MailChimp vs Contact Contact

Which Email Marketing Software Reigns Supreme for Small

Businesses?

MailChimp vs Constant Contact:6 Consideration Factors

1. Price

MailChimp Pricing

• Offers a “Forever Free” version for up to 2,000 email subscribers and 12,000 emails per month

• Paid service starts at $10/mo for unlimited emails up to 500 subscribers and increases $5/mo for every 500 subscribers added

• Offers “pay as you go” option, good for scaling

• Offers high volume CPM pricing• All nonprofits receive a 15%

discount

1. Price

Constant Contact Pricing

• Offers a 60 day free trial period in which you can email up to 100 contacts

• Email marketing with CC starts at $20/mo for up to 500 contacts and increases to as much as $85 per month for up to 10,000 contacts

• Offers “Email Plus Plan” which includes surveys, registration forms, coupons, etc (starts at $45/mo)

• Can receive 10% off your account if you prepay 6 months in advance

• Nonprofits receive 20% prepayment discount

1. Price

Pricing winner= MailChimp

The founder and CEO of mKonnekt Seshu Madabushi says that MailChimp’s “Forever Free” model is the clear winner. MailChimp’s flexible pricing is great for small businesses.

2. Support

MailChimp Customer Support

• Mainly self-service support through the online Knowledge Base

• Free users have an introductory period that includes 30 days of free email support

• Monthly and pay as you go customers also receive chat and email support 24/5, with weekends limited to email service only

2. Support

Constant Contact Customer Support

• Phone, chat, and email support offered during weekdays for business hours across all time zones in US and Canada, email support on weekends

• Helpful resources on their site, including community forum, recorded video tutorials, and local seminars for live instruction

• Additional training and support services are available for an additional purchase

2. Support

Support Winner= Constant Contact

Ira Wolfe, President of Success Performance Solutions, says that “[Constant Contact] offers a tremendous amount of support and resources for the small business.”

3. Features & Functionality

3. Features & Functionality

Support Winner= Tie

Some small business owners like Michelle Geib at Xperience Days Inc. prefer MailChimp’s functionality, saying that “[MailChimp] offers a multitude of additional features” that Constant Contact doesn’t have.

Others say that Constant Contact has the edge in functionality, and that its features make it well-suited to “those who have some experience but are not necessarily experts; such as the common Marketing Coordinator.”

4. Deliverability

MailChimp Deliverability

MailChimp allows you to re-upload unsubscribes to your lists which some reported would halt your entire account if you attempted to do so in Constant Contact.

Dave Bowman of Design Turnpike hypothesizes that his low bounce and unsubscribe rates with MailChimp could be because “they work harder to keep their site from triggering spam alerts or getting sender mailboxes blocked”

4. Deliverability

Constant Contact Deliverability

The primary reason most marketers preferred Constant Contact in our survey was because they saw greater email deliverability with Constant Contact.

Corina Kellam related that “Within one month of using MailChimp, my primary email wasn’t working properly… my email host finally confirmed that I’d been flagged for spam because of my MailChimp account. Unimpressed!”

4. Deliverability

Deliverability Winner= Constant Contact

5. Integrations

MailChimp Integrations

• Integrations to note: WordPress, Magento, Salesforce, ZenDesk, BigCommerce, Drupal, Mandrill, Eventbrite, and Google Analytics

• In a recent comparison we did of 9 CRM software solutions, it was the only software to integrate with all 9

5. Integrations

Constant Contact Integrations

• Integrations to note: Outlook, Facebook, Hootsuite, Salesforce, ACT!, MINDBODY, Quickbooks, and WordPress

• Because Constant Contact has a built-in platform that includes a suite of its own functionality, like social media marketing, events, surveys, and the like, they don’t have the variety of integrations that MailChimp has in the same spaces

5. Integrations

Integrations Winner= MailChimp

Tim Trampedach of Level X Motorsports says that MailChimp “often has ready-to-go integrations into toolsets like Heroku, Magento, etc. MailChimp is excellent and a clear favorite with the Silicon Valley crowd.”

6. Company Culture

MailChimp Company Culture

• Playful, humorous, friendly to work with

• Offers unique content like coloring books, creative guides, and of course the beloved mascot

• Copley Broer of LandlordStation says “the thing that attracted us to MailChimp originally was really their design, which is really simple and well-done, and their sort of odd sense of humor… which acts as a daily reminder that all business and marketing should be an enjoyable and fun experience for the end user.”

6. Company Culture

Constant Contact Company Culture

• The words that came up to describe Constant Contact’s company culture most often: helpful and reputable

• They invest heavily in television, radio, and other mass media advertising campaigns, and as a result have greater brand recognition among small business marketers

• Great customer service and online resources make them a go-to for small business advice

6. Company Culture

Culture Winner= it depends… would you rather work with a company that’s fun and friendly or trustworthy and reputable?

Bob Herman from ShipTropolis says “Both MailChimp and Constant Contact can help create success for a small business... Sign up for the free trial on both systems and spend some time churning the wheels. Choose the one you like best and don’t look back!”

Originally written by Katie Hollar,the full post can be found here