20 Marketing Tools for Small Businesses

Small business owners can’t do it all — and with the technology of modern marketing tools, it’s more likely than ever that they don’t have to. From SEO to email marketing, to analytics and social media management, the burst of AI into the marketing technology landscape changed the game.

Channing Muller, founder of DCM Communications in Chicago, advises that small businesses should at least be integrating a proper CRM, “ideally with an email marketing feature included.”

“Regardless of size or years in business, everyone needs to have email marketing software and actually be using it,” she says. “Email marketing may seem less sexy and flashy than social media or advertising, but it stands the test of time for a simple reason: It works! People may take time off from social media, but everyone checks their inbox.”

For service-based businesses, a CRM setup in the early stages of outreach will set the right foundation for truly being able to track your sales cycle, she adds. “The whole point of marketing is to bring in leads that convert to sales. So if you aren’t linking your marketing-sales efforts, then how can you do effective marketing? You can’t.”

The biggest mistake she sees is focusing too much on marketing or sales, not both: “Ensure they align for the benefit of each other and profitability,” she says.

Small business owners can use tools for collecting data, lead generation, AI-based ad creation, and other functions, but it can take a little time and research to determine which are the best tools for your specific business to integrate. I’ve listed 20 great options for different scenarios below — there are many more than that out there, but these are the more vetted and widely used tools that anyone can feel safe using.

20 Small Business Marketing Tools to Advertise Your SMB

Lead Generation

1. Hunter

The phone book of the 21st century, Hunter helps you find leads, making your lead generation process much simpler and more efficient. You can use your ideal target demographic to find and contact relevant leads, and it’s perfect for finding that email address for your next best customer that just doesn’t seem to be anywhere else online.

Pros: Cold emailing assistscaling personal email outreach.

Cons: Some point to it being too expensive as your lead generation increases over the months or years, so keep an eye out for outdated contacts.

Cost: Four packages, from free to $209.

2. SlickText

If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a generic marketing text, you know there must be a better way. SlickText offers mainstays like coupons and promo codes to increase customer interest and engagement, but also more fun and interactive options like contests and surveys, making it an effective tool to support your small business lead generation strategy. It also allows you to zero in on distinct audiences and can be integrated with other software you might use, including Constant Contact, Slack and Drip.

Pros: A variety of options to boost customer engagement in fun ways, while being intuitive and user-friendly.

Cons: Can become expensive for higher volume needs.

Cost: $29 to $939 per month, depending on use.

Social Media Marketing

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a comprehensive platform for managing several social media accounts at once. It supports scheduling, analytics, and real-time engagement across platforms, including platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

Pros: Offers a detailed dashboard for managing all of your social media platforms, plus analytics.

Cons: Can be expensive for small businesses; somewhat complex for beginners.

Cost: Free trial available. Plans start at $149/month for more robust features.

4. Buffer

Buffer allows users to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms from a single dashboard. It’s a helpful tool for planning and executing a social media strategy and measuring performance through analytics, giving you insights that hopefully lead to growth.

Pros: Enhances productivity with post scheduling and performance tracking.

Cons: Limited capabilities in the free plan.

Cost: Free for managing up to three social channels with 10 scheduled posts. Full features from $5/month per channel, and even more features on the team plan for $10/month.

E-commerce Marketing

5. Klaviyo

Klaviyo enhances e-commerce marketing through targeted email and SMS campaigns based on customer actions like cart abandonment. Segmentation and automated emails help you meet your e-commerce lead generation goals.

Pros: Known for high ROI and responsive customer support.

Cons: Higher cost as the scale of operations increases.

Cost: Free for up to 250 contacts. Paid plans begin at $30/month for larger lists.

6. Automizely

E-commerce marketing tools can provide a whole host of data that allows you to tweak your eComm strategy and convert more potential customers into loyal buyers. Automizely provides templates for campaigns, but without all the unnecessarily complex bells and whistles of some other tools. This makes it ideal for beginners as well.

Pros: Comprehensive customer support.

Cons: Higher-tier features require pricey plans.

Cost: Starts free for up to 300 contacts with 3,000 sends in total. Paid plans begin at $9/month for more extensive usage.

SEO

7. Semrush

Semrush is highly regarded as one of the most comprehensive SEO services out there. These services move far beyond keyword generation, including content optimization, competitor analysis, rank data tracking, content marketing strategy, link building, and more. Their features also expand beyond basic SEO into website monetization, paid ads management, and competitor PR monitoring.

Pros: Widely esteemed keyword search functions and research capabilities, plus high accuracy rates.

Cons: Limited features with free and lower end packages, no additional free users for your team.

Cost: $139.95 to $499.95 monthly depending on project size and trackable keywords, with additional users add ons available from $45 to$100, in addition to other add on options.

8. Clearscope

A mainstay for publications and SMBs looking to make the most of their content marketing, Clearscope helps marketing teams to identify the topics most worth writing about, and to create content that converts through SEO best practices. The program can be integrated into tools your content marketing team already uses, and helps them “score better” by adding keywords in the most high impact places.

Pros: Affordable “essentials” basic package, user friendly features.

Cons: Limited non-content related SEO tools, fewer packages available than some would prefer.

Cost: $189 to $399 per month and custom pricing available for larger projects.

Email Marketing

9. Shopify Email

Email marketing is often the most effective strategy for SMBs, and Shopify helps e-commerce businesses to do it while keeping everything automated and in one place. Create on-brand emails from premade templates to take the guesswork out of email creation and design, then use their automation system to schedule delivery to different segments of your target audience.

Pros: Seamless integration with Shopify’s platform; no additional software required.

Cons: This simple tool may not be best for large or complex businesses.

Cost: Included at no extra cost with any Shopify store subscription.

SMS Marketing

10. Mailchimp

A leading marketing automation platform, Mailchimp provides both email and SMS marketing services. Generative AI-created templates save small business owners the time it would normally take to design emails, and once they’re sent, Mailchimp analyzes engagement, such as buying behaviors. Don’t forget to adjust your strategy based on this data if you do give it a try.

Pros: Excellent integration capabilities, including a Shopify app that re-engages store visitors.

Cons: Pricing escalates with additional contacts and premium features.

Cost: Free for up to 500 contacts with 1,000 sends per month. More extensive features start at $13/month.

Content Marketing

11. Vimeo Create

Vimeo Create simplifies video production with a suite of tools that help you to create professional-looking videos at scale. It includes AI-powered editing, a full library of licensed music, and a variety of effects to bring your videos up to the desired standard.

Pros: Access to high-quality production tools; intuitive interface.

Cons: More advanced features require a paid subscription.

Cost: Basic use is free. More professional features are available from $12/month.

12. Promo

Promo allows for rapid customization and publication of videos to fit various marketing needs, including ads and social media content. You can also use it to quickly and easily create gifs and slideshows, resize and edit images, and add text to existing videos and gifs.

Pros: User-friendly. No technical skills needed to create engaging videos.

Cons: Downloading content requires a paid plan.

Cost: Creation is free. Downloads require a subscription starting at $29/month.

13. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is great for content research and insights. It aggregates the most successful content across the web for any given topic, helping marketers to identify trends and engage with influential content creators.

Pros: Great for identifying popular content and influencers and useful for strategy development.

Cons: Full capabilities require a subscription.

Cost: $199 to $999 per month.

Performance Marketing

14. AdRoll

AdRoll specializes in retargeting and multi-platform advertising campaigns, making it a versatile choice for enhancing online marketing strategies. It supports dynamic ads that adapt based on user interactions with your site.

Pros: Powerful targeting and retargeting capabilities, along with broad platform integration.

Cons: Requires ongoing investment for effective use. This could be more complex for beginners.

Cost: Varies — pay as you go, or contact the sales team.

15. realize:

realize: is a performance marketing tool helps identify leads considering purchase and convert them with a range of ads (display, vertical, carousel, etc.) for digital publications and other companies. It includes an AI drawing on 17+ years of data to target and optimize ads in real time, as well as a social importer tool that lets you easily repurpose existing assets.

Pros: A performance marketing tool that focuses exclusively on consideration and action.

Cons: Not optimal for low-intent audiences.

Cost: Offers depend on budget and package. Contact the Sales Team for more information.

Marketing Data Analytics

16. Google Analytics

Once you’ve established a web presence, look to Google Analytics to better understand how users are interacting with your content and sales offers. You can learn to predict what actions customers will take next, such as who will buy and when, and use that data for future strategy. Perhaps most importantly, Google Analytics easily integrates your current tools, which can be helpful if you already use Google Cloud, Google Ad Manager, and multiple others.

Pros: An extremely helpful and insightful tool at no cost.

Cons: May not be as robust as some of the other tools.

Cost: Free.

Automation Marketing

17. Omnisend

Omnisend utilizes both SMS and email to send automated messages, helping to convert customers with abandoned carts, and address other hiccups as they move (or don’t move) through the funnel. It offers seamless integration with over 130 programs, and can even convert data to their program if you are already using something like Klaviyo.

Pros: Uses both email and SMS for higher conversion rates, boasts solid customer service, and has clear plans and pricing.

Cons: Less customizable than some other options.

Cost: $11.20 to $41.30 per month when you pay for three months at a time, with additional customized payment options for other needs.

Project Management

18. Asana

No marketing campaign will succeed if you don’t have project management in place. Asana is a great option for SMBs looking to accurately guide their project to completion. You can set the project management system up into various calendars or lists based on project need, with an unlimited number of tasks offered.

Pros: Excellent for campaign project management.

Cons: A bit of a learning curve in the beginning, and no time-tracking features.

Cost: Cost is free for individuals and small businesses looking to manage tasks. For those who want to utilize goals and deadlines across various teams, prices begin at $10.99 per user, per month.

CRM Marketing

19. OnePageCRM

Every marketing team or SMB marketing professional needs a high-quality CRM to keep customer relations information in one spot, and move their team through the various steps of lead generation, contact, followup, conversion, and ongoing relationship management. OnePageCRM uses a “Kanban pipeline” style display, helping users visualize each step of a project, and other easy-to-use functions.

Pros: Affordable plans that all include unlimited contacts and deals.

Cons: Some users describe it as glitchy, and there’s no free plan.

Cost: $9.95 for professional package, $19.95 for business package, per month, billed annually.

20. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM does indeed aim to be just that. They have a very simple yet effective offer of $15 per month per user, which includes mobile access, unlimited contacts, pipelines, and other features. Their focus is on small business users without marketing backgrounds or experience, and their customer service team is prepared for that. This is a great starting place for small business owners dipping their toe into a marketing strategy, and beyond.

Pros: Simple and low priced package, with clear offers.

Cons: Focuses on approachability and easy to use features, but doesn’t have the depth and breadth to support larger businesses or highly complex issues.

Cost: $15 per user per month.

Small Business Marketing Tools Compared

How Do You Choose the Right Marketing Tools for Your Business?

Budget

A marketing tool shouldn’t dominate your whole budget. Instead, it should free up valuable time for you or your team. The tools range from free to rather expensive, so be sure to shop around for a tool that fits your budget. If you can afford a tool that does more of the work and saves you time, it might be worth the investment.

User-Friendliness

You shouldn’t have to struggle through a clunky interface or do lots of tutorials to figure out how to use the marketing tool you select. If you’re struggling to use the trial or free version of the tool, it might be a sign to check out other tools instead. Many of the higher-end tools will have AI assistance to make the process easier.

Efficiency

Marketing tools should save you time and stress, but don’t expect the time savings to happen immediately. The end goal is to save you time, but you may have to invest some time up front getting established and learning how to use the tool you select. Moreover, a good marketing tool should help you manage your budget efficiently given its capabilities to deliver better results by using less resources, whether it be on identifying your audiences, target users which high-intent, or enabling flexible options for your creatives.

Customization

This isn’t a time to rely on just a few standard templates. Make sure the marketing tool you select is customizable, so your emails or other outputs don’t appear generic. Marketing tools should elevate your content, not make it blend in with other content.

Coordination With Other Tools

When possible, utilize tools that communicate with other tools you already use. This promotes a seamless transition and less duplicate work as the new tool is introduced. Some tools work better than others at working across multiple different platforms, while others push you to integrate fully into all their offerings.

Key Takeaways

The same marketing tool won’t be best for everyone. Your business, budget, and familiarity with marketing all play a factor into how much assistance you need and how much time and money you should put into a tool. Consider these factors and weigh the pros and cons as you decide what’s best for your small business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What type of marketing is best for small businesses?

Marketing that helps small business owners reach their target audience exactly where they are is best. So, if your customers spend most of their time on email versus social media, prioritize tools that help with that. If your future clients hang out on LinkedIn, that will be more of your focus. But all marketing strategies should involve a cohesive, well-rounded approach that doesn’t focus too much on one tool alone.

Are there tools to help my SMB generate leads?

Small business owners can utilize marketing tools to help with lead generation, offloading a major burden from their to-do list. Tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator help with this, and small businesses should also ensure they have a lead magnet on their website and social media platforms to help with leads as well.

Are there AI tools for creating ads?

Tools including Realize, Superside, Canva, and others help with AI-enhanced libraries of images, graphics suggestions, and smarter capabilities for basic design functions.