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We ❤ MailChimp
January 22, 2014

We ❤ MailChimp

Ross Clurman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

32,001 - 50,000 / Monthly Active Users (Paid)

Modules Used

  • MailChimp Mobile
  • Mandrill
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • EventBrite
  • Google Analytics
  • Wufoo
  • Zapier

Overall Satisfaction

How we use MailChimp:
  • Lead Nurturing
    Inbound leads are added to our list(s) and marketed to, via an Autoresponder.
  • Lead Generation
    Unsolicited emails are delivered to known (organic) contacts using Campaigns.
  • Email Marketing/Communication
    Regular ol' campaigns are delivered to opt-ins to share updates (server maintenance), new products and services, events, and company news.
Who uses MailChimp:
  • Sales
    Outbound prospecting emails (this way we know metrics about actions taken and can follow-up accordingly)
  • Marketing
    Outbound communications (Lead Gen, Lead Nurturing, and Email Marketing/Comm) and database management. Using a Wufoo integration (online forms), we manage inbound leads more efficiently, and maintain the integrity of our CRM – preventing invalid/disinterested prospects from entering our CRM.
MailChimp addresses:
  • Data integrity
    MailChimp's de-duplication logic is awesome. It allows us to specify multiple custom fields, which may be stored and filtered against within MailChimp's list/group features.
  • Marketing automation
    MailChimp seems quite simple, but is actually very powerful and intuitive. Using external tools and integrations available within MailChimp, we achieve the same marketing automation functionality available in systems like Pardot and Marketo, for a fraction of the cost.
  • Market research
    List segmentation enables us to dig into data and get counts based on filters. We can also easily test multivariate marketing campaigns!
  • Simplifies sending beautiful emails. Even if you're not especially adept at HTML/CSS, and have never used an email marketing platform, MailChimp is built so you can send a professional-looking email campaign without needing to be an expert.
  • Communicates with customers. Not speaking to the application, MailChimp is great at keeping their customers in the loop without bogging them down with SPAM.
  • Provides ample help and support. Get stuck on something? Need an answer? MailChimp has a ton of online content about almost anything you can't figure out on your own.
  • Campaign naming. Once a campaign is sent, the name of the campaign cannot be changed. It's not a huge deal, but would be nice to be able to edit something which has zero impact on the recipients, and is more for data/tracking internally.
  • Post-send link modifications. Even some simple email marketing platforms, like VerticalResponse, allow admins to modify the target of URLs within sent campaigns. Imagine sending an email that you didn't thoroughly test, and it links to a page that doesn't exist.
  • Image/file hosting. You can host plenty of email assets inside MailChimp, but in order to do so, you need to create a campaign or email template, then upload the assets. It would be nice to have an image/asset library where files can be stored without having to create a campaign.
  • Increased efficiency. We spend less time managing our lists and more time finding new customers!
  • Less downtime. With some other systems, list imports and integrations are not as fast as we like - MailChimp works at our pace.
  • Better response rates. TimeWarp enables us to send emails based on the recipient's time zone. The Litmus integration allows us to test our email across platforms, operating systems, and email clients. Both have greatly impacted our response rates.
  • Emma,Vertical Response,ExactTarget,Bronto,ConstantContact,iContact
We selected MailChimp over these competitors for the following reasons:
  1. Price
    We're small, so pricing is very important to us.
  2. Features vs. Cost
    MailChimp combines the most features at the best price.
  3. User Interface/Experience
    MailChimp has a clean, intuitive user interface, complemented with an easy to use mobile app.
  4. Trust
    MailChimp has strict policies against sending SPAM, so our reputation is safe.
  5. They're good people with an awesome brand and great product.
    We've been advocates of MailChimp for a long, long time. When we first signed up, they sent us t-shirts, which we still cherish. The upgrades to their product have been well-planned and communicated/supported effectively. We're likely MailChimp "lifers."
We love the product.

One thing we haven't mentioned yet is the human element. Recently, MailChimp re-structured their plans/pricing based on the feedback they had received.

They listened to a pain their users were experiencing, then strategized a solution, and implemented it fairly. The updated pricing strategy was intended to save subscribers money, and they did a great job of communicating it to their users.

I would be surprised if anyone reacted negatively to the change.
If you have a large list (over 2,000 subscribers) and you're not ready to commit to sending email marketing campaigns on a regular basis, then do a pay-as-you-go account.

The monthly plans are based on the amount of subscribers you have in your list, not how many emails you send. If you're going to send a lot of email, often, go with a monthly account.

Invest in a good, custom design. We mentioned you can use/create professional-looking emails with little knowledge of HTML/CSS, but they are still templates (and may not be appropriate for your brand or your goals).

If you're going to utilize MailChimp and want to get the most out of your email marketing, we suggest paying a good email designer to create a MailChimp-friendly template that you can edit based on the campaign and message you're sending.