The top digital tools all marketers need

sammycopeland

Digital marketing tools is a booming business these days, with literally thousands of programs all claiming to boost ROI and improve the quality of leads, but which ones actually work? Which ones have the best customer service? And which ones do marketers really need? These are the questions Louis Gudema, president of Revenue + Associates, set out to answer recently when he started researching marketing technology.

After comparing 351 B2B companies, he realized people really don’t diversify their marketing tools as much as they should. So he compiled a list of the most basic, crucial tools every marketer should use and called it his “Starter Kit.”

Analytics tracking

No marketing strategy is complete without a way to track which pages are getting the most traffic, which links are most successful, and which sources are producing the highest number of qualified leads. Gudema said, “Far and away the most popular website analytics tool is the free Google Analytics, which is used on over 80% of small and mid-market websites.” Yes, something free actually does work, though the larger you get the better it might be for you to get a paid version, such as Adobe Analytics.

Conversion rates

Following close on the heels of analytics as the most important tool to have in your arsenal is a software to help you optimize your conversion rates. There is a variety of ways for doing this, including testing A/B landing pages, developing interactive marketing apps, and providing engaging content for downloading. Digital marketing tools tend only to focus on one of these options, so you’ll need to strategize before choosing one. Gudema recommended Optimzely and Unbounce for testing A/B pages and Ion Interactive for creating marketing apps.

Marketing automation

This category covers a number of technologies, including analytics, email, sale alignment, and personalization of web content. A major way marketers use this technology is to tailor emails to specific audiences. Gudema stressed that when he talks about email marketing he’s talking about “getting people to give you permission to email them additional information, and then sending only valuable content tailored to the person’s interests.” Marketing automation programs like HubSpot, Adobe Campaign, and Silverpop all incorporate email marketing with various other facets, making them invaluable for a business serious about marketing itself effectively.

High quality content

Weaved throughout these crucial technologies is a common theme: the need for high quality content. Digital tools can’t come up with that for you, they can only track how effective or useful it is. Whether you’re blogging, posting to social media, emailing, or hosting webinars, your focus has to be on providing valuable content. A lack in this area couldn’t be rectified by the fanciest digital marketing tools money can buy.

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Source: blogs.hbr.org/2014/11/7-marketing-technologies-every-company-must-use/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+(HBR.org)