Usability First
While most email marketing platforms have the same general purpose, the specific capabilities within in platform can vary widely. For example, a fan favorite such as Mailchimp offers simplistic, easy-to-create email templates. However, they don’t offer multi-level drip automation and additional integrations for reporting and tracking campaigns.
On the other side of the fence, a complete end-to-end marketing platform like Pardot or HubSpot might have too many bells and whistles for what you need. This will lead you to not only be inundated with features you won't need or even understand, but also to take on unnecessary expenses.
Database Second
The size of your current database will have tremendous impacts on your platform selection, as you’re going to be paying by the total number of users no matter where you go.
If your database is somewhere between 1-10,000 users, this is considered a small to medium size database. In this case, email service providers like Constant Contact, MailChimp, InfusionSoft, and Zoho would be cost-effective for a database this small.
If you’re drawing on a database into the hundreds of thousands, you’re likely going to have a high degree of segmentation among your lists. In which case, you’re going to want to have added control over these lists and be able to record them accurately.
For a database of this size, larger email marketing platforms would be more appropriate, such as Pardot, HubSpot, Drip, SilverPop or IBM Watson Marketing.
Looking for help in finding the right platform or executing email campaigns? We can help!