Marketing software for small businesses
Being a small business owner is hard; you have to manage all aspects of the business to sustain it, while also taking baby steps to grow. Marketing is critical because your sales process only starts after impactful marketing. For that, you'll need to find and invest in the right marketing software, choosing from a sea of options without breaking your budget. On this page, we'll help you identify different types of marketing software and help you decide which one is right for your small business.
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What is marketing software?
In simple terms, a marketing software tool is a digital application that helps you manage your marketing efforts, including automating emails, publishing posts on social media, managing your customer data, generating reports, and so on. There are different types of marketing software for different purposes, such as email marketing solutions, social media solutions, webinar solutions, and more. These are usually called "standalone" or "point solutions" as they're built to do one specific job.
The rapid advancement in marketing technology and increasing customer expectations have led to the creation of unified marketing platforms—also called "all-in-one marketing platforms"—where marketing teams can manage almost every kind of marketing activity in one place while delivering consistent experiences to customers.
We generally advise that you go with a unified marketing platform, as it simplifies the work of your marketing teams and is easy to implement for businesses of any size..
Why do you need a marketing software tool for your small business?
Small businesses need more visibility:
Your business may have the same product/service/solution as some larger businesses, but big brands typically have more name recognition among customers.
Connect more effectively with local customers:
As a small business, you may have better information about the demands of your local market. A marketing platform can enable you to connect with these customers more effectively through personalized marketing campaigns.
Manage marketing data effectively:
Most small businesses either don't collect any data or manage data inefficiently in a spreadsheet, which means they often leave the money on the table. Using marketing software, your business can generate more business opportunities.
Scale faster and ship globally:
Limitations are only in the mind. You can grow your small business globally with the right marketing software by expanding to multiple regions, establishing multiple touchpoints, and delivering solutions globally.
Manage marketing efforts with limited resources:
Small businesses usually operate with limited staff and cash. Using marketing software enables you to achieve more results with less effort.
Automate mundane and repetitive tasks:
Most marketing activities—like sending email campaigns, publishing posts on social media, and analyzing reports—follow a pattern that you can easily automate with marketing software, and thereby save hundreds of work hours.
Factors to consider before purchasing marketing software for your small business
When purchasing marketing software for your small business, it's essential to consider various factors to ensure that you select the right tool for your specific needs. Here are some key factors to look into:
Budget
Determine how much you're willing to spend on marketing software. Consider both the upfront costs and any ongoing subscription fees.
Features and functionality
Evaluate the features the software offers and ensure they align with your marketing goals and strategies. Common features may include email marketing, social media management, SEO tools, analytics, CRM integrations, automation capabilities, and more.
Ease of use
Look for software that's user-friendly and intuitive. You want a tool that you and your team can quickly learn and navigate without extensive training.
Scalability
Consider whether the software tool can scale with your business. It should be able to accommodate your increasing marketing needs as your business expands.
Integrations
Determine whether the software integrates with your existing tools and platforms, such as CRM systems, email clients, ecommerce platforms, and others. Seamless integrations can help streamline your workflows and data management efforts.
Customer support
Good customer support is crucial, especially for small businesses that may not have dedicated IT resources. Ensure the software provider offers responsive customer support, preferably through multiple channels like phone, email, and live chat.
Reviews and reputation
Research the reputation of the software vendor and read reviews from other users. Look for testimonials and case studies from businesses similar to yours to gauge the software's effectiveness.
Data security and compliance
Protecting your data and ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR is essential. Verify that the software provider has robust security measures in place to safeguard your sensitive information.
Customization options
Depending on your business's unique needs, you may require customization options within the software. Determine if the software allows for customization or if it offers flexible configurations to suit your requirements.
Trial or demo
Whenever possible, take advantage of free trials or demos. This enables you to test the software firsthand and determine if it meets your expectations before making a purchase.
Getting started with Zoho Marketing Plus for your small business
- Marketing Plus is a unified marketing platform developed by Zoho to enable marketing teams to manage their end-to-end marketing efforts in one platform.
- Marketing Plus doesn't have any mandatory contracts or hidden pricing, unlike legacy solution providers. Check out the latest pricing and plans here.
- Marketing Plus is also easier and faster to implement than other solutions; you can start seeing returns on your investment on day one.
- Getting started with Marketing Plus for your small business involves four easy steps.
- As soon as you sign up for a free trial or create your Marketing Plus account, you can set up your brand or shop by adding its name, website, and location.
- You can also onboard all your marketing team members, assign them roles, and customize their permissions for different features and applications in Marketing Plus.
- The best part is that you can collaborate and share files all in one place.
- Once you finish setting up your brand and adding your team members, you can import all your marketing data: your customers' contact details, your prior marketing performance reports, your website data, and much more.
- Don't worry—it's easy; we enable synchronization and direct import options from most popular tools, such as Google Contacts, Sheets, and multiple CRM platforms.
- Don't take our word for it; see what our customers say!
- Once you have your team members settled and data organized in Marketing Plus, you can set up and authenticate your email address, connect all your social media accounts, and configure your marketing workflows. If you're new to workflows, no worries; marketing workflows are simply process automations that send specific emails or show specific pages based on user actions, to name just a couple of simple examples. In reality, marketing workflows can be much more complex and do quite a lot more.
- Learn more about marketing automation and workflows for small businesses here.
- Yay! You're ready to launch your first campaign. Here's the beautiful part: Marketing Plus's Brand Studio feature enables you and your team to create and manage your marketing efforts in one place.
- Add your marketing projects, assign tasks to your team members, create omnichannel campaigns, and measure their performance—all in one place.
- Want to see Brand Studio in action? Sign up for a free trial or check out our guided tour.
- Now you're all set to take your small business to heights with Marketing Plus!