Item: Splash Event Marketing Platform
Rating: 3
Author: Amber Callan

Overall Satisfaction with Splash Event Marketing Platform

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My co-worker and I currently use Splash Event Marketing Platform to market and manage our Hubspot User Group meetup events. While Hubspot has a great marketing platform, they moved us to Splash about a year ago due to its unique event management capabilities and we've been using it ever since!

We use Splash to create a registration page, host our events main page, deliver emails, check-in guests, etc.
We utilize their mobile app and their desktop app!

Pros and Cons

Pros

Templates - Splash allowed Hubspot to create page templates for all of our Hubspot User Group Meet Up registration pages. So while we're just one city that hosts meet-ups, utilizing these templates helps ensure that every city's pages look the same and are able to be navigated in the same way.
Check In - Their app is really nice for check-in on the day of the event. I can have any co-worker log into the app on their phone and they're ready to help me manage the event. The app definitely makes our check-in process more simplified.
Managing RSVPs - The ability to cut off registration and start a wait list is critical for our events. We get a handful of cancellations in the week before the event (as I'm sure every other event marketer does) and we can start moving our way down the waitlist to fill our events up!

Cons

UI / Usability - My goodness is their landing page builder / email builder difficult to use. Some of the content blocks aren't responsive and some don't adjust when you need them to automatically. Their email sender isn't intuitive either. I find myself getting very frustrated trying to accomplish small tasks when I'm starting to get my assets ready for a new event.
Email Reply Problems - I've been having a problem for the past six months or so that Support hasn't been able to resolve. Essentially, we've been scheduling out emails through Splash as usual. However, I've gotten many complaints that when people reply to my Splash emails that contain my correct email address, they never actually get to me. After many complaints at one meet-up then intentional testing with my other co-workers, the email replies just disappear and never reach me. We've actually had to go back to Hubspot under our company portal to send out emails for our events because at least then, the email replies come to me!
Customer Support - Since support is email only, the process is long. When you find a problem when an event is quickly approaching, it doesn't necessarily mean your problem will be solved in a timely manner.
Customization - Our customization options may be lower because we're using Splash on behalf of Hubspot, but when we switched from having full control over our templates, branding, emails, etc. to Splash, we can't customize as many things as we used to. While "templates" are in the things they do well, I consider this a pro and a con.

Return on Investment

Negative - We waste a lot more time trying to figure out bugs and small quirks of Splash than we used to when we used Eventbrite + Hubspot to manage our events.
Negative - When email replies don't get back to me, I have a lot of upset clients who attend the event which damages my reputation with them. Whether they simply had a question, a cancellation, an extra plus one, the fact that Splash cannot figure out why email replies are not routed to my correct email address in the platform, is just beyond me.
Positive - Our check-in experience is much smoother using the Splash App. Plus, my boss can see who's been checked in already in order to determine who he needs to chat with and when they arrived!

Alternatives Considered

Eventbrite

We used to use Eventbrite to manage our events before we were switched into using Splash. It was much easier to use, had a consistent usability structure for creating events and getting users to sign up. While it wasn't as customizable in terms of the landing page or email design, it did the job without any issues.

We didn't necessarily select to use Splash, but our event coordinators at Hubspot chose the platform for us! If we could go back, we would.

Support Rating

So Splash only has email support, which is okay, but when events are time-based, sometimes you need quicker support than a 24+ hour wait via email. A live chat or phone number would definitely help here!

I simply give Splash a 1 out of 10 for support because my experience has been horrible thus far. As explained earlier in this review, I'd been struggling with getting email replies to my Splash emails routed back to me which is a major issue in my opinion.

After two weeks of going back and forth, testing this issue, this was the response I received on Sept 4th:
"I wanted to circle back and let you know that at this moment, we have not yet determined the root of the issue. Our development is still investigating the cause and working on a solution for events going forward. I'm going to keep this ticket open until we ship a fix. :)"

It's now October 7th and no fix has come my way. We've been forced back into using our Hubspot email marketing, simply because we can't trust Splash's and we need to be able to send emails that our customers can reply to and get in contact with us.

Key Insights

Do you think Splash Event Marketing Platform delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Splash Event Marketing Platform's feature set?

Did Splash Event Marketing Platform live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Splash Event Marketing Platform go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Splash Event Marketing Platform again?

Likelihood to Recommend

Compared to platforms like Eventbrite, I have a hard time recommending Splash to anyone and think if we weren't forced into using it because of our involvement with Hubspot User Groups, we would not be using it.

I think if the usability and other bugs could be improved along with support, then Splash could be great for small to mid-sized businesses that occasionally run events that they need 1) hosted all in one place and 2) consistent, custom branding.

Or if you're running small events where you simply need a custom designed sign-up page, a reminder email and a check-in app, Splash could work for you. While they're not transparent about their business pricing, I'd have to see that before deciding whether it is truly worth it for this purpose.

Comments

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Plenty of Issues, Plenty of Opportunity to Be Great