HubSpot Software Analysis: How Does HubSpot Stack Up?

Comparing Marketo, Pardot and HubSpot

You might have the greatest inbound marketing strategy in the world, but you can?t get results without the right tools to implement that strategy. These days, marketing automation software has become a necessity for any business hoping to edge out the competition, grow and thrive. So it?s no surprise that the marketplace is now crowded with software options.

Choice is good, but how do you know which inbound marketing tool represents the best solution for you? You want software that will make it easy to capitalize on your marketing strengths and give you a boost where you may be weak. You?ll want to consider criteria such as scope of capabilities, ease of implementation and integration, user-friendliness and cost. Once you prioritize these factors for your business, you can compare software products side by side.

Toward that end, let?s take a look at three of the market?s top contenders: Marketo, Pardot and HubSpot. All of these products offer a wealth of tools and features, and all have loyal followings. Yet they are not all the same.

HubSpot Software Analysis: Implementation and Integration

Marketo and Pardot both offer powerful integration solutions, so they fit well into a variety of marketing environments. Since its acquisition by SalesForce, Pardot is focused on advanced email marketing automation. Marketo is also designed primarily to deliver complex email marketing solutions. So while these two platforms are extremely capable, they don?t address other aspects of inbound marketing particularly well ? or at all.

Nurturing leads is critical for marketing success, but so is attracting interest from top-of-funnel prospects that could become leads. While Marketo or Pardot can significantly boost your mid-funnel efforts, you may have to resort to purchasing email lists to feed into your system. Generally, those are lower quality leads, and that can drag down cost-effectiveness as well as sales conversions.

The other issue here is your ability to see and understand visitor behavior. Marketo and Pardot offer good analytics, but they have ?blind spots? when it comes to non-email avenues prospects may be using to find you online. Inbound success depends on your ability to track visitors across all channels.

HubSpot is an all-inclusive software that allows you to address all types of inbound marketing. Where Marketo and Pardot are narrowly focused but deep in advanced tools, HubSpot is broadly valuable but doesn?t offer extensive customization options. It does, however, integrate nicely with a variety of external products, should you want enhanced options at some point.

HubSpot?s modules interface seamlessly with one another. They provide all the tools and key features necessary to create and distribute inbound marketing content and analyze the results in detail. And while the platform is not at all intimidating for small companies or those just entering the inbound marketplace, HubSpot?s Enterprise level package provides a solid system especially for large, well-skilled marketing teams.

HubSpot Software Analysis: Price and Value

• Marketo?s pricing begins at $1,195/month, with a Standard Plan that runs $1,795/month.
• Pardot?s Pro plan costs $2000/month.
• HubSpot begins at $200/month.

These figures speak for themselves. To a large extent, however, they reflect the size and financial capabilities of their intended audiences more than overall quality or range of features and tools. And while cost of ownership is important to every business, so is value.

Marketo and Pardot are both valuable platforms, but they offer a different kind of value than HubSpot. Deep-dive email marketing automation is ideal for B2B companies whose strategy relies on email for lead nurturing and whose budgets can support highly sophisticated, specific software. HubSpot?s value is its comprehensive nature, ease of use and scalability, at a cost more conducive to small business budgets.

Marketing Matters Inbound?is an inbound marketing firm specializing in online conversions, content?strategy, call-to-action mapping and traditional media placement. Our experience in?B2B digital?marketing?and traditional media allows us to deliver results through a strategic media mix. We believe in?aligning and merging marketing and sales/operations for optimal return on your marketing investment.