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Every year, companies spend a total of $24B on marketing automation software. Inclusive of software pricing, set up fees and maintenance. With a wide variety of choices in the MarTech market, businesses usually end up choosing the wrong solution for their needs or overpaying for sophisticated features that they won’t be using.
When it comes to getting the right tool at the right price, choosing the right marketing automation system is one of the most difficult decisions you will take. There are a lot of tools to choose from, lots of features to consider, how pricing scales with usage but also setup fees, integration fees and training to worry about.
We have compiled and analyzed the top players in the industry, namely SalesForce, Marketo, Hubspot, Mailchimp, Keap (Former InfusionSoft) and SeoSamba, to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
You will find a complete list of both pricing and features for each of these platforms further down, but let’s first get you acquainted with SeoSamba and look at the takeaways from this report.
SeoSamba
SeoSamba offers a comprehensive sales & marketing software framework. SeoSamba’s marketing software and CRM are used under its own brand or media and agencies’ brands by over 20,000 businesses worldwide.
Thanks to its hub & spoke architecture, SeoSamba’s software is uniquely suited to distributed organizations like franchises, real estate agents, manufacturers, distributors, ecommerce businesses and multi-websites owners.
SeoSamba Marketing Operating System
The hub for large-scale, multi-site marketing automation and SEO Execution
SeoSamba, as the name suggests, started with a Search Engine Optimization or SEO focused-product. Even though it now spans a very broad spectrum of integrated marketing channels, its Marketing OS, or MOS still shines in a unique way when it comes to large scale SEO thanks to its automated SEO execution technology.
- Automate on-site SEO for any number and any size website. That is organic at scale!
- Publish to any number of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google My Business pages from your social media calendar. Download the companion social app to post pics and videos to your corporate calendar from the field.
- Publish articles to any number of blogs and get your brand messaging out there through our Press Release distribution network.
- Track search rankings and all Key Performance Indicators for your digital marketing
- Save tons of time building newsletter digest from your blog post
- Collect and respond to Google and Facebook reviews, manage your online reputation, share your best reviews via the social calendar.
- Paid media analysis and insights, Get high-level, pay-per-click account performance reports right from your dashboard
SeoToaster Ultimate CRM
The mobile CRM with built-in sales automation
SeoToaster Ultimate CRM delivers ultimate flexibility to help you meet IT and regulatory requirements thanks to its on-premise or cloud version.
Regardless of which version you chose to use, access your data and contacts from your web browser or on-the-go using the powerful companion mobile app.
SeoToaster Ultimate CRM also offers a single affordable price point for features usually found only in Enterprise versions of CRM software. Workflow automation combining both email and text messaging, VoIP integration, cart/purchase automation, lead scoring, detailed sales intelligence including drilling time on your website and more, all of it comes standard with SeoToaster Ultimate CRM.
SeoToaster Ultimate CRM packs 4 systems in 1;
- An open source Content Management System to let you propel and edit your landing pages campaigns or host your entire website;
- A Shopping Cart to integrate your online presence and products and services catalogues into your automated drip campaigns, but also quotes and proposals generated via the website or the CRM. Note that it also supports digital products and online classes with its Moodle plug-in;
- And a Google and Yahoo News compliant blog system;
SeoToaster Ultimate CRM is an excellent choice for small businesses, and also offers 2 special editions, one for Franchise brand sales development, and one for Real Estate agents.
| Hubspot | Marketo | Mailchimp | Salesforce | Keap |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||||||
| Annual Cost * | $9,600 | $14,340 | $3,600 | $30,000 | $4,548 | $2,556 |
| Setup fee | $5,000 up to $20,000 | $895 | - | $10,000 up to $50,000 | - | $0 |
| CRM Data migration | $450 (automated & limited) | Not available | Not available | $999 | Not Available | $750 (managed, cleanup included) |
| Upfront Commitment** | $12,600 | $14,340 | $300 | $45,000 | $6,548 | $978 |
| Contract Terms | Annual | Annual | Monthly/Annual | Annual | Annual | Monthly/Annual |
| Compliance | ||||||
| Ongoing American Disability Act website check | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Marketing Enablement | ||||||
| Website/landing page Hosting with SSL | Included | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Content Management System | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Shopping Cart | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Marketing Automation | ||||||
| Social Media Automation | Included | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Included |
| SEO Automation | Available (limited) | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Online Reputation Management | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Newsletter / Mass Email Marketing**** | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Automated Content Distribution | Included | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Integrated Marketing Analytics | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| VoIP Phone Service & Call Tracking***** | Not Availble | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Mobile App | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| KPI/Analytics reporting | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Multi-website Marketing Automation | Not Available | Included (limited) | Not Available | Included (limited) | Not Available | Add a license per site |
| Sales Automation | ||||||
| CRM*** | Included | Not included | Limited | Included | Included | Included |
| Drip Email Marketing | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Included | Additional Fee | Free | Included |
| Sales Automation | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Pre-built lead generation tools | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| SMS Marketing***** | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Lead Scoring | Included | Included (limited) | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Sales rep Management | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| NPS Surveys | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Lead & opportunity management | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Included | Included |
| Integrated Sales tracking & forecast | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Sequence & Workflow automation | Included | Included | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Included |
| Extensibility | ||||||
| 3rd-Party CRM Integration | Included | Included | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Customer Satisfaction | ||||||
| On-boarding | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Not Available | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Included |
| On-going Support & Training | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Not Available | Additional Fee | Not Available | Included |
| Additional Services | ||||||
| Website with mobile app built and integrated | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Included | Included | Included |
| CRM customization | Additional Fee | Additional Fee | Not Available | Additional Fee | Not Available | $450 |
| Website migration & optimization****** | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | $2,500 |
| Consulting | Not Available | Included | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| Marketing Services execution | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Included |
| * | Total Cost per year including additional fees. |
| ** | Amount billed upfront when signing up to an annually (or monthly when available) billed service |
| *** | CRM + Sales automation tool |
| **** | Newsletter/mass email for 2500 contacts or 5000 emails a month |
| ***** | 1 local phone number with 100 min & 100 SMS per month |
| ****** | Website migration for ecommerce website with up to 200 products included |
Hubspot comparison takeaways
Pros:
- Detailed analytics and marketing campaigns tracking.
- Accurate contact filtration and management
- Intuitive Interface
Cons:
- Limited sales & marketing features in many edition requiring upgrade to Enterprise licensing
- Sizeable startup cost
- Locked-in annual investment
- Limited Content Management System functionalities and landing page templates
Read more about how Hubspot stacks up against SeoSamba here.
Marketo comparison takeaways
Pros:
- Offers a large knowledge base and deep integration with Salesforce
Cons:
- Expensive
- Slow and fee based migration from prior platforms
- Superficial Analytics and vague reporting
Salesforce comparison takeaways
Pros:
- Sales dashboard with customer profile mapping and management
- Customer data management and integration
- Build customized reports to analyze information company-wide
Cons:
- Expensive and not small business-friendly
- Complicated interface and navigation
- Costly set-up and training
- Limited automation features included
Keap comparison takeaways
Pros:
- Detailed customer data analysis
- Integrated tagging system
Cons:
- Limited ecommerce integration depth,
- Dashboards and contact list fields and not adjustable
- Awkward reporting & tracking
Read more about how Keap stacks up against SeoSamba here.
Mailchimp comparison takeaways
Pros:
- Contact list import and segmentation
- Trigger-based email marketing automation
- Easily customizable template builder
Cons:
- Lack of standard marketing automation tools
- Basic automation capabilities
As the future of our economy continues to be unclear, companies can’t afford any overspending. Especially when it comes to marketing software, there are far more affordable alternatives on the market, delivery the same if not more value. SeoSamba Marketing OS and SeoToaster Ultimate CRM are made with one principle in mind, customers derive more value from integrated toolsets that are delivered turnkey. Tired of underwhelming results and getting nickel & dimed? Open a free account from your mobile to try out SeoSamba's Social Marketing Tool and request a demo now
