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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Adobe Marketo Engage

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AAdobe Marketo Engage (acquired by Adobe in 2018) is a marketing automation platform whose basic features include email marketing, drip nurturing, landing pages, and lead scoring, but other editions offer additional advanced features. Typical customers are B2B firms with complex sales cycles.N/A

    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
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Editions & Modules
    Growth
    Pricing based on database size.
    per month
    Select
    Pricing based on database size.
    per month
    Prime
    Pricing based on database size.
    per month
    Ultimate
    Pricing based on database size.
    per month
    Basic
    $11.00
    per month
    Pro
    $16.00
    per month
    Pro Plus
    $196.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Considered Both Products
    Adobe
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    Marketo is more advanced than other inbound marketing tools and standard email marketing platforms. Marketo should be used to centralize activities to one location for accurate and consistent tracking mechanisms. If you plan on keeping other platforms, review how and if they …
    Incentivized
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    Eloqua, Pardot - We picked Marketo b/c of it's integration with SF, it's lead management tools, the features the system offered, and the price.
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    Eloqua, Hubspot, and Silverpop.

    At the time, Eloqua had just moved from Eloqua 9 to 10, which was a major re-write, and they were not yet up to feature parity with the previous version. We did not feel that it was wise to take a risk with a brand new version of the product. …
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    We evaluated 16 different companies. Marketo and Eloqua ended up at the top of our list. We chose Marketo because user-adoption was critical for us. We felt we could be up and running faster with Marketo, and would need very little training. I believe we made the right choice. …
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    The main decision was between Eloqua and Marketo . We did consider some other systems, but these were the main contenders. We called references and the general consensus was that Marketo more user friendly and capable of what we needed. Their references were generally happier …
    Chose Adobe Marketo Engage
    Marketo was already in places but I couldn't leave this section blank
    VerticalResponse
    Chose VerticalResponse
    Marketo covered more scope than we needed at the time.
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    283 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    239 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    291 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    189 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    174 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    7.6
    1074 Ratings
    2% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    9.9
    8 Ratings
    21% above category average
    WYSIWYG email editor7.8976 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    Dynamic content7.3955 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content7.0927 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Landing pages7.2995 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    A/B testing7.8979 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Mobile optimization6.9939 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting7.61037 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    List management8.51032 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences8.5931 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Lead Management
    Comparison of Lead Management features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    8.2
    1036 Ratings
    3% above category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Lead nurturing automation8.51009 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead scoring and grading8.4985 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data quality management7.5983 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated sales alerts and tasks7.8930 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead segmentation and distribution8.954 Ratings00 Ratings
    Campaign Management
    Comparison of Campaign Management features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    6.9
    962 Ratings
    9% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Calendaring6.1785 Ratings00 Ratings
    Event/webinar marketing7.6918 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social Media Marketing
    Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    6.8
    614 Ratings
    11% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    Social sharing and campaigns6.4606 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social profile integration7.2375 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    6.5
    1036 Ratings
    14% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    10.0
    9 Ratings
    27% above category average
    Dashboards6.2978 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Standard reports6.71018 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Custom reports6.4962 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    7.6
    1026 Ratings
    0% below category average
    VerticalResponse
    -
    Ratings
    API7.9890 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based workflow & approvals7.4759 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizability7.5908 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Salesforce.com8.4883 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.4316 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with SugarCRM6.5210 Ratings00 Ratings
    Third-party software integrations8.348 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Adobe Marketo Engage and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Adobe Marketo Engage
    -
    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
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    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
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (1244 ratings)
    10.0
    (28 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    4.5
    (147 ratings)
    8.6
    (19 ratings)
    Usability
    5.0
    (99 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (25 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (30 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.6
    (92 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.7
    (29 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (37 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    7.9
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    1.1
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    9.4
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.2
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.2
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Adobe Marketo EngageVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Adobe
    Adobe Marketo Engage is an excellent tool for hosting registration forms and sending out tokenized emails based on a particular person's information within your database. For example, if someone attends an event or webinar and indicates that they'd like to learn more about your product, then Adobe Marketo Engage can easily trigger a specific email template to that person that will be personalized with tokens about them. The pixel tracking that can be applied to any web page is also very helpful. If you want to focus on a more 1:1 type of follow up with a Lead, then the automated emails are not going to be as useful.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Adobe
    • Adobe Marketo Engage excels at automating complex marketing workflows and delivering personalized customer experiences at scale.
    • Adobe Marketo Engage enables marketers to create targeted campaigns, schedule automated email sequences, and personalize content based on user demographics and interactions, resulting in more relevant customer engagement.
    • Adobe Marketo Engage provides robust analytics and reporting, allowing teams to track campaign performance, monitor conversion rates, and measure return on investment(ROI).
    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
    Adobe
    • The most important thing is the UI; it still looks very old and should be updated to meet current market design standards.
    • Admin Complexity: It should be easy to setup at the first go.
    • Tool Navigation: Navigation should be more easier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Adobe
    We're likely to renew for several reasons:
    • Now that it's been implemented, I can't imagine not having marketing automation and the easy interface that Marketo provides to run our campaigns
    • Marketo's community and customer service is fantastic; I know that when I need help, I'll get it
    • Marketo continues to improve the product, so I know that I can expect it to be even more useful in the future
    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
    Adobe
    In some aspects, the tool can feel quite clunky in parts. But with the rich feature set it has, it's understandable. There is a lot of room for improvement for the user interface. The system itself doesn't have a slick or modern feel, so the usability could feel nicer to use with these areas considered.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Adobe
    Marketo provides different way and abilities to connect. If you are having product support or unexplained errors you can get someone on Marketo support 24 hours a day. One of Marketo's greatest assets in my opinion however would be the community. Often times our company is just looking for case success stories from someone else. In the community you can search for problems you are currently facing and see others having the same issue and solutions for those issues. If not, you can pose a question to the whole community and champions of the product and others can chime in to provide suggestions to fix your needs. The community is truly a 24/7 place to get your answers quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    Never had an issue with uptime
    Read full review
    Performance
    Adobe
    There are times when it is slightly slow for us, where we sit on a screen waiting for it to load. This could be our internet since we have had the same issue occasionally with other systems, but it is enough to make you crazy.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No issues
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Adobe
    On multiple occasions we've had Marketo support (technical and license based) issues. Technical issues were minor and resolved within a day. License based issues (even things encouraged by Marketo for partners, like provisioning another license) took WEEKS. They actually took so long to respond that the client we were working with withdrew from the contract because they were no longer convinced Marketo was capable of supporting their business. As an agency trying to sell the software, you can only explain away so much before they just made us look silly.
    Incentivized
    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
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Adobe
    Our account rep stopped out in Lincoln, NE to ensure we were properly set up and running. This was very much appreciated. I was very, very new at this point, so I can't comment very much on the extent of what was taught because I was still brand new to the company and the system
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Adobe
    I had never used Marketo prior to taking this job so online training was my starting point. I was able to follow along, it was interesting and quickly and efficiently taught me what I needed to know without a lot of fluff. It was far from boring and really helped me get my hands dirty with Marketo.
    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
    Adobe
    1. Have a content marketing plan to run in parallel with the marketing automation installation--you'll need a lot of content to make full use of Marketo's capabilities. 2. Work with sales (and ISRs) to define and document a workflow--build your Marketo installation around how you do business--not figure out how to apply your business to the tools 3. Spend time of data cleaning--both an initial project as well as a strategy for ongoing data management. We found some change manaement issues (no more appending ZZZ to the first name to identify contacts who have left the company, for example, or prohibiting the entry of "info@company.com" email addresses). 4. Find some champions in the sales and ISR teams. You'll have both fans and detractors--work with the fans to build some success stories
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    Salesforce integration never worked right. We had to abandon.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Adobe
    Adobe Marketo Engage is one of the best email sending platforms I have worked with, because there is so much you can do on a lead scoring area and also then connect this to other platforms such as Salesforce. It allows for seamless reporting and working alongside sales colleagues. We chose Adobe Marketo Engage because it allows for more sophisticated audience segmentation and management of ongoing large scale nurture flows across a number of complex criteria.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Adobe
    The total cost is a little bit higher than we expected.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Adobe
    We look at scaleability in a few different ways. First, the speed while using Marketo has remained relatively the same as our database has grown. Though I would say Marketo is slow at times, it has not gotten slower over the last few years. If anything, it has improved, and they are working to improve it. Second, the amount of programs we have developed in Marketo has exponentially grown as well. Marketo has allowed us to drastically increase our output without having to drastically increase our headcount.
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Adobe
    • Adobe Marketo Engage automation capabilities have reduced the amount of manual work required to execute campaigns, allowing our marketing team to focus more on strategy and customer engagement rather than repetitive administrative tasks.
    • The platform has helped us generate more qualified leads through personalized campaigns and lead scoring, enabling our sales team to focus on prospects with the highest likelihood of converting.
    Read full review
    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

    Adobe Marketo Engage Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Contact Timeline in Adobe Marketo EngageScreenshot of the Audience Feature in Adobe Marketo EngageScreenshot of Progressive Profiling in Adobe Marketo EngageScreenshot of the Insights Dashboard in Adobe Marketo EngageScreenshot of Sources in Adobe Marketo EngageScreenshot of Metrics in Adobe Marketo Engage