One of the first major marketing decisions a company makes is how it will reach out to customers via email, a powerful owned marketing channel that is important to get correct.
Although there is nothing wrong with transitioning from a lighter provider to a more robust one as your business grows, switching to a new platform down the road can be time consuming and difficult. If that’s something that you are currently considering and need help with, feel free to contact us.
Let's take a look at some e-mail marketing platforms to fit your individual business's size, budget, and needs.
I’m at a small business or a startup, relying on e-commerce or lead generation, and we’re just starting to do email marketing.
Generally, the most popular choices here are MailChimp or Constant Contact.
We suggest MailChimp for its ease of use and simple integrations with other systems you may want to use (such as SalesForceIQ, Survey Monkey, Shopify, Squarespace, and more).
Additionally, while Constant Contact offers a free 60-day trial, after which rates start at $20 a month, MailChimp is free so long as you’re under 2,000 subscribers and have yet to send 12,000 emails in a given time frame. This allows you to build your initial list and e-mail strategy on your own timeframe before you start paying.
For a more in-depth breakdown of MailChimp vs. Constant Contact, head over to the Capterra Blog.
My mid-sized sales based business is growing and I rely heavily on lead generation.
A good choice is HubSpot. While pricing can be more expensive than simpler systems, the benefits are many: landing page creation, some of the most robust and easy to activate integrations with CRMs like SalesForce, powerful lead scoring tools, email nurturing, and best-in-class analytics.
If you are moving into HubSpot we highly suggest having a full-time performance marketing person on board or hiring a firm like Good & Gold to work with you, or both.
If you’re new to HubSpot or looking to add it or switch over, let us know.
My large business relies heavily on lead generation and nurturing and needs a customizable solution.
If this is you, Marketo may be a good choice. While the learning curve is much steeper than HubSpot or MailChimp, the ability to customize your workflows, nurture streams, and how you handle leads and integrations makes Marketo a great solution for larger, more complex businesses.
Be aware that having a Marketo administrator in-house or working very closely with an agency is a must for using the software given its complexity.
My company relies solely on e-commerce and I’m interested in customer segmentation and predictive marketing.
Bizzy is worth a look, due to its powerful suite of segmentation, coupon, and optimization tools, as well as its close integration with Shopify.
