The best B2C marketing automation platforms in 2024

The world’s biggest brands already use B2C marketing automation platforms to build and optimize personalized marketing campaigns without manual effort. Global sports retailer, Adidas, increased AOV by 259% in just one month by automating its marketing campaigns with the leading platform, Insider.

This article will explore the importance of B2C marketing automation platforms and identify their key benefits. We’ll also uncover the best platforms for 2024 to help you find a solution to fit your needs and objectives.

What is a B2C marketing automation platform?

A B2C marketing automation platform streamlines marketing tasks, offering efficiency and revenue growth for businesses targeting individual consumers. Platforms allow marketers to efficiently segment their audience, manage diverse campaigns from a centralized platform, and deliver personalized experiences tailored to customer preferences. With features like in-depth analytics, marketers can quickly gain valuable insights to adapt and improve campaigns.  
Leading B2C marketing automation platforms should also offer cross-channel automation and orchestration. With workflow automation, content generation, and AI-powered features, marketers can build consistent, impactful omnichannel campaigns that they know will reach their customers at the right time, with the right message, without heavy manual effort.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Insider’s growth management platform has helped us improve our customer engagement and experience… we recommend it to any brand wishing to improve its cross-channel marketing automation.”

  • Digital Marketing Specialist on G2

Read more G2 reviews from happy customers

The benefits of a B2C marketing automation platform

Marketers who use a marketing automation platform are 46% more likely to report having an effective marketing strategy. With processes automated, automation platforms have a knock-on effect, enabling marketers to work on other high-impact strategies while knowing their customers are automatically being targeted with highly relevant, contextual content.

Here are the other benefits for marketers:

  1. It streamlines customer engagement

From personalized emails to targeted social media campaigns, automation ensures your brand stays in tune with your audience’s preferences, behaviors, and needs, enhancing customer relationships and building engagement.

  1. You can hyper-personalize for enhanced customer experience

Your customers receive hundreds of generic ads every single day. B2C marketing automation software leverages AI and data analytics to create hyper-personalized experiences, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

  1. It enables increased precision targeting and lead nurturing

Precision is the key to increasing acquisition and retention. B2C marketing automation platforms allow you to target specific customer segments with surgical precision. By automating lead nurturing workflows, you’re guiding your audience through the sales funnel with relevant content at each touchpoint.

  1. You can make data-driven decisions

In 2024, too much data shouldn’t be considered a challenge—it’s an opportunity. Marketing automation platforms sift through your data and analytics to provide actionable insights. With comprehensive analytics, marketers can make informed decisions to optimize their strategies for maximum impact.

360-degree understanding of unique customer behavior and build unified profiles

5. You can build seamless cross-channel journeys

The modern consumer is everywhere, and your marketing strategy should be too. B2C marketing automation seamlessly integrates across multiple channels, including email, SMS, WhatsApp, and social media, ensuring a cohesive brand presence that reaches your audience consistently.

6. It enhances efficiency and saves time

Automation is the epitome of working smarter, not harder. By automating repetitive tasks, your team can focus on strategic initiatives. This enhances efficiency and frees up valuable time for creativity and innovation.

7. Improve ROI and revenue generation

Marketing automation directly impacts the bottom line. With targeted campaigns, efficient resource allocation, and continuous optimization, businesses see an increase in ROI. For example, world-leading sports retailer, Slazenger, saw a 49X ROI in just eight weeks with Insider’s marketing automation platform. 

How do I choose the best B2C marketing automation software?

Finding the right B2C marketing automation software for your business and marketing needs requires research. Here’s what you need to ask yourself when selecting a platform for your brand.

What are my goals and objectives?

Start by clearly outlining your marketing goals and objectives. Whether it’s increasing customer engagement, driving sales, or improving customer retention, having well-defined goals will help when choosing a marketing automation platform.

Is it flexible and user-friendly?

Look for a platform that offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Flexibility is key, as your marketing needs may evolve. A platform that can adapt to changing strategies without a steep learning curve will save time and resources.

What are its integration capabilities?

If you want to improve your marketing efforts, your platform needs to integrate seamlessly with other tools and platforms. Consider how the platform will integrate with any other solutions you’re currently using.

Does it leverage AI and machine learning?

Leveraging AI and machine learning gives you a significant edge. Choose a platform that incorporates these technologies and uses them to provide actionable insights, such as predictive behaviors, to enhance your marketing strategies.

What are the available personalization features?

Personalization is a customer expectation. Look for a platform that allows you to tailor your messages and campaigns based on deep data, including customer behavior, preferences, and demographics.

Which channels does it support?

In the era of omnichannel marketing, your chosen platform should support multiple channels such as email, social media, SMS, and more. This ensures a consistent and cohesive customer experience across different touchpoints.

Insider’s b2c marketing automation platform offers cross-channel automation

Is it scalable for a growing team?

Your business will hopefully grow, and your marketing automation platform should evolve with it. Choose a scalable solution in terms of customer data capacity and the complexity of your campaigns.

What type of analytics and reporting tools does it offer?

A robust analytics and reporting feature is essential for measuring the success of your campaigns. Look for a platform that provides detailed insights into customer behavior, campaign performance, and ROI.

How will the platform offer customer support and training?

Even the most user-friendly platforms can encounter hiccups. A responsive customer support team and comprehensive training resources are invaluable when you need assistance or want to explore advanced features.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Insider’s support team gave us a very detailed analysis of our customer base and recommendations based on that analysis. As a result, we saw increased engagement, sign-up rates, and transactions.”

  • CRM Manager on G2

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Insider G2 grid leader four categories

The best B2C marketing automation platforms in 2024

The best B2C marketing automation platforms are built to make your life easier. Here are our favorite options:

Insider

Insider offers the most extensive personalization and automation capabilities on the market. A #1 leader across all key analysts, marketers can effectively leverage data insights to build omnichannel journeys across 12+ channels and hundreds of integrations powered by AI and machine learning to increase efficiency.

Insider's  Rethinking WhatsApp eBook

Insider’s B2c marketing automation platform enables marketers to:

  • Hyper-personalized experiences: Insider delivers deeply personalized experiences by leveraging AI-driven algorithms, ensuring tailored content for individual users.
  • Multichannel campaign management: Insider provides a centralized dashboard for managing all marketing channels, from Email and Push Notifications to Web and Mobile experiences. Marketers can also design and optimize the entire customer journey within one dashboard, ensuring a consistent, personalized experience across every touchpoint.
  • Leverage predictive segmentation and behavioral tracking: Insider enables precise customer segmentation based on predictive analytics, ensuring targeted messaging for different audience segments. The platform also offers real-time user behavior tracking, allowing marketers to respond promptly to changing customer interactions.
  • Optimize with A/B testing: Marketers can refine strategies through A/B testing, optimizing campaigns for maximum impact and engagement.
  • In-depth analytics: Robust analytics provide insights into campaign performance, allowing marketers to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve their strategies.
  • Integration Capabilities: Alongside 12+ channels, Insider seamlessly integrates with hundreds of third-party tools and platforms, ensuring cohesion.
  • Automating workflows with AI and machine learning: Insider simplifies complex workflows by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining processes, and saving valuable time for marketers. Marketers can also build optimized journeys and craft content and click-worthy copy in seconds with the world-leading AI solution, Sirius AI™.

Braze

Braze homepage

Braze is a marketing automation platform with cross-channel capabilities, email, push notifications, and in-app messages. While recognized for its user-friendly interface, setting up and launching campaigns requires heavy time and resource allocation. Braze is also missing pre-built templates and channel recommendations as part of its automation capabilities.

Learn: 11 Best Braze Competitors and Alternatives

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign homepage

ActiveCampaign offers customer experience personalization, email marketing, and sales automation. While marketers can operate primarily from its dashboard, the platform does require third-party integration for some of its more advanced functionalities.

Klaviyo

Klaviyo homepage

Klaviyo specializes in eCommerce-focused marketing, leveraging data for highly targeted campaigns. It only operates across email and SMS, so it may not suit marketers looking to encompass a wider range of channels. 

Learn: 11 Best Klaviyo Competitors and Alternatives

Iterable

Iterable homepage

Iterable is a comprehensive cross-channel marketing automation platform with a huge range of capabilities to automate processes and decrease campaign launch times. However, the platform lacks template customization options, which would enable marketers to tailor campaigns more precisely.

Learn: 10 Best Iterable Competitors and Alternatives

Finding the best B2C marketing automation platform requires time and research

Understanding the capabilities of the different B2C marketing automation platforms and how they will integrate with your business is the key to finding the best one for your needs. Your platform should encompass multiple channels, empower marketers to build and launch journeys in the quickest time to value, and offer advanced, AI-powered personalization capabilities. 

Book a demo to discover how world-leading brands like NA-KD, Slazenger, MAC Cosmetics, choose Insider to automate their marketing efforts and reach customers with engaging, relevant content every time. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is B2C marketing automation?

B2C marketing automation is a technology-driven strategy that streamlines and automates marketing tasks, enabling businesses to engage with individual consumers efficiently.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C marketing automation?

While both involve automating marketing processes, B2B marketing automation focuses on longer sales cycles and relationship-building, whereas B2C marketing automation is geared towards shorter, transactional interactions.

What are some challenges with B2C marketing?

Challenges in B2C marketing include customer data management, maintaining personalized experiences at scale, and adapting to rapidly changing consumer behaviors.

How important is personalization in B2C marketing?

Personalization is crucial in B2C marketing as it enhances customer engagement, increases brand loyalty, and boosts conversion rates by delivering tailored experiences based on individual preferences.

Why is marketing automation important for B2C businesses?

Marketing automation is vital for B2C businesses to streamline workflows, personalize interactions, and enhance efficiency, leading to increased revenue and improved customer satisfaction.

Which tasks can be automated in B2C marketing?

B2C marketing automation can automate email campaigns, social media posting, customer segmentation, lead scoring, and personalized content delivery.

How do I get started with B2C marketing automation?

To start with B2C marketing automation, define your goals, choose a suitable platform, segment your audience, create personalized content, and gradually implement automation features to optimize your marketing efforts.

Chris Baldwin - VP Marketing, Brand and Communications

Chris is an award-winning marketing leader with more than 12 years experience in the marketing and customer experience space. As VP of Marketing, Brand and Communications, Chris is responsible for Insider's brand strategy, and overseeing the global marketing team. Fun fact: Chris recently attended a clay-making workshop to make his own coffee cup…let's just say that he shouldn't give up the day job just yet.

Read more from Chris Baldwin

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