whether you’re struggling to keep up with the fast-paced nature of social media or simply want to devote more time to growing your business, Plann’s range of features is sure to help save you time with an automated social media strategy. From AI-generated captions to cross-posting, analytics, hashtags, and more, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on business growth.

Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!

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