8 inbound marketing software for SaaS companies
1. Clearbit
Why Use Clearbit
Clearbit is a data enrichment tool that helps B2B inbound marketers gather insights about their website visitors. It provides detailed information about leads, including company details, industry, and employee size. This enriched data helps marketers create personalized and targeted campaigns.
They were also purchased in late 2023 by Hubspot, so they have some serious backing.
Why not use Clearbit
Clearbit's pricing can be a bit steep for smaller businesses or startups. Additionally, while it provides valuable data, some users might find it overwhelming or unnecessary, especially if they have a limited budget for data enrichment.
In saying that, you can actually use their lookup functionality for free if you have specific IP addresses - Posthog, mentioned below might help with this.
Alternatives
- ZoomInfo - Also quite expensive
- Albacross - Lower cost alternative
2. HowdyGo
Why Use HowdyGo
HowdyGo allows you to create self-guided click through demos of your SaaS product. This allows your prospects to experience the product before signing up.
We've seen that prospects are 1.7x more likely to sign up after viewing a demo and have much activation rates (they perform actions that lead them to remain using the product).
Alternatives
3. Drift
Why Use Drift (as a B2B Inbound Marketer)
Drift is a conversational marketing platform that facilitates real-time engagement with website visitors. It offers live chat, chatbots, and personalized messaging, making it easier to qualify leads and provide instant support.
Why You Might Not Want to Use Drift:
The pricing for Drift might be on the higher side for smaller businesses. Additionally, if not configured properly, the chatbots might not provide the desired user experience, and managing real-time conversations can be challenging for some teams.
Alternatives
- Intercom
- Zendesk Chat
4. HubSpot
Why Use HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing platform that covers content creation, social media management, email marketing, lead nurturing, and analytics. It's an integrated solution that streamlines marketing efforts and provides comprehensive insights.
You might also already have a sales team using HubSpot, which means you can integrate your marketing/sales stack.
Why You Might Not Want to Use HubSpot
HubSpot's pricing might be a drawback for smaller businesses, and the sheer number of features could be overwhelming for users who only need specific functionalities. Some users might find it more complex than other, more specialized tools.
Alternatives
- Marketo - Adobe product, very expensive
- Pardot - A Salesforce product, also very expensive
5. Mutiny
Why Use Mutiny
Mutiny is a personalization platform that helps B2B marketers deliver highly targeted and personalized content to website visitors. It allows marketers to tailor their website content dynamically based on the visitor's characteristics and behavior.
Why You Might Not Want to Use Mutiny
Mutiny may be more suitable for larger enterprises with a significant amount of website traffic. Smaller businesses might find the pricing prohibitive, and the level of personalization might be unnecessary for certain industries or audiences.
Alternatives
6. ServiceBell
Why Use ServiceBell
ServiceBell is a simple and effective way to add a chat widget to your website, enabling real-time communication with visitors. It helps B2B marketers engage with potential leads, answer inquiries, and provide instant support.
The video chat is novel and grabs your prospects' attention.
Why You Might Not Want to Use ServiceBell
If your organization requires more advanced features, analytics, or integrations, ServiceBell might be too basic. Larger businesses may find the tool lacking in scalability and customization options.
Additionally, depending on the type of product you have, the video style chat might not "click" with your prospects.
Alternatives
- Drift
7. Hotjar
Why Use Hotjar
Hotjar is a user behavior analytics tool that offers features like heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys. B2B marketers can use it to understand how users interact with their website, identify pain points, and optimize the user experience.
Why You Might Not Want to Use Hotjar
Hotjar might be overkill for smaller websites with limited traffic. Additionally, while it provides valuable insights, some users might find the learning curve steep or feel overwhelmed by the amount of data generated.
Alternatives
- Crazy Egg
- FullStory - Also quite expensive, but a good alternative. If you just want session recordings there's a free option - PostHog.
8. PostHog
Why Use PostHog
PostHog is an open-source product analytics platform that enables B2B marketers to track user behavior, analyze feature usage, and gain insights into the performance of their product.
You can even do session recording, which most of the big players will charge you a bucket load for.
Why You Might Not Want to Use PostHog
Being an open-source tool, PostHog may require more technical expertise to set up and maintain. Some users may prefer fully managed solutions with additional support.
Alternatives
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
Where to next?
If you're looking for some creative ideas for product marketing, you might want to check out this list of product marketing examples we pulled together.
Tom Bruining is the co-founder of HowdyGo. In the past he was Head of Growth & Marketing at a B2B SaaS and Head of Data & Business Intelligence at HelloFresh, UK.