Which is better – Marketing automation or CRM software for small business?

by Satish Gatt Software Developer

There is no doubt that sales and marketing are the two pillars of foundation and growth of any business. It is not possible for any business to flourish without either of the strategies and hence it is very common for people to get confused in prioritizing the two departments.

For customer relationship software as well as for marketing automation, several advanced tools have been developed. The tools help in strategizing the campaign and keep track of the follow-ups along with tracing other activities. However, the software for both varies from each other a lot. Therefore, it is important for the business owners to understand the importance of each and get clarification for which is more important at a given point of time.

The difference helps to make decisions about the requirements and what needs have to be assisted in priority. The owners who have the right knowledge about each would be able to figure out which software has to be integrated with a particular department and how will it help in increasing productivity.

A detailed description of CRM software for small business

Marketing automation software came after a long time of introduction of CRM software. At the initial stage, the software was developed to help the sales team to organise the records of the clients in a streamlined manner.

However, modifications like cloud storage and organised architecture have enhanced only enhanced the use of the software. The basic functionalities that it includes are,

• Managing the sales funnel by keep records of sales and leads

• Reminders for regular follow-ups so that strong bond can be developed with the existing customers

• Allowing access to the authorized user from any location

Understanding that making a sale is a difficult task and it requires to maintain a different equation with each client, the software has abundant options. The tools available help you treat every client in a special manner and increases the chances of making a sale.

In other ways, the productivity of the sales team increases and thus, the business grows at a faster rate.

A detailed description of marketing automation software for business

An automation software was developed to cater to the interests of the users. It helps the marketing team differentiate the clients on the basis of their interests and greet each query differently.

Some of the users’ interests can be seen in the following ways,

• Downloading of documents from your site

• Repeatedly visiting your site

• Requesting a demo

• Subscribing to your emails

• Sharing a query

• Contacting through social media

Each of the above requirements is different from any customer’s end and therefore, has to be greeted separately such that query can be satisfied. Once the requirement is categorized, it becomes easier for the marketing team to create a response and convert it into a lead which then can be shared with the sales team.

A custom software development company sees this in the form of tools that have to be integrated into the website so that everything can be captured and a database with sufficient details can be created.

Which software should you choose?

If you have established teams of marketing and sales then choosing both the software is a good option or else depending on the growing demands in each department, the software must be chosen with care and used efficiently because each has the power to scale up the performance of the two departments.