Step into Marketing Automation in Style with SharpSpring
Updated November 11, 2015

Step into Marketing Automation in Style with SharpSpring

Manny Torres | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review

Overall Satisfaction with SharpSpring

As an online marketing agency, we utilize SharpSpring to capture leads, nurture them, convert them into customers and then build the value of that customer over time. The top problem SharpSpring solves for our clients is helping identify and prioritize leads so that they can spend more time focusing on what is most important. Another problem SharpSpring solves for our agency and our clients, is providing a quality marketing automation software at a price a small business can afford.
  • The user interface for SharpSpring has an attractive design that is intuitive. I reviewed several other alternatives which had out-dated interfaces.
  • The Visitor ID function of SharpSpring gives a quick overview of who has visited your site and highlights return visitors. You can quickly grab info on both anonymous and captured leads and jump to additional information that can assist with lead tracking and nurturing.
  • The SharpSpring custom reports are a great tool to provide info from email campaigns or workflows. I love the ability to use tags on specific emails and then pull a report for that specific tag.
  • SharpSpring's email editor has improved dramatically during the time I have been a customer, but it still is not to the level of MailChimp. I would like to see them continue their progress to make the drag and drop editor work more seamlessly.
  • A mobile version of SharpSpring would be helpful while outside of the office. I think this is currently in development.
  • The ecommerce configuration would benefit from plugins for popular ecommerce platforms.
  • In our business, we have been able to save time on inquires by creating a funnel which filters our prospects and provides a score that helps us determine which leads are qualified enough for an in-person meeting.
  • We have seen excellent ROI for our clients who have been able to increase organic leads with the use of lead magnets created with SharpSpring forms. The forms not only capture the lead, but they also qualify them for our client.
  • We have improved our client's customer service and visibility by creating a post-purchase survey and then push the customer to a service rep or a reviews page based upon their response.
  • LoopFuse,Infusionsoft
SharpSpring provided the most features with the best interface within a budget that fit our business model. SharpSpring's interface is more attractive than most marketing automation solutions I have seen. We also liked the fact that the training for SharpSpring did not take as long as some of their competitors. We were also drawn to SharpSpring since they are based out of Gainesville and had met them in person.
I think SharpSpring has additional benefit for businesses who currently have a list to start with. The list does not need to be large, but it allows for the business to test various capabilities and plan for future campaigns. It is also helpful to have an agency or an in-house marketing professional who can work with SharpSpring on a regular basis to insure the workflows and campaigns are effective and make adjustments as needed. SharpSpring is well suited for businesses who have repeat sales. These businesses are able to segment their lists and market to each segment with targeted content. You can also cross market products as a way to increase the total value of each customer.

Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM Feature Ratings

WYSIWYG email editor
7
Dynamic content
9
Ability to test dynamic content
9
A/B testing
8
Mobile optimization
9
Email deliverability reporting
10
List management
10
Triggered drip sequences
10
Lead nurturing automation
10
Lead scoring and grading
10
Data quality management
10
Automated sales alerts and tasks
9
Social profile integration
7
Dashboards
9
Standard reports
9
Custom reports
9
API
Not Rated
Role-based workflow & approvals
Not Rated
Customizability
8
Integration with Salesforce.com
Not Rated
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Not Rated
Integration with SugarCRM
Not Rated

Using SharpSpring

2 - The main user of SharpSpring in our organization is our creative director who also acts as the marketing automation manager. He helps develop marketing automation strategy, onboard new accounts (including: importing lists, inserting tracking codes, assigning lead values, creating lists and applying settings, creating tasks and workflows, creating campaigns and campaign trackers, creating custom emails and standard emails, creating pipelines and goals). Other functions of the manager are testing forms and notifications and addressing any technical issues with SharpSpring support.
1 - SharpSpring is a very intuitive program, so having specific marketing automation training is not required. SharpSpring provides several resources to help new users acclimate to the program including a resource library with screen shot videos showing as well as PDF downloads. An on-screen overlay can be toggled on/off to show exactly what function each button provides.
  • Marketing to lead segments based on customer behaviors. We use SharpSpring to trigger email drips for customers and/or leads who visit specific important pages.
  • Forms are used to create online assessments to attract new leads and qualify them. For example, we have created a mold assessment for a remediation company for web visitors to determine if they should contact the company for a mold test.
  • The anonymous visitor ID is a great way for B2B businesses to identify prospects. We use the company contact look up feature to find the contact info of the anonymous visitor and do research prior to first contact which allows us to have additional info before connecting.
  • Call tracking allowed us to see additional leads which were coming in to a google adwords campaign that were not originally attributed to the campaign
  • We have used SharpSpring to send a timed automated email to arrive directly after a presentation
  • We have been able to create template emails that look personalized to help reduce the time our company spends communicating with prospects
  • We look to continue to add additional sales funnels and cross marketing workflows to increase the value of each customer
  • We are excited to use the referral form function so clients can refer more business
  • We plan to use the magic trick to showcase the abilities of SharpSpring » http://sharpspring.com/blog/article/pick-a-card-a-magic-trick-demonstrating-behavioral-based-marketing-automati?utm=rockmyimage
We have been very happy with SharpSpring and see it as a great way for us to add value to our agency as well as our clients. The team at SharpSpring has been very responsive to all of our inquiries and have also implemented many of the suggestions provided to them by our team as well as other partner agencies. SharpSpring has also been very supportive of our local marketing organizations which shows that they care about helping the community that they sell to. Most importantly, Rick Carlson is a great leader who is always available to help his partner agencies.

SharpSpring Implementation

SharpSpring Training