iContact vs. Marchex

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

The Marchex platform is suitable for you to draw conclusions on how to approach your users. It also helps you with conversational improvements and data analysis. I recommend if you already have a large user base who buy your service and are always asking for explanations to hire Marchex for sure

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

• Marchex does exactly what you need it to do. It allows businesses to quickly and effectively create online and offline call-tracking numbers to measure marketing performance.
• Marchex offers a variety of additional options, features, and capabilities outside of their core business model, which is call tracking. These business offerings appeal to smaller businesses, since they are primarily an enterprise-level call-tracking platform.
• Marchex allows you to listen and mark phone calls based on whether or not they lead to a conversion, if you business has the time to manage this process, it is an effective way to determine which source/mediums are providing the highest inside-conversion rate.

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

• Although customer support is only a phone call away, trouble shooting was not their strongest area. There was usually only one person who could help with technical support and getting past the gate keepers to talk to that person was not easy.
• Salesmen were difficult to get in touch with. You think it would be easy to negotiate a contract to add more services but this proved to be a difficult task as well.
• Online reporting could use improvement. If you wanted to sift through data you had to download a spreadsheet to manipulate the data. Very little beyond simple reporting could be accomplished on their platform.

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.

We renew Marchex each year, we love it! It's a great investment. It's woven into a few of our products that we offer our clients so we wouldn't stop using it any time soon. The clients are big fans of it

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

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.

I love how easy it is to listen to calls, filter and export reports for clients. Super happy with the services that are provided for me!

Incentivized

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.

• 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

• Quick and easy distribution of phone numbers with city specific area codes
• Easy to set up after business hours and alternative forwarding numbers
• It has been very helpful in showing clients how their staff answers the phone and where there is opportunity for more training

Incentivized