Comparing digital marketing platforms : Helping companies decide between going with an enterprise marketing software or settling with a minor one

Abstract: The desire for digital marketing has rapidly grown. The consequence of this has been an increased supply of digital marketing software providing the desired tools. This leads to a need for different types of software, where both enterprise platforms and minor one’s have risen. Both types come with opportunities and disadvantages, which need to be taken into account when deciding digital marketing software. The purpose of this study is to assist companies in choosing the correct digital marketing software that meet their needs. The research focus on clarifying what differs an enterprise software from a minor one. The research is based on company needs, where time consumption, cost, integration complexity and software functionality have been analyzed. A case study has been performed at the company Improove AB. The case study contained a literature study, interviews and an experiment. With these methods a lot of data could be collected, which consequently led to a thorough analyzation. In the end, it was found that a minor marketing software is severely less time consuming. An enterprise software is more expensive, and it is in addition more complex to integrate than a minor marketing software. The enterprise marketing software triumphs when it comes to provided functionality, both regarding supply and possible configurations. With this knowledge it was determined that it is almost always preferred to integrate a minor marketing software, instead of an enterprise software. The reason for this is mainly that the integration complexity increases the time consumption, which increases the cost. Another reason is that it is crucial that the company using the digital marketing software takes advantage of all provided functionality, which they rarely do. From the research it is possible to make educated decisions when deciding between digital marketing platforms. Whether an enterprise software is preferred or if a company should instead settle with a minor software is further explain in the thesis report.