TrustRadius provides a valuable service
October 16, 2018
TrustRadius provides a valuable service
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with TrustRadius for Buyers
I was using TrustRadius to explore email marketing and email automation companies, as I was not satisfied with our current program. I have the authority and responsibility to research the options, make the final decision, and purchase. I wanted to research all the options, and TrustRadius made it easy by having a long list of (all?) the options.
- To understand my options (i.e. build my short list or long list)
- To compare products
I wanted to understand what my options were, as it can take a long time to find all the email marketing and automation companies through an online search. TrustRadius made that aspect of my search easy by compiling the list all in one place. The additional information provided: a brief summary of the service, sometimes a listing of features (that was very useful!), and occasionally pricing information. With all that information, and the feedback from reviewers, it made comparing the options much easier. I was able to create a short list to look into further, and ultimately make a final decision.
The best reviews are the ones that are detailed, including how they use the service, how easy or difficult it is to learn and use, and what features they found useful. It is also very beneficial when they also include the negatives. When someone says "there wasn't anything that needed improvement" it isn't nearly as valuable. I learned just as much from the negatives as from the positives.
When a company markets its services, they outline all the benefits, and it's in their best interest to use creative wording if something about their service is subpar. When you have reviews you see how real people are using the service and can better understand the benefits and challenges, and can make a more informed decision, especially if your needs match those of the reviewers.
- I liked that the reviews all included both the positive aspects of the service and the negatives. It helped understand exactly what was being offered, and what needs we might need filled elsewhere.
- I liked that most of the review pages included a summary of the email marketing and automation company, the list of features, and many included a note regarding the fee structures (free, freemium, paid, etc.)
- The inclusion of how each reviewer used the service was also a big benefit.
- Most of the pages did not include a link to the email marketing company. That made the search more time consuming as I had to leave TrustRadius to search for their website. It's such an easy thing to include, and seems odd to leave it out.
- Some of the pages didn't include the fee structure, but more importantly, it would be have useful to include a note whether a company was intended for high volume users (or small/medium). I'm not looking for an enterprise plan, and it would have saved a lot of time to not have to go to the websites of each to discover that's their primary audience.
- It would be nice to be able to have an option to save a review page, to make the shortlist right in TrustRadius - defnitely not a huge deal, but a "nice to have" feature.
For the companies that I short listed, I did a Google search on each. I checked out their websites, which was sometimes enough to knock them off the list (because the pricing wasn't within our budget, or because they were tailored to enterprise level clients, which Abrazo and Coze is not). Then I checked reviews online, which matched reasonably well with those provided on TrustRadius (but not nearly structured as well).
TrustRadius made the process really easy by A) compiling the listing of providers, and by having some structure to the reviews - how the companies were using the service, their general thoughts on the service, and the listing of positives and negatives for the service they are using. Other sites were more willy nilly and although they provided a review, it was harder to compare and contrast, as they don't provide the same sort of information.