Marketo

Our Thoughts on Marketo

Starting at $895/month, Marketo is a great mid-range marketing automation tool for those requiring something that’s robust for a 100+ person organisation, but who don’t want to shell out $2,000/month+ for a tool like Eloqua.

Marketo is used by a number of reputable companies including Charles Schwab, Chrysler, Intel, and even Infusionsoft, who have outgrown their own marketing automation tool.

Marketo is extremely intuitive and receives a lot of praise for how easy it is to implement and use. At times, the tool can be a bit slow and buggy, but in general it’s a good piece of software.

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Marketo User Reviews

4.5 Users (3 votes)
Overall
Ease of Use
Customer Support

Marketo's Pros and Cons

Marketo is a great piece of software, that is commonly compared against Pardot. The primary benefit of Marketo (over Pardot) is the usability and design of their platform.

Pros

  • Easy and intuitive to use – Marketo receives a lot of praise for the usability of their platform. While it may not have the prettiest of user interfaces, everything is well labeled and easy to get used to, making adoption easier than some other tools.
  • Great Salesforce integration – Marketo has an exceptional integration with Salesforce. While syncing between Salesforce and Marketo can take time, the two tools work together effortlessly.
  • Quick and easy to setup – Compared to some of Marketo’s competitors, it’s relatively easy to implement and get up and running.
  • Great customer support & community – Marketo have a great customer support team, and a very active community of users helping one another with campaigns and technical issues.

 

Cons

  • Poor landing page & form builder – Marketo didn’t start as a marketing automation service (it was originally a lead management tool). While most of the product has been updated, there are still a few remnants, such as their landing page builder, that is clunky and difficult to use.
  • Reports & analytics – The most common complaint about Marketo is in regards to their limited analytics and reporting functionality. Without additional extensions, it can take a long time to produce reports that you should be able to produce in the click of a button.
  • Steep jumps in pricing – Marketo offers three standard pricing tiers, at $895, $1,795, and $3,175 per month. Each tier unlocks new features, which means that it might cost an additional $900 – $1,400 per month for just a handful of extra features.

 

Marketo Integrations

Marketo’s has over 365 applications and integrations with third-party platforms, thanks to their Launchpoint application marketplace.

Below are some of Marketo’s most popular integrations.

  • CRM
  • Email
  • eCommerce
  • Analytics
  • Netsuite
  • ZohoCRM
  • Base CRM
  • Pipeline
  • SugarCRM
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Highrise
  • Podio
  • Nimble
  • Lead Master
  • Hubspot
  • Infusionsoft
  • Constant Contact
  • iContact
  • Mailchimp
  • Recurly
  • Magento
  • Shopify
  • EPiServer Comerce
  • SkyCommerce
  • KISSmetrics
  • Smartify
  • Segment.io
  • Optimizely
  • Crazyegg
  • Synthesio
  • TrackMaven
  • Custora
  • ClickTale

User Interface Screenshots

Marketo's Pricing

Spark

from
$895 /mo
  • 10,000 records
  • Email marketing
  • Customer engagement engine
  • Commuication limits
  • Lead management / nurture / score
  • Event marketing and webinars
  • Marketing calendar
  • SEO
  • Social boost
  • CRM integration
  • 5 sales insight users
  • 5 marketing calendar users

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Standard

from
$1,795 /mo
  • 10,000 records
  • Includes all of spark, plus:
  • A/B testing
  • Advanced lead scoring
  • Advanced dynamic content
  • Progressive profiling for forms
  • Extended integrations & API
  • Marketing program analyzer
  • Revenue cycle modeler
  • Revenue analyzers
  • 10 sales insight users (total)
  • 5 marketing calendar users

Go To Demo

Select

from
$3,195 /mo
  • 10,000 records
  • Includes all of standard, plus:
  • Advanced revenue analytics
  • Advanced email analytics
  • Time-series data warehouse
  • Advanced custom reports
  • Social sweepstakes and referrals
  • Role-based permissions
  • 20 sales insight users (total)
  • 5 marketing calendar users

Go To Demo

Marketo User Reviews

Write your review


Is it 2004 again? Outdated, very user unfriendly
Marketo was a pioneering marketing automation tool, but that was 10 years ago. It hasn't changed one bit since. The tool is quite powerful, but the interface is terrible and can't stand the comparison with any modern tool (just google pictures of the interface to get an idea). Moving from Hubspot to Marketo when I changed jobs felt like I was sent back in the early 2000s. It's clearly geared towards large corporations where whoever signs the check is disconnected from the team actually using the stack. Basic training for grasping core Marketo concepts is 1.5k USD a head per module (!), and you will need a dedicated specialist operator for the Marketo stack, so that's a salary you have to factor in your costs.
15th January 2020, 6:57 pm
Overall2
Ease of Use0.5
Customer Support4
1
9
User Friendly it is NOT!
As a user of Marketo I am actually shocked that you list a pro as "user friendly, easy to use". Of all the products available this is the hardest to use and navigate. It has the worst UI out of any of the system, it feels like a very dated and convoluted tool. It crashes and breaks often, and I don't find they have the best customer service either, for the price you pay. As a use of Padot and HubSpot I'd strongly recommend those two over Marketo unless you have hired a marketo specialist. This is not a tool that can easily be picked up without extensive training.
7th July 2017, 6:49 pm
Overall2
Ease of Use0.5
Customer Support3
5
26
Marketo - No other Marketing Automation Tool able to compete
Being user of Marketo, since 2012, I am definitely biased. Marketo has been a great partner for me on the client side and now as a consultant for my clients. It has never given me a reason to go another tool.
11th December 2016, 3:26 pm
Overall9.5
Ease of Use9.5
Customer Support9.5
26
13

Alternatives to Marketo

Acquired by Salesforce in 2013, Pardot is a popular mid-range marketing automation tool aimed at SMBs and enterprise-level B2B organizations. While more expensive than Marketo, it is roughly in the same price bracket.

Infusionsoft is one of the best marketing automation platforms for companies with 2-25 members of staff. Aimed at small businesses, their pricing is slightly more affordable than Marketo, with many of the same features.

ActiveCampaign logo

Starting at $9 per month, ActiveCampaign are by far the most cost-effective marketing automation tool out there, as well as being one of the best-designed products. We use them, and highly recommend them!

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