Likelihood to Recommend I would only recommend it if someone was a small business. I think they are the best suited for companies who will send out a coupon or offer here and there. The most recent updates made it more complicated to use for more complicated processes. It is easy to train someone on the program, and so quick to learn. But I would also only stick to the simpler things. I also think the colorful templates are great, and show great creativity. But again, it is hard to justify recommending the program when it isn't WYSIWYG.
Read full review For businesses requiring advanced email marketing features like sophisticated automation, in-depth analytics, and extensive customization, VerticalResponse might fall short due to its limited featuresVerticalResponse is ideal for small businesses or freelancers who need a simple, straightforward email marketing tool. Its ease of use and basic features make it suitable for those without extensive technical expertise in email marketing
Read full review Pros Contact management. iContact is really great for entering all your contact. You are able to put them onto different lists, and let them choose which lists they would like to be a part of as well. There are many data fields provided to fill in information. Emailing. We use the email feature at least once a month. They are always improving and adding new features, which is very helpful in presenting content in a new and exciting way to our readers. There are many options with remade templates and themes, or you can add your own. Insights. It is really helpful being able to have the data to see what is working and what isn't. It is nice to be able to go back and see how things went in the past compared to now. Opens, clicks, shares, etc. Read full review I love the ease of list builder because we often times have a lot of data to import. It would be simply impossible without this tool, considering the amount of customer data we have for any one given email. We really enjoy the ease of use of the HTML wizard as well. It helps even a novice be able to make a beautiful and attention grabbing email. The dashboard is functional and easy to find when you need with a quick search. Read full review Cons We also would like to send transactional messages which don't require an opt-out, this is a challenge with iContact. (May be a feature with pro?) The regular version of iContact doesn't support event management or logic flows for automated messaging. Custom form fields have limited field type options (can't build a drop-down). Read full review The type face is small. Not sure if this is to avoid overwhelming the reader, but I could see this being an issue with vision-impaired people or people who don't see small print well. Sometimes I find it takes multiple clicks to make one simple change. I wish there was a search field at the top of the screen that allowed me to jump directly to a client's entry to update it there. Read full review Likelihood to Renew iContact has been a quick and easy way to send any announcements and news directly to email and social media subscribers. Its tracking and reporting capabilities turn a simple email into a marketing campaign that can be used as a tool to efficiently gauge reader response and customer satisfaction, and ultimately to reach potential customers. The consistency and excellent customer service is what makes this program a pleasant experience.
Read full review Product is easy for both technical and non-technical people to use. A cost effective solution for sending out large number of messages. We can manage unsubscribes by individual accounts, so we can have multiple multiple accounts combined to maximize our buying power on credits. Effective API for sending/receiving data makes tool a valuable asset.
Read full review Usability I rate iContact as an easy to use program due to its user friendly dashboard and user interface. Most companies of small to medium size do not have a dedicated marketer, therefore it is someone multitasking who may or may not have this kind of experience. iContact makes it relatively simple and can actually expand one's knowledge in the area of business promotion.
Read full review I truly love this product. We are moving to an all-in-one system next year and my greatest fear in doing so is how much I will miss this platform. Although we are excited for things ahead, I will always keep Vertical Response in my back pocket incase I don't love the new platform as much
Read full review Reliability and Availability iContact is regularly up and running. Only once has it been unavailable for maintenance, which is to be expected and even desired for optimal performance when needed.
Read full review Never had an issue with uptime
Read full review Performance No issues
Read full review Support Rating They have always been responsive to any issues or concerns that have arisen with our account. Our customer account manager participates in our monthly county-wide communicators meetings via telephone to ensure that we are getting the most from the service. He also analyzes our lists to help us weed out inactive contacts.
Read full review At Vertical Response the help desk associates are courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. You can tell they enjoy what they do. And clearly, they are well trained because most times, the first point of contact is able to resolve any issue you may have. There have been very few times where an associate has needed to get back to me or escalate me to a supervisor
Read full review Online Training The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms
Read full review Basic functions and online help...we used what was needed, at the time, and will continue to explore other online trainings as our functional needs expand
Read full review Implementation Rating i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
Read full review Salesforce integration never worked right. We had to abandon.
Read full review Alternatives Considered I didn't have a say in the decision because I wasn't with the company at the time. I listed
HubSpot here because I know we used it in conjunction with iContact for email automation, but
HubSpot Email was only recently built-out to the point where it is today. Now, iContact and
HubSpot are no longer integrated.
Read full review In addition to using Vertical Response personally I also manage email marketing for clients that already use
Mailchimp ,
Robly and
Constant Contact . While most of these platforms all offer similar features I choose Vertical Response first if the client does not have a platform in place. Typically I am also teaching the client how to use this tool and the Vertical Response visual interface is very easy for me to teach a client how to navigate and create their own campaigns.
Read full review Scalability iContact stays the same with the number of users added or taken away. It certainly remains reliable despite increased usage, and so, can be considered scaleable in that aspect.
Read full review Return on Investment We have a template for webinars that we send every month. We just edit it and send. This couldn't be easier (once you know where to find it). We like the breakdown of statistics in the dashboard. They're easy to read. iContact isn't a comprehensive solution, so it is only one of a few products we use for marketing. Read full review We were able to blast out promotions our company was having to customers which created an increase in business. By blasting out any service issues, it keeps our customers informed so that they are not wondering what is going on. Allows us to store unsubscribed emails so that we are not constantly pestering people who do not want to be emailed. Read full review ScreenShots