iContact vs. SendFox

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

SendFox is perfect for when you are needing to send emails irregularly to a medium-sized list and don't want high fees. Whilst there aren't fancy templates like other services, this can be perfect if you are just wanting to send simple, quick emails vs more in-depth graphical ones. It's great for smaller businesses as well due to the low cost.

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

• Easy to send emails as an automated sequence or single blast email.
• Can break customers into separate lists but still only charged per contact.
• Charges as a lifetime deal for so many contacts rather than monthly.

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

• More customization in the email builder.
• More customization on the smart pages (aka Landing page).
• Forms have low customization and older style graphical look.

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.

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.

Mailchimp costs a lot once you get into the 4000 contacts range and features that SendFox has integrated are in a higher cost plan from Mailchimp. Drip is in a similar range cost-wise. It costs more per month than I paid all up. For a business that relies on email marketing as an income strategy, these tools are perfect, but for my business which uses it intermittently to supplement things like group challenges, it's more applicable to go with a tool like SendFox.

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

• It's been the service I've used for daily emails for group challenges - Meaning that I had a service that was cheaper than others AND was reliable. When the customers got the emails reliably, I retained them, customers.
• It has been less flexible in terms of customization - This hasn't had a tangible benefit but may have had a lead-on effect of the emails not always looking as professional to the customer.
• It is much cheaper than other services meaning I've saved likely $2000+ based on the size of my email list (which is a lot for my small business!).

Incentivized