A majority of small-businesses are now buying marketing automation software that will allow companies to reach more shoppers for the first time, according to a new report by research firm Software Advice, a division of Gartner.
According to the survey, a little less than half (47%) of small-business buyers are still using manual methods to manage their marketing efforts; 17% use industry-specific software; 15% use CRM software; 8% use email marketing software; and only 2% now use marketing automation software.
What is the top reasons small businesses are now willing to leverage marketing automation? Increase lead management (27%); not satisfied with it’s current system (15%); enhanced features (13%); and company expansion (10%).
Some of the top features marketing automation software offers small businesses are contact management (74%), email marketing (55%), lead tracking (43%), “drip” marketing campaigns (39%) and follow-up management (38%).
Industries now looking for marketing automation software for the first time are real estate (37%), consulting (11%), manufacturing (5%), retail (4%), insurance (4%) and software/IT (3%).
(Source: Look Book)
