Bridging the GAP between Sales & Marketing
Updated April 29, 2015

Bridging the GAP between Sales & Marketing

Angie J Anderson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Act-On

Currently using Act-On for several clients marketing campaigns. By leveraging Act-On we were able to connect our clients CRM (Dynamics CRM) to Act-On and bridge the gap between sales and marketing by making sure the hot leads were front and center

Pros

  • Connection to Dynamics CRM (not all email automation tools connect)
  • Customer Service is amazing - we have been treated the same way from them wanting our business to now being a customer
  • Building Emails, Landing Pages and Forms has been very easy even without a designer or developer

Cons

  • Marketing List should be able to be sorted by the client, we should be able to move most used lists up to the top
  • Additional Webinar connections
  • Sales and Marketing teams are working together (Priceless!)
  • One programs ROI has increased from a 17 to 1 to a 25 to 1 because of the lead scoring and following up first with them and in addition to Instant Alerts that reps can respond to right away
  • Marketo,ExactTarget Interactive Marketing Hub
Unfortunately they lacked the customer service in the sale stage and their price was not a flat rate, and the basic models were not enough. Plus no connection to Dynamics CRM at the time of evaluation.
They haven't disappointed and the new features that come out monthly are fantastic.
Like anything, there needs to be a "needs / want / wish list" assessment done. But depending on the list, I would definitely suggest Act-On

Using Act-On

5 - Marketing Consultants and Strategic Consultants to our clients.
1 - Database Administrator for the Workflows to Dynamics CRM. But it would be 10% of his job.
  • email deployments
  • lead scoring
  • database management
  • Landing Pages and being able to track hot leads
  • Registrations forms and accrediting them a lead score
  • Using external lists and being able to apply lead score
  • Unknown at the moment

Evaluating Act-On and Competitors

Yes - Campaign Monitor - because it didn't connect to Dynamics CRM
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
  • Third-party Reviews
Connecting to Dynamics CRM
I built a need, want and wish list and I would do the same again, but there might be new things on my lists.

Act-On Implementation

Go Slow - Test - Test - TEST
Yes - We decided to break it into phases and over the course of a couple of months we slowly moved clients over.
Change management was minimal - Team was excited about the new tool
  • wanting to try all the new bells and whistle right away

Act-On Support

The customer success manager assigned to each accounts after you become a client are amazing.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
No - It hasn't been required, but I would depending on what I was looking for
Yes - Absolutely, one employee actually stayed 4 hours after closing to resolve it. Then called us on his day off.
All the time, we have "special needs" client that have a lot of rules and regulations that make my request sometimes very crazy like and Act-On has always smiled and with a 'Can Do' approach solved it.

Using Act-On

It has been the quick tools we use to get our team members up and trained. the Act-On University is fabulous
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • email deployment
  • building forms
  • lead scoring
  • automated programs at first, but now it is second nature

Act-On Reliability

Act-On just keeps improving.

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