Before we proceed, it is important to note that different enterprises will have their own unique requirements and will, therefore, require different CRM software or marketing automation service. However, having used Eloqua, it has become one of the best and flexible marketing automation software for us.
As mentioned in our previous posts on Eloqua, it is Oracle’s business-to-business marketing automation software that combines lead generation, email marketing in a single platform featuring targeting, segmentation, campaign management and more. It gets further enhanced when combined with a CRM platform and is ideal for large enterprises.
While shopping online to find the best marketing automation software, two options pop up which adds to the never-ending debate: Eloqua or Marketo.
Marketo is most commonly used by mid-sized businesses for their marketing automation and has been giving Eloqua a good run to get businesses to use their platform.
Below is a comparison of the two software platforms. The utility of each depends on the requirement of the marketing team.
Ease of use
The ever-vexing debate on UI/UX falls in this domain. And to compare two different software on usability is an even more uphill task. What one person might call user-friendly, someone else will call it clunky! However, both Eloqua and Marketo have some difference. While Eloqua gives a well-designed visual campaign, Marketo is an intuitive platform. Now the definition of an intuitive platform may vary but the most common comments about Eloqua has been about its ease of customization whereas Marketo provides more flexibility to create campaigns.
Marketo is much easier to set up and is quicker than Eloqua. But Eloqua is more focused on a clear layout and thus has the ability to allow users to build a personalized microsite. This is where Marketo fails as many find it has a poor landing page and form builder.
Pricing
When it comes to choosing the right marketing automation software, price is a definite factor to consider. Eloqua’s starting price per month is $2000 making it a costly purchase compared to Marketo. However, Marketo doesn’t advertise its pricing and works on individual company’s requirement and sends a quote. Yet they divide their pricing into three categories: Basic, Pro, Elite, even though pricing is based on the number of leads you have. Both the platforms base their pricing for 10 users and charge more for extra users. With Marketo, however, you get a free demo on using the platform which Eloqua doesn’t provide. In the end, it boils down to your company’s requirement and budget.
Features and Functionality
In a survey by Capterra, 400 software buyers were asked the most important factors in determining a software purchase and almost all responded with functionality as the main feature they look out for.
When it comes to features and functionality, there is not much to choose from between Eloqua and Marketo. Eloqua offers A/B Testing which allows a marketer to send two iterations of the same content and test a similar audience or segmentations response which allows optimizing their marketing with the best content possible. Whereas Marketo offers personalized display ads, Eloqua offers dynamic content rules making it easy to view marketing materials to potential customers.
Integrations and Support
Neither Eloqua nor Marketo offers out-of-the-box integration with your current CRM but both have APIs that allow for a custom CRM integration. While both have integration capacity with most of the known CRM platforms, Eloqua still lacks in some compared to Marketo. Other limitations for both is Eloqua’s reporting tools which lacks detailed and granular insights. Marketo, on the other hand, has poor landing page and form builder.
In terms of support, both services provide assistance but Marketo offers a 90-day launch pack which can be limiting if further assistance is required. Marketo also provides one-on-one setup and integration consulting, best practices (office hours) and instructor-led virtual training workshops. Eloqua offers Oracle Marketing Cloud Success program where customers work with a marketing advisor to create a custom onboarding plan for their needs. Both the platforms also have a community base where users can give each other tips and solve any doubts.
In the end, there’s no clear winner when it comes to choosing between Eloqua and Marketo. While the former is best for large enterprises, the latter is more for small and mid-level enterprises. The ultimate marketing automation software that’s best is going to depend on the specific needs and requirements of your business.
