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People ask me all the time what tools I’d actually use to run B2B marketing without lighting money on fire. So here’s the list.
Fair warning: no tool will fix a fuzzy message. If you don’t know who your customer is and what problem you solve for them, a shiny new CRM just helps you be confusing faster. Get that sorted first. Then come back here.
CRM and marketing automation
This is where your leads live (or go to die). Pick one that your sales team will actually open.
- HubSpot: The one-stop shop. CRM, email, landing pages and reporting in one place, so marketing and sales finally look at the same numbers. The free CRM is a great place to start, and it grows with you (so does the bill).
- ActiveCampaign: Serious email automation without the enterprise price tag. Great for nurture sequences that send the right email when someone actually does something.
SEO and AI search
Your buyers are Googling and asking ChatGPT before they ever talk to you. Find out what they’re asking.
- Semrush: Shows you what people search for, what your competitors rank for, and where you’re invisible. Now it also tracks how you show up in AI answers. One of the few tools that pays for itself fast.
Design
- Canva: For the 90% of marketing graphics that don’t need an agency. Social posts, one-pagers, sales decks. Set up your brand kit once and stop the “can you make the logo bigger” emails forever.
Email and newsletters
Social platforms can take your audience away any day. Your email list is the one thing you own.
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit): Built for people who write. Easy signup forms, simple automations, and clean emails that look like they came from a human.
- Beehiiv: If you want to run a proper newsletter, with growth tools, referrals and a way to earn from it, this is the one.
Freelance help
You don’t need a full-time hire for every job. Write a clear brief and these get you good help fast.
- Fiverr: Best for small, clearly defined jobs: a logo tweak (it’s fine, nobody cares), a quick video edit, a landing page design.
- Upwork: Better for ongoing help, like a writer, a paid ads specialist or a marketing ops whiz you keep for months.
Books every B2B marketer should read
Cheaper than any tool on this page, and more useful than most.
- Obviously Awesome by April Dunford: The best book on positioning, full stop. If people don’t “get” what you sell, start here.
- Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller: Your customer is the hero, not you. A simple framework for fixing your website copy this week.
- They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan: Answer the questions your buyers are actually asking, including price. It saved a pool company and it works in B2B.
- How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp: The data on what actually grows a brand. Spoiler: it isn’t a new logo.
- The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson: Why the best salespeople teach buyers something new. Read it, then hand it to your sales team.
Got a tool you swear by that isn’t on here? Tell me. If it’s good, it goes on the list.
