10 marketing automation tools to maximize your global strategy

Modern marketing requires global brands to deliver the right message at the right time—and in the right language. As businesses expand into new markets, automation tools become essential to scale communications and stay competitive.

Marketing automation platforms can help businesses streamline repetitive tasks, create and manage personalized marketing campaigns, and analyze results. Yet, with so many automation tools available, finding the ideal solution can feel overwhelming.

This guide highlights the top marketing automation tools for global businesses. Whether you’re promoting a fast-growing startup or an established enterprise, powerful marketing automation software can transform your customer journey, boost lead generation, and scale your global outreach—especially when integrated with Smartling’s streamlined translation technology.

What is marketing automation software?

Marketing automation software streamlines marketing processes across multiple channels and eliminates time-consuming manual tasks.

Automation tools help organizations target customers at just the right time with tailored messages based on their behavior and preferences. Marketers can focus on strategy and creativity while offloading routine tasks like lead nurturing and publication scheduling. This supports better operational efficiency and faster revenue growth.

Marketing automation tools are primarily used for the following tasks:

• Email marketing: Automatically trigger email campaigns based on users’ online actions and lead scores. Generate personalized messaging that targets their behavior and segmentation. Marketers can easily test variations, trigger follow-ups, and track engagement.
• Lead management: Score, nurture, and qualify leads across various touchpoints. Marketing automation ensures no lead is lost or neglected in the sales funnel, guaranteeing a cohesive customer journey.
• Social media marketing: Automation tools allow marketers to schedule posts and optimize content across multiple platforms. They often include features to measure customer sentiment and maintain a consistent brand voice.
• Advertising: Lead customers through the sales funnel. Automated paid ad placements can match advertisements to the viewer’s stage in the customer journey.
• Translation integrations: Popular automation tools, like HubSpot and Braze, integrate with translation management systems like Smartling to help global brands connect with diverse audiences. This automated branding approach supports multilingual campaign management with consistent messaging in any language.

For global companies, marketing automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a necessity. Here’s why many adopt marketing automation software or contract MaaS (marketing automation as a service) providers:

• Automate repetitive tasks and save time: Marketing software frees marketing teams to focus on innovation, messaging, and customer experience, while automation handles workflows, content distribution, scheduling, and reporting.
• Increase lead generation: Marketers can convert leads into customers more efficiently by automating follow-up sequences. Automation tools guide prospects through the sales funnel faster with advanced segmentation, personalization, and lead nurturing campaigns. 
• Streamline operations: Integrations with CRM, CMS, e-commerce, and analytics platforms centralize promotion efforts and maximize marketing performance.
• Scale globally: Automating marketing allows brands to execute campaigns across international borders, time zones, and languages without sacrificing consistency or speed. AI translation tools further optimize localization strategies and connect with global customers.

10 best marketing automation tools to scale your global business

How do you select the best marketing automation solution? The answer depends on the business’ size, existing workflows, and marketing goals.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the best marketing automation tools across multiple categories:

All-in-one marketing automation software

HubSpot

HubSpot combines CRM, email marketing, social media, automation, and analytics in one platform. It stands out among marketing automation platforms for its balance of usability and depth.

• Pros: Feature-rich free tier; seamless integration with Smartling and Salesforce; strong support ecosystem.
• Cons: Premium plans get expensive as you scale. 
• Best for: Small businesses and mid-market companies.
• Pricing: Free tier available; HubSpot’s paid features start at $15 per month for individuals or $800/month for enterprise plans.

Adobe Marketo Engage

Marketo’s enterprise-grade solution for cross-channel engagement features rich lead-scoring and analytics capabilities. It also integrates with Smartling’s translation management system via API to manage multilingual assets throughout the customer journey.

• Pros: Deep analytics; segmentation; personalization at scale.
• Cons: Complex onboarding; expensive.
• Best for: Large enterprises with complex workflows.
• Pricing: Custom pricing.

Email marketing automation software

MessageGears (en inglés)

MessageGears combines cloud-native automated email marketing capabilities with secure on-premises data access. It integrates with Smartling for template and message localization.

• Pros: Ideal for tightly regulated industries; robust personalization; real-time segmentation.
• Cons: Not suited for small-business use.
• Best for: Enterprises with sensitive data.
• Pricing: Custom pricing.

Lead generation automation software

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Salesforce Pardot)

This tool is closely connected to Salesforce CRM and focuses on lead nurturing and B2B engagement. It aligns sales and marketing teams with a unified view of the customer journey.

• Pros: Excellent reporting; sales/marketing collaboration; granular lead scoring.
• Cons: Expensive; lacks standalone mobile apps.
• Best for: Enterprises with dedicated sales teams.
• Pricing: From $1,250/month.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign combines email marketing, CRM, and powerful automation features to deliver personalized customer experiences and generate qualified leads. It uses behavioral tracking and dynamic segmentation to nurture prospects across marketing channels.

• Pros: Intuitive automation builder; strong personalization capabilities; built-in CRM.
• Cons: Management can be complex at scale.
• Best for: SMBs looking for a unified marketing and sales automation solution.
• Pricing: 14-day free trial; paid plans from $15/month.

Social media marketing tools

Buffer

Buffer simplifies planning, scheduling, and analyzing social content. This solution offers tools to optimize post timing and track performance across campaigns.

• Pros: Cost-effective; intuitive UI; essential automation tools.
• Cons: Lacks advanced features of competitors like Hootsuite or Sprout Social.
• Best for: Startups and small businesses.
• Pricing: Free tier; paid plans from $5/month per channel

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a full-featured social media platform with robust collaboration and management tools. It supports team workflows, approval chains, and customer engagement across multiple networks.

• Pros: Rich analytics; subscriber insights; smart automation.
• Cons: Pricier than many other social media automation tools.
• Best for: Brands managing high-volume social media at scale.
• Pricing: 30-day free trial; paid plans from $99/month.

Sistema de gestión de contenido

Contentful

Contentful’s API-first headless CMS is built for omnichannel digital experiences with automated content delivery. It integrates with Smartling to localize and manage multilingual content.

• Pros: Efficient; scalable; ideal for enterprise-grade content operations.
• Cons: Requires technical setup and maintenance.
• Best for: Brands delivering personalized content across marketing channels.
• Pricing: Free tier; paid plans from $300/month.

Sales automation software

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce’s robust CRM and sales automation platform features deep customization and tight integration with other Salesforce tools.

• Pros: Highly customizable; advanced forecasting; strong API support.
• Cons: Steep learning curve; may require training.
• Best for: Mid-market to enterprise teams seeking an end-to-end sales automation solution.
• Pricing: 30-day free trial; paid plans from $25/month per user for small SMBs; enterprise plans start at $165/month per user.

SMB marketing automation 

Mailchimp

Mailchimp delivers a complete tool suite for inbound marketing campaigns. It simplifies lead management and integrates with many popular applications.

• Pros: Friendly UI; all-in-one; budget-friendly.
• Cons: Learning curve; may not scale with enterprise needs.
• Best for: Small businesses looking for a single email solution.
• Pricing: Limited free tier; paid plans from $13/month.

Preguntas frecuentes

Is marketing automation software expensive?

Marketing automation software is available at a wide range of price points. Free or low-cost marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp or HubSpot’s Starter tier) work well for many small business needs. They also provide a smart way to test marketing automation before scaling up. Enterprise solutions (e.g., Marketo or Salesforce) offer deeper functionality—and a higher price tag.

Compare options by assessing how well each marketing automation platform aligns with your team’s workflow and localization requirements.

How do you choose the best marketing automation platform for your business?

The best marketing automation software will support your current sales and marketing needs while accommodating future growth. Start by defining your goals—whether you’re scaling global outreach, increasing lead conversion, or unifying customer data across systems. Then, evaluate automation tools based on these four essential factors:

• Scalability: Will this tool continue to support global marketing campaigns as you grow?
• Integration: How well does it mesh with your existing CRM and marketing systems?
• Ease of use: Is the UI intuitive enough for your marketing team to adopt it quickly?
• Analytics: Can you measure what’s working across languages and regions?

What is the difference between sales and marketing automation?

Sales and marketing are each essential business functions. However, these processes differ in a few fundamental ways—as do their automation tools.

• Marketing automation software helps businesses attract, engage, and nurture prospective customers. These tools can automate campaigns, segment audiences, and deliver personalized content at scale to guide members of the target audience through the buyer journey.
• Sales automation streamlines tasks for sales teams, such as tracking prospects, scheduling follow-ups, and managing CRM updates. It helps salespeople close deals faster and more efficiently.

Integrating marketing and sales processes can improve conversions. Marketing teams should pass along information about prospects to the sales team. Meanwhile, sales team members should share their successes to show marketers proven customer persuasion tactics.

Expand your global marketing strategy with Smartling

Marketing automation platforms streamline marketers’ workflows and deliver impressive ROI. However, businesses need more than automated marketing to successfully sell across borders. They need translation solutions that combine seamlessly with their marketing stack.

Smartling integrates with marketing automation platforms to empower international brands to create high-quality, localized marketing campaigns. Smartling’s LanguageAI™ translation helps brands speak with one voice across the globe.

For more tips to localize sales and marketing content, download a copy of Smartling’s free e-book, “The Ultimate Guide to Translating Your Marketing Materials.” You’ll learn surefire ways to overcome language barriers and connect with global customers.