Most "best marketing automation tools" lists flatten the category. They put CRM suites, email tools, ecommerce platforms, and customer engagement platforms in one table, then pretend the buyer is comparing the same kind of product.
That is not how B2B teams buy this software.
A SaaS company nurturing inbound demo requests has a different problem from a manufacturer sitting on 80,000 trade show leads. A company already running Salesforce has a different problem from a growth team setting up its first nurture workflow. And a marketing team trying to revive old MQLs needs more than a prettier email editor.
This guide compares marketing automation tools through a B2B lens: lead nurturing, CRM follow-up, AI personalization, sales handoff, and MQL-to-SQL conversion.
Quick comparison: best marketing automation tools
| Tool | Best for | Strengths | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| BesChannels AI EDM | B2B existing-lead reactivation and AI-personalized follow-up | AI-personalized email, lead scoring context, SDR follow-up, Lenovo-proven B2B reactivation | Most relevant when the team already has CRM or campaign lead data to activate |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | CRM-first B2B teams | CRM, forms, landing pages, workflows, scoring, reporting | Advanced features can get expensive as the database grows |
| Adobe Marketo Engage | Enterprise B2B nurture | Segmentation, scoring, programs, campaign operations | Usually needs marketing operations expertise |
| Salesforce Account Engagement | Salesforce-led sales teams | CRM alignment, scoring, routing, attribution | Works best when Salesforce data is already clean |
| ActiveCampaign | Practical email automation | Visual journeys, tags, CRM automation | Less suited to complex enterprise governance |
| Customer.io | Behavior-based messaging | Event data, audiences, journeys, lifecycle emails | Needs clean data pipes to work well |
| Braze | Cross-channel engagement | Email, SMS, app, web, push, journey orchestration | Often broader than pure B2B lead nurture needs |
| Iterable | Lifecycle campaigns | Personalization, campaigns, cross-channel workflows | B2B sales handoff may need adaptation |
| Blueshift | AI-powered engagement | Predictive segmentation, customer data activation | Better known for customer engagement than B2B MQL workflows |
| MoEngage | Customer engagement | Omnichannel journeys, analytics, personalization | More natural for B2C and app-led journeys |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce email and SMS | Shopify ecosystem, revenue reporting, segments | Not built for complex B2B sales handoff |
| Brevo | Affordable email and CRM basics | Email, SMS, transactional messaging, simple CRM | Limited for deep B2B lead scoring |
| Mailchimp | Simple campaigns | Templates, newsletters, basic automation | Weak fit for enterprise lead reactivation |
| Omnisend | Ecommerce automation | Email, SMS, retail workflows | Narrower fit outside ecommerce |
| Ortto | Journey automation for growth teams | Customer data, journeys, analytics | Smaller ecosystem than HubSpot or Salesforce |
| Zoho Marketing Automation | Zoho users and SMBs | Campaigns, journeys, CRM connection | Best when the team already uses Zoho |
If your database already contains thousands of existing leads, do not choose a tool by email features alone. Choose by whether it can segment contacts, personalize follow-up, score intent, and create sales-ready conversations.
What is a marketing automation tool?
Marketing automation tools help teams automate repetitive marketing work such as email campaigns, lead nurturing, segmentation, lead scoring, CRM follow-up, and customer journey orchestration.
For B2B teams, the value is not sending more messages. The value is deciding what should happen next when a contact downloads content, attends a webinar, clicks a case study, goes quiet, or returns to a product page.
A good tool should help answer:
- Which leads deserve follow-up this week?
- Which inactive contacts still show signs of interest?
- Which message fits this industry or role?
- Which behavior suggests buying intent?
- Which campaigns create pipeline instead of surface-level engagement?
That is why marketing automation tools sit between campaign execution and sales execution. They are more than a marketing convenience. Used well, they become a pipeline system.
Marketing automation tools vs email marketing tools
Email marketing software is usually built around sending campaigns. Marketing automation tools are built around moving contacts through a journey.
| Dimension | Email marketing tools | Marketing automation tools |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Send newsletters and campaigns | Run nurture journeys and conversion workflows |
| Data source | Lists and audiences | CRM fields, behavior, tags, lifecycle stage, intent data |
| Personalization | Merge fields and simple segments | Dynamic content, AI-assisted variations, segment-specific messages |
| Workflow depth | Schedules and autoresponders | Branches, scoring, routing, CRM updates |
| B2B value | Awareness and light nurture | MQL-to-SQL conversion and pipeline acceleration |
If you only need a monthly newsletter, a simple email tool is fine. If you need to reactivate old leads, personalize emails by industry, and alert SDRs when a contact warms up again, you need marketing automation.
What B2B teams should check before buying
A B2B marketing automation tool earns its place in six areas.
Segmentation comes first. The system should group contacts by industry, job title, company size, lifecycle stage, source, product interest, event attendance, content downloads, and recent behavior.
Email automation comes next. A useful workflow should not stop after one thank-you email. It should wait, branch, change a segment, update a score, send a different message, or notify sales.
AI email personalization matters when segments get too many for manual writing. "Hi {{first_name}}" is not personalization. A manufacturing operations lead and a life sciences marketer can download the same white paper for completely different reasons. The follow-up should reflect that.
Lead scoring should blend fit and behavior. Fit comes from account data. Behavior comes from actions such as case study clicks, webinar attendance, pricing page views, and repeat content engagement.
CRM and sales handoff decide whether marketing activity becomes pipeline. If a high-intent contact stays trapped in a nurture sequence, the workflow is not helping sales.
Journey orchestration matters because B2B buyers rarely convert from one email. They move through a series of touches, signals, reminders, and conversations.
Best marketing automation tools: detailed reviews
BesChannels AI EDM
BesChannels AI EDM is the most focused option in this comparison for B2B teams that want to reactivate existing leads with AI-personalized email and sales-ready follow-up.
It is especially relevant when a company already has event leads, old MQLs, webinar leads, inactive CRM contacts, or industry-segmented lists, and needs different messages for different buyer contexts instead of one generic nurture campaign.
For proof, see the public Lenovo AI EDM case showing 21x lead conversion growth, 2.5x open rate lift, and 3.4x click rate lift.
HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot is often the easiest starting point for B2B teams that want CRM, forms, landing pages, email, workflows, scoring, and reporting in one place.
It works well when marketing and sales need to share the same contact record and the team does not want heavy marketing operations overhead. The tradeoff is cost at scale. As workflows, contacts, and reporting needs grow, HubSpot can become expensive.
Adobe Marketo Engage
Marketo is built for serious B2B nurture. It suits companies with long sales cycles, multiple product lines, regional teams, and dedicated marketing operations.
Its strengths are program structure, segmentation, scoring, routing, and campaign governance. It is powerful, but not light. Teams usually need people who know how to run it.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
Salesforce Account Engagement makes the most sense when Salesforce is already the center of the sales process.
Its value comes from CRM alignment. Campaign activity, scoring, routing, and sales handoff can sit close to the account and opportunity record. If Salesforce data is messy, though, the platform will not magically clean up the sales process.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign fits teams that care most about email journeys, tags, visual automation, and practical CRM automation.
It is easier to approach than enterprise platforms and stronger than simple email tools. For complex B2B revenue operations, it may not provide the same governance, attribution, or sales process depth as Marketo or Salesforce.
Customer.io
Customer.io is a good fit for teams that use behavior data to trigger messages. Product-led teams and lifecycle marketers often understand it quickly because the platform thinks in events, attributes, audiences, and journeys.
For traditional B2B teams, Customer.io can work well if CRM and product data are clean enough to feed the workflows.
Braze
Braze is a customer engagement platform for teams that need cross-channel journeys across email, SMS, app, web, and push.
It is strong for lifecycle engagement and personalization. For a narrow B2B MQL-to-SQL workflow, it may be broader than necessary.
Iterable
Iterable is built for lifecycle campaigns and personalized customer communication across channels.
It is useful for teams with a high volume of customer data and repeated engagement moments. B2B teams may need extra work to connect it with sales handoff and account ownership.
Blueshift
Blueshift focuses on AI-powered customer engagement, predictive segmentation, and data activation.
It is worth studying for AI segmentation and personalization. It is less directly positioned around B2B lead reactivation than specialized AI EDM workflows.
MoEngage
MoEngage is another customer engagement platform, often used for app, consumer, and lifecycle journeys.
It can support sophisticated journey design, but B2B teams should check whether their CRM, sales routing, and MQL-to-SQL reporting needs are a natural fit.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is one of the strongest options for ecommerce email and SMS automation.
It fits Shopify, retail, and purchase-driven lifecycle marketing. It is not the first place to look for enterprise B2B lead nurturing or sales handoff.
Brevo
Brevo works for affordable email, SMS, transactional messages, and lighter CRM needs.
It can be a practical starting point for smaller teams. Complex B2B scoring, routing, and journey governance may require a deeper platform.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is familiar, template-rich, and easy to use for newsletters and simple campaigns.
It is not built primarily for B2B lead reactivation, AI SDR follow-up, or long sales cycles.
Omnisend
Omnisend fits ecommerce brands that need email, SMS, and retail automation.
It is less relevant for B2B teams where CRM context and sales follow-up matter more than purchase behavior.
Ortto
Ortto combines customer data, journeys, and analytics for growth teams.
It can work well for teams that want a lighter customer journey platform. Buyers should compare ecosystem depth and CRM fit before choosing it over larger platforms.
Zoho Marketing Automation
Zoho Marketing Automation is most natural for teams already using Zoho CRM or the broader Zoho suite.
It can cover campaigns, journeys, and CRM-connected automation. It is usually a better fit for Zoho-centered teams than for companies standardized on Salesforce or HubSpot.
Best marketing automation tools by use case
Best for B2B lead nurturing
Start with Marketo, HubSpot, Salesforce Account Engagement, ActiveCampaign, and Customer.io.
If the nurture program depends on long sales cycles, multiple buyer roles, and account routing, Marketo and Salesforce deserve a closer look. If the team needs faster setup and shared CRM visibility, HubSpot is usually easier.
Best for AI email personalization
Compare BesChannels AI EDM, Customer.io, Blueshift, Iterable, and ActiveCampaign.
The deciding question is whether the tool can personalize by business context instead of stopping at first name. Industry, role, product interest, lifecycle stage, and past engagement should all affect the message.
Best for re-engaging existing leads
BesChannels AI EDM, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, and Marketo are the most relevant options to compare.
This use case is different from fresh lead capture. The tool must identify old MQLs, event leads, webinar leads, and inactive CRM contacts that still have potential. Then it has to send a more relevant message than the one they ignored last time.
Best for CRM and sales handoff
Salesforce Account Engagement, HubSpot, and Marketo are strong choices when sales process alignment matters.
For AI-assisted follow-up, look for workflows that give SDRs context: what the lead clicked, what account they belong to, what pain point they likely care about, and why now is a good time to follow up.
Best for ecommerce automation
Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp, and Brevo are better fits for ecommerce and small business campaigns.
They can be excellent for retail and purchase-driven journeys. They are not the main benchmark for B2B MQL-to-SQL conversion.
How to choose the right marketing automation tool
Start with the conversion goal.
Newsletter growth, inbound lead nurture, event follow-up, MQL-to-SQL conversion, dormant lead reactivation, and customer retention all call for different workflows.
Then map the data you already have. Useful data includes CRM contacts, tags, industry, job title, campaign source, event attendance, webinar attendance, content downloads, email engagement, product interest, and sales owner.
Next, check whether the tool supports segmentation and personalization at the level your market needs. Static lists may be enough for simple campaigns. Dynamic segments and AI-assisted content are more useful when different industries need different messages.
Workflow depth is the next filter. A simple autoresponder sends one email. A stronger B2B workflow can wait, branch, score, update CRM fields, route a lead, and stop marketing messages when sales takes over.
Finally, check the reporting. If the dashboard stops at opens and clicks, the tool may be underpowered for B2B. You need to see MQLs, SQLs, meetings booked, opportunities created, and pipeline influenced.
When do you need AI-powered marketing automation?
AI-powered marketing automation becomes useful when manual segmentation and writing cannot keep up with the database.
You may need it when:
- the CRM has a large pool of existing leads;
- sales does not have time to follow up one by one;
- different industries need different pain-point messaging;
- generic email campaigns have low reply quality;
- the team has many MQLs but few SQLs;
- follow-up needs to adapt by tag, role, industry, behavior, and intent.
The weak version of AI is a subject-line generator. The stronger version helps decide which segment should receive which angle, what proof point to use, and when engagement is strong enough for sales.
Recommended workflow for reactivating existing leads
Many B2B teams do not have a lead shortage. They have a conversion problem hiding inside the database.
Old event leads. Webinar attendees. White paper downloads. MQLs that never became SQLs. Contacts from campaigns that looked good in the dashboard but went nowhere in the pipeline.
That is where BesChannels AI EDM fits this category. It is designed for B2B teams that want to reactivate existing leads with AI-personalized emails. Instead of sending one campaign to everyone, the workflow matches different segments with different business pain points and content angles.
Start by auditing existing CRM leads. Pull old MQLs, event contacts, webinar attendees, content download leads, and contacts with no recent sales activity.
Then segment by business context. Industry, role, company size, product interest, campaign source, engagement history, and likely pain point all matter.
Next, generate personalized email angles with AI. A manufacturing lead may care about operational efficiency. A cybersecurity lead may care about risk. A life sciences lead may care about compliance or research productivity.
Launch a short multi-step nurture journey. Start with useful content or a relevant case study, follow with a pain-specific message, then offer a low-pressure meeting CTA.
Score engagement and hand off high-intent leads. If a contact opens repeatedly, clicks a case study, or downloads an asset, sales should receive the context.
Measure MQL-to-SQL lift, meetings booked, opportunities created, and pipeline influenced. The goal is not more email activity. The goal is more qualified conversations from the database you already paid to build.
Public BesChannels customer stories show the kind of lift teams look for from this work:
- Lenovo reported lead conversion up to 21x, open rate up 2.5x, and click rate up 3.4x.
- A global life sciences company reported event conversion up to 2.67x while send volume was nearly cut in half.
- An industrial measurement company reported open rate up 1.7x, click rate up 8.6x, and asset downloads up 6.3x.
- A cybersecurity company saw click rate move from 0.71% to 2.23%, with asset downloads up 8x.
- An academic publisher reported open rate up 30%, click rate up 90%, and download rate up 100%.
- An HR services company reported click rate up 255% and conversion up to 3x.
Marketing automation ROI metrics
Email metrics still matter. They are early signals, but they are not the business case.
Track:
- open rate;
- click rate;
- click-to-open rate;
- asset downloads;
- MQLs;
- SQLs;
- meetings booked;
- opportunities created;
- pipeline revenue.
A campaign with a high open rate can still produce no pipeline. A smaller campaign with better segmentation can produce fewer clicks and more conversations. That is why B2B teams should measure movement through the funnel, not email activity alone.
Final recommendation
Choose the tool around the job.
If you need a connected CRM and marketing system, HubSpot is a sensible starting point. If you run enterprise B2B nurture, compare Marketo and Salesforce Account Engagement. If you need practical email journeys, ActiveCampaign and Customer.io deserve a look. If your team manages cross-channel lifecycle campaigns, study Braze, Iterable, Blueshift, and MoEngage.
If your main opportunity is buried in existing CRM data, look harder at AI-powered lead reactivation. Generic email automation often runs out of usefulness there. The next message has to be relevant enough for an old lead to become a real sales conversation.
Related guides by topic
For a deeper look at the category, start with marketing automation software, marketing automation platform, marketing automation examples, and marketing automation strategy.
For B2B lead development, read B2B marketing automation, lead nurturing software, B2B lead nurturing, and MQL to SQL conversion.
For email workflows, read email marketing automation, email automation software, AI email marketing, AI email personalization, and personalized email marketing.
For CRM and journey design, read CRM marketing automation, customer engagement platform, customer journey orchestration, and lead journey orchestration.
For existing lead activation, read AI marketing automation, AI lead reactivation, re-engage inactive leads, marketing automation for existing leads, and AI SDR email follow-up.
FAQ
What are marketing automation tools?
Marketing automation tools are software platforms that automate email campaigns, audience segmentation, lead nurturing, lead scoring, CRM follow-up, and customer journey workflows.
What is the best marketing automation tool for B2B lead nurturing?
HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce Account Engagement, ActiveCampaign, and Customer.io are common choices. For reactivating existing B2B leads with AI-personalized emails, BesChannels AI EDM is a more focused option.
What is the difference between email marketing automation and marketing automation?
Email marketing automation focuses on email campaigns. Marketing automation is broader. It can include CRM data, segmentation, scoring, journey logic, sales handoff, and pipeline reporting.
Which marketing automation tools support AI personalization?
Customer.io, Blueshift, Iterable, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, and specialized AI EDM tools can support AI-assisted personalization. The quality depends less on the AI feature list and more on the data and workflow behind it.
Can marketing automation tools reactivate old leads?
Yes. They can re-engage inactive leads through segmentation, personalized nurture journeys, behavior triggers, and sales follow-up. AI can improve the process by matching messages to each segment's likely pain point.
How do marketing automation tools help convert MQLs to SQLs?
They nurture leads with relevant content, score engagement, identify high-intent behavior, and route sales-ready contacts to SDR or sales teams.
What features matter most for B2B marketing automation?
Segmentation, CRM integration, email workflows, AI personalization, lead scoring, sales handoff, journey orchestration, and pipeline reporting matter most.
Do small businesses need marketing automation tools?
Some do, but not all. If the team only sends newsletters, a simple email tool may be enough. If the team has a growing CRM database and sales follow-up gaps, marketing automation becomes more useful.
What is the best marketing automation tool for Salesforce users?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement is the most natural option for teams already using Salesforce heavily. HubSpot, Marketo, and other tools can also integrate with Salesforce, but fit depends on workflow complexity.
How should I measure marketing automation ROI?
Measure open rates and clicks, but do not stop there. Track MQLs, SQLs, meetings booked, opportunities created, pipeline value, and revenue influenced.