Marketing Planning Software – A Problem-Solver for Marketers

Efficiency, the so-called anathema of our modern-day life, is the characteristic needed in every area and every worker. In our rapidly developing world, where the amount of data is increasing extremely, multitudes of specialists get overwhelmed. This problem especially affects marketers. The statistics claim 62% of marketing workers often feel overwhelmed and 85% are unable to utilize data. These high rates are really terrifying.

 

 

 

 

Moreover, the implication of data overload is a waste of money. Based on the survey, it is expected around 30% of marketing budgets will go to pot.

 

As we see, the complexity in data management results in reduced marketing efficiency. Huge amounts of various data and poor strategic capacity lead to marketers stress and budget shortfalls. For these reasons there is a need for marketing planning software.

 

 

Different Software

 

It is the era of marketing. Never before have marketers had a greater choice of tools. It is well-known, where there`s a demand, there`s a supply. The need for planning software results in a diversity of apps and programs which meet certain criteria. It`s a big wheel of the main types of software, which include various apps with their own features developed for specific needs.

 

 

Marketing Calendar Software

 

A marketing calendar is a `must-have` for every advanced marketing department. However, it represents something different from our usual personal calendars. A marketing calendar supports group work, it helps to agree on work priorities and build up working processes. People in a company should understand what’s going on in their marketing department.

 

The variety of marketing calendar programs and apps allows companies to choose one that fits perfectly. Every one of them has its own features, aimed at meeting specific challenges. Here are our choices in this category:

 

CrossCap

 

The CrossCap is a marketing planning software aimed to help marketing departments plan and control the activities in several divisions. It helps in monitoring the efficiency of marketing initiatives. Here are the main functions and features of this calendar:

 

• Management of your team calendars in one software.
• Better cooperation and marketing plan sharing.
• Scale of viewing – from a week to a year.
• Voice navigation.
• Easy filtration.
• Customizable working space.
• Reports on the implementation of campaigns.

 

Screenshot from www.crosscap.com

 

 

Infini Grow

 

Infini Grow is a great solution for huge companies. Due to AI, it is capable of automatic data collection, analysis and extraction of workable information to make marketing processes more effective. The main functions and features are:

 

• Automatic, continuous processing of huge amount of data.
• Several concurrent analysis processes, independent from each other.
• Prediction of results by AI algorithms.
• Full visibility of team activity.
• Plug-and-play data integration via API.
• Managing campaigns, teams and actions without tabs.

 

 

Screenshot from infinigrow.com

 

 

Markodojo

 

Fitting to every company and team, Markodojo thoroughly takes a place in this segment. Developed for qualitative marketing projects management, it ensures flexible marketing processes. Its functions and features are:

 

• Project tracking.
• Media planning.
• Easy-to-use marketing calendar.
• Goal setting/tracking.
• Monitoring projects by channels, segments, cost.
• Categorization.

 

 

Screenshot from www.markodojo.com

 

 

Marketing Automation Software

 

Marketing automation software is intended to help marketers get potential clients and build successful relationships. Marketing Automation is a ready-to-use method to draw customer data from different sources and develop strategies and tactics which work in different areas.

 

Here are 2 great solutions in this category.

 

 

HubSpot

 

HubSpot allows you to establish working processes and make them automatic, which undoubtedly helps shorten the time you spend on platform. It fits all market spheres from small startups to enormous transnational companies. The main functions and features are:

 

• All-in-one` – includes capturing potential clients and maintain relations using a full set of tools.
• Opportunity for automatic email campaigns.
• Automatic internal notifications for your team.

 

 

Screenshot from www.hubspot.com

 

 

Notifia

 

A new solution for automation marketing processes is Notifia. This software promises to increase productivity and reduce expenses and the need to sync data across multiple applications. The main functions and features are:

 

• Automated in-app messages.
• Notification bars.
• Integrated support.
• Social sharing and inviting friends (for customers).
• Feedback and reviews gathering.

 

 

Referral Marketing Software

 

A referral program is a deliberate, systematic way of getting people to make referrals to your business. The best referral program brings estimated ROI and an established number of new customers. We chose some solutions that are great in this direction.

 

Ambassador

 

This `all-in-one` platform Ambassador allows the launch of referral, affiliate, partner, influencer, and advocate programs. This `end-to-end` solution allows:

 

• Multi-program and multi-campaign functionality.
• User segmentation and enrollment.
• Cross-department user permissions.
• Easy-to-use visual editor.
• Automated workflows.
• Multilingual functionality.
• Identify and segment affiliates, influencers, customers, partners, employees, and other advocates.

 

 

Screenshot from www.getambassador.com

 

 

Referral Rock

 

Referral Rock makes word of mouth marketing a channel for growth. Using this referral software service with proven best practices allows you to put referral marketing on autopilot instead of hoping referrals happen by themselves. Here are its main functions and features:

 

• Affiliate marketing.
• Campaign management.
• Contact management.
• Referral partner list.
• Tracking referrals through every stage.

 

 

Screenshot from referralrock.com

 

 

ReferralCandy

 

ReferralCandy is an ecommerce store plugin that helps get more word of mouth sales. It is a useful solution for various companies. Here are the functions and features:

 

• Reports how a campaign is going and ways to improve it.
• Data on how your company compares to those in your industry.
• Details on who the advocates are, who they are referring with, and how to increase it.

 

 

Screenshot from www.referralcandy.com

 

 

Marketing Budgeting Software

 

Budgeting software refers to business solutions with planning, budgeting and forecasting capabilities. The solutions run the gamut of other related functions as core accounting, project management, billing and invoicing, and time tracking. Here are some software solutions to help you in this complicated area.

 

 

Plannuh

 

Plannuh makes cloud-based marketing planning software for building and managing plans and budgets. It helps effortlessly manage marketing budgets with a personalized dashboard and offers these functions and features:

 

• Visualization of data.
• Built-in best practices for marketing budget management.
• Easy to set up.

 

 

Screenshot from www.plannuh.com

 

 

Allocadia

 

Allocadia solves the budget management challenge for marketing teams. It dramatically improves a team`s budgeting workflow: the way to collaborate, save time and eliminate manual processes. Functions and features of Allocadia:

 

• Viewing the current state of every marketing budget.
• Explicit view of expenses.
• Every marketer from your team can manage the expenses for which he/she is responsible in one central place.
• Automation of manual tasks.
• Easy-to-use.

 

 

Screenshot from www.allocadia.com

 

 

Build vs. Buy

 

If you want to use modern marketing planning software in your company to increase income, you have 2 variants: build a solution by yourself or buy a solution from a vendor. It can be a difficult decision with some drawbacks and benefits.

 

 

To Build

 

This way has tangible arguments as:

 

• Customizability. Only you know what your business needs. Adaptation is easier this way.
• Compatibility. There can be several different systems in an organization; choosing this way means adaptation to each other.
• Economies of Scale. Your budget is safer if you build your software by means of an IT-department.

 

 

To Buy

 

The benefits of buying software technologies are:

 

• Shorter Set-Up Time. Time is money. The quicker you set-up software, the quicker the work starts.
• Customizability. Do you think developers won’t split the difference with you? Making a client happy is in their favour. Your task is only to make a deal.
• Lowered Costs. The monthly payment is usually lower than previous variant.

 

Before you make a decision, think over the opportunities and your expectations. Fortunately, we live in a world full of solutions where every question has an answer; you only have to wait for it.

 

 

Choice Is Yours

 

On the one hand, marketing is surrounded by problems. Overwhelmed by data and waste of money are problems. However, the solutions are near. You should understand what you need and choose a software to solve current problems.