Revenue Operations Blog Articles

HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot Marketing Cloud

What marketing automation software is best for an enterprise tech stack?

If you are asking the question, “Is HubSpot for Enterprise?” the answer is yes. When comparing three major players, HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot (also known as Marketing Cloud Account Engagement), HubSpot has defining features that make it the ideal marketing automation software for enterprise customers. Some of the critical areas where HubSpot wins over the competition are:

  • Ease of use, which is a critical part of adoption
  • Built-in data quality management tools
  • Integrations, especially the integration with Salesforce
  • The ability to customize with or without the use of custom development

While these are clear (and pretty big) reasons to choose HubSpot based on our experience working across diverse technology stacks, we’ve pulled together common feature comparisons our clients ask about when comparing marketing automation platforms.

Are we biased? SmartAcre has been tech-agnostic for over 15 years, helping clients leverage Marketo, Pardot, HubSpot, Salesforce, and other marketing and sales tools. We’ve seen significant use cases for Marketo and Pardot, and always conduct a thorough discovery before suggesting a platform. However, especially over the last two years, HubSpot has been winning more frequently than not, to the extent that a lot of our clients looking to accelerate their revenue goals have identified that migrating to HubSpot is the best path forward, and looked to us to help execute their  HubSpot migration project.

 

HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot table

Marketing Automation Ease of Use

When it comes to ease of use, HubSpot’s marketing automation features outperform Marketo and Pardot.

  • HubSpot: Renowned for its user-friendly interface, HubSpot allows teams to hit the ground running without extensive training. Its drag-and-drop website builder and AI blog generator are designed to make your life easier. The user adoption and ease of use are a bonus for enterprise organizations with large teams. HubSpot also has engaging resources and training designed to “delight” their customers.
  • Marketo: While powerful, Marketo has a steeper learning curve. Users often find its interface less intuitive, leading to longer onboarding times.
  • Pardot: Integrated with Salesforce, Pardot offers robust features but may require more time to master, especially if you’re unfamiliar with Salesforce’s ecosystem.

AI-Powered Marketing Features

Embracing AI can elevate your marketing efforts, making campaigns more efficient and personalized. HubSpot’s new features and product roadmap continue to impress us.

  • HubSpot: With AI tools like the AI Content Agent for generating landing pages, blogs, and more, alongside AI-driven SEO recommendations, HubSpot empowers you to create and optimize content effortlessly. HubSpot continues to launch agents and features using Breeze, HubSpot’s AI.
  • Marketo: Marketo’s AI capabilities are currently limited, focusing more on traditional automation workflows.
  • Pardot: Pardot leverages Salesforce’s Einstein AI to provide predictive analytics and lead scoring, enhancing decision-making processes.

HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot Reports + Dashboards

Robust reporting features give your teams access to data and, more importantly, insights to drive decisions.

  • HubSpot: HubSpot offers many out-of-the-box reporting capabilities that can be added to custom-built dashboards. We especially like its focus on the customer journey, campaign reporting, attribution, and ability to compare specific assets like emails.
  • Marketo: Marketo provides a broad spectrum of reporting tools, from basic reports to advanced analytics and journey modeling, catering to diverse reporting needs within marketing operations. Can it be done? Yes. Would it require extensive employee training, bringing on an agency, or adding a new hire to your team to make it happen? Probably.
  • Pardot: Pardot focuses on standard reporting for marketing assets and prospect lifecycle management, with features for monitoring prospect changes and managing visitor activities.

Data Quality Management Tools

Marketing automation isn’t automatic. Messy data often prevents speed, especially as databases and integrations grow. Consider automation features for data cleansing and evaluate multi-source data aggregation capabilities to ensure you can create a comprehensive view of your operations.

  • HubSpot: Offers automated data cleansing tools, deduplication features, and multi-source data aggregation capabilities to create a unified customer view. These features ensure high-quality data across your operations. Built-in data enrichment tools can also help you mass update records for improved segmentation (for additional costs).
  • Marketo: Includes basic data hygiene tools, but advanced data quality management often requires external integrations.
  • Pardot: Relies heavily on Salesforce’s ecosystem for data management, which includes robust data validation and enrichment features but may involve additional costs.

Integrations

What else is in your tech stack? If systems are not integrated, gaps and speedbumps can creep into your customer journey.

  • HubSpot: Provides over 1,200 integrations, including Zapier, Slack, and Microsoft Teams, and supports API access for custom connections. Its app marketplace simplifies the process of connecting external systems, which is one reason we like HubSpot for enterprise organizations with large tech stacks.
  • Marketo: Offers integrations but often requires more technical expertise for setup, especially with non-standard tools.
  • Pardot: Excels in Salesforce integrations and works well within that ecosystem, but integrating with external non-Salesforce tools may require additional configuration.

Custom Object Associations

If you collect data that doesn’t fall into standard properties, be sure when evaluating HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Partdot that your selected marketing automation technology can store and report on it. For example, consider how a health tech company might need to differentiate between their provider vs. patient audiences, or how SaaS companies might need to manage subscription information. The right tool should allow you to record, report, and build marketing audience lists using data from custom objects without relying on an external system or manual process.

  • HubSpot: Supports custom objects with reporting capabilities directly within its CRM. It’s flexible enough to handle complex use cases without external dependencies.
  • Marketo: Limited support for custom objects, often requiring manual processes or additional integrations to manage non-standard data.
  • Pardot: Utilizes Salesforce’s custom object capabilities, making it robust but potentially more complex to implement and maintain.

SFDC Integration

If your marketing automation technology isn’t integrated with your CRM, it is a big miss. This should be a key consideration when choosing or migrating platforms.

  • HubSpot: Native Salesforce integration for standard & custom objects. It is best for flexible setups but requires effort for complex integrations.
  • Marketo: Robust integration via REST API; supports multiple CRMs and high-volume data needs. Suitable for complex operations.
  • Pardot: Seamless, out-of-the-box integration as a Salesforce product; real-time sync for campaigns, prospects, and custom objects. Ideal for Salesforce users.

Industry-Specific Applications for HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot

Every industry has its nuances. Let’s explore how these platforms cater to specific sectors.

Manufacturing: Marketing Automation for Complex Sales Pipelines

  • HubSpot: By adding AI capabilities, HubSpot makes it easier to scale marketing teams. Take complex technical content and remix it for marketing and sales campaigns without compromising the information.
  • Marketo: Offers solid email automation to keep potential clients informed throughout long sales cycles.
  • Pardot: Seamless Salesforce integration aids in managing complex sales pipelines and customer relationships.

Health Tech: Marketing Automation HIIPA Compliance

  • HubSpot: Recently announced HIPAA compliance ensures that sensitive patient data is handled securely, a non-negotiable in healthcare marketing. HubSpot also has a data model template specific to healthcare organizations that work with services and patients.
  • Marketo: According to Adobe, Marketo Engage and Sales Connect are “HIPAA ready,” but additional features may increase your license or subscription costs.
  • Pardot: Benefits from Salesforce’s security features but may require additional configurations for full compliance.

SaaS: Marketing Automation that scales

  • HubSpot: High-growth SaaS companies need a scalable tech stack, and HubSpot is just that. The marketing automation workflows support key pieces of the customer journey, such as demos or free trials, onboarding, and retention. Added Content Hub tools like adaptive page testing support rapid iteration, helping you stay ahead in a competitive market.
  • Marketo: Provides robust automation but may require more resources to manage effectively.
  • Pardot: Strong CRM integration supports complex sales funnels typical in SaaS businesses.

Cybersecurity: Considering safeguarding data and ensuring compliance

All three platforms prioritize data security and compliance, implementing measures such as data encryption, access controls, and adherence to international standards to protect customer information.

Customer Support and Help Resources

Part of ease of use and adoption means having great support options.

  • HubSpot: HubSpot offers a tiered support system based on subscription levels. Options include email, chat, and phone, and the company has a great network of solution partners who can help you save money and eliminate onboarding costs. When it comes to documentation and help resources, HubSpot’s help tools and knowledge base articles are unmatched, offering helpful step-by-step instructions for basically everything.
  • Marketo: Live chat is available, and you can search for help via the Marketo Support Portal. The knowledge base is extensive, but more technical and harder to follow.
  • Pardot: Pardot users benefit from Salesforce’s comprehensive support infrastructure, although we’ve seen points of contact change often and long wait times to get answers. The help articles and training resources offered are limited and often outdated, although new AI help features may improve this in the future.

HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot Pricing

If you’d like to explore solutions and pricing options, contact SmartAcre.

  • HubSpot: Pricing scales with a number of marketing contacts. With a tiered pricing structure and the option to add only the Hubs you need, there is a lot of flexibility designed to cater to the needs of enterprise-level organizations.
  • Marketo: Marketo offers four pricing tiers, scaling costs based on features and contact database size.
  • Pardot: Pardot is positioned for mid-market to enterprise customers. It focuses on B2B marketing automation and charges additional costs for increased contact volumes and features.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right marketing automation platform is a pivotal decision that can significantly impact your business’s efficiency and growth. Consider your industry’s specific requirements, the importance of key features, ease of use, integrations, and how well the platform can scale with your business. Don’t let fear prevent you from making a change! Migrations offer an excellent opportunity to improve processes and clean up data – helping you remove marketing roadblocks.

Want more information?

Book a meeting with us to get an expert opinion on how you can optimize your tech stack or evaluate HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Pardot.

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