25 Best Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies to Impress Clients & Differentiate Themselves from Competitors

Marketing automation for agencies is a key differentiator to impressing clients, winning new business, and scaling your agency.

In fact, 79% of top-performing agency leaders reported using marketing automation tools for 3-years or more.

There are many marketing functions that can be automated, such as sending automated emails, lead scoring/qualifying, or publishing content on social media.

But digital marketing agency life isn’t easy. Everything has a hard deadline. Clients demand unreasonable results. Your competition is constantly trying to underbid you. And your team wants catered lunches at least once a week.

Meanwhile, you still need to market your agency to bring in new business and keep your current clients happy.

Luckily, there are ways you can accomplish both revenue and client growth.

The answer: Use marketing automation tools to save your agency time, reduce overhead, and increase marketing ROI for both you and your clients.

Convert Website Visitors into Real Contacts!

Identify who is visiting your site with name, email and more. Get 500 contacts for free!

Here are 25 of the best marketing automation tools for agencies according to industry leaders:

  1. SharpSpring 
  2. Klaviyo 
  3. Hubspot 
  4. Customers.ai 
  5. Emma 
  6. Mailchimp 
  7. SendGrid 
  8. Zapier 
  9. Teamwork 
  10. Monday 
  11. Meet Edgar 
  12. AgoraPulse 
  13. Instachamp 
  14. SocialBee
  15. Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder 
  16. Wordstream 
  17. Semrush 
  18. Screaming Frog 
  19. Outranking 
  20. aHrefs 
  21. Platform.ly 
  22. Databox 
  23. RockerBox
  24. Autopilot
  25. ChurnZero

Customers.ai for Agencies

Higher retainers, improved ROI, and happier clients.

Marketing Automation for Agencies

Marketing automation tools help agencies streamline their campaigns, optimize client engagement, and achieve unparalleled efficiency in their digital strategies.

#1. Marketing Automation Tool: SharpSpring

Sharpspring is a marketing automation platform with tools for sales that also comes with a built-in CRM.

The best way to describe SharpSpring is as an “all-in-one” marketing platform because there are tools for all of the following and more:

  • Email marketing
  • Social media management
  • Landing Page Designer
  • Campaign Tracking
  • Lead forms
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Blog pages

However, to be fair, there is no such thing as an “all-in-one” platform. You’ll always need additional tools, and often-times you’ll want to substitute out for a tool that’s better at a particular function.

But for agency leaders who find value in robust marketing platforms, don’t want to mix and match their MarTech stack, and don’t have the budget for a platform like Marketo, SharpSpring is a great option.

SharpSpring is designed to hold onto clients with the assistance of digital agency-specific features such as:

  • Rebrandable interface, domain, login screen, and notifications.
  • Single sign-on: Manage all your clients in one spot, and with one login.
  • No-hassle client management: No need to call SharpSpring to ask permission. Just add them to your console and get moving. Includes custom access for each user.
  • Flexible email templates: Have a favorite email template? Share it with all your clients.

SharpSpring also has a friendly business model for digital agencies. On its site, SharpSpring says something smart from a marketing perspective, which is, “Your customers are yours, not ours.”

And that’s due to many SaaS solutions charging their customers based on the number of contacts or instances one needs room for.

Furthermore, SharpSpring’s pricing model is quite flexible and agency-friendly:

  • As little as 1/10th the cost of competing solutions.
  • If SharpSpring isn’t for you, you can leave anytime. No long-term contract.
  • The agency gets to decide what to charge its customers.
  • And the agency keeps 75% of the revenue or more.

#2. Marketing Automation Tool: Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform that helps eCommerce store owners deliver a more personalized experience for their customers. 

What makes Klaviyo so useful for digital marketing agencies is its intuitive design and data-driven approach. Agencies can harness the power of personalized email sequences, audience segmentation, and performance tracking of every campaign in real-time.

Klaviyo is not just about sending emails; it’s about creating and automating journeys that engage, convert, and keep customers coming back for more.

See how Customers.ai integrates with Klaviyo.

#3. Marketing Automation Tool: Hubspot

HubSpot is a marketing automation tool designed to boost ROI, optimize your inbound marketing strategy, and generate qualified leads.

With HubSpot, agencies can automate repetitive tasks like email campaigns, social media posts, and lead nurturing, freeing up valuable time to focus on creative and strategic planning. 

Hubspot also provides analytics tools to provide data on campaign performance, enabling agencies to make data-driven decisions and demonstrate clear ROI to clients. This combination of efficiency, insight, and integration makes HubSpot an indispensable tool for agencies aiming to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape.

AI-Powered Advertising

How to Unlock AI and Lead Capture Tech for 10X Return on Ad Spend

HOSTED BY

Larry Kim

Founder and CEO, Customers.ai

Email Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies

Email marketing automation tools are revolutionizing the way agencies engage with audiences, ensuring personalized communication and measurable results at every step.

#4. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Customers.ai

The best email marketing software allows you to proactively engage with customers and prospects in order to grow revenue, generate leads, and offer real-time support across multiple channels.

Studies have shown that our email marketing software:

Here’s how it works:

First, add our X-Ray pixel to your client’s website:

Then, set up an email automation through our AI-powered S.O.L.D. tool which maximizes email deliverability:

Signs of Life Detector for Marketing Automation for Agencies

Plus, if you need some help writing your clients emails, you can take our new AI email writer for a spin!

#5. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Emma

Emma, or MyEmma, is an email marketing automation tool that flies under the radar but is great for digital marketing agencies.

Emma’s agency email marketing software and personalized services set you up to be the experts for your clients, help you manage multiple brands under one roof, and drive results that will have them singing your praises.

The Emma platform is referred to as the Emma HQ platform. It includes an approvals dashboard, campaign management, asset and template sharing controls, and multi-account reporting from the activity dashboard.

In regards to email marketing automation, Emma allows you to create targeted workflows based on any action your audience takes, both inside and outside the inbox.

And what Emma is referring to as “both inside and outside the inbox” is that most activity happens outside of the inbox. For example purchases, web visits, and reviews. 

With Emma, as long as you’re capturing the data, you can automate workflows based on that data. This allows you to further personalize every workflow. 

Emma’s marketing agency-specific features consist of the following four components.

  1. Manage multiple accounts: Set up separate accounts for every client – each with its own set of roles & permissions – and easily manage them from one central dashboard.
  2. Robust email reporting: Track client activity and quickly see what’s working (and what’s not) so you can offer the best advice and adjust your strategy to get better results.
  3. Asset management: Manage and share creative assets – like email marketing templates, logos, and images – with clients so they have everything they need to send a gorgeous email.
  4. White-labeled accounts: Choose to remove all Emma branding from your account. Your clients can even log-in directly from your site, so you can provide them with a complete email marketing experience.

When dynamic content and automation combine, you can create hyper-personalized emails. 

Agencies can really impress their clients by automatically populating an email series with content based on a subscriber’s favorite activity.

#6. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Mailchimp

MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms due to its ease of use, sophisticated automation tools, and the ability to create great-looking emails with a drag-and-drop user interface.

In addition to being the most recognized email marketing platform in the world, MailChimp has built out a suite of cross-channel marketing tools.

email marketing automation for agencies - MailChimp

MailChimp now refers to itself as an “all-in-one marketing platform” for small businesses. The most prevalent tools on the platform consist of the following:

  • Email marketing
  • Customer relationship management (CRM) dashboards
  • Custom domains and website design templates
  • Social media management and content scheduling
  • Facebook and Instagram ad builders
  • Landing page builders, including ecommerce
  • Marketing analytics, and more.

Digital marketing agencies can benefit from MailChimp’s many automation tools, such as customer journey mapping, retargeting emails, behavior-based automation, date-based automation, welcome series, abandoned cart emails, product recommendations, and more.

MailChimp has gradually become more like Marketo, but for small businesses. And they’re doing this by building cross-channel marketing tools that complement their bread and butter, which is email.

#7. Email Marketing Automation Tool: SendGrid

The Sendgrid email marketing automation platform is a must-have tool for businesses of all sizes.

Along with it’s reliability and scalability, SendGrid is renowned for its advanced deliverability tools, along with features like delivery management, detailed analytics, and customizable templates. 

SendGrid makes email marketing automation easy. 

See how Customers.ai integrates with SendGrid.

Workflow Automation Tools for Agencies

Workflow automation tools are transforming how agencies manage tasks, streamline processes, and enhance productivity, enabling them to deliver superior services with remarkable efficiency.

#8. Workflow Automation: Zapier

As a marketing agency, you’re going to use a large variety of business and productivity apps. Every client is going to have a different marketing stack, and you’ll need a way to easily integrate many of them. 

Zapier is an awesome tool for marketing agencies because you can create automated workflows across tools in your mar-tech stack. In fact, Zapier is compatible with thousands of tools, and you can easily chain commands together with an “If X happens, do Y” structure. 

marketing automation for agencies - connect apps and automate workflows

For example, the Customers.ai Zapier integration allows you to easily send information that’s stored to customer profiles in Customers.ai to other applications. For example:

One of the main selling points of Zapier for marketing agencies is that this automation allows you to combine multiple actions and apps together in a single Zap.

So, let’s say a client sends you an email with an attachment. Using Zapier, you can store it on your Google Drive, share it with your team, and update your project management board without needing to do anything. 

Zapier will save your agency lots of time by automating repetitive tasks and please your clients when you’re able to work with their tech stack.

#9. Workflow Automation: Teamwork

Teamwork is a flexible workflow automation tool that gives marketing agencies what they need to deliver exceptional projects for their clients.

Teamwork’s “Workload” solution gives you a complete picture of your team’s capacity and helps you manage it more effectively. It also allows you to respond to changes quickly and keep teams on track.

Additionally, Teamwork allows you to build custom workflows and gives agencies one central place to visualize team projects and tasks, deadlines, and workloads.

#10. Workflow Automation: Monday

Monday.com is a versatile workflow automation tool that adds a ton of value to digital marketing agencies, especially when it comes to campaign management. 

Monday’s strength lies in its ability to create tailored workflows, giving digital marketing agencies a central hub to see projects, manage tasks, track deadlines, and balance team workloads. 

Monday.com also enhances client communication by allowing clients to be added as collaborators, streamlining the feedback processes and significantly reducing the need for lengthy email threads.

See Who Is On Your Site Right Now!

Get names, emails, phone numbers & more.

Try it Free, No Credit Card Required

Automated Social Media Management Tools for Agencies

Automated social media management tools help agencies enhance each of their client’s online presence, engage target audiences, and track performance across a variety of social media platforms.

#11. Social Media Automation: Meet Edgar

MeetEdgar is a content recycler that can be used to automate the sharing of all your evergreen content across Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

With MeetEdgar, you can load up the automated tool with all of your most important content once, and then have that evergreen content shared over and over again according to a schedule that you can edit. 

MeetEdgar helps promote your best content, saves time on scheduling, and auto-generates and tests variations.

#12. Social Media Automation: AgoraPulse

The ability to prove your agency’s social media ROI to your clients is powerful. And AgoraPulse has all of the digital agency tools you need to do just that.

With AgoraPulse, your agency can show ROI on each post, whether it’s organic or paid. This is accomplished using publishing modals and built-in UTM parameters that allow you to demonstrate your agency’s impact on conversions and revenue.

marketing automation for agencies - social media management platform

For marketing agencies, anything you can do to save time is paramount to your success. AgoraPulse makes it easy to export reports with key metrics and analysis on engagement and growth to present to clients.

Furthermore, it never hurts to impress clients. Unlimited Graphic Design Services let you get creative logos. So, add your logo to the PowerPoint decks generated by AgoraPulse and your clients will think you built it from scratch.

AgoraPulse also has tools to allow collaboration between marketing agencies and their clients. For example, with a shared calendar, clients can review, accept, reject, and give feedback on your scheduled social media content. Each shared calendar gives you unlimited calendar users and unlimited profiles.

#13. Social Media Automation: Instachamp

InstaChamp is the first Instagram-and-Facebook approved social media automation tool for business growth via messaging automation.

InstaChamp is unique due to its advanced automation features, including chatbots and personalized messaging, which facilitate instant and personalized interactions with customers. 

By automating responses, customer queries, and order updates on social media platforms, InstaChamp helps ecommerce businesses enhance customer satisfaction, streamline communication, and improve conversions.

#14. Social Media Automation: SocialBee

SocialBee is designed for the seamless management of your social media profiles. With this social media automation platform, your agency can schedule and automate posts.

For agencies overseeing multiple accounts, SocialBee breaks out each client’s dashboard into distinct workspaces for a more structured approach. Collaborative efforts are facilitated through features like assigning roles to team members, obtaining content approval from clients, and leaving notes on posts for effective communication.

#15. Social Media Automation: Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder

With the Customers.ai Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel, you can capture audience data from your website and sync it directly to Facebook, creating larger remarketing audiences and ensuring you are targeting people who are already interested in what you have to offer!

To get started, make sure you add the Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel to your site. It’s easy to do and takes less than 90 seconds. To add it, sign up (it’s FREE!), go to the dashboard, navigate to My Automations, select + New Automation, and get your pixel. Make sure to test it to verify it’s working.

From there, you can start building your Facebook Ads audience.

Marketers can’t afford to lose their retargeting audiences and Customers.ai is the answer.

SEO & PPC Automation Tools for Agencies

SEO and PPC automation tools help agencies optimize their search engine strategies and manage ad campaigns with precision and ease.

#16. PPC Automation: Wordstream

WordStream for agencies helps to replace multiple complex platforms and spreadsheets with a single user interface designed to streamline Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing workflows. 

Additionally, WordStream’s Advisor tool for agencies makes recommendations to optimize performance across platforms and will highlight your best results each month to your clients. 

pay per click (PPC) management software - WordStream for agencies

The most notable WordStream features to consider for your set of marketing agency tools are as follows:

  • Automated Keyword Lists
  • Prospect Tracking & Management
  • Customizable Proposal Generator
  • White Labeled Google Account Audit
  • International Currencies
  • White Labeled Facebook Account Audit
  • Google Places Match

WordStream’s Client Center dashboard is designed to give your agency a view of every account you manage and to assess where to spend your time more efficiently. It comes with tools such as a performance tracker, budget tracking, and spend notifications.

#17. SEO & PPC Automation: Semrush

Semrush is an all-in-one digital marketing solution that helps companies run digital marketing campaigns including SEO, paid media, and content marketing.

When it comes to automation, what makes Semrush unique is its ability to provide in-depth keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audit capabilities. And with robust features like backlink analysis and rank tracking, businesses can try to stay ahead in search engine rankings. 

It also has a user-friendly interface and delivers actionable insights that can be implemented quickly. Semrush gives marketers the tools to make good SEO and PPC decisions.

#18. SEO Automation: Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is a widely used website crawler, designed primarily for automating SEO audits.

Screaming Frog allows users to crawl both small and very large websites efficiently while analyzing the results in real-time. 

Key features include finding broken links (404 errors), auditing redirects, analyzing page titles and metadata, discovering duplicate content, extracting data with XPath, reviewing robots and directives, and generating XML sitemaps. It’s particularly useful for its ability to provide a comprehensive overview of a website from an SEO perspective.

#19. SEO Automation: Outranking

Outranking.io is an AI-powered automated SEO content platform designed to enhance SEO content performance.

Outranking has an automated AI-assisted SEO workflow that will generate titles, create content outlines, develop first drafts and optimize content, taking much of the initial leg work out of the agency marketer’s hands.

The platform will also automate content optimization, helping agencies create content that will rank.

#20. SEO Automation: aHrefs

Ahrefs is an SEO automation tool with features for link building, keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site audits, and more.

Ahrefs has an extensive database of links and keywords for comprehensive backlink analysis, competitor research, and keyword tracking. 

Ahrefs also will identify areas for improvement and provide actionable insights based on that data. Its user-friendly interface also makes Ahrefs a valuable automation tool for agencies.

Marketing Automation Tools for Attribution & Analytics

Marketing automation tools for attribution and analytics help agencies decode complex customer journeys and measure the impact of their marketing strategies with precision.

#21. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Platform.ly

Platform.ly has a full suite of multi-channel marketing automation tools from lead capture and nurturing to sales and brand advocacy.

For digital marketing agencies, the one thing Platform.ly does better than anything else is marketing attribution and analytics dashboards.

marketing automation for agencies - attribution and analytics software

Agencies like Platform.ly for a number of reasons. Mainly it’s their reporting and attribution models, but it’s also the platform’s focus on the integration of other marketing tools.

This facilitates the ability to use the best tool for each marketing function, as opposed to using one marketing automation platform for everything, which means you’ll have fewer features at your disposal per marketing channel.

Platform.ly makes marketing attribution easy by precisely tracking interactions across different campaigns and channels throughout your marketing funnel. It helps you understand in detail which marketing activities drive the most sales, who your most loyal customers are, and what drives growth.

At a high-level, Platformly’s main features consist of the following:

  • Business Dashboards
  • Link Tracking
  • CRM
  • Lead Capture
  • Email Marketing
  • Marketing Automation
  • Complete Reports
  • Integrations

Use Platform.ly to track marketing efforts with interactive dashboards, measure agency performance, optimize user interactions from first to last touchpoints, convert more customers, and increase revenue.

#22. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Databox

Databox is an automated analytics tool that brings all data into a unified platform so agencies can track performance and discover insights in real-time.

This tool allows agencies to mix and match their data from different sources into one dashboard, and visualize a complete overview of business performance.

Some of the best features for agencies on Databox are:

  • Agency + Client Accounts: agencies can create client accounts under 1 umbrella account. Clients then have access to monitor data anytime via URL, mobile application, TV data stream, or office wall.
  • Client Performance Screen allows an agency to monitor up to 5 KPIs per client on a single screen. This is great for agency owners, managers & directors that want to quickly review account performance.
  • Calculate KPIs From Different Sources – Data Calculations allows users to aggregate metrics from multiple data sources, calculate different ratios, return-on-investment, financial metrics, then track them over time.
  • 3rd Party Automations – 70+ native integrations & 250+ Zapier & Integromat automations that you can connect with Databox.

#23. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Rockerbox

Rockerbox is a marketing attribution platform that can help agencies measure and manage marketing spend (paid, organic, digital, and offline campaigns).

Rockerbox uses machine learning to help businesses streamline their attribution and incrementality strategies, as well as media mix modeling operations. It enables the measurement of marketing spend across a broad spectrum of campaigns, including paid, organic, digital, and offline, thereby offering a holistic view of marketing effectiveness

Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation Tools

Onboarding and customer journey mapping automation tools help agencies seamlessly guide clients through tailored experiences and map out every interaction for maximum engagement and retention.

#24. Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation: Autopilot

Autopilot is a visual marketing automation tool agencies can use to create customer journey maps for clients. The Autopilot platform includes multi-channel marketing capabilities such as email, in-app, online, and snail-mail communications.

Autopilot is all about building automated lead generation and lead nurturing processes.

visual marketing automation for agencies - onboarding and journey mapping

Autopilot allows users to: 

  • Customize journeys based on audience behavior. 
  • Build multi-channel workflows to send automated messages. 
  • Generate customer journey reports that allow you to fix leaky marketing funnels.

Autopilot also includes features such as measuring campaign ROI and optimizing the revenue funnel based on real-time performance. 

Lastly, Autopilot integrates with other popular platforms such as Salesforce, InsideView, GoodData, Zapier, Slack, and Twilio.

#25. Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation: ChurnZero

ChurnZero is a customer onboarding platform that helps automate onboarding activities, including requirements gathering, technical implementation, configuration, and training.

Along with onboarding, ChurnZero offers a range of automated services including customer journey mapping, health scores, survey tools, segmentation, plays, reporting, real-time alerts, walkthroughs, and collaboration centers.

Looking for More than Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies?

If you need more than just marketing automation software, we have quite a few categories for you to choose from. Discover hundreds of the best digital marketing tools in the following lists:

Customers.ai for Agencies

Higher retainers, improved ROI, and happier clients.

Important Next Steps

Convert Website Visitors into Real Contacts!

Identify who is visiting your site with name, email and more. Get 500 contacts for free!

Marketing Automation for Agencies FAQs

Q: What are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Tools designed to automate marketing tasks, streamline campaign management, and analyze data for marketing agencies.

Q: How do marketing automation tools benefit agencies?

They increase efficiency, improve client engagement, enable targeted campaigns, and provide measurable results.

Q: Can small agencies benefit from marketing automation tools?

Yes, these tools can help small agencies scale efficiently and compete with larger agencies.

Q: What features are essential in marketing automation tools for agencies?

Key features include email automation, social media management, analytics, CRM integration, and lead generation.

Q: Are there marketing automation tools suitable for all types of agencies?

Yes, there are versatile tools available that cater to a wide range of agency types and sizes.

Q: How do marketing automation tools impact client relationships?

They enhance client relationships through personalized communication and timely responses.

Q: Can marketing automation tools help with lead generation?

Yes, they can automate lead capture and nurturing processes, increasing the quantity and quality of leads.

Q: Do marketing automation tools integrate with other business systems?

Most tools offer integrations with CRM systems, email platforms, social media networks, and analytics tools.

Q: What is the average cost of marketing automation tools for agencies?

Costs vary widely, from free to premium tools, depending on features and scale of operations.

Q: Are there industry-specific marketing automation tools for agencies?

Yes, there are tools specialized for industries like real estate, healthcare, and retail.

Q: How do marketing automation tools improve campaign management?

They streamline campaign creation, scheduling, execution, and measurement.

Q: Can marketing automation tools track ROI?

Yes, they provide analytics and reporting features to track and measure ROI effectively.

Q: What is the role of AI in marketing automation tools?

AI enhances personalization, predictive analytics, and automates complex decision-making processes.

Q: How secure are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Reputable tools prioritize data security and comply with regulations like GDPR.

Q: Can marketing automation tools support multichannel marketing?

Yes, they enable agencies to manage and automate campaigns across various digital channels.

Q: How user-friendly are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Most tools are designed with user-friendliness in mind, offering intuitive interfaces and support.

Q: What is the best marketing automation tool for a small agency?

There are a number of marketing automation tools for small agencies available. We recommend identifying your needs and visiting the list we’ve outlined above.

Q: Can marketing automation tools assist with content creation?

Some tools offer content creation and management features, including templates and scheduling.

Q: How do marketing automation tools aid in email marketing?

They automate email campaign creation, segmentation, delivery, and performance tracking.

Q: What analytics do marketing automation tools provide?

They offer insights into campaign performance, customer behavior, and conversion tracking.

Q: How do marketing automation tools help with social media management?

They automate post scheduling, track engagement, and analyze social media campaign performance.

Q: Can marketing automation tools optimize SEO for agencies?

Some tools include SEO features to help optimize content and track keyword performance.

Q: Are marketing automation tools effective for B2B agencies?

Yes, they are effective for B2B agencies in lead generation, nurturing, and sales processes.

Q: How do marketing automation tools handle data privacy?

They typically comply with data privacy laws and offer features for consent management and data protection.

Q: What is the future of marketing automation tools for agencies?

The future includes more advanced AI capabilities, deeper integrations, and enhanced personalization features.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LET'S CHAT ABOUT LEAD CAPTURE & SALES OUTREACH FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Generate more leads and meetings for your sales team with automated inbound lead capture, qualification, tracking and outreach across the most popular messaging channels.

I agree to receive text and email updates from Customers.ai

Convert more visitors into customers

Turn anonymous website visitors into actionable audiences for your email, ads and direct mail campaigns.

See what Website Visitor ID reveals on your site!

No credit card required.

101 Must-See DTC Meta Ads!

We’ve got the inspiration you need for better ads

101 Ads. 101 Brands. Endless Inspiration.

GROW YOUR RETAINERS, DIVERSIFY REVENUE SOURCES, AND MAKE CLIENTS HAPPIER WITH CUSTOMERS.AI FOR AGENCIES.

I agree to receive text and email updates from Customers.ai