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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Act-On

    Score8.1 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Act-On is an adaptive marketing platform designed to drive personal and purposeful multi-channel marketing. Its foci are inbound and outbound marketing, for enabling a tighter alignment with sales and turning data into actionable insights.

    $900

    per month

    VerticalResponse

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AVerticalResponse is an email campaign management software and services platform from Deluxe. In addition to providing email marketing tools, VerticalResponse offers fully managed email marketing services from campaign launch and management to reporting and analysis.

    $9

    per month

    Pricing
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Editions & Modules
    Professional
    $900
    per month
    Enterprise
    $2,000+
    per month
    Basic
    $11.00
    per month
    Pro
    $16.00
    per month
    Pro Plus
    $196.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsThe Professional package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 3 marketing users, 50 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. The Enterprise allows for much more customization, the package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 6 marketing users, 100 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. Annual contract required for all packages.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Considered Both Products
    Act-On
    Chose Act-On
    Not even close. Glad we made the switch.
    VerticalResponse
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    8.3
    124 Ratings
    7% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    9.9
    8 Ratings
    20% above category average
    WYSIWYG email editor7.6123 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    Dynamic content8.2102 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content8.1102 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Landing pages8.2118 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    A/B testing8.1106 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Mobile optimization8.3113 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting8.3123 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    List management8.7122 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences8.698 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Lead Management
    Comparison of Lead Management features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    8.2
    124 Ratings
    5% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Lead nurturing automation8.5113 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead scoring and grading8.4113 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data quality management8.2112 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated sales alerts and tasks7.8104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Campaign Management
    Comparison of Campaign Management features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    7.5
    84 Ratings
    1% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Calendaring6.88 Ratings00 Ratings
    Event/webinar marketing8.283 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social Media Marketing
    Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    7.3
    75 Ratings
    2% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Social sharing and campaigns7.373 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social profile integration7.367 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    7.5
    124 Ratings
    2% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    10.0
    9 Ratings
    26% above category average
    Dashboards7.6118 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Standard reports7.6122 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Custom reports7.493 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    7.7
    117 Ratings
    2% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    API8.277 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based workflow & approvals8.578 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizability7.698 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Salesforce.com8.569 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.038 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with SugarCRM6.930 Ratings00 Ratings
    Third-party software integrations7.58 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Act-On Software and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Act-On Software
    -
    Ratings
    VerticalResponse
    10.0
    1 Ratings
    20% above category average
    URL Validation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Link Tracking00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Image Validation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Inbox Display00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Spam Testing00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Email Previews00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Small Businesses
    Vbout
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Mad Mimi
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Bloomreach
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Campaign Monitor by Marigold
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Iterable
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Emma by Marigold
    Score8.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (229 ratings)
    10.0
    (28 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.9
    (112 ratings)
    8.6
    (19 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (44 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (14 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    8.2
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.3
    (39 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.7
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.3
    (16 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.6
    (22 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.4
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Act-OnVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Act-On
    We often have quick turnaround time requests, and Act-On's new composer is great because it is easy to make an email look great in desktop or mobile views. This has been a huge time-saver for us! We have benefited from using Act-On for many years and are accustomed to where everything is and how to use it. For the new accounts we train, we will sometimes hear that the organization of where things are could be improved.
    Incentivized
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    VerticalResponse
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Act-On
    • The templates are easy to use and set up campaigns.
    • It's simple to use, and the email editor features a drag-and-drop interface.
    • It's easy to set up a drip campaign or a series of scheduled emails.
    • It has the flexibility of having a variety of scheduling options and the use of user experience automation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Act-On
    • The designer tools, especially for emails, were often difficult to use. The formatting of the text would be all over the place and change / refuse to change at random. Moving boxes around was shifty and sometimes nearly impossible. It just wasn't customizeable enough. No "undo" functionality either.
    • The only way to collect information expansively over time (there's a term Act-On uses for it, I can't recall) where it adds questions to the form each time a user fills it out, is if the person were to fill out the same form multiple times. I know this does happen for some websites/resources, but as a company that wanted to collect new information each time someone filled out any form, regardless of the resource or the URL, that was simply not an option, and that doesn't really make a lot of sense. I know it's not really possible to track someone but if they filled out the first part of the form and then it added new questions to answer, and then they submitted and got through the gating, that would actually be helpful.
    • There was no "trash can" of sorts in case you deleted something by mistake. This could be so stress-inducing if it was a major project. My coworker did this once, contacted Act-On, they couldn't even recover it.
    Incentivized
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    VerticalResponse
    • 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
    Act-On
    It's my single biggest asset in my current role. With limited resources, its enabled Anachron to punch well above our weight marketing wise and although we're still at the beginning of our journey I know the system can scale with us
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    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
    Act-On
    It's a great tool for our business, and we get a fantastic ROI on it every year based on wins for customer service and automation responses. It's save projects, repaired salesperson/customer relationships and generated new sales and interest yearly. We really wouldn't hesitate to recommend this platform at all.
    Incentivized
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    VerticalResponse
    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
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Act-On
    I have always found them quick to respond to my query by web inquiry. In those instances when I call, I have always reached help quickly. They are conscientious and skilled in discussing my concern and finding a solution to my problem. Other tech organizations should use Act-On as a model for top-notch customer service.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    Never had an issue with uptime
    Read full review
    Performance
    Act-On
    Great for the most part. Sometimes there are little lags, but that's likely because I'm requesting to see a lot of data at one time.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No issues
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Act-On
    Since we start using Act-on for ourselves and our clients, we have been supported very well. Often we need to integrate with legacy systems and we find the support team on our side during the whole endeavor. Always asking if they can help us further, always willing to do a better job. The support of Act-On is one of the main differentiators
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    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
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Act-On
    Dan D. was great. He took the time to understand how I needed the program to run, and was very flexible to our special CRM setup.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Act-On
    Act-On had a lot of resources, and their staff was great at answering any questions I had to make sure we got started on the right foot. Looking back, I would have preferred some additional training sessions since we didn't have any previous experience with Marketing Automation and best practices.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    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
    Act-On
    What impressed me most is that Act-On showed full committment in making our implementation successful, even when it required additional support from their team. This gave me a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings. Most other software software vendors are not anywhere close to being this responsive and effective
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    Salesforce integration never worked right. We had to abandon.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Act-On
    Act-On is easier to use than Marketo, but not as visually appealing and user-friendly as HubSpot. It's much better than Pardot, as Pardot feel clunky every step of the way. SharpSpring is comparable because of its price point but surpasses Act-On in its tools and intuitive interface. We selected Act-On because of the pricing model and thought all things would be close to parity with other options. It depends on the team you have. If you have developers and a marketing team that knows some html/css, you can get by with Act-On.
    Incentivized
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    VerticalResponse
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Act-On
    Before I feel like I need more features, the Act-On customer service reps are contacting me telling about new features as part of my account.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Act-On
    • With the Automated Series, we were able to put in place campaigns that generated revenue that took no time to continue running once set up. This was a positive feature allowing employees to work on another project while the campaign ran on their own.
    Incentivized
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    VerticalResponse
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Act-On Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Automated Journey Builder. Here, users can personalize customer interactions from awareness to loyalty.Screenshot of the Analytics Dashboard. This is used to compare performance over time, filter by segment, and export report components.Screenshot of the Email Composer. Here is where users design emails optimized for desktop and mobile with a drag and drop builder.