How does Marketo price their software?

I like the fact that Marketo, Eloqua and Genoo make their prices public, but I also agree with Jill, that the price of the software or even the claimed "ease of use" is not the most important factor. RESULTS are all that matters.

Clearly defined targets, deep buyer personas, remarkable content, patient nurturing, and finely crafted lead scoring approaches lead to RESULTS. While all these companies provide fine software, it is the company that does the best job of crafting their B2B marketing programs who will win - regardless of software selection. Look for companies with strong in house teams or partners who work with you.

I'm not claiming software does not matter - it does. Just don't waste too many cycles on it, as it is not the most important factor.

Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor
Find New Customers
www.findnewcustomers.com
jeff.ogden@findnewcustomers.com
@fearlesscomp

Hi John,

I can't speak to Marketo's pricing sheet, but if you are interested in Eloqua, our pricing is transparent and public:

http://www.eloqua.com/products/

Yours,
Joe Chernov
Director of Content
Eloqua
@jchernov

Hi John.

As Jep pointed out, Marketo's LIST pricing is available on their website at http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/marketing-automation-pricing.php. Buyers should be aware of, and budget for, the optional add-ons provided by most marketing automation vendors that include email deliverability tools, Sales Enablement tools (priced on a per user basis), training/education options and set-up fees.

I am with Eloqua (and have been for eight years). Marketo is a competitor in many of my opportunities. I've seen them discount as high as 60% off of list price, and on average at 40% when they are competing with us for the business. Their price and perceived ease of use are appealing, especially to marketers who have never purchased marketing automation software (delivered as a service) and who are under pressure to keep spend low. I encourage more marketers to make a purchase decision on the vendor's ability to deliver RESULTS, which is really the only thing that matters in the end.

Jill Rowley
Eloqua EloQueen
jill.rowley@eloqua.com

If you're interested in comparing products, Genoo's pricing is also transparent, and the features compare well with other solutions. http://www.genoo.com/pricing

Hi John
Marketo posts our product pricing at the link below. We believe in removing as much friction from the buying cycle as possible, so when we released our product in 2008 we were the first and only vendor to post our entire price book on our website.
We also offer a free, 2 week trial of Marketo. Again trying to remove friction from the buying process, this has proven very successful in letting new users get up, live, and launching a production level campaign and being able to recognize RESULTS in less than 2 weeks.

The pricing is below, or you can contact me directly at bill@marketo.com to walk you through the details.
Regards,
Bill

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/marketing-automation-pricing.php

Marketing Automation began as an expensive email system for Enterprise companies. Prices of $50,000 a year were common.

But things have changed.

Email is no longer top of the hill, especially for prospecting as the amount of spam has grown so much that a lot fewer people are opening speculative emails anymore. Email programmes have become commodities, with simple ones free and business level ones for $100/month or less.

A modern Marketing Automation program should integrate email with web insight, webinars, telephone and - last but most certainly not least - social media. That way it gives you a total view of the Buzz you are creating and an insight into how all of your demand generation activities are performing.

As the technology has become easier, so the price has collapsed. Traditional marketing Automation - clever email - is so easy to do it is built in as a free add-on to higher level email programmes. It is an app for CRM. It is worthless.

What is rarer is a powerful second generation marketing automation program. This will give you a real insight into the people who are considering you long before they engage. It will help you segment them so you can serve them better. It will allow you to compare your social media programs against your email ones and see which gives you better ROI. Which to do more of. Where the white space is, where you have suspects but aren't converting them to prospects. It will show you exactly where web visits come from, where they go on your site and aggregate that into a view of buyer intent. I could go on, as there's a lot more.

But most Marketing Automation programs aren't like that. They are Generation 1 programs, with a few of the worthless bolt-ons added so they can tick the boxes like "Oh yes, we do social media". Still worthless.

My point is that that good second generation marketing automation is essential on every sales manager's desktop as well as every marketers. So what is it worth?

Ironically, although it can do a lot more, it does it for a lot less. It is rapidly moving in line with that other big sales changing technology - CRM. Don't pay more than $10k/year at B2B level - and beware of the ramping up methods many companies use to get more out of you than they told you when they sell you the product.

Jeff's comment about Marketing Automation platforms being transparent with their pricing is true. His follow up that ease of use tends to be a bit less transparent is true as well. That doesn't necessarily relate to the platform but more in relation to the marketing holes they expose.

Below is a link to a resource we make available for free that can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that come with MA. Hope it helps. I'm always available to speak further.

http://my.leadmd.com/NA9.7CommonmisstepsOfMarketingAutomation.html

Justin Gray, CEO
LeadMD | Fix your funnel.
Main: (480) 278-7205 | Fax: (888) 294-9854
Direct: (480) 278-7207 | Cell: (602) 321-8948
Email: jgray@LeadMD.com | http://LeadMD.com
 LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/leadmd

I was reading Marc Benioff's Behind the Cloud book this weekend and Play #42 resonated: Don't Dis Your First Product with a Discount. "Unable to rely on a discount to close a deal, our salespeople actually became even better...Our selling strategy - to be priced to the value of the market, keep costs low, and not favor anyone - not only was effective at closing deals but also became an essential part of our brand."

I also liked Play #45: Leverage the Times of Change. "We were burning through $1 million to $1.5 million every month, and we were severely cash flow negative. The potential for bankruptcy was at hand." Salesforce.com moved from billing monthly (inefficient for all parties) to annual billing, and multi-year payment upfront. "That decision had a significant ramification on our growth. By collecting up front...we went from cash flow negative to cash flow positive in less than a year."

Building a healthy, sustainable business requires excellence on many fronts. Behind the Cloud is a great read for anyone who wants to learn how to build a revolutionary company.

Jill Rowley
Eloqua EloQueen
jill.rowley@eloqua.com