Constant Contact vs. MethodCRM vs. Phonexa

Constant Contact is an excellent tool for sending out flyers and newsletters. However, I feel the content's appearance is typically all the same. When I receive an email from Constant Contact, I can immediately identify it - the templates usually all look the same. When sending out communications with images, it is easy to use Constant Contact and link webpages. However, the email layout is always vertical and can get very lengthy. I prefer a more flip-book approach with options to flip the page.

Incentivized

Method[:CRM] is well suited when you have a large company that needs to keep track of customers. It also connects with Quickbooks and that has really been nice for our organization. Our company is small so this really helps us stay on track and build our data base of customers.

Incentivized

This is an all-inclusive lead management system and has the features to satisfy a multitude of businesses. The system helps spot data trends within minutes and gives managers and business owners the best analytical tools I've ever seen to date. It's best if you're looking to find ways to optimize and explore opportunities. It's also easily integrated and there's always a support team that's readily available to help you.

• Market segmentation is great: my main segmentation is by region because that's how our sales team is divided.
• Lists: making customized email lists is easy and intuitive; the custom fields allow some flexibility in case our fields don't exactly line up with Constant Contact's.
• Campaigns: creating campaigns is quick and simple. I especially appreciate the 'resend to non-openers' option. I am constantly using this feature.
• Subject line generator: I like using the recommended subject lines. I'm able to plug in their recommended ideas, or sometimes, this feature helps me generate my own ideas.

• The customization team is brilliant!
• The various integrations, QBO & Gmail, help me keep track of all customer interactions.
• The more organized I am, the more time I have to take care of my clients!
• I have nothing but praise for the support team and the rest of the crew at Method.

Incentivized

• Trouble shoots any technical issues that you may come in contact with.
• Has made it user friendly for even those who are not too computer savvy.
• Reporting feature has multiple view options dependent on what you're looking for.

• It would be nice if we had more customizable options for emails - like moving around pictures and text boxes, rather than a set spot for everything to go.
• I would like it if multiple people could work on a document at one time. So if I'm in charge of graphics, I can get those updated while someone else is entering content, etc.

Incentivized

• It would be great if we could attach files to a lead or account in general and not just in an activity or opportunity.
• All custom fields do not show up as options for a view when searching for leads or customers within certain parameters.

• Adding a how to guide for all the hundreds of features it has.

There is no doubt that we are going to renew Constant Contact. We have not just invested a lot of time in learning and creating a great looking product but we have developed a strong database of information that allows us to track how we are doing for each newsletter. This supports our goals of creating products that residents desire and are excited to receive.

The things Method does well - QuickBooks data integration and extreme customization - it does very, very well. If you are looking for a CRM product or any business process automation software that integrates with QuickBooks, you have to look at Method CRM

There is always room for improvement. I don't know how they test their systems, but they should invite not-so computer savvy people to test it. If I, as an expert have problems, they need to think like the technophobe. Since I've used Constant Contact in the past as part of my former employment, I have not viewed any of the tutorials and just jumped in to work on my client's newsletter. With that said, I found some areas easy and some a bit cumbersome

Method has a great overall "usability". Once we started using the software; it did not take long before we were able to start editing our own web lead forms, email templates, etc. I think there is a learning curve however the learning curve is not bad. Anyone looking for a cloud CRM should start here

Incentivized

No major problems in sending out the email campaigns and accessing the analytics

Incentivized

The system seemed quite slow sometimes. Specifically, there was sometimes a delay in sends if it was during a high traffic period. There were time-outs when uploading new code for an email, and a lag in reporting analytics which was sometimes as long as 72 hours

I think the overall support for Constant Contact has always been incredible; I have nothing negative to say. Our customer support representative was attentive, easy to understand, and very knowledgeable. I never felt like I wasn't a priority of his and my issues, while very small, were fixed in a very short time frame.

The Customer Support of this app is fantastic. If you ever have any questions they are there to answer you or fix whatever issue that you are having. The FAQ pages are also extremely helpful when you want to learn about the more in-depth qualities this program has to offer.

Incentivized

Implementation is very easy for someone who wants to send out the “batch and blast” type newsletters. If you want to use their templates with no customizations, the product works fine. However, the more customizations you get into involving link color, etc, that’s where things can get tricky for someone who may not be familiar with coding

Be available to learn! There is a huge learning curve to this program. You have to be willing to take it all in. Be available to the Method expert and be patient.

Constant Contact is much more intuitive for people who are not tech-savvy. Also, while sendgrid offered more options in it's drag and drop interface, it displayed differently across different email clients, which made it very cumbersome to use. It also took much longer to upload contact lists and it was harder to manage existing contacts. Performance in sendgrid was much slower as well, and the Preview feature was quite buggy. Our team initially chose sendgrid because of the integration options that it's API offered, but we ultimately switched to Constant Contact because it was much easier to build campaigns and better suited our requirements.

We chose Method:CRM for the QuickBooks integration. It was important for us to have integrations that allowed us to view payments, organize our contacts, and manage our sales force. There were some learning curves, however, such as creating activities, leads, customers and making sure our payments were being logged appropriately. I do wish that payments would be added to the calendar automatically so that the sales rep could view and make a phone call letting them know their invoice is due.

Very reliable in sending email campaigns and controlling the recipients so that no contact is sent the same email more than once, even if they are on a resent list

Incentivized

• I have had nothing but positive impacts from using Constant Contact.
• The church is large, and there are many subgroups and axillary groups within the church. Setting up specific groups based on responsibility, interest, member goals, and service needs allows me to send information quickly, saving valuable time for other tasks.
• Constant Contact allows leadership to stay personally engaged with the members I work with, without over-taxing my time. It feels so seamless.

Incentivized

• Method:CRM has probably saved me about 6-10 hours per week over the past few years.
• It has likely saved our company several hundred hours in the last 10 years.
• It has specifically saved us countless hours with better data management vs. having separate spreadsheets for keeping track of things.

Incentivized

• Increased business opportunities.
• Built/analyzed the competition.