18 Marketing Automation Features Your Software Should Have
With thousands of marketing automation features and software options, it’s no wonder some companies experience “analysis paralysis” and decide to stick with what they know best.
However, considering that marketing automation is such a vast topic—from email to landing pages to lead scoring—it’s understandable how easy it is for marketers to get overwhelmed when thinking of the must-have features when looking to invest in marketing software.
In this article, I’ll cover the 18 marketing automation features to evaluate as you build and expand your martech stack. We also include some of the top tools for each feature and their marketing software pricing.
18 Must-have Marketing Automation Features
When you’re choosing marketing automation software, it helps to know what features you need. Here’s a list of 18 key features to keep in mind as you put together your marketing automation RFP.
1. Marketing Campaign Management
It’s easy for marketing campaigns to get siloed because martech stacks are so big no one person has all the facts. A comprehensive campaign management platform can fix this, allowing you to manage multiple campaigns from the same interface, see high-level performance details, and align marketing and sales teams with the same information.
Marketing campaign management tools help you plan, execute, and monitor omnichannel marketing campaigns.
For example, HubSpot’s Campaign tool allows you to create tasks, manage multiple campaigns in one place, see your team’s workload from a 30,000-foot view, and leave comments to collaborate with colleagues.
Features include:
- A/B testing
- Planning and scheduling
- Audience segmentation
- Omnichannel capabilities
- Campaign performance tracking
- Resource allocation and budgeting
- Collaboration tools for team members
Some of the top marketing campaign management tools include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Small to large businesses looking for comprehensive solutions |
| Marketo | Starts at $895/month | Mid-size to enterprise-level companies with complex needs |
| Salesforce Marketing Cloud | Custom pricing; starts around $1,250/month | Large enterprises with diverse marketing requirements |
2. Email Campaign Management
Email campaign management was one of the first applications of marketing automation, and it’s still the most used. It remains one of the most effective marketing channels around and is critical for businesses of all sizes.
With email automation tools, you can create, schedule, send, and analyze email campaigns and design automated workflows. The more sophisticated platforms in this category offer AI features and dynamic workflow builders.
For example, Mailchimp’s customer journey builder lets you nudge users along a customer journey based on their behavior, with each action triggering automation.
Features include:
- Email design and customization
- List management and segmentation
- Automated email sequences and drip campaigns
- Personalization and dynamic content
- Email scheduling and timing optimization
- Deliverability monitoring and optimization
- Analytics and reporting
- Spam testing and compliance checks
Some of the top email campaign management tools include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Starts at $13/month | Small businesses and startups |
| Constant Contact | Starts at $12/month | Small to medium-sized businesses |
| Brevo | Starts at $9/month | Growing businesses with diverse needs |
3. Lead Generation and Nurturing
No business can survive without leads. But there’s a big difference between yesteryear's chaotic cold-calling campaigns and today's buyer-led sales conversations. The best lead generation strategies put prospects in the driver’s seat, allowing them to become sales-ready at their own pace as they progress through the nurturing workflows you’ve designed.
Modern lead generation platforms focus on lead nurture processes that scale, allowing much of the “warm-up” phase of customer interactions to be automated.
For example, with ActiveCampaign, you can create complex workflows that send leads to your sales team for follow-up depending on their level of engagement.
Features include:
- Lead capture forms and pop-ups
- Landing page creation and optimization
- Lead scoring and qualification
- Automated lead nurturing workflows
- Personalized messaging recommendations
- Lead activity tracking and engagement monitoring
- Integration with CRM systems
- Multi-channel lead nurturing (email, social, retargeting)
Some of the top lead generation and nurturing tools include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Pardot | Starts at $1,250/month | B2B companies using Salesforce CRM |
| ActiveCampaign | Starts at $29/month | Small to medium-sized businesses focused on customer experience |
| Drip | Starts at $39/month | Ecommerce businesses |
4. Social Media Campaign Management
A strong social media presence is an unavoidable fact of modern-day business. But there’s a right way—and a wrong way—to do it. The most effective social media marketing strategies put audience engagement at the forefront, allowing businesses to build meaningful customer relationships while moving toward their marketing goals.
Social media automation platforms focus on streamlining processes that scale, enabling much of the content creation, scheduling, and analysis to be centralized and automated.
For example, tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social allow you to design comprehensive campaigns across multiple platforms, schedule social media posts for optimal times, and track performance metrics from a single dashboard.
Features include:
- Content creation and scheduling
- Social media listening and monitoring
- Engagement tracking and response management
- Influencer identification and management
- Social media advertising integration
- Performance analytics and reporting
- Cross-platform content optimization
Some of the top social media campaign management tools include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Starts at $99/month | Businesses of all sizes managing multiple social accounts |
| Sprout Social | Starts at $249/month | Mid-size to large businesses needing advanced analytics |
| Buffer | Starts at $12/month | Small businesses and individuals managing social presence |
5. Lead Management and Scoring
Every sales team has its own slightly distinct way of prioritizing leads. Years ago, it was based on sales reps'” gut feelings; today, lead scoring is much more data-based. AI and machine learning technology make assessing lead quality easier than ever and guide your sales team’s focus.
With lead management and scoring features, you can create dynamic, adaptive systems that evolve with your business.
For example, with Salesforce's Einstein tool, you can implement sophisticated scoring algorithms that consider many factors—from demographic data to engagement history—to predict which leads are most likely to convert accurately. This allows sales teams to focus their efforts where they're most likely to yield results, significantly improving efficiency and conversion rates.
Features include:
- Lead capture and organization
- Automated lead scoring based on demographics and behavior
- Lead assignment and routing
- Lead activity tracking
- Customizable scoring models
- Integration with CRM and sales tools
- Lead nurturing workflow automation
Some of the top lead management and scoring tools include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Marketo | Starts at $895/month | Mid-size to enterprise-level companies |
| HubSpot | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Small to large businesses |
| Salesforce Pardot | Starts at $1,250/month | B2B companies integrated with Salesforce CRM |
6. Tool Integration Capabilities
With martech stacks expanding fast, it’s often a struggle for marketers to sync data between platforms. That makes it hard to take advantage of the full potential of your marketing technology.
Fortunately, these days, it’s simple to connect your platforms and apps to create a seamless flow of data—from email to CRM systems to analytics tools—and use the combined insights to drive better decision-making.
Tools like Zapier allow you to connect a range of apps and automate data flow between them. This saves time, boosts productivity, and provides a holistic view of marketing efforts and customer interactions.
Features include:
- Pre-built integrations with popular tools (CRM, analytics, e-commerce platforms)
- API access for custom integrations
- Data synchronization across platforms
- Workflow automation across tools
- Single sign-on capabilities
- Data mapping and field customization
Some of the top integration-focused marketing automation platforms include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Zapier | Free plan available, starts at $29.99/month | Businesses needing to connect various apps and automate workflows |
| HubSpot | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Companies looking for an all-in-one marketing solution with integrations |
| Salesforce | Custom pricing; starts around $1,250/month | Enterprises requiring robust integration with a wide range of tools |
7. Dashboard, Analytics, and Reporting
A critical piece of any marketing automation strategy is adaptability. It’s important to double down on what’s working—and cut what’s not. To do that, you need trustworthy, actionable analytics, ideally with an advanced dashboard and automated insights into campaign performance and ROI.
With analytics tools like DashThis, you can create customized dashboards that aggregate data from multiple sources, giving you a full view of your marketing efforts. Once you’ve got an easy way to review performance, data-driven decision-making becomes easier.
Features include:
- Customizable dashboards
- Real-time performance metrics
- Multi-channel attribution modeling
- Automated report generation
- Data visualization tools
- Predictive analytics
- Goal tracking and KPI monitoring
Some of the top dashboard, analytics, and reporting platforms include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Free for the standard version, Google Analytics 360 starts at $150,000/year | Businesses needing comprehensive web analytics |
| DashThis | Starts at $49/month | Small and medium-sized businesses needing automated reporting |
| Marketo | From $895/month | Enterprises needing real-time business intelligence |
8. AI-Enabled Capabilities
It’s impossible to escape the impact artificial intelligence is having on the marketing landscape.
Many martech tools have already added AI features to their products; while some features are gimmicky, many can impact personalization, productivity, data insights, and creativity.
One example is Adobe's set of AI features (collectively dubbed “Adobe Sensei”), which can analyze vast amounts of data to predict customer behavior, optimize content delivery, and automate complex marketing activities. Businesses can use AI to scale their campaigns without significant investment while boosting the effectiveness of their personalization and optimization efforts.
Features include:
- Predictive lead scoring
- Automated content recommendations
- Chatbots for customer engagement
- Personalization at scale
- Automated A/B testing and optimization
- Sentiment analysis
- Predictive analytics for campaign performance
Some of the top marketing automation platforms with AI capabilities include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Einstein | Included in some Salesforce plans, additional features may have extra costs | Salesforce users looking for AI-powered insights |
| Adobe Sensei | Included in various Adobe Experience Cloud products | Companies using Adobe products for marketing and analytics |
| HubSpot | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Businesses incorporating generative AI tools |
9. Content Management Capabilities
In the early years of the Internet, businesses simply published new content when they had something to publish.
But those ad-hoc content efforts ebbed and flowed based on the marketing team's bandwidth. Enterprise organizations started to adopt marketing automation tools to help them streamline their ABM content creation, organization, and distribution across multiple channels.
While content management tools are now available at more accessible price tiers, the most capable are still enterprise-focused.
For example, Sitecore offers features like personalized websites, multi-channel journeys, automatic updates, content workflows, and digital asset management.
Features include:
- Content creation and editing tools
- Digital asset management
- Content calendar and scheduling
- Version control and collaboration features
- Content personalization
- Multi-channel content distribution
- Content performance analytics
Some of the top marketing automation platforms with a content management focus include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Businesses needing a flexible way to personalize content |
| Contentstack | Starts at $995/month | Ecommerce and large consumer brands |
| Sitecore | Custom pricing, typically for enterprise-level implementations | Large enterprises needing advanced content management |
10. Mobile Capabilities
Until around a decade ago, the term “mobile capabilities” tended to mean “create a mobile-optimized website.” Today, it’s a more complex topic defined by seamlessly integrating SMS and in-app interactions into the marketing process—a recognition that for many consumers, mobile devices are their primary interaction with brands.
Automation tools like Klaviyo offer advanced features for creating and optimizing mobile-friendly email campaigns, push notifications, and SMS marketing. For example, you could send an in-app push notification to customers who have recently viewed a certain page and offer them a discount on the item they viewed.
Features include:
- Mobile-responsive email and landing page design
- SMS marketing tools
- Mobile app integration
- Location-based marketing features
- Mobile analytics and reporting
- Push notification capabilities
- QR code generation and tracking
Some of the top marketing automation platforms with an omnichannel focus include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Omnisend | Starts at $16/month | Ecommerce businesses looking for omnichannel marketing automation |
| Klaviyo | Starts at $45/month | Ecommerce businesses looking for automations that coordinate email, SMS, and push notifications |
| Mailchimp | Starts at $13/month | Small and medium-sized businesses needing a versatile email marketing solution |
11. Website Visitor Tracking Capabilities
Websites used to have two stages: “launch” and “maintenance.” Today, the highest-performing businesses take an approach defined by continuous improvement. Visitor tracking software is a vital piece of that effort.
User analytics tools like Hotjar allow businesses to create heatmaps, record user sessions, analyze click patterns, and track detailed information about website visits. User behavior data helps you understand your target audience better and gives you everything you need to make data-backed changes to your website and improve your conversion and sales funnels.
Features include:
- Real-time visitor tracking
- User journey mapping
- Heat maps and click tracking
- Form analytics
- Session recording
- Custom event tracking
- Integration with CRM for lead tracking
Some of the top user analytics platforms include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Hotjar | Starts at $39/month | Small to medium-sized businesses needing heatmaps and behavior analysis |
| Crazy Egg | Starts at $249/month | Businesses focused on website optimization and A/B testing |
| Leadfeeder | Starts at $99/month | B2B companies wanting to identify and track website visitors |
12. Automated Lead Assignment Capabilities
For your sales team to operate at peak efficiency, you need to remove as many bottlenecks as you can from your processes. For many businesses, manual lead assignment is one of those bottlenecks. Automated lead assignment tools can match leads with the best-fit sales rep—without relying on a manager to manually review the process.
Tray, an integration platform, allows you to create workflows that automatically assign leads based on criteria like geography, industry, or lead score. Faster lead assignment means your sales team can follow up with leads more promptly, boosting the chances of converting more prospects into customers.
Features include:
- Rule-based lead routing
- Round-robin assignment
- Territory-based assignment
- Skill-based routing
- Load balancing
- Manual override options
- Assignment reporting and analytics
Some of the top marketing automation platforms with automated lead assignments include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Starts at $65/user/month for Sales Professional | Sales teams operating in the Microsoft ecosystem |
| Salesforce | Starts at $1,250/month | Enterprises requiring robust CRM with advanced lead assignment |
| Tray | Custom pricing | Businesses that want to use integrations to add an automated lead assignment to their existing martech stack |
13. Form and Landing Page Builder
There’s a big difference between a standard web page and a conversion-optimized landing page. The first exists to convey information, while the second exists to drive sales.
That means buyer psychology and conversion best practices heavily influence landing page design. (A similar logic drives conversion-focused form design.)
For example, if you’ve ever noticed an ABM landing page without navigation links in the header, that’s on purpose—they’ve been removed, so you aren’t tempted to click on them.
Landing page and form builder software make it easy to create conversion-focused designs and optimize them. Industry-standard tools like Unbounce let you A/B test different versions of your landing page and create dynamically personalized versions based on your visitors’ characteristics (like their location).
Features include:
- Drag-and-drop page builders
- Customizable templates
- A/B testing capabilities
- Mobile responsiveness
- Dynamic personalization
- Form logic and conditional fields
- Integration with CRM and email tools
- Performance analytics
Some of the top landing page platforms include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Unbounce | Starts at $99/month | Marketers needing advanced landing page creation |
| Instapage | Starts at $99/month | Businesses focusing on post-click optimization |
| Leadpages | Starts at $49/month | Small businesses and entrepreneurs needing easy-to-use tools |
14. Organic and Paid Traffic Breakdown and Insights
While every business wants to rank prominently in Google, search engines aren’t exactly forthcoming about what it takes to make it to the number one spot (They also frequently change their algorithms).
Organic and paid traffic analysis tools help you understand which strategies are working and where your visitors and revenue are coming from.
For example, Semrush offers detailed breakdowns of organic search traffic, paid search campaigns, social media referrals, and more. With these insights in hand, you can allocate your budget more effectively because you know what’s actually driving results.
Features include:
- Traffic source segmentation
- Conversion tracking by source
- ROI calculation for paid campaigns
- Keyword performance analysis
- Multi-channel attribution modeling
- Competitive benchmarking
- Custom reporting and dashboards
Some of the top organic search analysis platforms include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Starts at $129.95/month | Businesses needing comprehensive SEO and PPC analysis |
| Ahrefs | Starts at $129/month | SEO professionals and agencies requiring backlink analysis |
| Google Analytics | Free for the standard version, Google Analytics 360 starts at $150,000/year | Detailed website traffic analysis for businesses |
15. Seamless CRM Integration and Reporting
Without sending as much relevant data to your CRM as possible, it’s difficult to maximize the potential of your martech stack. That’s why taking marketing integrations seriously is a prerequisite of modern marketing campaigns.
Integration services like Zapier can connect all your tools with one another, but if you’re shopping for a CRM, you’ll make life easier by picking one that integrates natively with as many of the applications you use as possible.
For instance, HubSpot’s Marketing CRM integrates seamlessly with the rest of its product suite and with 1,500+ other platforms. By syncing your platforms with your CRM, you’ll benefit from customer data insights and cross-platform workflows that would have been impossible otherwise.
Features include:
- Bi-directional data synchronization
- Lead and contact data mapping
- Unified customer profiles
- Automated lead handoff to sales
- Cross-platform reporting and analytics
- Custom field mapping
- Activity logging and tracking
These CRMs have seamless connections to a wide range of apps:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | Starts at $1,250/month | Enterprises requiring a robust CRM with extensive integration capabilities |
| HubSpot | Starts at $800/month (Marketing Hub Professional) | Businesses looking for an all-in-one marketing and CRM solution |
| Pipedrive | Starts at $14/user/month | Small to medium-sized businesses needing user-friendly CRM with good integrations |
16. A/B Testing Capabilities
While other tools on this list offer A/B testing in certain contexts—like email or landing pages—it’s also worth exploring whether a dedicated optimization platform makes sense for you.
For example, Optimizely lets businesses run sophisticated split tests on everything from new features to personalized content.
Features include:
- Split testing for emails, landing pages, and ads
- Multivariate testing
- Statistical significance calculation
- Automated winner selection
- Test scheduling and duration control
- Segment-specific testing
- Results analysis and reporting
Some of the top tools with A/B testing capabilities include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Optimizely | Custom pricing; starts around $3,000/month | Large businesses requiring advanced experimentation |
| VWO (Visual Website Optimizer) | Starts at $176/month | Businesses focusing on conversion rate optimization |
| Google Optimize | Free version available, custom pricing for Optimize 360 | Businesses looking for free or enterprise-level A/B testing |
17. Contact Management Capabilities
Sophisticated contact management capabilities go beyond basic list storage.
For instance, Zoho Marketing CRM provides advanced data cleansing, segmentation, and enrichment features. You’ll get useful sales insights, like when each contact is likely to be available to chat; you’ll also be able to see the complete history of your interaction with each customer—from email to social media—in a single view.
Features include:
- Contact import and export tools
- Data deduplication and cleansing
- Custom field creation
- Contact segmentation and tagging
- Cross-platform overview of all customer conversations
- Activity and interaction tracking
- List management and suppression
- GDPR and privacy compliance tools
CRMs with contact management features include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM | Free basic CRM, advanced features in paid plans | Businesses of all sizes needing comprehensive contact management |
| Salesforce | Starts at $1,250/month | Large enterprises requiring advanced contact management and automation |
| Zoho CRM | Free plan available, paid plans start at $20/user/month | Small to medium-sized businesses needing affordable yet powerful CRM |
18. Smart Target Accounts List Segmentation Capabilities
If you’re running an account-based marketing (ABM) campaign, focusing your time and energy on the most promising, high-value accounts is crucial. One way to do that is with technology.
Platforms like 6sense use AI and predictive analytics to identify and prioritize target accounts based on user signals and behaviors. By focusing on the accounts that matter most, your team can have an outsized impact—even with limited resources.
Features include:
- AI-powered account identification
- Firmographic and technographic segmentation
- Behavioral segmentation based on engagement
- Intent data integration
- Dynamic list updates
- Cross-channel targeting capabilities
- Performance tracking by account segment
Some of the best marketing automation platforms with advanced target account segmentation include:
| Tool | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Demandbase | Custom pricing based on needs | B2B companies focusing on account-based marketing (ABM) |
| 6sense | Custom pricing based on needs | Enterprises requiring advanced AI-powered account targeting |
| Salesforce | Starts at $1,250/month | B2B companies looking for a comprehensive sales platform |
3 Questions to Answer When Choosing Marketing Automation Software
Choosing the right automation software can supercharge your marketing efforts. Here are three questions to weigh as you decide which tools to go with.
1. What’s Your Current Marketing Workflow?
First, take a look at your existing marketing process. Note where there are pain points, bottlenecks, and other inefficiencies—and pay special attention to any areas that can benefit from automated workflows.
Armed with this list, you can choose marketing software that solves the specific issues you’re facing.
2. What Features Do You Need to Improve Your Marketing Workflow?
Once you’ve compiled a “short list” of products that might work for you, you can start exploring each product's features. Just because two martech products call themselves CRMs doesn’t necessarily mean they’re equivalent.
Look closely at the features provided and note whether the products you’re evaluating take advantage of new technologies like AI and machine learning. Consider other factors like ease of use, scalability, and integration into your existing tech stack.
3. How Technically Proficient is Your Marketing Team?
In the world of digital marketing automation, Mailchimp is incredibly popular with small and mid-sized businesses, while tools like Marketo and Salesforce are more commonly used by enterprise-level businesses.
Price is one reason for that, but there’s another: complexity.
To become proficient in some platforms, your team will need to attend training sessions (and engage in some learning by trial and error, too).
Meanwhile, platforms aimed at beginner and intermediate users tend to be less powerful but also more intuitive. Keep this dynamic in mind as you select software. And whatever platforms you use, ensure they have comprehensive training options, like walkthroughs, videos, and knowledge bases.
For more tips, check out our comprehensive guide on choosing marketing automation software.
Join For More Marketing Automation Insights
At first glance, choosing software doesn’t seem like a high-drama ordeal. However, choosing a marketing automation platform is different: automation weaves its way into every step of the marketing process and has the potential to save serious time while boosting productivity. That means it’s worth approaching the software selection process carefully and strategically.
Start by reviewing your existing marketing workflows, and then—perhaps aided by the automation features in this article—make a list of all the areas where you might be able to smooth out inefficiencies. Then, evaluate software that fits your criteria. Paying close attention to marketing automation features takes an up-front investment of time—but the rewards for faster business growth are immense.
Looking for more resources to help you pick marketing automation tools? Then subscribe to The CMO newsletter for regular tips and insights on how to choose the best marketing automation software.
