By: Puranjay Singh Last updated: 20 Sep 2017
Eloqua is an enterprise-grade marketing automation software from Oracle. It is expensive but feature rich. Larger businesses with large amounts of data and extensive customization requirements will it perfect for their needs. However, smaller businesses will find it either too expensive or too difficult to use. These businesses can choose from the following alternatives to Eloqua.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud, like Eloqua, is from a Fortune 500 company (Salesforce and Oracle respectively). Consequently, the two softwares have similar audiences, features and price points (though Salesforce is substantially cheaper initially).
If you want the ability to handle large amounts of data, comprehensive automation and in-depth segmentation, you will find Salesforce to be a worthy alternative to Eloqua. The pricing is a bit confusing and feature availability is limited across different "studios", but in terms of support and capabilities, it is the nearest competitor to Eloqua.
A plus point in Salesforce's favor is its close integration with Salesforce CRM...Full Salesforce Review
HubSpot doesn't have nearly as many features as Eloqua. Nor does it target the same market as Eloqua. However, if you are a small-medium sized business and are looking for something that is powerful, yet easy to use, you will find HubSpot to be a worthy Eloqua alternative.
Here's why: HubSpot's software is extremely well-integrated. While Eloqua works mostly in silos, HubSpot gives you a single dashboard view of your entire marketing operation.
For smaller businesses without substantial resources, this is a big plus.
Of course, the lower pricing ($200/month vs. $2,000/month) is a positive as well...Full HubSpot Review
In terms of automation capabilities, Market is a close Eloqua competitor. You get extensive customization and powerful automation all rolled into a (relatively) easy to use automation suite.
What Marketo lacks is Eloqua's segmentation capabilities, especially when dealing with a large number of contacts. If you have a large contact list or tons of data, this might be a negative
However, Marketo is cheaper than Eloqua and significantly easier to deploy. You won't need a dedicated person or extensive training just to deploy Marketo. This makes it suitable for established small businesses who want powerful automation at a more affordable price point...Full Marketo Review
Eloqua's features are geared towards established medium to large-sized businesses. The pricing is such that if you aren't already profitable and looking to scale, it will likely be a net negative for you.
If you're seriously considering Eloqua, you likely already have resources and the requirement for powerful automation. You probably have a large list of contacts and lots of existing data.
If this doesn't describe you, however, you'll find Eloqua's offerings to be either too expensive or too difficult to use.
Such smaller businesses should look for software that is:
Based on this criteria, I recommend the following Eloqua alternatives:
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