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SharpSpring could use a grindstone but it still makes the cut
October 22, 2014

SharpSpring could use a grindstone but it still makes the cut

Carina Seagrave | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Latest version as of August 12, 2014

Modules Used

  • Marketing and email automation

Overall Satisfaction with SharpSpring

SharpSpring was used at the organization I worked for to send emails for us as well as for our clients. We conducted an email marketing campaign to drive users to landing pages for our website. It was used by the members of our staff in charge of account management. SharpSpring successfully allows you to transfer an Excel spreadsheet of contacts to create mailing lists. You can also add emails manually or have them automatically added if a form is filled out.
  • Allows you to create email templates from HTML.
  • Allows you to send emails to more than one mailing list at a time (as opposed to MailChimp which I use in my current position).
  • Overview and analysis of potential leads versus hard leads.
  • The way that the workflows are connected to the tasks is confusing. They should all be one on top of another so that it seems logical that a workflow is carried out with tasks.
  • PDFs and pictures should be easier to add to templates. HTML can be overly complicated if you don't have a background in it without Dreamweaver.
  • When I was using SharpSpring, there was a glitch in the overview of leads and it stayed that way even after SharpSpring's help staff said it had been fixed.
  • Better overview of emails captured from the website because it can monitor when potential leads fill out forms
  • It was easy to see how many opens emails received
  • If you want to easily see bounce rate on emails, SharpSpring was a great program for that.
SharpSpring is much more pricey than MailChimp's free version however it was much more financially savvy than others we looked into. Although SharpSpring makes simple workflows achieved by tasks complicated, it is sleeker and has very well-made getting started videos. The overview of an email's performance was also easier to read through than it was on MailChimp.
Because the staff has already been using it for a while, I would choose to renew SharpSpring to save time for employees. Training is a time-consuming process and by sticking with the same email automation software, we can commit more time to the design of emails and our customers. SharpSpring does have a quick response time when problems arise; however, it could do a better job to make sure the problem is fixed before moving on.
SharpSpring would be well-suited for a marketing firm with more experienced employees that have previously been exposed to email automation software. Also, companies that have an expert in HTML on staff to assist with the design of the emails. I would ask, "How fast are questions answered by SharpSpring help desk?" and also, "What is the easiest way to put pictures in emails?" I wouldn't recommend SharpSpring to companies that would like to embed video in their automated emails.