Email marketing and email notifications are some of the most widely used tools that have been a part of the digital marketing gamut as well as the CRM scenario. This is due to the fact that most interactions and notifications happen via email now, more than ever before. Therefore, it is not only important to keep track of contacts, but also to send in the notifications on time so that there is no lapse of communication between the business and the consumer. 

When we think of CRM, there are a number of allied marketing automation fields that also come to mind. One of the most important is email marketing since this is now an everyday element that we all log into and need. Email inboxes are on our phones now and they are always ready to notify us for a number of things starting from shopping to banking and so much more. So, it would be important to connect CRM with email marketing as well. 

In this regard, there are a number of platforms that are CRM systems with an email centric system of execution. In fact, for many of these platforms, like GetResponse and the alternatives to GetResponse, the entire sales funnel or the sales pipeline has been set through email marketing and email templates that can be sent out at the tap of a button or automatically on the completion of certain tasks in the sales pipeline. 

If we are to talk about GetResponse and what it typically does, we can break it down into the following components:-

  • Contact Management: With GetResponse, you get to manage all the contact information in one place which is easy to pull up when an email has to be sent. An example of this could the on boarding of a new customer which would automatically lead to the sending of a welcome notification email. 
  • Interactions: The CRM system would also be able to track and main records of interactions that the business would have had with the customers so that the same can be accessed when the customer calls for any kind of support and service. This would make the business look more professional and waste less time for the sales and support teams as well as the customer. 
  • Leads: When it comes to lead generation and lead nurturing up to the point where a conversion happens, your CRM and email integration would be important since the insights and tracking as well as the notifications and the new email campaigns would all run parallel to each other with the information that has been saved. Further, these emails would have calls for action that would point at the completion of one task in the sales pipeline so that the next person in the team can jump on the next task to go further in said pipeline towards conversion. 

These are just a few things that one can achieve with the kind of integration that one sees on GetResponse or the GetResponse alternatives. Here is a review of all the alternatives:-

1. EngageBay: This would have to be the top alternative to GetResponse considering the complete suite of features that it offers for super affordable plans. Also, it has won many awards in a short span and the platform has even serviced as many as up to 12,000 clients all over the world. It is not only affordable as a CRM and marketing automation platform, but it also offers plenty of support so that even small sales teams do not have to dilute their efforts as far as sales and marketing goes. 

2. Benchmark CRM: Currently, the Benchmark brand is undergoing a revamp session. It has been known as one of the best platforms out there for email and CRM integration, yet it does not really bring marketing automation into the mix which makes it a poor alternative to GetResponse. This CRM platform also has plenty of templates and features when it comes to emails and the analysis of the same in terms of insights. 

3. ConvertKit: This has been marketed as an email marketing software that helps you create connections in the digital world. In doing so, it lets you generate leads and nurture them along the sales pipeline so that you can finally convert them to the best of your sales team’s abilities. ConvertKit is an email based CRM platform that helps you send and track emails even as it offers you many templates. 

4. ActiveCampaign: With ActiveCampaign, you can gain many new customers yet it is not a fully loaded platform unlike other alternatives to GetResponse like EngageBay. You will get all the features of email marketing with this CRM platform, but is still lacks that marketing automation side which goes into all the elements of digital marketing. 

5. Insightly: With Insightly, you can gain a platform that helps you focus on sales, marketing, email and a number of other automated services in terms of CRM integration. But it is not the easiest to setup and not very user friendly either. 

So, the final analysis shows that EngageBay gives you the best deal in the most affordable plan and many features to take home and help your business grow!

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].