Item: Adobe Marketo Engage
Rating: 9
Author: Nathan Lindsey

Overall Satisfaction with Marketo

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Marketo to manage leads and deploy segmented email marketing for our inner office (many of these message are distributed through the entire organization), and members of a separate network and sponsored messages (we use Marketo to send 3rd party messages from to special members of our networks for a fee.)

Pros and Cons

Pros

List and lead management - Marketo is able to segment and manage lists to a very fine detailed level. this comes in handy when we want to assure that every message sent is relative to the receiver. (For example we can segment list by reign of the country)
Custom email templates - Marketo has upgraded the email platform to allow for sweet custom templates with custom HTML, CSS modules. With the use of tokens and moveable modules, we now have one beautiful master template that any of our messages, no matter the complexity, can all be created using the one template.
Email automation - this one should have been 1st on the list. The intuitive enterprise level email automation abilities are fantastic. With the ability to take in outside functions with webhook and incorporate that with string of automated actions based on the users response or time pasted while communicating and reporting to and from SalesForce is a real game changer in how we communicate. The ability to test all the functionality to make sure it's working perfectly before launch is also exceptionally great.

Cons

It's slow - Compared to HubSpot, Marketo moves very slow. Not just a little slow, but it is brain numbing how slow it moves from everything from opening an email to edit it's contents, to loading the program up or moving anywhere in the calendar
Slow hurts - Many times this has happened to me: I would find myself working on one program and then click into a different one, and Marketo is so slow, it takes so much time to process the simple edit, that it does not move me to the new area I clicked. So, I found myself editing the wrong area. I was happy that I caught the error before it became a bigger issue.

Alternatives Considered

HubSpot and HubSpot CRM

Marketo is a better value for enterprise level data management, automation, integrated functions, customization, list management, scheduling and reporting.

Likelihood to Recommend

Many systems send emails, manage clients/customers and integrate well with other platforms (such as Google, SaleForce, etc). But Marketo is best suited for all in one for large to enterprise level businesses who send a tremendous amount of members, data and messages. Businesses who want special custom tracking, KPI's and want to learn from user's responses, want special actions to take place based on a user's activities, track and report all of this seamlessly in one platform professionally (without tagging of the provider's branding) - with an in-house team of professionals to manage Marketo and create content and graphics for emails and landing pages. Less suited for smaller businesses with less communication and reporting needs and smaller staff.

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