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Whether you know it or not, you will have run into marketing automation online. It happens every time you add your email address to a web form. A person doesn't send the discount coupon or welcome email. A machine does. Marketing automation software lets you run your marketing on autopilot. You set up a series of 'triggers' which cause the software to perform an action. For example, a customer clicks a link in your email, and the software flags them as interested in that topic. Automation frees you up from performing basic tasks. The software does the heavy lifting while you continue running your business. But how do you choose the best marketing automation software? Read on to learn how to identify your needs and compare providers. Types of Software Before we go any further, I want to clarify the types of software available. You can find platforms to automate: Email marketingLanding pages and lead managementWebinars or online eventsSocial media postingDigital advertising managementAffiliate marketingE-commerceWebsite traffic tracking/analytics Some platforms will handle several of these functions. Others deal with only one, but they do it incredibly well. When this post refers to 'marketing automation software,' it relates to these solutions. Define Your Business Goals I know you want to know what fancy features are offered by the different providers. But doing your homework before you sign up can save you headaches in the long run. How you run your business dictates what your marketing automation software must do. Do you want to: Get more leads?Increase your marketing ROI?Run better campaigns?Boost engagement with your emails? Don't sign up for a provider just because your competition uses them. You don't know what their needs are that dictated that choice of provider. Think this doesn't apply to you because you're a solopreneur? Each of these goals changes your focus. Having these goals in place also gives you a way to measure the success of your marketing automation. If you don't hit your goals, you may need a different provider. Or you may need to change how you use your new software. Get More Leads Want more subscribers? You need a platform that integrates with other solutions. Ask yourself: Does it offer custom landing pages?Can it plug into your existing website?Will it help you to keep your current subscribers? Thanks to the Pareto Principle, you'll get 80 percent of your income from 20 percent of your subscribers. Keeping that 20 percent happy is better than looking for new subscribers. Improve Marketing ROI Choose a provider that costs less than their competition. Otherwise, you'll end up working harder to improve your ROI. You'll also need a solution that's easy to set up and use. That saves you time and money getting it started. The more automation features it offers, the better. This lets the software run your marketing in the background while you focus on other tasks. Better Engagement and Campaigns For 36 percent of marketers, improving their engagement with customers is their main automation goal. The best way to improve engagement is to send content subscribers actually want. Segmentation is the answer here. Subscribers put themselves in a segment based on where they signed up or links they click on. For example, if you blog about Wordpress and include a link to a theme store, anyone who clicks on that link has told you they're interested in themes. With that info, you can send more content about themes but only send it to interested subscribers. Check what segmentation features new software offers. Letting the software carry the weight of running campaigns frees up your time. Why not invest that time in learning a new skill, like copywriting? Compare Pricing Models Pricing can be the place where marketing automation software gets confusing. Some platforms make it easy—a certain number of subscribers costs a certain amount per month. If the platform charges per subscriber, check the whole pricing model. It's good to see how much it'll cost as you scale. Do you need one automation provider for emails and another for social media? See how much a single provider that offers both will charge. Bundling features together can save money and make your automation more smooth. Other platforms charge a set-up fee and training for your team (if you have one). Before you hesitate about paying for training, consider this. Knowing how to use the platform gets you up and running much faster. See coaching as an investment to speed your returns on using the platform. Read Reviews of the Best Marketing Automation Software You read reviews of hotels on TripAdvisor before you book. So why not read reviews of software you want to buy? Read reviews of different providers. Pay closer attention to those reviews written by similar people to yourself. Are you a solo internet marketer? Then reviews by other internet marketers are more valuable. Their needs will be more in line with yours. By comparison, a review by a huge corporation may not be as helpful. They have different reasons for picking their providers. I said you shouldn't pick a provider based on your competition. But there's no harm in finding out what your competitors think of the available solutions. Related Questions Will It Take Long to Start Using a New Provider? There is always a learning curve with new software. But the best marketing automation software is the one that best fits your needs. If the provider offers training, it's often useful to take it so it won't take long for you to start using the software. What If I Don't like the software? Some providers offer a trial month. Try out the software during this trial to see what you think. You're free to cancel before the end of that month if you don't like it. If you don't enjoy using the software, you won't enjoy doing your marketing. Your subscribers can pick up on that apathy. Don't risk it! New to marketing automation? You might like to read my article on email autoresponders before you research providers.