Top 10: Marketing Automation software and services

2023. Marketing platform for multi-location brands Soci raises $120M



Soci, a marketing automation platform trusted by prominent brands such as Ace Hardware, Jersey Mike's, Pet Supplies Plus, and Ford, has announced the successful completion of a $120 million financing round. This year, Soci introduced "Genius," an AI-powered suite of services designed to perform local data analysis on behalf of brands. It provides valuable recommendations and suggestions for automating various aspects of brands' marketing strategies. One notable offering within Genius is Soci's Review Genius, which leverages OpenAI's technology to gather reviews and analytics from platforms like Yelp and automatically respond to them. Additionally, Soci has implemented compliance features and safeguards, including approval processes, to ensure the appropriate usage of terms and phrases, promptly flagging any potential issues prior to distribution.


2020. Outfunnel picks up €1.1M pre-seed to bridge the gap between marketing and sales



Startup Outfunnel has secured €1.1 million in funding for its software, which aims to bridge the gap between marketing and sales functions within companies. Outfunnel's innovative "revenue marketing automation tool" facilitates collaboration between sales and marketing teams to drive revenue growth. The software integrates seamlessly with CRMs, including Pipedrive, Copper, and HubSpot CRM (with plans to support additional CRMs in the future). It offers features such as automated emails synchronized with CRM data, comprehensive reporting, and precise targeting. With its compelling offering, Outfunnel has already attracted more than 400 paying customers.

2019. SugarCRM moved into marketing automation with Salesfusion acquisition



In an effort to strengthen its marketing automation capabilities, SugarCRM has made the acquisition of Salesfusion. Recognizing the need for improvements in the marketing automation aspect of their platform, SugarCRM CEO Craig Charlton opted to acquire a company rather than building the functionality from scratch, considering it a faster approach. SugarCRM has been undergoing a transitional phase as it faces challenges in keeping pace with industry giants, especially Salesforce. Last summer, the company entered the private equity market and secured a significant investment from Accel-KKR, reportedly a nine-figure deal according to various reports and characterized as a leveraged buyout by PitchBook.


2019. Zoho unveiled unified marketing automation software - MarketingHub



Zoho has introduced MarketingHub, a comprehensive marketing automation software that integrates the strengths of a unified, robust platform with the capabilities of individual marketing tools. This powerful solution enables you to generate a higher volume of leads, convert them into customers, and foster long-term customer retention. MarketingHub empowers you to craft personalized lead-to-customer journeys and execute targeted marketing campaigns. With this tool at your disposal, you will gain valuable insights into various aspects, including the reasons behind website visits, the current stage of your leads, and the effectiveness of recent successful campaigns in delivering greater returns.


2018. Adobe acquires Marketo for $4.75 billion



Adobe has announced its acquisition of the marketing automation company Marketo for a significant $4.75 billion. This strategic move positions Adobe strongly in the enterprise marketing arena, pitting it against major competitors like Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. The acquisition not only bolsters Adobe's Marketing Cloud portfolio but also grants access to Marketo's expansive customer base of 5000 organizations. This presents a valuable opportunity for Adobe to drive revenue growth in this particular segment of its offerings, while intensifying its competitive edge within the enterprise market. With the integration of Marketo, Adobe is poised to further solidify its position and expand its reach in the realm of marketing automation.


2015. Marketing software Pardot improves collaboration and productivity



B2B marketing automation software Pardot (owned by Salesforce) has recently introduced a range of beneficial enhancements for productivity and collaboration. These include a Chrome extension that enables email tracking, faster data synchronization, improved data visualization, and enhanced customization options for reporting. The Chrome extension for Gmail is an invaluable marketing automation plug-in that empowers sales representatives to send trackable emails directly from their Gmail accounts. It not only simplifies their tasks, allowing them to sell more effectively, but also serves as a covert B2B tool disguised as a harmless email plug-in. The additional improvements offer similar advantages. Notably, the data synchronization with Salesforce now boasts the fastest speed among all marketing automation tools, as it checks for changes every two minutes. This convenience benefits sales representatives by promptly revealing prospect insights, enabling them to respond swiftly and gain a competitive edge.


2014. Marketing giant HubSpot files $100M IPO



HubSpot, a leading provider of marketing automation software, has recently filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the aim of raising up to $100 million. This move follows a similar path taken by its competitor Marketo, which went public the previous year. Notably, other rivals such as Eloqua and ExactTarget chose to be acquired by larger software companies—Eloqua was acquired by Oracle for $871 million in late 2012, while ExactTarget was acquired by Salesforce.com for a whopping $2.5 billion just six months later. It's worth mentioning that both Salesforce and Google have also invested in HubSpot, further highlighting the company's industry significance and appeal.


2013. Salesforce buys marketing automation system ExactTarget for $2.5B



It's common knowledge that the CRM market is highly competitive, with virtually every vendor striving to develop their own CRM system. However, an interesting point to consider is the significant disparity between global spending on sales organizations (the primary function of CRM) and marketing expenditures. Marketing budgets tend to far outweigh sales budgets, prompting IT vendors to follow the money trail. As a result, a specialized market for marketing automation systems has emerged. Just how big is it? Well, consider this: Salesforce acquired one of the market leaders, ExactTarget, for a staggering $2.5 billion. This move was not an attempt to dominate the game, but rather an endeavor to catch up with industry giants like Oracle and Adobe, who already possess more advanced marketing systems. The key features of ExactTarget include email marketing, SMS marketing, landing page development, organizing offline events, and webinars. This seamlessly complements Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which provides comprehensive coverage for social media marketing.