Why MailChimp is probably the best allrounder newsletter tool on the market right now
Updated January 10, 2020
Why MailChimp is probably the best allrounder newsletter tool on the market right now
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Mailchimp
MailChimp is used by our B2B business department as well as our PR and design team. We're using it as newsletter tool for all of our contact lists in those areas. Additionally, we're even sending an internal employee newsletter once per month via MailChimp.
Due to the fact that we're communicating to customers in multiple languages, the segmentation features of MC also help us a great deal.
Due to the fact that we're communicating to customers in multiple languages, the segmentation features of MC also help us a great deal.
- Easy and fun to use UI which makes newsletter creation a matter of minutes.
- Mighty segmentation features which make it possible to have one big list of subscribers which you then simply split via segments (e.g. for language, location, interests, gender, ...)
- Good user management with different roles to make sure that e.g. a lot of people can create new campaigns but only a few can send them.
- The categorization of campaigns is a little bit confusing. This often causes small problems because users don't know which campaign is meant for which segment / customer group.
- Bounce rate is still a little bit high for some clients.
- Responsive layouts don't always work out perfectly yet (especially on smartphones).
- MailChimp enabled us to build up our newsletter marketing channels from the ground which definitely had a big effect on our sales.
- Newsletter2Go and Rapidmail
MailChimp definitely is among the more mature tools which offers you a lot of features and all of them are quite easy to use which is important for non-designers who're working on newsletter campaigns. Also, e-mail deliverability has gotten pretty strong over the last few years so you get really little bounces.
We didn't have to ressources yet to link our Online marketing metrics with MailChimp, hence I can't give proper information on this topic unfortunately.
We were able to grow our newsletter subscriber basis permanently with MailChimp over the course of years. Also, we were able to do some pretty successful sales offerings with MailChimp newsletter (which, in times, even converted better than actual letters to our customers). Besides that, we're able to have non-designers create an send campaigns which is very efficient.
Mailchimp Feature Ratings
Using Mailchimp
6 - Creative Director, Senior Designers, Designer, Head of Corporate Communications, Head of Reseller Support
- Sending of regular newsletters to our subscriber basis
- Communication with our B2B partners
- Activating existing customers to rate our company on several rating platforms
- Communicating to press and influencers
- A/B testing campaigns with newsletters
- Creation of simple landing pages for campaigns directly in MailChimp
Evaluating Mailchimp and Competitors
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Analyst Reports
Usability (in detail, the possibility for non designers to create and send campaigns) was definitely the most important factor in our decision to go for MailChimp. We're not a huge company and therefore it's way more efficient if stakeholders from different departments are able to handle their newsletters on their own instead of having to rely on a designer each time.
Would probably do it the same way again: Take your time to have a look at at least 3 or 4 tools with a good reputation, use them for a few days and then decide which fits your requirements best.
Mailchimp Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - Thanks to the fact that we started our newsletter marketing with MailChimp right at the beginning, it hasn't been required to import data from another system.
- None, wen't pretty smooth all in all
Mailchimp Training
- no training
As long as you have basic experience with newsletter marketing, MailChimp is really easy to learn. Also, if you have any questions the support is absolutely great.
Configuring Mailchimp
Hard to say because it depends on what functions you want to use.
No - there is no facility to customize the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
Segmentation works pretty great so you don't need to create a lot of different audiences.
Mailchimp Support
| 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 |
Almost every single time. Apart from the fact that their live chat isn't always open during German working hours (which is totally understandable because they're based in the states), you could always be sure to get a response in a matter of minutes and all of the customer support agents have a really good technical understanding of the tool. Even if I had a more complicated question about advanced segmentation, I always got a qualified answer.
Using Mailchimp
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- UX / UI in general
- WYSIWYG editor
- Organisation and categorisation of campaigns
Yes - Mobile interface is available as mobile website as well as an app and both are pretty easy to use.
Mailchimp Reliability
Integrating Mailchimp
- Magento
- Wordpress
Basic implementation of newsletter subscription forms and hence, very easy to do.
- File import/export
As long as you only want to use the newsletter functionalities, it's all really easy. Can't give advice on the implementation of other tools so far.
Relationship with Mailchimp
None, we stuck to the subscription which they offered on their website.
Upgrading Mailchimp
- Audience management was simplified quite a bit
- Management of campaigns and their categories could be a bit easier.