Adobe Journey Optimizer vs. iContact

AJO is best suited for advanced Martech teams who are already bought into the Adobe ecosystem through the use of RTCDP, AA, AAM, etc. Organizations that are starting their Martech journey are good candidates, as well as those who are reevaluating all of their marketing channel vendors near the same time. Success in AJO is highly dependent on the number of marketing channels added. Close coordination with database teams is essential for success. Many of the offline data requirements benefit from modeling of the data. Having dedicated resources developing AJO (RTCDP)-specific views will reduce the amount of QA required to bring the solutions to market

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• pre built use case playbooks provide a basis for various trips
• provides customized messaging
• custom actions let different systems and databases be easily integrated

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• It doesn´t keep the last search you sis in the journeys and you have to enter the search parameter every time
• there is a window of time during the day that the audiences give out errors and you can´t see the estimates
• I should be able to select STO in campaigns, not only in journeys
• I should be able to select the email parameters when using campaigns

Incentivized

• 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).

Incentivized

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.

At times, Adobe Journey Optimizer offers too many options, making things less user-friendly than I would personally prefer. As mentioned earlier, there is a tendency to encounter decision paralysis with the increase in available options. While having options is excellent, in typical Adobe fashion, too many can be overwhelming for users

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

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.

Incentivized

The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms

i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money

They both have their pros and cons, I feel it depends on the users that the products are targetting, SFMC is has more specialized customizations, Adobe does offer similar but require a higher technical knowledge which is not something that is provided bt the other product

Incentivized

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.

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.

• Multichannel onboarding journey improving the engagement of freshmen in the business, resulting in a decrease in the dropout rate.
• Separate business of anticipation of receivables from suppliers that used to be manual and now I have connected this entire operation via the S3 connector, less manual work and significant gains in conversions and payments

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized