Email Marketing Software Rating Criteria
Email Marketing Software Rating Criteria
Email marketing as a term is a bit of a misnomer these days, as these marketing services provide much, much more than just email. From social media to text messaging and even physical postcards, posters, and flyers, if you want to market your business, email marketing software can help. Email marketing software is generally cloud-based with monthly or yearly SaaS pricing plans, so the criteria below are largely geared toward evaluating these types of platforms. We make small adjustments in evaluating locally-installed solutions.
Email marketing software is rated on the following eight sections: Pricing, Hardware & Software Requirements, Ease Of Use, Features, Customer Service & Technical Support, User Reviews, Integrations & Add-Ons, and Security.
Each section is assigned a rating of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor based on the outlined criteria. The overall score out of 5 stars is then based on the following general guidelines:
| Overall Score | Section Ratings |
|---|---|
| 5.0 | Majority "Excellent" and "Good", no "Poor" |
| 4.0 - 4.5 | Majority "Good" |
| 3.0 - 3.5 | Majority "Good" and / or "Fair" |
| 2.0 - 2.5 | Majority "Fair" and / or "Poor" |
| 1.0 - 1.5 | Majority "Poor" |
For more detailed information on scoring, as well as how we make recommendations based on these scores, see our Rating And Scoring System.
The following characteristics warrant an Excellent rating:
Pricing
- The price accurately reflects the value of the software at each pricing level
- Price is competitive and affordable relative to the intended customer base
- Industry-standard features are included within the main pricing plans
- Discounts available (for annual or multi-year subscription, education, non-profit)
Hardware & Software Requirements
- Software is accessible on all main browsers and devices
- Software includes well-developed mobile apps
Ease Of Use
- Signup and on-boarding is simple and well-guided
- Interface design is logical, intuitive, and easy to navigate
- Individual features are easy to use with self-explanatory input fields
- Runs smoothly with no major bugs or glitches affecting basic features
Features
- Provides a well-rounded set of built-in features that serve the intended audience
- Feature set offers good value for the price
- Features include: shopping cart reminders, recent visit check-ins, A/B testing/segmentation, email automation, customer behavior analytics, targeted messages, and multiple email templates as well as a visual editor, text editor, and/or HTML editor
- The majority of individual features are flexible and robust
Customer Service & Technical Support
- Provides multiple avenues for personalized support (phone, email/support tickets, and/or live chat)
- Provides an extensive collection of quality online self-help resources (knowledgebase, tutorial videos, community forums, blog, etc.)
- A live representative can be reached during business hours via phone and/or live chat
- Company responds to support requests in a timely manner (emails within 24 hours, phone holds and live chats within minutes)
- Support representatives are knowledgeable, courteous, and able to resolve issues
- Support department has a reputation for good service, even if some complaints exist
User Reviews
- The number of complaints is reasonable in proportion to company size and user base
- Complaints reference isolated, specific circumstances rather than systemic problems the company has failed to address
- Complaints are addressed publicly in a reasonable and respectful manner
- Customer feedback is taken into consideration when updating the software, which frequently renders older complaints obsolete
- Receives mostly positive reviews/scores on trusted third-party review sites (and/or app marketplaces)
- Positive reviews include significant detail regarding reasons for the high rating
Note: Email marketing software with very few user reviews receives a rating of Fair until more data becomes available.
Integrations & Add-Ons
- Offers a large number of integrations
- Provides a well-rounded set of widely-used third-party software integrations (e.g., accounting, ecommerce, POS, loyalty, marketing, etc.)
- Includes a Zapier (or another multi-app connector) integration
Security
- The company is transparent about its security measures
- Security features include at a minimum: data encryption, firewalls, virus/intrusion detection and prevention, regular backups, physical security measures for data centers
- Maintains a long track record of no major, wide-spread security issues
- Percentage uptime is at or above industry-standard levels
- Provides updates regarding security status, planned maintenance and downtime, etc.
