Likelihood to Recommend 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.
Read full review If you are planning large events and you need an accurate headcount, the SignUpGenius is for you! Additionally, if you are trying to get a variety of volunteers to meet various needs, then you should really check out SignUpGenius! One specific way that we have used SignUpGenius is by getting the parents of our youth ministry students to bring refreshments to youth groups on Sunday mornings. We set up a SignUpGenius sign-up sheet where they can all sign up for various Sundays to bring refreshments, which really helps our students focus on Sundays.
Read full review Pros 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. Read full review Easy to access. No login or registration is required for people to sign up for slots--just click the link and go. No real technical expertise or knowledge is necessary to successfully use the tool. Several different options/styles of signups are available. Read full review Cons 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. Read full review Some of the layout and terminology are a little confusing and could be more user-friendly. It took me some time and playing around to figure out that the days and times you put in are a step which just produces a grid of possible times, and that choosing which slots to activate is a second step required. It later made sense why it was set up this was (allows you to input a large block of times at once and then select the particular ones you need, and makes it possible to add a second person with a different schedule on the same sign up, giving the appointment setters more options overall to choose from) Wish it would intuitively (or add an option to...) replicate location for any additional days and times you add to the same sign up. Has to be manually added (or copied and pasted). Read full review Likelihood to Renew 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.
Read full review It is a great product that works efficiently for our needs
Read full review Usability 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
Read full review Reliability and Availability No major problems in sending out the email campaigns and accessing the analytics
Read full review Performance 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
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review I don't have any feedback for support because I have not had to use support (if referring to IT support). If this question is in referral to support from other staff/company, then it has been received well in that sense.
Read full review Implementation Rating 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
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Read full review I prefer the use of SignUpGenius as it is more user-friendly. I am not limited to 10 questions and then have to pay for additional features. While I do not like the additional feature payment, as we are a nonprofit, I will continue using the free services.
Read full review Scalability 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
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review Being able to share the form with people inside and outside your organization allows less back and forth via email when scheduling meetings - saving time and money The free version is available as long as you'd like - it's not a trial version - a lot of companies can get away with only using the free version Read full review ScreenShots Constant Contact Screenshots