Are you a small business owner looking for what are the best marketing tools for a small business? In this blog, we will provide details on top marketing tools for small businesses that can help you streamline your efforts and increase your business, whether you want to boost your social media ad campaigns, improve your email campaigns, or track your overall performance.
As a new small business owner, I always look for cost-effective ways to grow their brand. Every business owner wants to grow and increase their sales or services.
Statistics show that there will be 31.7 million small businesses in the United States in 2020. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that 82% of small businesses survive only one year, 50% make it to 5 years, and only 35% last 10 years or more. Only lack of knowledge and business planning, the top 10 marketing tools help you for going your business, whether you are a small business or a beginner.
What is Marketing Tools in Business
If I explain in one word, marketing tools that help marketers increase sales and revenue are called marketing tools. A good product or service isn’t enough in the competitive digital world.
You need the right tools to get the word out. Whether you’re a small businessman or growing your brand, marketing tools are crucial in helping you reach the right people at the right time with the right message.
In the beginning, new small businesses began to use low-cost marketing tools to increase their return on investment. In other words, practical marketing tools offer benefits such as understanding audience interests, creating original content, and managing social media.
Why is Marketing Important for small Businesses?
Small businesses often face significant challenges when marketing tools help achieve their target at lower costs. The marketing tools not only help you boost your marketing efforts and make your business life easier.
They allow you to develop more efficient processes so your efforts bear fruit across various online marketing channels. Most small business marketing tools provide analytics to help you gain insight into the most profitable activities to optimize your future investment.
Here are a few reasons Why it is essential for small businesses.
1. Reach your target audience
The market is very crowded these days. Many companies are trying to stand out from the rest, making it difficult for small businesses to stand out.
This is where marketing comes in. It allows you to reach your target audience with your message. You can do this online, offline, or a combination of both.
2. Stand out from the competition
The US has approximately 33.2 million small businesses, each wanting to differentiate itself from the competition.
Marketing helps you highlight your unique selling points. It enables you to communicate these points to your target audience.
3. Building brand awareness
Marketing helps small businesses build brand awareness among their target audience. This helps potential customers recognize your business more easily. Ultimately, you will gain increased sales and a stronger competitive position.
4. Building contacts and sales
The main goal of marketing is to generate leads and sales. Marketing allows you to attract new customers and convert them into paying customers, which in turn allows you to grow your business and increase profits.
You can use different marketing strategies, such as social media, email, or paid advertising.
5. Increasing customer loyalty
Another benefit of marketing is that it increases customer loyalty. Provide excellent customer service and offer loyalty programs.
If your customers trust and are loyal to you, they will come back to you. To maintain their loyalty, you can keep them informed about new products and services.
6. Grow your business
Overall, marketing helps your small business grow by attracting new customers and increasing sales.
You can achieve long-term success by increasing sales, building a stronger competitive position, and maintaining customer loyalty.
Top Marketing Tools for Small Businesses
1. Email Marketing Tools
Email marketing remains a cornerstone of digital outreach. These tools will help you build and nurture your audience.
A great platform to get started with email marketing, whether you need a simple digital marketing tool or an advanced solution.
- Price: Pricing plans vary. Depending on your usage, you have the choice of monthly billing or credits. A limited free plan is available if you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers.
- Pros:
- Easy to use.
- Great Email Templates.
- The freemium version is excellent.
- Cons:
- Limited marketing automation capabilities.
As the name suggests, Campaign Monitor is more than an email marketing automation tool. It’s a command centre for email marketing campaigns.
- Price:
- 9.9
- 149/mo. Advanced features and unlimited sending are available for the “unlimited” price of $29/mo.
- Pros:
- Advanced integration and campaign management capabilities.
- Cons:
- Design flexibility can be limited.
ConvertKit
Email marketing software designed for professional bloggers and content creators.
- Price: $29/month for 1000 subscribers.
- Pros:
- Includes a landing page editor.
- Cons:
- It’s expensive, especially if you’re starting. It can take a long time to reach 1,000 subscribers.
- Limited designs and templates.
2. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Tools
Managing your customer interactions effectively is key. CRM tools help you keep track of leads and build stronger relationships.
HubSpot has built its brand around inbound marketing (i.e., generating leads by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them), which is arguably the most effective digital marketing strategy for small businesses.
- Price: Varies. The starter plan is $45 per month.
- Pros:
- Outstanding integrations.
- Includes resources to help you learn how to use CRM.
- Cons:
- Add-ons add up. Full functionality is expensive.
Zoho CRM
Zoho provides vital features and integrations at a competitive price, making it PC Mag’s top pick for CRM software in 2021.
- Price:
- 12−12
- 45 per user per month. The most popular option is $35.
- Pros:
- A one-stop shop for many small businesses.
- Includes email marketing automation and communication tools.
- Cons:
- Options are limited at lower price levels.
Less Annoying CRM
It lives up to its name by focusing on the essential core features of small businesses.
- Price: From $10 per user/month.
- Pros:
- Easy to use.
- Good price.
- Cons:
- Reporting features are basic at best.
3. Project Management Tools
Keeping your marketing projects organized and your team aligned is crucial for efficiency.
Slack
A simple chat platform is all the project management software most small businesses need. Slack does this better than anyone.
- Price: $6.67 per user/month for small and medium businesses. $12.50 per user/month for larger enterprises looking for advanced tools.
- Pros:
- Simple and easy to use.
- Widespread adoption thanks to the Work from Home revolution.
- Cons:
- Constant notifications can be distracting, but turning them off completely defeats the purpose of instant messaging. You may have to experiment to find the best way to use Slack for your team.
Trello
A brainstorming and project management platform built on Kanban boards. It is a valuable tool for developing a digital marketing plan.
- Price: Free for small teams, $9.99 per user per month for “Business Class”.
- Pros:
- Includes remote brainstorming.
- It is a good choice for visual thinkers.
- Cons:
- Missing necessary integrations such as billing.
Asana
A well-designed platform to keep your team on track.
- Price: Free – $24.99 per user/month.
- Pros:
- The free version is sufficient for many small businesses.
- Cons:
- You don’t need most of Asana’s features.
4. Social Media Tools
Manage your social media presence, schedule posts, and analyze your performance with these tools.
CoSchedule
A simple social media platform with social media post scheduling as a core feature and WordPress integration. There are also many additional features available for SM professionals.
- Price: $29/user/month.
- Pros:
- It is ideal for bloggers who want to schedule content across social channels.
- Cons:
- Most small businesses don’t need extensive content calendars.
Hootsuite
One-and-done online social media marketing tool with a message scheduling tool, analytics and monitoring features.
- Price: 1 user for $49/month, three users for $129/month.
- Pros:
- Informs planning with insights and analytics.
- Cons:
- Hootsuite is good at a few things but not great at anyone. Although Hootsuite has a scheduling feature, you can still opt for Buffer’s simplicity.
- Expensive.
Buffer
Want to tweet 24/7 from your social media account without being on Twitter all the time? Buffer is a great social media marketing tool for this, making it possible through scheduled posts across all your social channels.
- Price: Free for one user, three channels, and ten daily messages. Paid plans are
- 15−15−
- 99 per month.
- Pros:
- Browser integration makes it easy to share content you find online.
- Cons:
- High cost for each user.
- Analytics is just standard.
5. Analytics Tools
Understand your audience, track your performance, and gain valuable insights to refine your marketing strategies.
BuzzSumo
As mentioned above, interpreting data is the secret to getting the most out of your data. BuzzSumo lets you search to quickly find content ideas, uncover data, and identify passionate social media influencers. This digital marketing tool adds insight to raw numbers to help you unlock content opportunities and generate ideas.
- Price: $99-499+/month
- Pros:
- Includes competitive insights (to help you spy on your competitors).
- It helps identify influential people in your space.
- Cons:
- Expensive for small businesses.
Kissmetrics
It helps you analyze your conversion funnel from when a visitor lands on your page to when they convert. Instead of using old-school link tracking software or a link tracker, this tool allows you to identify leads and nurture them—a powerful marketing tool in the right hands.
- Price: $299-499/month
- Pros:
- Designed to give you insights that will help you get the most out of all your marketing tools.
- It goes beyond regular click-tracking software and allows you to group your audience into segments based on their actions and where they are in the conversion funnel.
- Example: If you are running a Facebook ad campaign or PPC ads, you can create a funnel and see:
- Everyone who clicked on the ad ended up in the first bucket.
- Of those in the first bucket, everyone who visited your landing page went into the second bucket.
- From those in the second bucket, everyone who bought in the third bucket.
- Cons:
- It is not very useful if you are just starting out and don’t have many potential customers yet.
- If you already know who your customers are (for example, if you run a bakery in a small town), browsing data is meaningless to you.
- This is a tracking tool, so you need to install an additional tracking pixel on your site.
- Price.
Google Analytics
The best analytics tool is free. It’s a must-have in every marketer’s arsenal.
- Price: Free.
- Pros:
- It’s free.
- The best tool of its kind. Period.
- Cons:
- Your data is only as good as your ability to interpret it. In other words, it’s not a tool for analysts who don’t know how to analyze data.
6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools
Improve your website’s visibility in search engine results and drive organic traffic.
MarketMuse
A content optimization tool that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help you optimize and improve your content to outrank your competitors in Google.
- Price: From $79/month.
- Pros:
- Easy to use – you enter the article URL, and the keyword you want to rank for, and the tool will tell you:
- What topics are in your competitors’ articles?
- How do you rate the thematic depth of your keyword?
- What topics must you add to your article to beat your competitors?
- If you don’t have an article yet, the tool will simply ask you to enter a keyword and generate a summary with questions you should answer and topics to consider when writing new content.
- Cons:
- It takes time to get used to when you first start using it.
Keywords Everywhere
A keyword research tool that gives you search volume, competition, and other statistics for any keyword you search on Google and shares suggested keywords to consider.
- Price: Free. A one-time purchase of $10 is required to get started (for credits).
- Pros:
- Easy to use – this browser extension takes 10 seconds to install.
- It’s very easy to see suggested keywords, their competition, and search volume.
- Cons:
- Setting up a one-time credit purchase when you first set up your account takes some time.
SEMrush
SEO tool recommended for small and medium businesses.
- Price: $99.95/month.
- Pros:
- Ideal for small and medium businesses.
- Cons:
- UX quirks like list management take a little getting used to.
Moz
An SEO beast created by SEO experts, it’s hard to find a reason not to try MOZ. Whether it’s just checking the domain of any website to see how popular it is or backlink analysis, keyword analysis, or spam checking for a website, this tool should be yours.
- Price: $79/month.
- Pros:
- Like HubSpot, Moz has an epic library of educational resources. Check out their blog. It will make you a better marketer.
- Great price.
- Cons:
- There are too many features for small businesses (which can be overwhelming).
Ubersuggest
Another project by Neil Patel, Ubersuggest, was designed to help you reverse engineer SEO success.
- Price: $29-99/month.
- Pros:
- Newbie friendly.
- Suitable for auditing your current SEO.
- Cons:
- For advanced users, this may seem too simple.
7. Content Marketing Tools
Create, manage, and distribute compelling content that attracts and engages your target audience.
WordPress
WordPress is a blank canvas for creating any website you want. WordPress is the way to go if you want to write a blog optimized for search engines—fun fact: 40% of the websites on the Internet are built on WordPress.
- Price: Varies depending on domain availability and whether you are creating your site (hosting, themes, plugins).
- Pros:
- It’s better for SEO than other platforms like Squarespace.
- Cons:
- Not easy for beginners.
- Shopify is better for eCommerce stores.
- Note: WordPress.org and wordpress.com are two different things. To create your website with complete control, you will need wordpress.org (self-hosted).
Google Docs
A free and easy way to collaborate on written content (like the first draft that became the article you’re reading now).
- Price: Free.
- Pros:
- Google integration.
- Compatibility with other word processing programs and file formats.
- Cons:
- Standalone functionality is limited (best used within the Google ecosystem).
Canva
A drag-and-drop design studio for people who can’t afford professional graphic design.
- Price: Free – $9.95/month (Canva Pro).
- Pros:
- Easy for beginners with no design experience.
- Cons:
- Ready-made projects may seem universal (because many people use the same templates).
(FAQ) What are the Best Marketing Tools for a Small Business?
(1) Which marketing tools are essential for beginners?
Here are a few beginner-friendly tools:
- Mailchimp for email marketing
- Canva for design
- Buffer for social media scheduling
- Google Analytics for performance tracking
- WordPress for content creation and blogging
What is the most affordable marketing tool for small businesses?
Google Analytics (free), Canva (free plan), and Mailchimp (free up to 2,000 contacts) are popular, affordable, and free options for most small businesses.
Can one tool do everything?
Not really. Most tools specialize in one area (like email, SEO, social media, etc.). While some platforms like HubSpot offer all-in-one solutions, they can be expensive for small businesses.
What tools are best for local businesses?
- Google Business Profile for local SEO
- Facebook Ads for targeting a local audience
- WhatsApp Business for customer communication
- Canva for local flyers, posters, and social posts
Should I invest in paid tools right away?
Not necessarily. Start with free versions to learn and test what works. Once you see results and need advanced features, it’s worth investing in.
