Reviews: 8 Email Marketing Services for Midmarket to Large Businesses
In my last article about email marketing, I reviewed the top email marketing services for small businesses.
This week, as promised, we’ll give email marketing reviews on the top services for middle market to large businesses. Typically larger businesses need more advanced features to manage their email marketing, and these companies do a good job at providing those services.
These eight email providers are the most widely used and well known. While many offer similar features, we’ll point out the pros and cons of each service to help you choose which one is best for you and your business. The key is here is to find a provider that meets the needs of your team, resources available to you and what your organization specializes in (ecommerce, B2B, other).
Exact Target
Exact Target has been a leader in advanced email marketing for several years. For more information visit http://www.exacttarget.com/products/email-marketing
Features:
– Easy to use drag-and-drop content tools for creating emails
– 24/7/365 technical support
– Ability to target messages based on customer data
– Track and optimize with advanced, real-time reporting
– Built in A/B testing capabilities
Pros:
– Excellent deliverability
– Easy to use
– Powerful functionality
– Cost is equal or below other providers
– 24/7 Support
Cons:
– No direct pricing listed on website
– Need to speak to someone at Exact Target before you can sign up
– Creating emails can require some HTML/CSS to display correctly
Lyris HQ
Lyris HQ is cloud-based software that provides effective email marketing services. Learn more at http://lyris.com/us-en/products/lyris-hq.
Features:
– Build segments, create and send emails
– Reporting
– Social integration
– Mobile integration
Pros:
– Easy to use the segmentation features
– Easy to execute email marketing campaigns
– Reasonable price
– Campaign calendar makes it easy to stay organized
Cons:
– Does not list pricing on the site
– If you’re running hundreds of unique email campaigns per month, reports can become time consuming
– It can take a long time to run very large segments
– Overage fees can mount up quickly
Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft used to be the only “all-in-one” email marketing service provider for larger businesses and are still considered leaders in the industry. http://www.infusionsoft.com/
Features:
– Organize contacts, appointments, and tasks all in one place
– Automate marketing including lead capture and email follow up
– Reports
– Social Lead Gen
– Lead scoring and distribution
– Quotes and Orders
– Sales Automation and reports
– Opportunity management
Pros:
– Excellent deliverability
– Prices listed on the site
– Prices start at just $199 per month
– integration with third party services
– If-then rule system which allows you to send emails based on users behavior on your website
– Track website visitors to determine their interests and online behaviors
Cons:
– Can become expensive when customizing
– Not the easiest to use interface
– Requires a bit of a learning curve
SAILTHRU
Sailthru is a newer company than the others mentioned above. They provide email marketing services and were recently awarded by Inc 5000 as the #30 fastest growing company in 2013. http://www.sailthru.com/
Features:
– Triggered emails
– Personalized content
– Unique customer profiles
– Build dynamic, sophisticated user groups based on the extensive behavioral data available for each customer
– Advanced Analytics
– Revenue management
Pros:
– Support available via phone or email
– Good deliverability
– Offer case studies
– Powerful platform
Cons:
– No pricing on site, have to submit a request for a quote
– Takes a bit of time to learn how to use all the features
Vertical Response
Vertical Response has been around since 2001 and has helped many businesses execute successful email marketing campaigns. http://www.verticalresponse.com
Features:
– Build emails from templates or scratch
– List building and management
– Email delivery
– Analytics and reports
– Social integration
Pros:
– Clean and easy to use interface
– Clearly organized
– Report functionality very useful
– Video tutorials
– Chat support and quick at answering questions
– Pricing listed on site with a free option for lite users
Cons:
– There is no specific tab for reports, have to access from the main home page
– The Vertical Response “Wizard” for building emails is not the easiest to use
– Error messages telling you there is something wrong with your email don’t come until the very end
– Could use more written documentation for how things work
Silverpop
Silverpop is a digital marketing technology provider that offers email marketing and marketing automation solutions. The privately held company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has a presence in the United States, Europe and Australia. http://www.silverpop.com/
Features:
– Landing Pages, Microsites & Web Forms
– Drag-and-Drop Web Form Builder
– Progressive Web Forms
– Snooze (This gives you a chance to reduce opt-out rates by allowing subscribers to stop emails for a certain amount of time.)
– Custom Web Tracking
– Personalized URLs
– Share-to-Social
– Publish-to-Social
– Social Sign-In
– Forward to a Friend
– Automated A/B Testing
– Transact Mailing
– Dynamic Content
– Send-time Optimization
– SMS
Pros:
– Easy to use
– Cost efficient
– Advanced level of behavioral insight and automation
– Extensive free resources
– Good support
– Dedicated Account Manager
– Scalable
Cons:
– No pricing directly on the site
– Templates can be a little glitchy
– Syncing to Salesforce can be slow
Yesmail
Yesmail is a leading provider of enterprise email marketing software. For more info on the company visit the website at http://www.yesmail.com/
Features:
– Inbox Intelligence
– Personalization Ready Models
– Engagement Analyzer
– Data Management
– Cross Channel Integration
– Email Testing
– Reporting and Analytics
– Mobile and Social Execution
– Deliverability
– Email Optimization
Pros:
– Clean interface
– Tons of free resources like whitepapers, etc.
– Optional services like creative consulting and email copywriting
– Customer Support
Cons:
– No automated tracking tools
– Does not integrate well with web analytics or other systems
– Has some bugs and glitches
Bluehornet
BlueHornet is a leading email marketing service provider specializing in strategic email marketing programs, deliverability and advertising campaign solutions. http://www.bluehornet.com
Features:
– Client services
– Education
– Tech Support
– Email Deliverability Management
– Reporting and Insights
– Email Experts to help with creative, planning, and analysis
Pros:
– Easy to use
– Dynamic segmentation
– Outstanding support
Cons:
– No email templates