Item: Adobe Marketo Engage
Rating: 9
Author: Carey Picklesimer

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Teams from the marketing department log into Marketo and use it on a daily basis, but the information is shared extensively within the Sales and Operations departments.

Pros and Cons

Unlimited options for creating automation - from simple auto-responders to complex lead routing rules
Nurturing programs using the engagement engine. There is no other platform on the market that offers out-of-the-box nurturing programs that function so well.
Tools that help bridge the gap between the marketing and sales teams, such as sales insights, automated sales alerts, lead scoring and interesting moments
Very active user community which includes the Marketo Community forum for asking and answering questions, in-person event and the annual Summit
Vastly updated training and support documentation

Steep learning curve - Because Marketo is so customizable, it also means that it can be hard to learn and get running quickly.
Can be challenging to maintain well - Because of the steep learning curve and the open options to build it from scratch, it is also easy to create automation that are cumbersome and slow the system down. It requires an intelligent, experienced marketer to truly run it effectively.
Adequate reporting, but room for improvement - There is a ton of data within Marketo, but often you'll need to export the information you need to Excel to truly present it in a usable format to management

Using Marketo to Support Sales Goals

Upsell
Cross-Sell
Customer Service
Lead Management
Prospecting / New Business

I have used Marketo as a marketing director for a software company and now as a Marketo consultant for businesses across multiple industries and size ranges. In nearly all cases, the root goal is to track and measure the sales activity (new business, back to base, customer advocacy) and relate it back the time and money spent. Marketo helps you understand your marketing ROI and then make future decisions based on that data.

Alternatives Considered

HubSpot and Oracle Eloqua

I have used HubSpot with smaller customers and it works perfectly for them. HubSpot is more linear and comes out of the box with more things built. It makes sense for smaller marketing teams with less complicated needs. However, I don't think HubSpot can grow and scale the way that Marketo does. I have used Eloqua as well. Like Marketo, it has very customizable workflows, but I found it harder to learn and less intuitive than Marketo.

Number of Contacts (List Size)

250,000 to 1 million

Using Adobe Marketo Engage for B2C or B2B marketing

B2B

Likelihood to Recommend

I've been a Marketo user for nearly five years and am a huge advocate. Marketo is well suited to growing SMBs or enterprise-level organizations that understand their marketing goals and how marketing automation will help get them there. I have seen businesses struggle to make Marketo work for them if they don't have their off-line practices squared away, such as the lead lifecycle or a good understanding of how to nurture. Marketo is not as user-friendly out of the box which is why smaller companies may not find it as useful. There is no limit to what Marketo can do, so it can be a powerful tool if you have a strong marketing strategy.

Marketo is a customizable powerhouse that will scale as your business grows

Software Version

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Marketo