We already know about the advantages AddressTwo has over other CRM software providers. But, did you know the AddressTwo CRM software is more than "just a CRM"? AddressTwo can also serve as your Email Marketing Service Provider (EMSP). But how does it really stack up against some of the other email marketing providers like Constant Contact and MailChimp? After all, at its core, AddressTwo is a CRM. Can it really be both a great CRM AND a great EMSP? We think it is! Let's take a look at some of the more popular providers for email marketing and see how AddressTwo compares, shall we?
Email Marketing & You
Before we look at any of
the EMSP’s, though, we must set out the first distinction. If all you want
to do is send email, and a CRM is not on your list of requirements, then
AddressTwo is probably not the best solution. AddressTwo is, first and
foremost, a CRM, but it includes email marketing tools. And tasks. And lots of other cool things.
That means, if you only
need email marketing, don’t buy a CRM. While we believe every small
business needs a CRM, we know sometimes you have to start somewhere. However,
if you need a CRM for contact management and want to do email marketing too, then AddressTwo is a great solution.Whether you're already doing these things or want to in the future, AddressTwo can help.
Email Marketing & Monkeys: MailChimp
Who doesn't love free? (I
love free!) And who doesn't love a cute monkey? (I love monkeys!) All kidding aside, MailChimp is a powerhouse when
it comes to email marketing. For free, (yes, free forever*) you can send out up
to 12,000 emails per month as long as you have under 2,000 subscribers. True to their word, they won't even take your credit card
"just in case." For free (within the limits of course), you can
send some pretty sweet emails to your list. You also can easily add tons
of photos into your library without worrying about space. Unfortunately, not all
is perfect in the "free" world.
In MailChimp’s free plan,
you can't take advantage of some of the more sophisticated reporting features
and there’s no autoresponders. Of course, for a small list, doing things
manually isn't too bad. But the closer you are to the 2,000 subscriber
threshold, the more painful those limits become.
MailChimp calculates your plan structure
based on the number of subscribers, rather than the number of emails you send.
So, if you have 5,000 subscribers and send them one email or 100 (not
recommended) per month, the charge is the same. Your charge for such a list
would be $50, allowing you the full set of features (including autoresponders). At
subscriber 5,001, your cost goes up to $75 per month. Again, you'll get
charged based on your number of subscribers instead of the number of emails you
send.
Email Marketing Juggernaut: Constant Contact
Admittedly, Constant Contact is an
email marketing juggernaut (What? It's a cool word!). They've become a go-to resource for small businesses looking to manage their email
marketing. What makes them so great? First, you can start for free for
the first 60 days. During that trial, you can send emails to your heart's
content as long as you don't have more than 100 email addresses. After that,
you graduate to an official plan.
Like MailChimp, plans
are based on number of subscribers but before we talk about price, let's talk
about features. Hands down, Constant Contact has easy to use templates.
This is great for those of us who weren't born speaking HTML or CSS. And Constant Contact includes right away something our banana-loving friends do not: autoresponders. They also offer personal support. Once you sign up for an
account, be prepared to hear from one of their representatives who will help
you get setup.
If your email list is
small (under 2,500), a Constant Contact plan is under $30 per month. At 2,501
and up, like MailChimp, you're looking at spending $50 per month.
Simple CRM and Email Marketing Too: AddressTwo
So how about AddressTwo? Which is the better choice? Both MailChimp and Constant
Contact have some amazing features but to really get the best use of them,
you'll definitely be looking at one of their paid plans. Money aside, while MailChimp
is free, the learning curve is a little longer and their support relies heavily
on your ability to navigate their provided videos and knowledge base.
Constant Contact has
incredible templates to choose from but you’re limited in your photo options
(you have to pay to store more than five in your library). Perhaps you can
overlook that limitation when you consider the one-on-one support you get.
However, AddressTwo is
not only your EMSP but also your CRM, meaning you can truly manage your database and
its activity, rather than just storing information to push out a communication. With AddressTwo, you can both manage your contacts and do your email marketing for a monthly charge of $34.95
(Professional Edition) for unlimited contacts & users. You then email on a pay as you go basis (or can upgrade). The cost for sending out 5,000 emails
would only be $25.00. No monthly fee, just pay for what you use, as you use it, whether it's one email, 10, 100, or 100,000. You can even purchase a monthly plan that includes your monthly emails if you know exactly how many emails you'll be sending per month.
AddressTwo also allows you to specifically target using lists. So instead of sending 5,000 emails to everyone on your list, you can segment your database and only target the ones you want to reach. Have multiple products? Want to limit your geographic reach? No problem.
AddressTwo's unique ability to truly target your market (rather than a general group subscribed to your newsletter) amps up your marketing power to a priceless level. Oh, and that doesn't even include the amazing one-on-one service. The AddressTwo team is always here for you, runs weekly webinars to help you make the most of AddressTwo and is committed to what you need and want, so we can make the tool even better for you!
AddressTwo's unique ability to truly target your market (rather than a general group subscribed to your newsletter) amps up your marketing power to a priceless level. Oh, and that doesn't even include the amazing one-on-one service. The AddressTwo team is always here for you, runs weekly webinars to help you make the most of AddressTwo and is committed to what you need and want, so we can make the tool even better for you!
Don’t get us wrong, we
have much love for our EMSP cousins. But hopefully you now see the value of
having a combined CRM and EMSP like AddressTwo. If
you'd like to chat about email marketing using AddressTwo, feel free to call us anytime! Or click here for a free trial today!
