Item: ActiveCampaign
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The nonprofit that I work for is currently using ActiveCampaign. While we haven't been able to utilize it to its full capacity quite yet, we are eager to use it as a way to track donors and somewhat for grant management. Currently, we are using it mostly as a contact database and will start sending out digital newsletters soon. When choosing a platform, the board of directors had the goal of finding a CRM system - ActiveCampaign had that AND email marketing, which was a plus because we needed that anyway.

Pros and Cons

Customer service is phenomenal
Ease of use
Additional training and assistance

There are a LOT of functions and terminology - a quickly accessed cheat sheet of terms and what each page on the navbar is used for would be helpful.
The opt-in process can be quite frustrating; it feels like we have lost contacts due to this system.
Email builder is easy to use but there's room for growth. Not currently a lot of font options which can be annoying in terms of staying on brand.

Return on Investment

Easy to see contacts that have been active.
Can easily target specific groups (donors, volunteers, media).
Automations cut down on mundane tasks.

Alternatives Considered

Mailchimp

I used Mailchimp with a previous nonprofit and it was not half as easy to use or understand; most of the time, we would build one email that we liked and just copy it to keep from having to go back in and build another one. Limited templates. The ActiveCampaign email builder is MUCH more friendly and half of the reason I stuck with AC. It wasn't as easy to sort through contacts in Mailchimp. Mailchimp interface was also clunky and not easy to look at and work with.

Key Insights

Do you think ActiveCampaign delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with ActiveCampaign's feature set?

Yes

Did ActiveCampaign live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of ActiveCampaign go as expected?

Would you buy ActiveCampaign again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

After extensive research of other platforms, ActiveCampaign was the best in terms of aesthetics, ease of use, and customer service. It's well suited for small businesses or nonprofits who are looking to grow without investing too much. The platform is easy enough to pick up and teach yourself making it a great option for someone without much experience with CRM or email marketing. There is always additional training, too, which is great for those who are eager to continue learning how to best utilize the platform.

Slight learning curve at the beginning, but ease of use is HUGE

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with ActiveCampaign