Item: Act-On Software
Rating: 7
Author: David Wank, DMD

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Act-On for all of our email marketing, tying in our webinars, and for working with Salesforce to help manage leads. It's being used across the entire company, and it helps us keep track of our leads and our customers. It helps us to track all of our leads automatically and integrates lead scoring so we know where we stand.

Pros and Cons

Allows us to segment lists from Salesforce for particular email campaigns
It integrates really well with GoToWebinar so we can use our GoToWebinar registrations and easily email this segment when needed
Their support team is incredible

I would like to see a little more ability to custom code CSS under the hood. However, this is not a deal-breaker
I would like to see more modern email marketing templates
I would like to see agency account cloning (note: hardly any MA companies can do this, and for those that offer it the price is very steep) -- so this is a "wish list" item

Return on Investment

Keeping track of our leads -- it's infinitely more efficient when combined with SF vs. our old system. But you could do it still w/o SF.
ROI is very hard to measure, but because a lot of the benefit of Act-On is in the time it saves us -- which is worth a lot
I haven't taken advantage of all that Act-On has to offer, and as I do I think the ROI will keep improving. If I didn't feel it was worth it I would not stay on board as a client.

Alternatives Considered

Marketo,ActiveCampaign,HubSpot,Leadformix

The bottom line is that IMHO Act-On provides the best bang for the buck in the sector. There are other companies that might have prettier email templates, or fancier interfaces, but when push comes to shove Act-On meets the price-point vs. value issue very well. To get even remotely close the the feature set with another product you'd have to 2x the price.

Likelihood to Recommend

*** 9/2015 update --> I dropped my review from a 9 to a 7 because I had a very frustrating time canceling. So make SURE you read your contract VERY VERY carefully regarding terms of billing and how much advanced notice you have to give for cancellation. It's a shame because I had very good experience with the company otherwise. ***

It's well suited for a business that has grown out of a "regular" email program such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. Those programs are great for what they do, but once you start to grow past simple drip campaigns and really want insight into what's going to on, then you need to take the next step. ALL marketing automation is expensive -- it just is. But Act-On really makes me feel like I'm running an enterprise -- but for a non-enterprise price.

Note: for those of you just starting -- you might not want to use Salesforce. It's expensive especially if you are small company. But just do yourself a favor and use Act-On with Salesforce. It will take time to understand why and how these two programs work together, but I think Salesforce is a fantastic complement to Act-On and just makes things easier.

Users and Roles

2 - President
Executive Assistant

Support Headcount Required

Their support team precludes the need for a dedicated support person.

Business Processes Supported

Lead management
Email marketing
Marketing automation campaigns
Webinar integration with marketing and lead scoring

Innovative Uses

We tie in all of our marketing to Act-On - whether it's an email campaign or a tradeshow/seminar
It's nice to see lead/customer interaction across our marketing as we can wrap it all up in lead scores
Segmenting lists is a fantastic way to focus marketing efforts

Future Planned Uses

More agency work

Likelihood to Renew

There is no other provider in the segment that does what they do at the price they charge, and their support team is great. My contact often checks in with me, and I think that they have really taken a stake in making sure that my company and my business succeeds. I often think of them as friends vs. business collaborators.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation
Vendor Reputation
Third-party Reviews

In the beginning price. Now it's the support.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I would not change anything. I always re-evaluate the products we use and I would pick Act-On again if I had to right now!

Implementation Rating

I had a dedicated integration/setup person who was excellent. And they brought on specialized people as needed to help with certain things (DKIM setup, lead scoring setup, etc).

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Vendor implemented

Implementation Phases

Yes - Don't remember all of them but they walked me through the setup, made sure the basics were in place, then we did online meeting for a 4-6 weeks (maybe longer) to start to break it down and learn the program. They make a big investment in their clients.
And they are not pushy!!!! which is great.

Implementation Issues

I wanted to get up and running faster and faster, but it just takes time to learn any system

Support Rating

One of the BEST support teams I've ever dealt with.

Act-On Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Act-On Support

Every single day. There was a complex coding issue I had asked, and the rep was not 100% sure that he had the solution handy. So he let me know, went to his team, and came back with some possible solutions. I didn't mind that he didn't know immediately (it was an uncommon scenario). So instead of making something up or blowing it off, he let me know he needed to do more digging, check-in with me while he was investigating, and came back to me with answers. Bravo!

Usability

Again, these systems take time to learn, and there's so much under the hood that usability is an issue with any marketing automation software. Act-On provides a nice balance.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using	None

Easy Tasks

One has to understand that ALL marketing automation platforms are complex to learn -- it's the nature of the product.
I enjoy selecting lists for my emails, and I like the ability to time when the emails will go out
I like that my staff can setup an email campaign and leave it for my review (and I get notified when it's ready for my final review).
I also like that it's easy to host media so that I don't have to use my own servers

Difficult Tasks

Agency cloning (but nobody has that at this price point)
Sometimes customizing emails can be tricky, but overall I'm satisfied. I'd like a bit more granular control.
Trying to cancel can be tricky and was very frustrating for me. Read your contract VERY carefully regarding:
the advance notice you have to give to cancel
and billing terms so that you are not re-billed.

Act-On - Marketing Automation for the Small Business

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Act-On