Marketing Automation Software Resources

I like Adobe Marketo Engage for its workflow capability, high level of customization, and the breadth of partner applications. It has helped somewhat with automating and scaling cross-channel campaigns, with a small lift in lead readiness and campaign relevance. But setup has been a pain point, and I’m also not satisfied with data import/export tools, user/role/access management, and overall performance and reliability. What have you done to make these areas smoother in your day-to-day use?

Most "best marketing software" lists lump B2B demand generation in with general email marketing, so what user reviews actually say about the top marketing software platforms for B2B demand generation programs specifically is something I haven't found a clean answer to yet. Filtering the Marketing category for people running real demand gen programs rather than general campaigns, a few platforms keep surfacing:

• HubSpot Marketing Hub: ties lead source data through the full funnel, closing the loop between which campaign generated a deal and what eventually closed.
• ActiveCampaign: builds automation logic around deal stage and engagement level, so leads move through different paths instead of one generic nurture sequence.
• Mailchimp: handles straightforward campaign execution and reporting well for programs built more on volume and cadence than complex lead scoring.
• Hootsuite: keeps the social side of a demand gen program consistent alongside email and paid for teams running across more than one channel.

None of these are purpose-built exclusively for demand gen the way a dedicated ABM platform is, and I haven't seen enough in the reviews to know how far that gap actually matters in practice. Has anyone run a full B2B demand gen motion on one of these without needing a separate intent-data or ABM tool bolted on? Separately, if you've used two of these side by side, which one actually held up once the program scaled past a single campaign?

I've been researching which marketing automation platform should you migrate to when per-contact pricing outpaces your list growth for a team whose bill kept climbing faster than their actual campaign output. Per-contact pricing punishes list growth directly, so the fix usually means either a flatter pricing model or a platform that prunes inactive contacts more aggressively. Looking at the Marketing Automation category on G2 with that lens.

1. ActiveCampaign. Automation depth at a lower price point than the platforms built for enterprise, which matters once list size becomes the main cost driver. Best for teams needing automation without enterprise pricing.
2. Intuit Mailchimp All-in-One Marketing Platform. Tiered plans built around contact count, so the migration conversation is at least transparent even if the ceiling is still there. Best for teams wanting predictable tier-based pricing.
3. Customer.io. Pricing tied more to sending volume and events than raw contact count, which helps teams with large but mostly inactive lists. Best for teams with large dormant contact lists.
4. Omnisend. Ecommerce-focused pricing structured around order volume rather than list size alone. Best for ecommerce teams with big lists and modest send volume.
5. GetResponse. Mid-market pricing with automation features that don't require jumping straight to an enterprise tier. Best for growing teams not ready for enterprise pricing.

Before migrating anywhere, it's worth actually cleaning the list first. A lot of the "per-contact pricing problem" turns out to be thousands of contacts who haven't opened anything in two years, and no new platform fixes that for you.

Has anyone actually gone through a full migration to fix a pricing problem, and did the new platform's pricing model hold up once your list grew again, or did you just push the same problem out a year?