The SMB Technology Lineup: Top Marketing Automation Tools Shaking Up SMBs Beyond Q3 and Q4

Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs)Opens a new window have struggled with profitability and sustenance issues since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While, the pre-pandemic days were outlined with obstacles for the SMBs worldwide, could the post-pandemic era witness a growth in customer acquisition, personalization, optimized customer experiences (CX), workplace collaboration, and so on for small businesses? According to a survey by GetAppOpens a new window , 54% of SMBs will continue to invest in software to accelerate recovery. This data is inspirational for small businesses to take note and employ marketing technology to level up their marketing experiences in the recovery period.

In fact, the Spiceworks 2020 State of IT report notes that small businesses will allocate significantly more of their software budgets toward  operating systems. These industry advancements are reassuring for small businesses to speed up their Martech spends for the upcoming year, to not only survive but succeed in the post-pandemic economy. In this post, we asked marketers and SMB experts: What struggles SMBs face with martech stacks? Which cutting-edge technologies SMBs need to succeed over the next one to two years? How do they inform the progression toward a single, centralized user-focused solution to help SMB marketers overcome the issue of complex integration?

Here are the marketing automation tools that experts think SMBs need to succeed beyond Q3 and Q4:

1. Account Based Marketing (ABM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Deliver Personalized Experiences

Eric BensleyOpens a new window , VP, SMB and essentials product marketing, SalesforceOpens a new window

“When we talk to SMBs, we hear that either their martech systems are too complex and siloed or they don’t deliver personalized experiences that customers want. There are two technologies that allow SMBs to deliver more personalized experiences without adding too much complexity: Account Based MarketingOpens a new window and Artificial Intelligence. ABM helps companies target key accounts instead of relying on the generic tactics of old while AI can surface and prioritize top leads for your team to focus on. Companies today need to focus on the most fruitful customers and deliver personalized content that gets their attention.”

Learn More: Why Marketers Need an Account-Based Marketing Framework: Q&A With Madison Logic’s CEO, Opens a new window Tom Opens a new window O’ReganOpens a new window

2. Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) to Deploy More Cutting-Edge Personalization

Greg SterlingOpens a new window , vice president of insights, UberallOpens a new window

“When we talk about “SMBs” it’s important to understand that most of the market exists at the sub-10 employee headcount level and well below that. Above that threshold, there are varying levels of sophistication and budgets. The needs of different-sized businesses will impact their choices and their ability to pay for them. For most of the market, just deploying basic tools is still on the to-do list. These tools, not necessarily cutting edge, are increasingly impactful: marketing automation (including email marketing), CRMOpens a new window , analytics, chat/messaging, social media management, reputation and review management, productivity, workflow and project management and workplace collaboration tools (e.g., Slack). Most SMBs are not using many of them. Customer data platforms are more cutting edge.”

3. All-In-One Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tool to Communicate With Customers

Susan MarshallOpens a new window , CEO and founder, TorchliteOpens a new window

“I don’t know if there’s a single solution yet, especially for small businesses as even large enterprise businesses struggle with complex integrations. Fortunately, small businesses have less data to deal with, so one CRM can be used to communicate with customers and integrate their sales funnel. The new Marketplace for Salesforce Essentials is an example as it is easy to set up and offers highly trained advisors to small businesses without long term contracts, limits, or minimums. The Marketplace gets SMBs started with a road map of what is industry standard at a lower overall cost.”

Learn More: CRM Is dead, long live CRM! In conversation with Morgan Norman, CMO, CopperOpens a new window

4. No-Code Tools Like Webflow and Zapier to Build Faster and Affordable Marketing Experiences

Adam NathanOpens a new window , CEO and co-founder, AlmanacOpens a new window

“SMBs struggle to optimize the workflow needed to effectively create marketing content. Martech solutions will largely stay unbundled for two reasons: Price sensitivity to all-in-one solutions and all-in-one solutions cannot efficiently address the wide range of use cases across SMBs. The rising popularity and polish of no-code tools, like Webflow, Zapier, and Bubble, will allow SMBs to build marketing experiences faster and cheaper. Open-sourcing can also make a big impact at Almanac, we offer open source templates, so SMBs can customize marketing plans developed by experts, not on payroll!”

Learn More: Why Small Businesses Are Exploring No-Code Platforms: Q&A With AirDev

5. Martech Solutions That Can Action the Intersection of Online and Offline

Rosie O’MearaOpens a new window , SVP, sales & marketing, GroundTruthOpens a new window

“The core competency of an SMB is in its own category, not in navigating marketing solutions and platforms. They care about outcomes that drive their business forward, but the learning curve associated with effectively leveraging martech is a challenge, and often a distraction. An SMB is more often focused on how to make the most of the resources they have available in the most direct way, depending on what challenges they face in the shifting landscape. Meeting operational needs, connecting with existing customers, and reaching potential new customers, are just a few of the challenges they most often face.

“The change in consumer behavior during the challenges of 2020 has accelerated a shift that had already begun, an undeniable and permanent blend of offline and online. Business owners know both customers are valuable and are often the same person buying in different ways for different reasons at different times. Marketing technologies that understand and make the intersection of online and offline actionable, will be useful.”

6. Martech Stack That Integrates With the Existing Tools

Dan FrohnenOpens a new window , CMO, SendosoOpens a new window

“A big challenge SMBs face with martech stacks is allocating budget most effectively to drive maximum revenue and growth. Over the next few years, we will start seeing more marketing technologies that enable optimal efficiency and productivity. Specifically, we will see:

• Marketing technology that allows you to be flexible, work nimbly, and removes manual processes out of the equation, freeing your team’s time for more strategic work.
• Martech that allows you to make physical impressions with prospects and customers during a time when that is no longer an option.

“There are over 8,000 martech solutions available in the market today. And while we are seeing a mass influx of new startups, we are also seeing mass consolidation. Revenue generation teams’ playbooks have drastically changed in 2020. Rather than looking for a “one size fits all” solution, find martech solutions that best fit the needs of your SMB. Start by understanding those needs your organization has. Are deals stalling in your pipeline? Is it more difficult to push the needle when you are not able to meet with prospects and customers in person? When bringing on new technology, see if the new technology integrates with the tools your team is already using.”

Learn More: Small Businesses Face Big Cyber Risks: 6 Ways SMBs Can Get It Right

7. Centralized Marketing Automation Tech and CRM Tool for Consistent CX

Eric BensleyOpens a new window , VP, SMB and essentials product marketing, SalesforceOpens a new window

“Today’s customers expect to interact with companies across various channels, and they expect those interactions to be highly relevant and consistent. Therefore, a single, centralized solution is critical. If SMBs simply deploy something like marketing automation technology without a strong underlying CRM tool with all customer details, they risk running generic marketing campaigns that do not appeal to their audience. That’s why at Salesforce our CRM and marketing automation tools are built on the same platform and SMBs use them together as a single solution.”

8. Business Operating Systems Like Zoho One to Avoid the Nightmare of SaaS

Greg SterlingOpens a new window , vice president of insights, UberallOpens a new window

“There’s something that I refer to as “the nightmare of SaaS,” which is the proliferation of confusing tools that don’t integrate, overpromise, and underdeliver. Most SMBs that have adopted marketing technology are using several disconnected tools for discrete tasks or functions. It is true that the market wants simplification: a coherent and intuitive “holistic” solution that performs. This is especially true at the SMB level. There are a few solutions in the market, such as Zoho One, that promise something like this; and Salesforce is aiming for a version of this. But I do not think we will ever see an “all-in-one” solution that truly delivers on that promise. The best we can hope for is third-party tools that help integrate the stack or tools that offer several integrated functions in critical areas but don’t promise to do everything.”

Learn More: Moms With Small Businesses and in Workplaces to Get a Boost With The Mom Projects $25M Funding

9. Free Tools for Small Businesses That Automate Communications and Analytics

Susan Marshall,Opens a new window CEO and founder, TorchliteOpens a new window

“To get the most out of marketing tech solutions, SMBs need to target and personalize efforts when connecting to their audiences. And to offer personalization, having good data on customers is a must. Personalized outreach from SMBs leads to increased conversions, more business, and the ability for SMBs to compete in the market. There are thousands of free tools available that can impact SMBs and small businesses with compact marketing teams should take advantage of automation. If teams utilize technology to automate communications and analytics, they’ll see a significant impact on their business.”

To Wrap Up

Whether the pandemic will last or resurrect is debatable, however, being business-ready is essential for SMBs in the long run. The question for the future is not, if SMBs and marketers should invest in new technologies and martech stack, but how can they invest in training and time to learn and master these technologies. The sooner marketing leaders of small businesses build a business case for these activities, the faster will they reap benefits of improved efficiencies, customer engagement and retention, and sustained growth period, even after the pandemic is long gone.

Found these marketing automation tools for SMBs useful? Tell us should SMBs invest in marketing automation software on TwitterOpens a new window , Facebook, Opens a new window and LinkedInOpens a new window .