Inbound Marketing Solutions: HubSpot Vs. SimplyCast

If your company is in the market for a software package that can take your inbound marketing efforts to the next level? The decision can be a difficult one. There are many software options available, and discovering their differences can be daunting. How do you know which one represents the most effective and cost-efficient investment for your business

To compare inbound marketing solutions, you have to start with a clear understanding of your own priorities. That includes business and marketing goals as well as your staff?s technical expertise. Do you need to coordinate sales and marketing teams? Are you starting fresh with marketing automation or augmenting an existing platform (or several)?

In this article, we?ll take a look at two options that appear very similar but which have distinct differences. HubSpot has been around for nearly 10 years and is generally ranked #1 among marketers. SimplyCast is a newer option, generally ranked in the middle of the pack.

In a nutshell:

• Both HubSpot and SimplyCast are ?all-in-one? platforms, meaning they offer a comprehensive suite of features and tools to handle all aspects of a typical inbound marketing program.
• Both are aimed at all types and sizes of businesses, emphasizing usability for small and mid-size companies but offering advanced features for larger enterprises.
• Both have budget-friendly entry levels.

HubSpot Overview

Positives:

• Easy to implement for companies with limited marketing experience or staff size, can be used as companion system by companies with existing marketing automation or content management systems.
• Content creation and publishing is well-integrated across all inbound techniques ? website, blog, social media, email, lead scoring and management, landing pages, CTAs, work flow automation, etc.
• Strong range of features, including Web Grader tool.
• Multiple templates.
• Integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics, Adwords and other analytics to easily produce reports about customer behavior and campaign results.
• HubSpot is constantly adding new features and tools.

Negatives:

• Does not enable surveys, live chat or voice, SMS or fax broadcasting.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) component is weak, but HubSpot can be integrated with various numerous third-party platforms, including SalesForce.
• Limited advanced customization features.

SimplyCast Overview

Positives:

• Designed to be simple yet powerful, requiring no coding skill to create highly-targeted, personalized automated campaigns.
• Communicate with prospects and customers across 15 channels, including fax, voice, live chat, texting, email, Facebook and Twitter.
• Content management includes landing pages, forms and email work flows with automatic responders.
• Numerous industry-specific solution packages.
• Detailed segmentation and tracking of all visitor and customer interactions.
• Powerful built-in CRM to handle complex lead nurturing campaigns.
• Can assign project tasks to team members to enhance sales team follow-up with prospects.

Negatives:

• No blogging tool.
• No social interface beyond Facebook and Twitter.
• No search engine optimization tools.
• Limited volume of landing pages and forms.

Pricing

• HubSpot starts at $200 per month for 100 contacts, with incremental increases based on the number of contacts. Pro plan starts at $800 per month, and Enterprise level starts at $2400 per month. An annual contract is required.
• SimplyCast offers four pricing levels, ranging from Startup at $99 per month for 5000 contacts to Enterprise level that starts at $499 per months for 75,000 contacts. Actual pricing depends on your number of users, landing pages, etc. and whether you want to purchase industry-specific tools.

Summary

SimplyCast is communications-oriented. If your marketing strategy focuses on email and other individual messaging and you have a large database, this platform is likely a better choice than HubSpot. However, if your strategy is more broadly inbound-oriented, HubSpot is likely your best choice because of its powerful blogging, social media and SEO optimization capabilities.

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.