If you want to do ecommerce right, you need a solid marketing automation strategy in place. And of you want to do marketing automation right, you need a solid software platform.
We’re a lifecycle marketing agency. That means we spend a lot of time deep within a huge suite of software tools. So let’s take a (as unbiased as possible) look at a few of the most popular email marketing platforms on the market to help you make your mind up about which one is right for you.
For full transparency, we are Klaviyo and Dotmailer partners – though we do stand by all our opinions in this piece.
Mailchimp
Pros: Mailchimp is a very user friendly platform. It makes it easy for even beginners to create and send emails that work well and look great. Mailchimp is great starting point for small businesses who are looking to send out newsletters or regular email campaigns.
Cons: While Mailchimp’s email design functionality is easy to use, the platform is limited in other areas. They do have automation support – however compared to other platforms on the market, it is currently limited.
Integrations: Mailchimp has some reasonably effective integrations with most ecommerce platforms, advertising platforms, CRMs and more. However, the level of data that can be pulled in and put to use is often limited.
Pricing: Mailchimp have pricing options to suit businesses of all types. It’s even free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month!
Perfect for: Small or new businesses who are just starting out with email marketing.
Klaviyo
Pros: Compared to Mailchimp, Klaviyo is incredibly feature-rich. It pulls more data from more sources and allows you to do far more with it. And it does so with a very clean, simple interface.
Klaviyo is one of the best ecommerce marketing automation platforms on the market these days, and is perfect for businesses with a strong social presence. With deep integrations with Facebook, you can share data between, and strengthen, your social advertising and email marketing at the same time.
Klaviyo’s integrations are perhaps its greatest strength. The team at Klaviyo understand that you need data to create truly intelligent marketing solutions, but all that data is spread out across different services. If you want to make the most of all the information you collect – from your online store, payment processor, website, helpdesk, and more – you’ll want to look into Klaviyo.
Cons: Klaviyo’s email campaign builder will occasionally leave things to be desired. Their HTML editor isn’t as flexible as most developers would like, so you may find your team using the visual editor instead.
Integrations: With over 50 integrations, Klaviyo is one of the better connected platforms on the market. Plus, they have an open API – if you’re good with code, you can even create your own integrations.
Pricing: Like Mailchimp, Klaviyo offers a reasonably comprehensive free version of their software. However, this is only available for users with 500 contacts or less. Otherwise, their pricing options work on a sliding scale, which makes them very flexible to work with.
Perfect for: Any company large or small, who want to create powerful ecommerce email automations. If you use a lot of the services Klaviyo integrates with, it’s probably perfect for you.
Dotmailer
Pros: Dotmailer is a powerhouse. It has incredibly comprehensive functionality, and seriously impressive targeting and automation capabilities.
Dotmailer is perfect for businesses with complex or expensive products. If you have a hard sell to make, Dotmailer’s awesome data capture tools will allow you to create incredibly personalised and relevant marketing to tip your prospects over the line.
Dotmailer’s email editor makes creating dynamic content and personalisations simple. Their huge suite of integrations makes it easy to collect the data you need to make dynamic content possible, and their drag and drop editor means what you see is what you get. You won’t need to be a code wizard to create great looking emails yourself.
Cons: Dotmailer is a seriously professional tool for marketers. However, their focus on developing technically brilliant and incredibly powerful functionality seems to have taken priority over their interface design. It can become very confusing at times – so you will need to be sure you’ve read up on all their training materials, or hire a Dotmailer certified agency to manage your account for you.
Integrations: Dotmailer has over 80 integrations. This allows you to pull data into your marketing automation hub from practically anywhere, and put it to use in your email campaigns and automations.
Pricing: Dotmailer is at the top of the market when it comes to pricing. While their platform has some incredible functionality – it doesn’t come cheap. Monthly plans start at $350, and go all the way to $2,400 for the ultimate packages. This makes Dotmailer a platform that only businesses who are serious about their email marketing should consider. Take a look at their pricing options for more information.
Perfect for: Medium to large established companies who want to get serious about their marketing automation.
For more information on selecting a platform – get in touch with us today. We’d love to discuss these amazing tools more with you!