We run ONTRAPORT. It doesn't run us.
Updated November 11, 2015
We run ONTRAPORT. It doesn't run us.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Software Version
ONTRAPORT
Modules Used
- Membership, PilotPress WordPress Plugin, Payment Gateway, All Native Features such as forms, tagging, messages, rules, sequences
Overall Satisfaction with ONTRAPORT
We use ONTRAPORT for our own agency needs and also implement on behalf of our clients for their needs. In all cases, we wanted a platform that we could program around each business situation to automatically capture contact information, track the source, keep it organized and stay in touch with relevant communications while keeping sales people actively engaged in the process so they can follow-up when the time is right. The ultimate goal is relationship development. It solves the problem of how a company can realistically stay in touch with enough people to achieve their revenue goals.
- It automatically lets sales people and marketers know which contacts in the database are the most active and even allows you to see which web pages a particular contact has visited.
- The marriage of rules and sequences allows us to sit down with clients and map out their marketing, sales and customer service processes and then program ONTRAPORT to carry them out. The business guides the software, not the other way around.
- ONTRAPORT encourages a mix of communications; email, post card, postal and text messages. This helps keep the relationship real with the contacts. They don't feel like they are just on an email list. They are communicated in a way that matches their behavior and preferences.
- Its blessing is its curse. Too much flexibility and a broad range of features means it can be hard to use to its full potential if you're not familiar with it and some of the features are not as advanced as stand alone solutions; like email templates for example.
- The shopping cart and gateway communications are not really geared for product sales yet. It's coming though.
- Reporting is a challenge. It's very flexible because you can download just about anything. You just have to figure out how to report it.
- We have been meeting the needs of clients with this tool since 2008; exceeding revenue expectations.
- We have clients that set goals to get 100 leads. We end up getting them 1,000. Granted a lot of that is in the campaign strategy but the tool is legit.
Infusionsoft - I chose ONTRAPORT over Infusionsoft because I could make it match up to my clients processes easier. I value the flexibility. On the flip side, Infusionsoft has some eCommerce integration and pre-configured solutions that are appealing.
VTrenz, Marketo, Silverpop were all on the list back in 2008 when I looked at them but they were overboard on roles and structure not to mention unaffordable for small and midsize clients.
VTrenz, Marketo, Silverpop were all on the list back in 2008 when I looked at them but they were overboard on roles and structure not to mention unaffordable for small and midsize clients.
Ontraport Feature Ratings
Using ONTRAPORT
2 - Sales Manager and Marketing Director
The help desk at ONTRAPORT is all you need. As a consultant, we implement a lot of things for our clients, so they don't really interact with it all that much.
- Product manufacturers and profesional services looking for new leads
- Automatically stay in touch once you have leads
- Follow-up from sales when the time is right
- We have a behavior capture report that automatically goes out every morning showing contacts that opened an email, clicked something, visited a web page or logged a call.
- We use custom fields for sales managers to record quarterly sales goals vs actual. The data is downloaded and mail merged into a pre-formatted sales report.
- We use PURL's on printed mail to people that don't have an email. That [way] we can see if they visit a landing page but don't fill out the form.
- We're going to expand all of our clients into affiliate programs. The built in affiliate center is perfect.
- Using PilotPress, we will be displaying more dynamic content on web and landing pages.
- Membership sites!
Evaluating ONTRAPORT and Competitors
Yes - Salesforce.com, Appshore.com, MailChimp and Constant Contact
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
I started using ONTRAPORT at a time when the people demonstrating the software were also designing it. I was able to get it to do everything I wanted.
I wouldn't
ONTRAPORT Implementation
- Implemented in-house
- Professional services company
We are a professional services company - Spearhead Sales and Marketing, Elkhart, IN
Change management was minimal - We tailor the system to the client process, not the other way around.
- Getting clean data to import
- Recognizing business processes before setting up the system
- Recognizing market segments and clearly knowing their needs before setting up the system
ONTRAPORT 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 |
Yes - Always
Yes, just recently I used a plugin for WooCommerce. We had some trouble getting things to work the way we wanted. The ONTRAPORT team went above and beyond on issues that were't even theirs. From what they did learn, they added feature requests to ONTRAPORT and implemented the next month! Pretty impressive.
Using ONTRAPORT
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Build a sequence
- Create smart forms (web forms)
- Tag and organize contacts
- Use HTML email templates and send broadcasts
- New dashboard!
- Task outcomes within a sequence can be hairy
- Using email and landing page templates
- Displaying "report" like data
Yes - so, so - I use the desktop