8 Best Workflow Management Software Tools for Marketing Teams

What did it look like? The day you realized your teams need workflow management software. Was there a collaboration issue or a feedback session that lasted forever? Maybe time management caused trouble again?

I bet it actually wasn’t a single day but multiple days and multiple issues stacking up. You’ve likely seen how it impacts productivity when access control means chasing down approvals from a specific person that might be offline. Or when project planning involves info spread out over multiple, endless emails. Automated workflows help with all this.

In this article, I’ll give you an overview of workflow management software – how it improves your business processes through automation, keeps your team focused, and comes with various feature bundles that match your needs.

What are the benefits of workflow management tools?

Workflow management systems keep your processes neat and streamlined. Your teams get quick access to what they need, and they can spend more time doing the stuff they excel at instead of endless admin. Here are the main perks of a workflow management solution:

• Centralized feedback and easy approval, all in one place. And for complex review structures, approval layers that are super-easy to manage.
• Improved business processes thanks to collaboration tools that include detailed, in-context feedback and shared workspaces.
• Efficient, accountable teams that don’t get bogged down by that meeting that could have been an email that should have actually been a simple task in one of the project management tools below.
• All your content on a single dashboard, including but not limited to social media posts. When you track progress on newsletters, blogs, and briefs in one fell swoop, your content strategy truly shines.
• Version control so smooth that doubts about edit history become a thing of the past. One look tells you if feedback was implemented well. If not, you revert to a previous version with a click.

The best 8 Workflow Management Software Tools

As your business grows, repetitive processes become more complex, and it takes more admin work to keep them organized. But consider how much more your team could be doing with repetitive tasks off their plate!

I know what it’s like to have basic tasks spread over endless discussions and sprawling email threads that become tasks in themselves. Good workflow management software reroutes your efforts towards what’s essential. Conversations stay efficient, proofing is a walk in the park.

Roles? Customizable. Documents? Easily managed and organized. Great workflow management tools have access control built-in, so you can grant access to specific people whenever you need to. Notifications are instant and easily adjusted, keeping all your team members in the loop with virtually no effort.

A workflow management tool improves collaboration and helps you avoid overstuffed inboxes. But above all else, it gives your teams more confidence and control.

1. Planable: best workflow management tool for collaboration and approval

Planable makes it easy to create custom workflows for your marketing content. Planning, proofing, and approval are all wrapped into a single, intuitive multitool. Less admin work, more ideas.

Teams collaborate better and have more efficient conversations as they automate workflows for all sorts of writing, with everything available in a visual content calendar that covers social media, newsletters, articles, briefs, ebooks, press releases, and beyond.

Key features:

• Workflow tools for collaboration and review that you can customize to include approval flows from none required to complex, multiple level. Thus you ensure that content flows from one stakeholder to another seamlessly.

• Customizable roles to ensure the right permissions for each person involved in the process. Team members can also exchange internal comments, to keep work-in-progress discussions away from the client’s eyes.

• Version control that helps you track progress and keeps document management clean. Accountability is easy to come by since you know exactly who edited a piece of content and when.

Getting approval from clients and stakeholders only takes a couple of clicks. You can invite them each to their separate ecosystem in a designated workspace, while also keeping endless edits in check with the lock after approval feature.

Apart from its capabilities as a workflow that support smooth team collaboration, Planable also gives you the best feedback features out there. So you content is always in tip-top shape when you’re done. Use real-time comments, clear text suggestions that can be accepted with one-click, and annotations to debate over longer blocks of text.

What’s more, teams that handle social media can use Planable to create and schedule content across all important platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google Business Profile.

Drawbacks: Planable doesn’t have any CMS integrations for website publishing, but you can manually mark a post as published, to keep things in order.

Pricing: Planable offers four pricing plans, with the free one supporting 50 posts and access to all the features. You can use it with no time limit. Paid tiers start at $11/user/month.

2. Asana: best workflow management tool for complex projects

Asana is great for keeping different teams on the same page and managing extensive projects with lots of moving parts. It’s got plenty of templates, shared calendars, simple progress tracking, and over 100 app integrations.

Users appreciate these key features:

• Automation with rules, forms, and bundles that can be applied in bulk over several projects
• Task management tools including sub-tasks, recurring tasks, and dependencies
• Visualization and reporting with real-time project insights

Drawbacks: Asana isn’t the best option when dealing with large files like videos and there’s no integration option for accounting or invoicing. It’s also difficult to migrate data outside the app and if you want to switch views, you’ll need a paid plan.

Pricing: Asana five plans and their small team plan is free. However, it comes with limits on file sizes and users, while tasks, projects, and messages are unlimited. The Starter plan (€10.99) adds different views, a workflow builder, and 250 automations, while the Advanced version (€24.99) increases the number of automations and includes proofing plus approvals.

3. monday.com: best intuitive task management software

Monday is a work management tool that helps growing businesses scale efficiently. Teams can build powerful customizable workflows with simple blocks that can be dragged and dropped. Assigning tasks is effortless, as is monitoring them.

Monday’s key features include:

• Approachable interfaces with customizable dashboards
• Workload views that are great for assigning work and avoiding burnout
• Reporting and analytics focused on people rather than tasks

Drawbacks: Limited reporting and security, especially on the free plan. Same goes for third-party integrations.

Pricing: Monday offers five plans. There’s a free one, but it only works for two users so you might want to upgrade if you need to add more team members or features like calendar views, automations, and shareable boards. Their next plans are $24 and $30/mo.

4. Trello: best software with unlimited integrations

Trello helps teams collaborate by organizing projects visually, into boards, and it’s used by businesses of all sizes. Its system of customizable boards, cards, and lists is great for project managers who are Kanban appreciators and great for integrating with third-party apps.

Trello’s best-liked features include:

• Workflow automation tools in a bundle called Butler
• Automation tips that implement suggestions with one click
• Templates that are industry-specific or department-specific

Drawbacks: Compared to other similar tools, Trello isn’t super-versatile and you might need a paid plan to cover needs that come with a more complicated business process.

Pricing: Trello has four plans, with the free one including most of its essential features. Storage is unlimited but files need to stay under 10MB. Paid plans start at $5 and they might be a good bet if you’re looking for more control over views and permissions. They also bring increased file size, data exporting, and organization-wide permissions.

5. Workfront: best enterprise workflow management software

Adobe’s Workfront is a workflow management tool fit for larger companies that need things lined up between different departments. It helps marketing pros and project managers create workflows that are simpler and more efficient. If you plan on using it on your phone, there’s no browser support so you’ll have to go with the app (good with iOS and Android devices).

Workfront helps managers deliver better, at scale, with these key features:

• Custom workflows, simplified and easily managed, company-wide
• Scenario planning that accounts for changes in teams, budgets, and timelines
• Custom reporting and dashboards that deliver the right info to the right stakeholder

Drawbacks: Task management seems to be the biggest issue, mainly because of the cluttered UI and fairly steep learning curve. There also isn’t much room for customization when it comes to reporting.

Pricing: Workfront has three plans, none of which are free. The upside is that all three come with most of the available features, from work management to approval and reporting. There’s more of a difference when it comes to add-ons and storage. The downside? Plan prices aren’t available upfront. You’ll have to add your details and request a quote to get exact numbers.

6. Zapier: best workflow management software with lots of integrations and almost no learning curve

With Zapier, you can automate repetitive tasks even if you use multi-step workflows. Inside the app, they’re called zaps and you customize them with a simple drag and drop. No coding.

A wide range of professionals work with Zapier: from marketers, IT managers, and customer service folks to recruiters, salespeople, and small business owners who want to scale quickly. There’s no mobile app yet, but there are various workarounds. The web and desktop apps work with most browsers and operating systems.

Here’s what users value the most:

• Integrations are Zapier’s bread and butter: this workflow tool supports over 6,000 apps and makes it easy to transfer data between them.
• Filters and conditions are available for when you want to create more complex workflows.
• Learning curve? Virtually non-existent. Users say Zapier is one of the top workflow management tools when it comes to intuitive usage, from the very beginning.

Drawbacks: Integrations can be tricky – new apps are being added constantly, but some of the bigger ones still cause issues. Users also say that tech support is unreliable.

Pricing: Zapier has five plans, including a free one that stays free forever. It includes a visual editor and custom test records for process automation, but no multi-step Zaps or shared workspaces. The middle plans range from $20/mo to $69/mo, with the Professional plan at $49/mo being the most geared towards collaborative workflow management.

7. Basecamp: best project management software with versatile communication tools

Basecamp helps teams of all sizes handle project management, collaboration, and communication in a single place. It’s especially useful for medium-size teams since there’s no extra cost for adding new members. But purely as workflow automation software, it’s got limited options without external integrations.

Some of Basecamp’s most talked-about features include:

• Wide-ranging communication tools like message boards, group chats, and automatic check-ins
• User-friendly interface, always helpful but all the more so when onboarding new team members
• Easy client management that lets you invite people to share feedback at no extra cost

Drawbacks: Project tracking is very limited, so if reporting, insights, and analytics are what you’re after, you might need a different tool. No time tracking, either. And if your team needs to create custom workflows, you’re likely to find the customization options pretty sparse.

Pricing: While Basecamp doesn’t have a plan that stays free beyond 30 days, the offer is split into just two plans, fit for a small business or a medium to large business. The basic plan is $15 per user per month, with 500 GB of storage and free invites for guests. The Pro Unlimited plan is a fixed-price tool: $349/mo billed monthly for unlimited users, priority support, more storage, and more permission control.

8. Airtable: best workflow software that combines project management with data management

If you and your team think in spreadsheets, Airtable could be your best bet. It helps teams manage sophisticated projects by combining project management, database features, and spreadsheet functionality into a single tool. Developers are often fans, not just because of data visualization features but because automation tools are in-built and versatile.

Key features that come with Airtable:

• Tons of customizable templates, including industry-specific versions
• Spreadsheet & database functionality, perfect for data-driven teams
• High customization capabilities, whether we’re talking about workflows, views, or integrations

Drawbacks: Load speed and media embedding generally aren’t stellar. Plus, if you’re considering workflow management from the mobile version, Airtable might not be the best choice. Features are limited on the mobile app and the UI can feel a little clunky.

Pricing: Airtable has a free plan that covers the basics, like 100 workflow automation runs per month, and revision/run history going back 2 weeks. Upgrading to the Team plan ($24/mo) gives you more control over views, customization, and extensions, while the Business plan ($54/mo) brings detailed admin controls and unlimited workspaces.

Workflow management software FAQs

What is the best workflow management tool?

Planable makes it super-easy to automate your custom collaboration and approval workflows. Teams stay on track thanks to email and app notifications, solid version control, and a powerful Universal Content feature bundle that brings all your content to a single calendar. Check out some reviews on Software Advice.

What is included in workflow management?

Workflow management means that you determine your workflows, get them in order, and keep tweaking for optimization. You also decide what can be automated and what can’t, or if there’s a mix at play. Most importantly, you shift workflows by priority. Errors and repetitions go down and team members stay connected to the big picture and to each other.

What are the main features of a workflow management system?

The best workflow management software for you personally is the one that prioritizes features in the same order that you do. These features help manage projects better:

• A process builder that lets you automate and customize workflows
• Simple collaboration and approval with automated reminders and clear roles
• Integrations with the apps you already use, but also sturdy built-in feature bundles
• Intuitive UI and multiple dashboard views, with the option to make custom ones
• Security for your teams and data that’s included with lower-priced tiers

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