![connecting data to crm](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/7uzsto7fKXoXtC3XYo2ymb/dbc2e105bf05fc89c48d23b5f31b5473/federico-beccari-ahi73ZN5P0Y-unsplash.jpg)

Your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool is **at the heart of your business**. It's where you store and manage all of your contact data, from your marketing leads to your sales pipeline and customer database. 

When done well, your company's CRM offers a clear trail of all key interactions, purchases and preferences so you can provide the most personalized experience for your customers.

But while your CRM is powerful alone, it's infinitely more powerful when connected seamlessly with your other business apps.

With [effective integrations in place](ttps://www.piesync.com/solutions/crm/), you can build the strongest software stack __around your CRM__ and ensure data flows to all the right places, exactly when you need it to.


----


## 5 tips to build the best software stack around your CRM

To help you get set up, read on for some of our best tips to connect your CRM to your other business tools for seamless contact management across your entire organization.

&nbsp;


### 1. Look closely at your CRM and check it ticks all of your boxes

To begin with, make sure that your CRM tool is really the best fit for your business. A good CRM is easy for you to use, fits your budget and takes the stress out of managing contacts and customers.

<RelatedPost slug="the-best-crms-for-small-businesses-pros-cons-and-what-you-need-to-know" />

&nbsp;

### 2. Power up your CRM by connecting your other apps

Once you're happy with your CRM, it's time to look at which apps to sync with it first. While every business is different, certain apps play an essential role in most software stacks:


#### Customer support software

Whether B2B or B2C, most businesses have some sort of customer support team. With a tool like [Zendesk](https://www.piesync.com/zendesk/) or [Freshdesk](https://www.piesync.com/freshdesk/), you can quickly and efficiently handle customer support tickets, whether they come in via a website form, email, live chat conversation or phone call. 

To ensure that you can see the latest customer status in either tool, set up an integration to connect your customer support software to your CRM. With [a two-way sync](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/customer-support/), you can make sure that custom properties are instantly updated in both your CRM and support platform databases.

For example, you might be using Pipedrive as your CRM and Zendesk as your customer support platform. You can use PieSync to create a real-time [two-way sync between the two tools](https://www.piesync.com/pipedrive/zendesk/). 

For example, by setting up "if-*this*-then-*that*" rules in your PieSync connection, you can make sure to only sync Pipedrive contacts that have the label "Client" with Zendesk. You can also automatically add an "Active" tag to these contacts, so support reps who pick up their tickets know they're subscribed customers at that moment:

![Zendesk and Pipedrive sync](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/RvE7CJR4qpCkkqJv5UEHl/d3c281e3bd2982a4d342fd8d5658fc1c/image__6_.png)


#### Lead generation apps

If you're generating new leads via lead generation tools, you can send new contacts to your CRM along with the latest data and contact preferences for each one. You can customize how the information is synced between apps with a combination of [default and custom field mappings](https://www-preview.piesync.com/solutions/contacts-sync/).

<RelatedPost slug="12-of-the-best-lead-generation-practices-for-2020" />

#### Email marketing platform

How are you managing your email marketing? You might be sending email campaigns and automating email workflows in an all-in-one marketing platform and CRM like [HubSpot](https://hubspot.com), or with a a separate email tool like [Mailchimp](https://mailchimp.com) or [GetResponse](https://getresponse.com). 

Your email marketing platform is [one of the best apps to sync bidirectionally](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/marketing/) with your CRM. Why? Because you need the most up-to-date contact data before you send any email campaigns. Otherwise you're at risk of sending to contacts that have unsubscribed or no longer require the product or service you're promoting. 

In addition, your CRM stores valuable customer data that can come in handy when creating [personalized email marketing campaigns](https://www.piesync.com/blog/why-marketing-personalization-is-so-important-and-how-to-use-it/). By syncing both tools two-ways, you ensure that your marketers have the most enriched and relevant customer data at the tip of their fingers.

<RelatedPost slug="how-to-sync-data-in-your-crm-and-marketing-apps-with-zero-hassle" />


#### Marketing automation tool

Automation can be an [extremely powerful addition to your business](https://www.piesync.com/blog/how-automation-benefits-your-customers-and-how-to-ensure-it/) – and your CRM. 

Some teams choose a CRM like HubSpot that has built-in automation features. If you're using a standalone automation tool like [ActiveCampaign](https://www.piesync.com/activecampaign/) or [GetResponse](https://www.piesync.com/getresponse/), make sure to integrate the app with your CRM. You can use a native integration for this, or better still, [an iPaaS sync](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/crm/) to let the tools share data bidirectionally and in real time.

Another advantage of using an iPaaS like PieSync to sync data with your marketing automation tool is that it **makes your contact data the most up-to-date it can be**. This enables your automation workflows to deliver five-star personalization and relevance to exactly the right contacts at the right moment. 

To make your contact data more up-to-date, use PieSync to ensure that the latest changes are reflected in every app, whether it's a list opt-in, email address update, or new communication preference.

<RelatedPost slug="12-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-with-automation" />


#### Billing & invoicing apps

If you need to send invoices to customers, it's important to sync the right data to your invoicing tool – and record invoices and processed payments in your CRM. 

Some data you might want to sync across your software stack include contact details for a key contact person, billing date and renewal frequency. 

&nbsp;

### 3. Collaborate with other departments

A CRM isn't a tool for a single team to use. It should span your entire organization, especially your sales, marketing and service teams. Anyone in your company should know how to log in to your CRM and find answers to questions they have about a lead, contact or customer.

To make sure that your CRM is at the operational center of your business, take time to:

* Make sure all the right people have access to your CRM.
* Give all employees basic CRM training for key tasks, such as finding contacts and unsubscribing them from your mailing list.
* Understand the go-to apps used in each department's software stack that should be [synced with your CRM](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/crm/).

&nbsp;

### 4. Fix any data silos

The number one enemy of effective contact management? Data silos. Simply put, a data silo is a collection of data that one department has access to but others do not. 

Data silos quickly lead to a lack of transparency, efficiency and trust within your organization. They can also throttle your business performance and drain resources while you deal with wasted time and lost productivity.

By [integrating your organization's data](https://www.piesync.com/why/) and fixing silos, you can equip your teams with the data and collaboration they need to do their best work and help your company thrive.

&nbsp;


### 5. Keep everything synced!

There's no one app that takes care of every single business need. Your business relies on a multitude of different [SaaS tools](https://www.piesync.com/blog/the-saas-guide-the-tools-and-trends-shaping-tech-in-2020/), each with their own advantages. 

To make your business operations shine, it's about choosing the right combination of apps and letting your software stack work together for the best collaborative results. You can do this with iPaaS solutions like PieSync.

You can think of PieSync as the glue that [holds your app stack together](https://www.piesync.com/why/).

To instantly integrate data between your CRM and other key apps, get set up with a PieSync free trial and [start syncing your data two ways](https://app.piesync.com/signup).

<Button text="Try PieSync for free" href="https://app.piesync.com/signup/" />

No CRM is an island. Here's how to connect it to the rest of your software stack for streamlined collaboration and data syncing across your org.

How to build the best app stack around your CRM

connecting data to crm

How to build the best software stack around your CRM

Apto

![Apto integration by PieSync](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/1GGMLaAgcQCMQMpztn2Z1f/b1cbedd9f5e8c6f079da7657583bf65e/Apto-Launch.png)

### What's Apto

[Apto](https://www.apto.com/) is a web-based CRM that helps real estate professionals manage client relationships, listings, deals, properties, and back office teams. The CRM streamlines the deal lifecycle on a single platform, so you can work on any device, at home, office, or on the road.

### What's PieSync

Real Estate agents often choose several cloud-based apps like Apto for sales, marketing, accountancy, document management, telecom, etc.

All these applications gather valuable customer information. The problem is that most of them don’t really communicate with each other. That gap results in isolated islands of data in each app, which makes customer experience a lot less smooth. 

That’s where PieSync steps in! 

PieSync’s Contact Sync engine works bidirectionally, __integrating 231 cloud apps in real time.__ 

PieSync is constantly checking your connected apps for updates. Which means that whenever you add or update contact information in either app, you’ll have it up-to-date in the other one in real time.

The best part? You can choose which contacts to sync and how: Sync lists, categories, tags and almost any other attribute between apps. 

__Here are the applications available today for a two-way connection with Apto:__

<Widget type="piesync-widget" left="apto" size="compact" />

__Need another app in sync? Every Wednesday, PieSync releases a new application. If the business tool you are using is not available yet, go to the pipeline and [vote for the app you need.](https://www.piesync.com/connections/)__

Do you want more control over your data? Customize it so you can choose which contacts to sync and how! Here a are some popular features: 

#### If-*this*-then-*that* filters 

Thanks to PieSync’s Intelligent Syncing feature, you can sync attributes, categories, lists, etc. It works with intuitive [“If–*this*–then–*that*”](https://www.piesync.com/blog/introducing-intelligent-syncing/)rules or conditions, enabling you to accomplish complex automatic workflows across different applications.

![integration action apto crm](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/27GhdRRYwqwvInaqzfuSwh/45b7e7ea4a9e7cc63edae812d075ee12/rules_apto_google.png)

<Button text="Try it now" href="https://www.piesync.com/apto/" />

You can also hand-pick the information fields you want to keep in sync between apps. PieSync will map the typical fields by default (such as name, last name, email, etc.) 

![field mapping integration with apto crm](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/nbsf5MEIbjrLhwEmikni0/80954763fce1e50de6c446dc6453a19f/Screenshot_2020-07-01_at_14.50.32.png)

Additionally, you can map your custom-made fields: 

![Map your contact fields](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/5tvNWd5dr0m18Ewlvw0ja5/16d276b80b41363ef5791664a6af7b65/Screenshot_2020-07-01_at_14.52.29.png)

## PieSync Vs. Zapier 

Zapier is great for one-way data pushes. If you’re using web forms on your website and you want to push that data to your CRM, Zapier is what you need.

It is a trigger-based app and will only operate when a trigger is pulled, pushing all the data to another database. But in this process, Zapier won’t check if an update is necessary and it won’t sync data.

PieSync is constantly checking for updates in your data. You can also choose which app is your “source of truth” so you won’t accidentally sync the incorrect information. PieSync is great for when you want to continuously sync correct, up to date, error-free information across your cloud apps. 

[Learn more about the differences between these two great tools.](https://www.piesync.com/piesync-vs-zapier/)

__Do you need help setting up your first sync? [Here's everything you need to know about it.](https://www.piesync.com/help/connector-apps/apto/)__

<Button text="Try it now" href="https://www.piesync.com/apto/" />

Take Apto to the next level by syncing your customer data with 231 other business tools. It works two-way and in real-time! Here's what this integration can offer you.

integrate Apto CRM with other business apps 

Apto integration by PieSync

Sync your Apto database with 231 business tools! 

![increase employee satisfaction](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/6DxDEypimleW9g5HxHtf72/a0f4a2181ad60aedb6466c25cccb4b7b/increase_employee_satisfaction.jpg)

Look at any business and you will likely see customer care professionals on the frontline. Whether they are in customer service or account management, these people set customers up for success, keep them happy long-term, and make vital contributions to the business's sustainability.

However, despite its value, customer success is one of the most challenging roles in any company.

According to Pega's [‘The good, the bad, the ugly: 2019 global customer service insights’](https://www.pega.com/insights/resources/good-bad-and-ugly-2019-global-customer-service-insights) study, 79% of  70,000 customer service employees reported that they experience multiple pain points when doing their job. Customer service also has one of the highest turnover rates of all departments.

&nbsp;


### The common pain points for customer care teams

Many common pain points cited in Pega's study come down to a combination of **poor tools and processes that harm customer experience**. These include:

* Having to pass customers between teams and departments (a pain point for 43%)
* Having to manually enter the same information in multiple locations (a pain point for 32%)
* Having to prompt customers for information they’ve already supplied on another channel (a pain point for 24%)

These are problems for a lot of businesses, but the good news is that they are **easily avoidable and fixable**. 

&nbsp;


### How iPaaS improves employee satisfaction

The solution is [iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)](https://www.piesync.com/blog/what-is-ipaas-a-guide-to-getting-started-and-best-practices/), which connects and integrates your business apps so you can keep data updated across multiple tools. It also provides an easy way to centralize data in one place, like your CRM.

iPaaS tools like [PieSync](http://piesync.com/) are great for improving customer experience, but they also boost employee satisfaction and reduce turnover – especially in customer-facing roles – by resolving the pain points that affect nearly 80% of these employees.

If you want to reduce turnover of your customer service employees, read on for 5 common problems to easily avoid and fix with iPaaS.

<RelatedPost slug="what-is-ipaas-a-guide-to-getting-started-and-best-practices" />


### Problem #1: Passing customers between teams and departments

As a customer, there are few things worse than being redirected to what feels like hundreds of different people in a business. In fact, [69% of customers](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/07/customer-experience.html) expect a connected experience when they engage with a company, but few of them get it.

When you're working in a business with disconnected customer service, it's also demotivating for you. You want to provide a seamless customer experience, but the infrastructure isn't there for you to do so.

**The solution:** Using [an iPaaS tool](https://www.piesync.com/connections/) to sync all customer data to a centralized CRM tool, so any team member can find the right data and take immediate steps to help the customer.

&nbsp;


### Problem #2: Manually entering the same information in multiple locations

Repeating the same manual work again and again sucks. For many customer-facing teams, it can seem like part of the job to spend hours inputting the same data into a CRM, project management tool, invoicing system and Slack to share data with colleagues. *But it doesn't have to be that way*.

**The solution:** [Setting up a two-way sync](http://piesync.com/) so your contact data can instantly flow to all of the right places. Set up rules to automatically attach the right segments, labels and notes - and you've instantly saved your team a lot of time and hassle.

&nbsp;

### Problem #3: Prompting customers for information they've already supplied on another channel

One sure-fire way for a business to annoy its customers is to ask the same questions multiple times. [78% of customers](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/07/customer-experience.html) expect consistent interactions across a company’s departments. This requires your employees to know what's already been asked before – and what the answer is.

**The solution:** Storing customer data properly the first time and [syncing it across all tools](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/customer-support/) so anyone in the team can access it at the right time, no matter what system they're looking at.

&nbsp;


### Problem #4: Using outdated tools that hold back your team

Despite all of the excellent cloud-based systems on the market, not all teams benefit from these. It's all too easy for customer care departments to remain stuck with a tool that no longer serves them because change seems like a lot of hassle.

**The solution:** Taking time to pause and look at all of your business's core systems from a bird's eye perspective. What tools are you currently using? And how do they fit together?

Some of the most important systems to get right are your CRM and customer support tools. To help you out, check our guides to finding the best tools:

* [The best CRMs for small businesses: pros, cons and what you need to know](https://www.piesync.com/blog/the-best-crms-for-small-businesses-pros-cons-and-what-you-need-to-know/)
* [Zendesk vs. Freshdesk: which is the best customer support software?](https://www.piesync.com/blog/zendesk-vs-freshdesk-which-is-the-best-customer-support-software/)
* [9 ways to improve customer care with technology](https://www.piesync.com/blog/9-ways-to-improve-customer-care-with-technology/)

&nbsp;


### Problem #5: Overwork from lack of automation

If your customer service and success teams aren't using automation tools, they're most likely overworked. Quite simply, automation provides a solution to the tasks *that no one likes*. Think manually sending the same emails several times a day, judging when to follow-up with customers, and searching for the right customer data to pass to a coworker.

**The solution:** Adding automation to your customer service processes. To get you started, here are some of the [best ways to improve customer experience with automation](https://www.piesync.com/blog/12-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-with-automation/).

----

To solve your customer care team's pain points and increase employee satisfaction, [give an iPaaS solution like PieSync a go](https://app.piesync.com/signup/). With a free trial you can start syncing data between all of your key apps based on rules and criteria that you set, and save your team from hours of tedious tasks and huge volumes of hassle.

Poor customer experience not only affects your customers, it reduces the job satisfaction of the employees who serve them. Here are 5 pain points to fix fast.

5 ways iPaaS tools can increase employee satisfaction

increase employee satisfaction

Pardot

Marketo

![salesforce pardot vs marketo](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/5mZKmWrJ37nHXL9RPJHNll/4eb76916dde25952d253a3410e879304/salesforce_pardot_vs_marketo.png)

Pardot vs. Marketo... what’s the best marketing automation software for your business?

The phrase 'work smarter, not harder' might be overused, but it’s also advice to live by for those wanting to boost their productivity at work. It’s what drives a successful business in an age of constant distraction where [maintaining focus isn’t getting any easier](http://www.piesync.com/blog/increase-focus-at-work/). 

It doesn’t help that the average marketer uses [12 different tools](https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/tools-data-complexity-marketing-technology), with around 10% using more than 31. Most marketing teams find themselves juggling with a multitude of different tools and platforms, ranging from CRM to social media to collaboration. So-called software bloat is a real issue and it’s hindering businesses’ abilities to innovate and keep up with the steady pace of change. 

An integrated suite of marketing tools can change that, particularly if you include a marketing automation tool that helps eliminate the need for tedious and repetitive tasks and frees up time for you to focus on those who matter most to your business – your customers.

&nbsp;

## Introducing Pardot and Marketo

[Marketo](https://www.marketo.com/) and [Pardot](https://www.pardot.com/) are two of the most popular marketing automation suites, especially for enterprise-level organizations. Marketo offers "solutions for every digital marketing need", from lead management to email marketing and account-based marketing. Meanwhile, Pardot is offered by popular CRM software Salesforce to deliver a well-rounded automation solution that seamlessly connects with other Salesforce products. 

One thing that Marketo and Pardot have in common is that they are both products acquired by big tech leaders. ExactTarget acquired Pardot in 2012, and Salesforce acquired ExactTarget in June 2013. Marketo was more recently acquired by Adobe in October 2018.

Both Marketo and Pardot have their pros and cons and suit different users. In this post, we’ll be exploring them to help you get a better idea of which automation tool is best for your business between Pardot vs. Marketo.

* [When to choose Pardot](#choosing-pardot)
* [When to choose Marketo](#choosing-marketo)
* [Feature comparison](#feature-comparison)
* [Setup](#setup)
* [Automation features](#automation)
* [Workflows](#workflows)
* [Reporting and analytics](#reporting)
* [Pricing and scalability](#pricing-comparison)
* [Summary: When to choose Pardot vs. Marketo](#summary)

---

## When to choose Pardot{#choosing-pardot}

With its ease of use and out-of-the-box integration with Salesforce, [Pardot](https://www.piesync.com/pardot/) is ideal for teams that are **already using Salesforce's CRM** software. Saying that, Pardot can align just as seamlessly with other CRMs by using an [iPaaS](https://www.piesync.com/blog/what-is-ipaas-a-guide-to-getting-started-and-best-practices/) (Integration Platform as a Service). This type of integration, [which is what PieSync offers](https://www.piesync.com/why/), enables a deep two-way data sync between your apps.

Like Marketo, Pardot is designed for businesses of a certain size – those that are **large enough to use a more complex automation tool** and not balk at a price tag exceeding $1,250 per month. 

Pardot can scale from this starting point to teams of any size, which makes it suitable for businesses **anticipating substantial growth** as well. 

Pardot can be a better choice than Marketo for **companies with less bandwidth and in-house expertise**. These benefits come with the tradeoff of having fewer automation options, which makes it less compelling an option for highly complex marketing teams and processes.

![choosing pardot](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/61Vv6o6aeOOeVFlf7CzaH7/8609b7e6667582f6291493e655077696/Screenshot_2020-03-02_at_11.02.56.png)
&nbsp;

## When to choose Marketo{#choosing-marketo}

[Marketo Engage](http://piesync.com/marketo), now part of Adobe Experience Cloud (and merged with Adobe's previous Engagement Platform), brings together lead management across both sales and marketing. This is designed to "orchestrate personalized experiences, optimize content and measure business impact across every channel, from acquisition to advocacy."

Marketo is usually the best marketing automation software for **large enterprises that want a lot of complexity and flexibility**. 

For high-powered marketing teams that have a lot of processes to automate, Marketo provides a ton of options. 

As such, it’s **more scalable and more sophisticated** than alternatives like Pardot and [HubSpot](http://www.hubspot.com), but these benefits come at a cost that will likely be overkill for smaller companies and those with less internal resources.

![choosing marketo](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/4J090yUnr5kHaIds7kksgo/a4db9ac5a5ea1c0410cc57790edad4a4/Screenshot_2020-02-16_at_15.45.12.png)

---

## Feature comparison{#feature-comparison}

While [HubSpot](http://piesync.com/hubspot) dominates the marketing automation sector with a [30% market share](https://blog.boldigital.com/marketing-automation-2018), [Pardot](http://piesync.com/pardot) and [Marketo Engage](http://piesync.com/marketo) are smaller players with a share of 12% and 14% respectively. But that doesn’t mean they’re not able to keep up with the demands of today’s marketing departments. 

Both Marketo and Pardot are highly competent for managing the customer journey at every touchpoint, from acquisition to brand advocacy. Here’s a bird’s eye view of what Marketo vs. Pardot automation tools have to offer...
&nbsp;

### Setup{#setup}

Deploying any new marketing automation platform can be a major undertaking. The amount of time it takes to get everything up and running depends heavily on the availability of in-house expertise. Some businesses even choose a managed services provider (MSP) to remotely deploy and manage their software for them.

Marketo offers only a very basic level of support with its standard program, but higher support tiers are available, albeit with a big jump in pricing. It’s generally the harder of the two to set up, and onboarding employees with the new software tends to be more time-consuming than with Pardot. 

As such, Pardot tends to be the better choice for businesses looking for a **solution they can manage themselves**, while **Marketo is more feature-rich**, potentially offering greater long-term value. 

Both solutions offer integration with Salesforce and a [wide variety of other marketing tools](https://www.piesync.com/connections/marketing-newsletters/). If you need API access, keep in mind that Pardot’s API is only available for Pro users, starting at $2,000 per month.

<RelatedPost slug="how-automation-benefits-your-customers-and-how-to-ensure-it" />

### Automation features{#automation}

When it comes to the degree of marketing automation you need, it largely depends on which platforms and processes you’re using. For smaller teams, trying to automate smaller tasks with Pardot or Marketo can be too complicated (look at simpler automation platforms like [HubSpot](https://www.piesync.com/hubspot) and [ActiveCampaign](https://www.activecampaign.com/) instead), but some tasks become progressively harder to manage at scale. 

With Marketo, you can package your advertising campaigns into cohesive programs and clone them for use in multiple workflows. You can also create marketing templates and set up your programs based on those. 

![marketo campaigns dashboard](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/QhyEsNhDlyzGXOmbAdi3z/d021b17aa78590548aa773ef808bb0ff/uploads_2F8a68dc5e-58bd-4848-bf7b-b052c00c6cc8_2Fmy-marketo.png)
&nbsp;

By contrast, Pardot users can tie all their marketing assets, such as social media accounts and paid advertising programs, into a single campaign. But these campaigns cannot be automatically replicated, which means it takes longer to build new ones.

![pardot campaigns](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/460O2IK9XKZ2jVp7NVu96J/46b57801075f2e280fba03215899a24e/8050e9e914326df0598f7ffc4fe26504_cj-7-v-803-xu-00-w-10-re-0-cp-3-cl-4-bh.png)
&nbsp;

One of the most important features of Pardot is that it synchronizes data with Salesforce CRM in a matter of seconds. Marketo is somewhat slower, but it does offer the benefit of attributing new customers to the specific marketing programs responsible for acquiring them and moving them through the sales funnel.
&nbsp;

### Workflows{#workflows}

Pardot’s workflow system, Engagement Studio, is a powerful tool that’s comparable to HubSpot’s popular workflow functionality with a few more features for advanced users. It's easy to use for sending personalized nurturing campaigns, and you can quickly trigger other internal or external actions based on actions, triggers and rules.

![Pardot Engagement Studio](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/2NwtNgTZO4NKY9LrKtTCOo/09bdccc73f01e8cc3d0fa89d4b0a1dd1/engagement-studio.png)
&nbsp;

Marketo's user-friendly workflow tool also enables you to simply trigger actions such as sending emails, adding or removing from lists and programs, sending alerts, and changing data values or lead scores. Simple or advanced workflows can be built using the drag-and-drop workflow builder:

![Marketo workflow builder](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/1ZrDmJCInJYchsJYTSomeV/0acd8724f432986a86b799db3412e496/Screenshot_2020-03-04_at_16.13.53.png)
&nbsp;

### Reporting and analytics{#reporting}

You can’t run a successful marketing campaign without real-time analytics and reporting. Both solutions feature dashboards for tracking the performance of your campaigns, including sales reports, automated alerts and split testing.

Although Pardot’s reporting is relatively restrictive, it is highly focused on what’s most relevant to marketing teams. You can tie new acquisitions to your marketing efforts, which gives you the opportunity to repeat what worked before, while further refining the process with A/B tests. 

![pardot marketing data analytics](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/5cO2vKHnRZl1Wxd0Eayl53/acaed6ed5e8a437230ded089c2900a70/Screenshot_2020-03-02_at_11.15.14.png)
&nbsp;

Pardot's full-funnel reporting feature also displays the entire customer journey in a conveniently visualized format:

![pardot lifecycle funnel report](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/29a0vezirdCZGnj2oGV4VE/f58d3f4ebf4c5bf0d3aea0a129afd0e2/Screenshot_2020-03-02_at_11.14.31.png)
&nbsp;

On the other hand, one of the biggest advantages of Marketo is that it excels in helping you find the most effective sales channels and strategies:

![marketo analytics](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/14pUceNg2HmfUizDxdpNAW/14c19d7d45e4e9ea675ec273adf39776/uploads_2F8a68dc5e-58bd-4848-bf7b-b052c00c6cc8_2Fprogram-analyzer.png)
&nbsp;

You can also build reports of varying levels of complexity to share with stakeholders and communicate the performance of your campaigns. Reports and dashboards are extensively customizable and users can view them in Marketo's mobile app provided.

![marketo reporting](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/1GwGgfGE1delg6kKMgJ5si/903b7ef8fca980e53a668b15230c7579/Screenshot_2020-02-17_at_17.12.05.png)
&nbsp;

In comparison, Pardot doesn’t have a mobile app, although via integration with Salesforce, you can still track performance on your phone too.
&nbsp;

### Pricing and scalability{#pricing-comparison}

Finally, we come to one of the most important factors of all, and that’s what your budget can accommodate. Both automation softwares are priced for more established businesses: Marketo starts at $895 per month and Pardot at $1,250 per month. 

Marketo Engage and Pardot each offer very scalable pricing plans, but Pardot is potentially the more flexible of the two. With Pardot, you can start with one user, paying an extra $50 per month for each additional user. They also offer a refund policy and provide options to package your automation suite with other Salesforce products.

![pardot pricing comparison](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/5DwCXLiufL8Qzn4yxv3E7j/3251b04b8039de2db8aa3e523201dc31/Screenshot_2020-03-02_at_11.04.13.png)
&nbsp;

Marketo supports up to 10 users, with additional users incurring extra costs based on a customized pricing plan, but it doesn’t offer any refunds. Marketo offers [four pricing plans](https://www.marketo.com/marketo-engage/pricing-packaging/) and provides more information about pricing and customization when you contact their sales team.

![Marketo Engage pricing](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/ZLHuGO7fZ8KrrSxvncGEo/32267dae492122f548be57dd824be6ff/Screenshot_2020-03-04_at_16.38.54.png)

----

## Summary: When to choose Marketo vs. Pardot{#summary}

Here’s our quick summary of how to decide if Pardot or Marketo is the best marketing automation software for your business:

| **When to choose Marketo**  | **When to choose Pardot**  |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| You have in-house resources to implement and manage advanced MarTech tools | You want a marketing automation system you can manage yourself   |
| You want the most feature-rich tool | You want features your team can understand more quickly  |
| You want the most complexity and flexibility  | You want simpler user-experience  |
| You don't have other Salesforce products in your tech stack  | You're using other Salesforce products and it'll keep things simpler  |


---- 

Whether you choose Marketo or Pardot as your marketing automation software, make sure to **keep your software in sync with the rest of your tech stack** to avoid messy contact management. 

With PieSync, it's simple to [set up two-way syncs that keep your contacts freely moving](http://piesync.com/why/) between apps. You can get started now with a [free trial](https://app.piesync.com/signup/).

<Button text="Try PieSync for free" href="https://app.piesync.com/signup/" />

If you're looking for enterprise-level marketing automation, you're probably weighing up Pardot and Marketo... here's our comparison to help you find the right fit.

Pardot vs. Marketo in 2020: which marketing automation tool is best?

salesforce pardot logo marketo logo pardot vs marketo

salesforce pardot vs marketo

![most effective ways to automate a business](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/VAgujeEhV7drikACnyi2h/c3a94ed26eeb87e82b67faf6d0609b93/alex-knight-2EJCSULRwC8-unsplash__1_.jpg)

There's more scope for automation in your business than ever before. With automation, you can schedule emails to be sent at the perfect time, follow up with leads that have abandoned their basket, sync data between apps and notify team members of new tasks.

However, all of these options can be overwhelming, especially if your business isn't a huge corporation with a lot of budget and resources to throw at automation.

You might be wondering: 

* What types of automation will benefit my business the most?
* What should I stay away from? 
* And how can I easily implement these while keeping life simple?

Let's explore the best types of business automation so you can easily start implementing a strategy in your own organization.

----

## 1. Email marketing automation

When you think of automation, email marketing automation might come to mind first. It's not only one of the most popular types of automation, it's one of the most accessible, too.

__Types of email automation include:__

* Triggering emails based on actions, such as webinar sign up confirmations or abandoned basket notifications
* Email drip workflows to send content at set intervals
* Delivering content or requested information after filling out a form
* A/B testing content and automatically sending the best performing version of the content
* [Personalizing each email you send](https://www.piesync.com/blog/why-marketing-personalization-is-so-important-and-how-to-use-it/)
* Segmenting groups based on data and automatically sending the right email to each group

A good way to get started with email marketing automation is to have a look at the automation capabilities that your email marketing platform already has and think about how you can use them to execute your strategy. 

All popular email marketing tools, such as [Mailchimp or GetResponse](https://www.piesync.com/blog/getresponse-vs-mailchimp-which-email-marketing-tool-is-best/), have built-in automation functionality. 

However, if you haven't picked an emailing tool yet, make sure to pick an option with enough automation funcionalities to meet the needs of your business.

<RelatedPost slug="6-essential-tips-to-automate-your-emails" />

&nbsp;

## 2. Marketing automation

What about the other types of marketing automation beyond email marketing? We can divide these into __external automation__ that is customer-facing and __internal automation__ that helps streamline the workflows inside your team.

__Examples of external marketing automation:__

* Automated SMS messages
* Scheduling or republishing social media messages
* Unlocking new course content at set intervals after enrolling

__Examples of internal marketing automation:__

* Lead scoring and qualification
* [Routing qualified leads between apps](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/marketing), such as from your CRM to your email marketing platform
* Notifying team members if a contact meets conditions or takes certain actions
* Creating a strong bridge between marketing and sales
* Streamlining multi-stage processes such as publishing content or setting up a new marketing campaign

<RelatedPost slug="tasks-every-marketer-should-automate" />

&nbsp;

## 3. Sales automation

[Sales automation](https://www.piesync.com/blog/10-ways-to-automate-your-sales-team-you-hadnt-thought-of/) is about managing your pipelines more effectively, reducing friction and increasing conversion rates. 

__Automation enables your sales team to:__

* Stay on top of a busy pipeline
* Manage their calendar and get meetings scheduled
* Identify and focus on the most sales-ready leads
* Collect and act on data insights
* Sync the latest data across all apps
* Creating a strong bridge with marketing
* Pass new customers to onboarding
* Avoid spending time on bad-fit leads

To get started with sales automation, first look at any built-in automation functionality that your CRM offers. You can then look into adopting and [integrating other apps](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/crm/) to automate more powerful workflows.

<RelatedPost slug="10-ways-to-automate-your-sales-team-you-hadnt-thought-of" />

&nbsp;

## 4. Data automation

Although automation is great to streamline repetitive tasks and free up your time for your most important work, it's also powerful at __managing data__ behind the scenes.

While our brains can be good at looking at data insights to draw conclusions and plan actionable next steps, we're not so good at manually managing that data. We don't have the time, attention to detail or accuracy to control large data sets – and we don't need to.

With automated data management, you can leave the heavy lifting to the machines and free up your time for taking action on the insights and next steps instead.

__Data tasks to automate include:__

* Trigger/action workflowa that pushes data between your apps
* [Syncing contact data two ways between apps](http://piesync.com/why/) and automatically making updates as soon as anything changes
* [Sending all contact data to your CRM](https://blog.hubspot.com/website/crm-integration-software) for a centralized database
* Combining data from all apps for integrated reporting on one dashboard
* Automatically merging or fixing duplicate contacts in your database

To get started, first __optimize the data in your individual apps__. You can then use [software integration tools](https://blog.hubspot.com/website/software-integration) to allow them to communicate data with each other.

<RelatedPost slug="6-ways-to-optimize-your-saas-stack-with-piesync" />


&nbsp;

## 5. Customer care automation

What about your support and customer care teams? Automation is a fantastic solution to:

* [Optimize customer experience](https://www.piesync.com/blog/12-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-with-automation/)
* Personalize interactions
* Make sure your customer care team automatically has access to all available customer data

Automation is __not__ about removing the human element from 1-1 interactions. In fact, it's about making more time for these and [providing a better experience for your customers](https://www.piesync.com/blog/how-automation-benefits-your-customers-and-how-to-ensure-it/).

You can automate notifications to let you know when is the right time to reach out to a customer, meaning you can spend less time working out what you *should* be doing every day.

You can automate customer satisfaction surveys that alert you when a customer needs quick attention to reduce the risk of churn.

You can introduce chatbots or knowledge bases with built-in AI that quickly answer simple questions, or route a customer to the best support rep for their inquiry if that doesn't fix it.

Simply put, automation enables your customer care staff to **manage a higher volume of customers more effectively**, without burning out or diminishing the quality of 1-1 interactions.

<RelatedPost slug="12-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-with-automation" />


&nbsp;

## 6. Ecommerce automation

It used to be that to sell products, you had to do it yourself. You had to oversee production of your inventory. You had to open up your shop in the morning, answer customers' questions and process their payments for your products.

But that's all changed. As an ecommerce store owner, [*you don't even need to be there*](https://www.piesync.com/blog/15-ways-to-automate-your-ecommerce-business). You can keep your store open 365 days a year, even while you're sleeping or traveling. 

Any store owner can automate:

* Purchases via an online shopfront such as [Shopify or WooCommerce](https://www.piesync.com/blog/woocommerce-vs-shopify-which-is-the-best-ecommerce-platform/)
* Online payments through providers such as Stripe and PayPal
* Discount codes to prospects, first-time customers or engaged buyers
* Abandoned cart notifications to customers
* Product suggestions based on previous purchases
* Inventory management
* Requesting reviews post-sale

With dropshipping, you can even automate all of the fulfillment work of an order. As someone else creates the products, stores them in a warehouse and sends them to the customer, all you have to do is create an online storefront and get eyes on it.

<RelatedPost slug="15-ways-to-automate-your-ecommerce-business" />


&nbsp;

## 7. Management automation

As with customer care automation, [management automation](https://www.piesync.com/blog/manage-a-remote-team-with-automation/) isn't about removing the human-to-human interactions. Instead, it can free up a manager's time to look after their team and support their growth.

__Managers can automate:__

* Team reminders to prep for meetings
* Chasing overdue work
* Following up on tasks after set intervals
* Sharing onboarding materials with new hires
* Collecting daily feedback on wins and blockers
* Self-reviews and performance tracking
* Reporting dashboards
* Syncing data with meeting slides

For simple ways to start [automating management processes](https://www.piesync.com/blog/manage-a-remote-team-with-automation/), Trello, Slack and Asana are tools you might already be using that also offer great automation functionality.

<RelatedPost slug="manage-a-remote-team-with-automation" />

----

Automation is a long-term strategy: it's not about trying to change everything at once or creating processes that are overly complex for the stage your business is at. 

Take a look at where your business is now. Where are the blockers, manual tasks and inefficiencies? 

Ask yourself how can you start automating these areas to free up your focus for the areas where you have the most impact.

Not sure what areas of your business could be improved with automation? Here are the six types of automation that are most impactful for businesses to focus on – and how to get started.

7 of the most effective ways to automate your business

most effective ways to automate a business

![What to do when business is slow](//images.ctfassets.net/f2ysq090txql/13moq3B5uj46MHt3QumbuS/e9ee6f09428d84547fa3eaf68c8aec66/brooke-cagle-xcgh5_-QIXc-unsplash-min.jpg)


All companies have ups and downs. There are the times when new deals are closed daily, new prospects seem to be competing for your attention and the phone just won’t stop ringing. 

Then there are those other times – when things are moving slowly, leads are scarce and you suddenly find yourself with a lot of extra time on your hands, perhaps not even knowing what to do with it.

It’s easy to get caught up in worrying when business and lead gen slows down. That concern might also be valid, and it can help you make the right decisions for your business. 

A slow down in sales can be a kick in the butt to get more creative with [the strategies you use to increase sales](https://www.piesync.com/blog/18-ways-to-increase-your-sales-as-a-small-business/).

But if it's a case of waiting out the slow period, why not also look for and take advantage of any opportunities during this time? 

---

## What to do when business is slow

If your business is temporarily generating fewer leads, it could be the ideal moment to fine-tune your routines and processes to get your company in perfect shape for when the tide turns.

Here are nine areas to focus on that will set your business up for long-term success.

&nbsp;

### 1. Clean up your email list

When was the last time you updated your email list? How many of the contacts there are real and verified, and how many are invalid or outdated emails? 

We all know that feeling when what we thought was a precious lead turned out to be mickey.mouse@mickeymousecompany.com. Well, now is the time to clean your email lists from all those fake accounts, misspelled addresses and redundancies.

Making an effort to clean up your lists pays off. Keeping your email list accurate and up to date will lower your bounce rate and improve your overall email campaign performance. 

Making sure your email list is in good shape also [protects your IP reputation](https://neilpatel.com/blog/improve-email-deliverability/) and increases deliverability.

<RelatedPost slug="4-ways-to-fix-and-prevent-duplicate-contacts-for-cleaner-data" />

&nbsp;

### 2. Enrich and update your contact data

What's the state of your CRM system? Is your data fresh? Are all the contact details neatly filled out and updated recently? If so, great job! Your business is one of the exceptions to the rule that most salespeople aren’t big fans of admin tasks.

But if your CRM system is in a bit of mess? Well, you're not the only one. 

Dirty data, meaning data that is not entirely accurate, [is estimated to be costing businesses up to 12%](http://www.experian.es/assets/consultoria/white-papers/the%20state%20of%20data%20quality.pdf) of overall revenue. 
 
Considering that B2B data is a bit like fresh produce, decaying at a rate of [70%](https://biznology.com/2015/02/b2b-data-decay-list-rental-buyer-beware/) (!) per year, this is a task that is never really done.

The good news is that if you take care to enrich and update your customer data, it will pay off big time once the wheels start moving again. Reliable customer data is crucial for the sales process and will help your team operate much more efficiently.

Now might also be the time to [integrate your CRM with other systems](https://www.piesync.com/solutions/crm/), such as your marketing automation app, customer support platform or [VoIP provider](https://www.piesync.com/blog/9-voip-trends-for-2020-to-pay-attention-to/).

<RelatedPost slug="small-business-guide-to-contact-management" />

&nbsp;


### 3. Optimize your business strategy

It can be easy to forget about your brand, marketing and overall business strategies. However, they're extremely valuable to update and remind your team of every so often.

When business is slow, it’s a great time to take a step back and re-evaluate your offer and positioning.

As part of your strategy check-in, you can also do a quick [competitor analysis](https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/competitive-analysis). Take care to identify the gaps in your competitors’ offerings. Those gaps might present new opportunities for your company.

Understanding exactly what it is your competitor is offering will put you in a better position – both in sales conversations and when you’re tailoring your own offerings. 

You could even publish your comparison content on your blog or website to help your prospects make the best decision for their goals and pain points.

And remember, your competition is not static: new players bring new challenges and the market landscape is ever-changing.

<RelatedPost slug="7-steps-to-get-right-before-scaling-your-business" />

&nbsp;

### 4. Improve your SEO

Whenever you have a little extra time on your hands, [spending it on SEO](https://www.piesync.com/blog/a-guide-to-seo-in-2020-the-best-practices-and-rules-to-follow/) (Search Engine Optimization) is always a good investment. Doing so will improve your website’s ranking on Google and thereby bring new, relevant traffic to your site.

Start by doing a thorough content audit of your website to identify all opportunities to improve it. Review your existing blog posts and update them with internal links to new content and landing pages. A [technical SEO audit](https://neilpatel.com/blog/technical-seo-site-audit/) will help your page perform even better.

Fix any broken links and add CTAs with new content offers. Make sure all your pages are in good shape with optimized page titles, meta descriptions and alt texts for your images. [SEMrush](https://www.semrush.com/) or [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) are great tools for analyzing and optimizing your website.

<RelatedPost slug="a-guide-to-seo-in-2020-the-best-practices-and-rules-to-follow" />


&nbsp;

### 5. Talk to your customers

When was the last time you called up one of your existing customers to have a chat? Doing so is a sadly underestimated habit that has the potential of revolutionizing your business. 

Communicating with your customers enables you to see your product through the eyes of your target group and often brings new and essential insights.

Book some calls with people using your product and listen to what they have to say. Chances are you’ll be surprised by the amounts of useful information this simple gesture will generate.

Of course, praise is always welcome and when you do come across those who love your product, make sure to ask for a testimonial. But there is even more to be learned from the customers who are less than happy. 

Why are they not satisfied? Is there a problem with the product, or are they a bad fit for your offer? Perhaps it’s time to update your customer personas?

&nbsp;

### 6. Improve your email workflows

Ok, so lead generation may have slowed down. That doesn’t mean your nurturing emails have to do the same! Now is the perfect opportunity to optimize and build out your email workflows and make sure you’re doing everything you can to move your leads further down the funnel. 

The fewer new leads coming in, the more important is it to __take care of the ones you’ve already gathered__.

Review your email analytics to figure out where in the customer journey you tend to lose most of your leads. That’s where you want to focus on improving performance. 

Tweak your email content, experiment with your subject lines and test out different CTAs to see what happens. Sometimes small changes can make a surprisingly big difference.

<RelatedPost slug="tasks-every-marketer-should-automate" />

&nbsp;


### 7. Expand your business network

Business is all about relationships. And when things are a bit slow, that’s when you want to get out there and form new ones. This can be done physically by attending networking events and by grabbing lunch with that old colleague. But it can also be done digitally, and that’s where you can scale your networking. 

Get involved in business groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, invite new people to your network and start conversations by posting content and interacting with other people’s posts.

Feeding and expanding your business network might be the quickest, most effective and also the most enjoyable way to get new leads and deals. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are great places to start reaching out to peers and interact with people in your industry.

&nbsp;

### 8. Guest post on other blogs

Are there other companies that share your target group without being competitors of yours? Find businesses with offers complementing yours and reach out to them with guest articles for their blogs.

You don’t have to write everything from scratch. Remix your old content and pitch to publications and business blogs and guest posts.

Don’t be overly salesy, but make sure your bio links back to your website. This backlinking will strengthen your website's domain authority. Being seen in quality publications and next to well-known brands will also promote your business and help to position you as a thought leader in your industry.

&nbsp;

### 9. Set SMART goals

When the pace drops, it’s an opportunity to revisit your business strategy and your goals. Ask yourself and your team:

* Is there a need for changes? 
* Is your team aligned around your goals? 
* Have you managed to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) goals? 

If not, now is the time! With a well-structured strategy and clear goals, you will find your way back to business more quickly and effectively.


<RelatedPost slug="18-ways-to-increase-your-sales-as-a-small-business" />

----

It’s easy to get stressed when business seems to slow down and lead generation drops. But with the right mindset, you can use this time to improve your business. 

By focusing on these nine strategies, you will build a healthier and more resilient organization so that when things pick up again, you can really hit the ground running.

To use this time to enrich your data and connect your apps for better results with less effort, [sign up for a free trial of PieSync](https://app.piesync.com/signup/). It's the easiest way to automatically connect the latest data between all of your apps.

Has your lead gen slowed down? With these strategies you can build a more resilient organization that's ready to hit the ground running when sales pick up.

The PieSync Blog

How to build the best software stack around your CRM

Sync your Apto database with 231 business tools!

5 ways iPaaS tools can increase employee satisfaction

Pardot vs. Marketo in 2020: which marketing automation tool is best?

7 of the most effective ways to automate your business

9 things to do when your business is generating fewer leads