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VerticalResponse Review

Top10.com Staff

In a Nutshell

VerticalResponse provides a complete package of email marketing tools best suited for small companies beginning their email marketing efforts. It is ideal for small businesses or nonprofits that need a simple, cheap email marketing solution.

pros

  • Free up to 300 contacts
  • Easy-to-use reporting tool

cons

  • User Interface (UI) is antiquated
  • Email templates need customization

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Why Choose VerticalResponse

VerticalResponse is an easy-to-learn email marketing platform with competitive pricing and a complete tool set, that offers everything small businesses need for managing efficient email marketing campaigns.

It has won over 15 awards, including Gold in the Stevie Winner American Business Award and the 2014 Best in the Biz Small or Medium Business Service of the Year.

For users without designing or coding experience, it is easy to customize the templates with a drag-and-drop editor, and the upper-price tiers offer personalized email management support directly from the support team.

The addition of an informative reporting tool and a live chat system make VerticalResponse an optimal email marketing platform option for any small business.

Standard Features:

  • Mobile-friendly drag-and-drop editors
  • Customizable templates
  • Reporting tools
  • Scheduling
  • Web publishing
  • Surveys
  • Automation
  • Contact management
  • API integrations

Templates

There are 8 templates offered, as well as the option to build one from scratch or import HTML files. The templates include options for newsletters, promotions, invites and other general uses. The design of the templates feels generic, so we recommend either having someone on the VerticalResponse team design a personalized template or hiring a professional to do so.

All of the templates are mobile, desktop and tablet friendly, and feature an easy drag-and-drop tool as well.

Pricing

VerticalResponse provides an impressive free option, with 4,000 emails and up to 300 contacts per month. It also has packages with features for cost-conscious businesses, and promotes a 15% discount for nonprofits, as well as bulk discounts.

For a mere $11 per month, businesses can send unlimited emails to 1,000 contacts. Add $5 to that, and you get a personalized template and advanced Google Analytics-style reporting that is easy to understand.

Packages:
Basic
Pro
Pro+
Monthly price
$11/month
$16/month
$196/month
Name on Emails?
Yes
No
No
Automated Services
Follow-up emails
Small campaigns
Full campaigns
Special offer
Unlimited emails
Heat maps
Free newsletters

*Prices last updated May 2018

Ease of Use

VerticalResponse is best suited for basic email marketing functions like creating and sending emails, reporting on campaigns, scheduling and making simple autoresponders.

Simple is what VerticalResponse does best. It’s easy to figure out how to carry out a task in the dashboard, but it struggles to offer a complete overview of CRM and email marketing like other similar services do.

The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use, but the options for fonts and content modules are limited in scope. That being said, the support system is very responsive and can help make the most of any limitations.

Features

The advanced reporting tool is one of the platform’s best features. With data that covers device, demographic information and funnel optimization, it feels similar to Google Analytics and is impressive in scope.

Where VerticalResponse falls short, however, is its standard templates and dashboard. The standard templates look antiquated, rather than cutting edge. It will take a designer with coding experience to tweak the templates appropriately. 

The dashboard can also feel a bit overwhelming, with a somewhat garish color scheme. While it’s immediately clear how the autoresponders fit into the campaigns, and setting up an initial campaign is easy, it takes work to figure out how to use VerticalResponse’s more in-depth features.

That being said, VerticalResponse’s upper price tiers offer personal email marketing support directly from the team and include services such as personalized email templates, social media posts and monthly newsletters. For those who would rather pay out of pocket for email marketing services, this could be a good fit.

Customer Support

VerticalResponse has live chat, a support phone line and email support offered Monday–Friday, 8am–7pm ET, with a guaranteed reply within 24 hours Monday–Friday and within 48 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Support often replies quickly and is eager to help.

There is also a community forum with frequently asked questions and resources to improve email marketing. The support community topics covered include creating new emails, creating lists, pricing questions, using the drag-and-drop editor and much more.

Using the live chat during the week and email support during the weekend will produce the optimal results. Just make sure you check the forum community first. There’s a good chance someone else has already had a similar problem.

VerticalResponse is also active on Twitter and Facebook and consistently offers advice and best practices from its social channels.

Most basic paid plans include phone support and an email system, which is very useful  for people just getting started on email marketing. If you upgrade to the pro plan, one of VerticalResponse’s designers will create a custom template for you. The pro plus plans include social media marketing and custom email marketing management, which can be a fitting option for small businesses that can’t afford to hire someone to do their marketing.

VerticalResponse VerticalResponse Visit Site

Conclusion

VerticalResponse provides a cost-effective option for email marketing—especially for those  starting out with a small list or for nonprofits. Depending on the level chosen, VerticalResponse offers drag-and-drop templates, personalized email templates, advanced reporting tools, survey abilities, autoresponders and API integrations.

When it comes to the depth of the tool and quality of the templates, VerticalResponse may leave power users with something to be desired, but it’s an ideal choice for those with a small budget and basic email marketing needs.

About VerticalResponse

Founded in 2001 by Janine Popick, the company secured $1.4 million in funding and turned a profit 4 years after it was founded. It purchased Roost, a social media marketing technology company, in 2011, and was acquired by the Deluxe Corporation in 2013. The Deluxe Corporation is planning on integrating VerticalResponse with its Deluxe Marketing Suite in 2023 to become an all-in-one platform.

Top10.com's editorial staff is a professional team of editors and writers with dozens of years of experience covering consumer, financial and business products and services.

VerticalResponse customer reviews

Based on 30 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

3 years ago

It has a very customizable system with incredibly flexible design. Some of their offerings (A/B testing) were confusing at first but we got the hang of it.

3 years ago

Customer service was quick to respond to my inquiries and questions. They were pleasant, fast, and accurate and knew what they were doing.

3 years ago

I love the buy as you go feature and the ease of use. Also, love the buy one get one free promotions

3 years ago

They are easy to use and very effective at my business. I like the flexibility to be able to do whatever I need to do on the program.

3 years ago

It's easy to use and cost effective, I have used it for business and had very good results in the past.

3 years ago

This is a great system for managing different marketing programs. Easy to use and my staff likes it

3 years ago

I have never had reason to complain to VerticalResponse for any reason because every time I use them they respond quickly and efficiently

3 years ago

Very easy to navigate around the website and very good customer service for it's clients. I would definitely use again.

3 years ago

It's a good program. Easy to use, easy to adapt to. I would recommend this product to others.

3 years ago

It's a great email marketing software & keeps customers happy with its consistency.

3 years ago

Great customer service answered all of my questions and emailed back quickly. The software was easy to use and we got our campaign up and running.

3 years ago

It's a alright email marketing service. but I am sure there are better ones out there just haven't tried them yet.

3 years ago

They have a good tool with superior customer support. Their upgrades are the only thing that needs work

3 years ago

They're great for our business. Very easy to create your own pages/designs, which we experiment a lot with.

3 years ago

I think they deliver a great service. I just find their interface a little challenging. I love the email verification aspect where they let you know if it was opened or deleted.

3 years ago

VerticalResponse is a strong solution, and is one of the best values for your money spent out of most solutions out there.

3 years ago

VerticalResponse was difficult to use, so I wanted my money back from that app.

3 years ago

Very easy to use and saves money, I would recommend it to a friend and family as it has helped my business.

3 years ago

I love VerticalResponse. They treat their customers well. They help me whenever I had any questions.

3 years ago

Even if you are not computer savvy, this company will go all out of their way to get you back on track with what ever issue you maybe facing.

VerticalResponse
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