As a tech-driven outbound sales business, we rely on a variety of tools to drive our marketing efforts, connect with our customers, and automate our processes.
It’s also fundamental that we fully understand how to work effectively with a wide range of CRM and marketing automation platforms, since we integrate our data and analytics with our clients’ preferred platforms, rather than force our preferences upon them. That means we’ve a detailed understanding on the practicalities of using a whole range of the most popular offerings on a day-to-day basis, and understand the various quirks they all have, their limitations, and ways to get around them.
In our quest for the ideal marketing automation platform for our own business, we've tried many, ripped-and-replaced a couple, but one that consistently stands out as a cost-effective and flexible solution is ActiveCampaign.
Here’s a quick look at why ActiveCampaign has become our go-to choice for marketing automation, highlighting its strengths compared to the usual suspects, but also discuss some of the areas where we think ActiveCampaign could further improve. After all, feedback benefits everyone
Flexibility and control over the fine details
One area where ActiveCampaign shines is in providing users with the flexibility and control to fine-tune their marketing campaigns. From email styling to automation workflows, ActiveCampaign empowers users to create and tailor their campaigns precisely as they envision.
This level of control is ideal for businesses that have unique branding requirements or specific customer segments to target. It ensures that your marketing materials are not just generic templates but reflect the essence of your brand. It does the simple things with simplicity, but then has power under the bonnet when you want to push things to the next stage.
Decent integration into tech stacks via Make
We’re also big fans of Make here (we’ll cover that tech in another blog). ActiveCampaign’s flexibility seems to extend to the volume of Make modules users can access, allowing them to seamlessly connect with other tools and systems in their tech stack. In turn, this helps create a more cohesive and streamlined tech ecosystem, making it easy to manage data, track customer interactions, and automate marketing processes.
Sensible pricing for growing businesses
ActiveCampaign's pricing structure is fair - and that’s meant to be complimentary - especially for growing businesses like Second Voice. While some competitors quickly become expensive as you outgrow their free plans, ActiveCampaign remains budget-friendly without sacrificing features.
This affordability is a significant boon for businesses that want to scale without the burden of escalating costs. It's a well-kept secret in the marketing automation world that ActiveCampaign provides top-notch features without breaking the bank.
Room for improvement
While ActiveCampaign is an excellent all-round marketing automation platform, we’re here to give the full picture, and even happy clients should always demand improvements.
Substance over style
ActiveCampaign doesn't feel as slick or polished as some of its competitors. The user interface could be more welcoming and intuitive, making it even more accessible for new users, or those moving across from one of the other options. Generally it feels like it needs a bit of a freshening up (not at the expense of new features though!)
Native integrations with industry giants
While ActiveCampaign excels in providing a robust ecosystem through Make or Zapier, it does sometimes feel like it gets left behind when it comes to native integrations with key platforms in the tech stack. We use a wide range of MarTech and RevOps solutions, and most integrate with Salesforce and HubSpot first, and only the more mature include ActiveCampaign in their roadmaps.
In particular, we’d like to see software like Slack, Qwilr, Outplay and Apollo work more easily with ActiveCampaign, to create for a robust and effective sales and marketing stack.
In summary
ActiveCampaign is a powerful marketing automation platform that offers a competitive edge in terms of pricing, flexibility, and non-native integration capabilities.
Its commitment to providing a cost-effective solution for businesses, along with its attention to detail, sets it apart from its competitors. While there are areas where it could refine its user experience and expand its native integrations, it remains an excellent choice for businesses that value versatility and affordability in their marketing automation tools.
