SMB Marketing Automation Software Leader Intensifies Product Development and Training, While Adding 114 Clients the First Three Months of 2012
Pardot added 114 new clients in the first quarter of 2012, easily outpacing its competition and steadily extending its lead in the small business marketing automation software space. Also in Q1, Pardot ramped up its product development effort, focusing resources on client-requested features including new email, form and search engine optimization tools. Icing the cake, Pardot earned a top cloud software award in March.
The SMB marketing automation software category is heating up, but Pardot seems to be pulling away from the competition. Between October 2011 and March 2012, Pardot added over 250 clients and continued to defeat its competitors in the majority of head-to-head competitions. Marketers choosing Pardot over other cloud marketing automation software systems cited the product’s ease-of-use and the company’s emphasis on customer satisfaction as primary reasons for choosing Pardot.
“Simplicity and service are Pardot hallmarks, and we stayed true to this course again in Q1,” said Adam Blitzer, co-founder and COO at Pardot. “We made the product even easier to use, while also adding tools that improve a marketer’s ability to implement, monitor and refine programs. And, we launched an all-new training program, including 18 complimentary classes. By continuing to put our customers’ needs first, 2012 is off to a great start.”
Product Adds New Email, Form and SEO Tools
In the first quarter Pardot added 16 exciting new product features, including the release of a new form builder and the launch of an email editor. The new email editing tool makes customizing the look and feel of messages simpler than ever, with region-based editing and the option to choose from 36 pre-designed templates that can be tailored to a customer’s unique brand.
Pardot also released two innovative inbound marketing tools as a part of its new search engine optimization (SEO) module. New keyword monitoring and competitor tracking tools give marketers a dashboard to view how well their sites stack up against SEO goals. Used alongside Pardot’s other advanced reporting tools, busy marketers have a central facility for tracking and improving multi-channel marketing campaigns.
“The SEO tools provide insight into a company’s digital brand that wasn’t readily available until now,” said Zach Bailey, vice president of products at Pardot. “Combined with other Pardot tools, marketers can quickly turn new data into actionable, effective programs. It’s just one more way we are simplifying the many tasks that small business marketers juggle on a daily basis.”
New Training and Best Practices Resources
On top of its feature enhancements, Pardot introduced two new complementary services for clients in Q1. In mid-January, Pardot launched a training program called Pardot Now, adding 18 specialized, instructor-led sessions per month. Each 30-60 minute session focuses on a specific aspect of Pardot’s platform, providing a deep dive into use cases and giving clients specific tips or generating immediate positive results.
Pardot also launched a client community in the first quarter, creating a forum for users to discuss best practices, share ideas and interact with Pardot team members. The forums are integrated with the Pardot platform, and can be launched by users with a single mouse click.
Successful Pardot Clients Speak Out
“We realized tangible benefits within days of implementing Pardot,” says Suzanne Corbo, director of marketing at 360training.com. “Pardot has been invaluable in managing our lists and creating more than a dozen newsletters. We are now able to produce more, with fewer people.”
“As a growing software company with a long sales cycle, we knew we were letting leads slip through the cracks,” said Susan Baird, marketing manager for Linoma Software. “We were ready to implement a more systematic lead nurturing process. After reviewing four vendors in-depth, Pardot won our business because they offered all of the features we needed — plus dedicated customer support — and they were still the most cost-efficient vendor. We were assigned an amazingly patient, very knowledgeable, and always friendly implementation specialist, who helped make our experience a great one!”
“Pardot provides us the ability to mine vast amounts of data and quickly capitalize on information that exists in our database. It also gives us the opportunity to effectively respond to new prospects — not just sometimes, but all of the time,” said Robb Duke, director of marketing at USAN. “The implementation team was tremendous; they made the process really easy for us. They went above and beyond!”
About Pardot
Pardot is a B2B cloud marketing automation software provider that increases revenue and maximizes efficiency for companies with multi-touch sales cycles. Pardot’s platform features CRM integration, email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring and ROI reporting to help marketing and sales teams work together to generate and qualify sales leads, shorten sales cycles, and demonstrate marketing accountability. Pardot offers affordable pricing for the SMB market.