The Ferrari among Marketing automation platforms
November 18, 2016
The Ferrari among Marketing automation platforms
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Enterprise
Modules Used
- Eloqua
Overall Satisfaction with Oracle Eloqua
We provide support and managed services for the Eloqua MA platform - that means we implement and configure Eloqua instances from scratch, but also set up and execute marketing campaigns, CRM integrations, lead nurturing flows, lead scoring models and any other type of service from within the platform for our clients. Our experience with the platform, then, covers all aspects of it.
We have different experts in our organisation, some more focused on analytics and reporting, some on conceptualizing campaigns and some on asset creation, technical configuration and so on.
We have different experts in our organisation, some more focused on analytics and reporting, some on conceptualizing campaigns and some on asset creation, technical configuration and so on.
- Out of the box CRM integration (SFDC, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Sales Cloud) is stellar. Transfer of leads and contacts between Eloqua and CRMs works seamless and is very precisely configurable.
- There's usually more than one way to solve a challenge in Eloqua. This makes the platform very flexible with regards to business needs. I've experienced similar platforms where you're often tied to one workflow, which tends to kill this adaptability.
- Support and integration with many different Oracle Marketing Cloud tools, allowing organisations to expand their marketing technology stack beyond just marketing automation
- Very intuitive interface and workflow, that's constantly being updated to meet the challenges of the changing digital marketing landscape.
- Very scalable and manageable - security for users can be finetuned to match business needs, and large numbers of contacts and operations can be handled at the same time.
- The reporting functionality could use some updates in the interface department - it feels old-fashioned and less visually intuitive compared to other tools. Although I am being told this is addressed
- Because Oracle is such a large enterprise itself, performing many acquisitions in rapid succession, product documentation is often out of date and scattered, which can make it a little hard to find answers to support questions.
- Similarly, the support platform can be confusing due to outdated interfaces and multiple platforms existing alongside one another.
- We only provide support for our clients, so I cannot share hard numbers, but we do notice our clients getting much more leads of better quality out of their marketing efforts.
- By aligning Eloqua CRM integration with business flows, we see our clients are learning how to qualify leads and how to follow up on them.
- At the same time, using Eloqua allows them to close the loop on marketing efforts, which gives marketeers the ability to validate their budgets.
I use all of these in some measurement for our clients, but Eloqua is in my eyes the better option for corporate and enterprise level businesses. Its many features, flexibility and constant stream of updates make it the futureproof answer to any marketing challenge in my eyes. That said, I think smaller businesses will benefit more from platforms like Act-On or Hubspot. While these platforms may have less flexibility in their options, they are easier to get started with.