Introduction
Constant Contact is a popular Email marketing software that allows its users to expand their reach, market their products, promote events, and acquire new customers through a range of tools. It offers a wide range of features that help users extract maximum benefit from email marketing. Recently, it has expanded its feature portfolio by adding SMS marketing as one of its capabilities. However, that capability is pretty basic and is not as enriched as required in an era wherein SMS has become the most popular mode of communication for customers and businesses alike.
A lot of Constant Contact customers have mentioned that Constant Contact is a great software as long as one needs to send email marketing campaigns, but for other capabilities, they would rather look for a software that offers more robust texting functionalities. Are you also using Constant Contact for email marketing and are figuring out where to go with regard to SMS marketing? Relax, we’ve got your back. In this article, we’ll share with you the main challenges with Constant Contact SMS and how you can go about resolving those challenges. Stay tuned to get detailed insights!
Why Should You Look For A Constant Contact SMS Alternative?
Constant Contact SMS is not as advanced as users would want to extract the best value out of SMS. With the SMS marketing feature encompassed by Constant Contact, here are some things you can do:
- Send automated SMS campaign triggers
- Keep a check on the character count of messages
- Track metrics such as messages sent and delivered, and the click rate
- Ask customers to opt-in to receive marketing messages
- Shorten links and get a preview of messages before sending
However, there are a couple of shortcomings with this SMS marketing functionality that need to be addressed:
Limited analytics
The analytics feature isn’t as enriched as required. Constant Contact SMS is quite basic in that regard.
Limited automations
The marketing automation is limited; customers cannot customize the automations as per their preferences.
Issues with Constant Contact pricing
The price of Constant Contact SMS starts from $9.99 per month for 500 subscribers but it gets fairly expensive if your subscriber list grows to 5000.
Deliverability issues
A lot of users have complained that their messages don’t get delivered to their recipients. This is a huge problem as the platform isn’t able to fic the basic functionality of messages getting delivered to recipients on time.
Important compliances missing
Constant Contact SMS doesn’t offer basic compliances such as HIPAA and doesn’t even offer secure text messaging. It is not ideal for people who want to ensure encryption with respect to sending and receiving text messages.
Limited features
With Constant Contact SMS, the features you get aren’t as diverse as you’d like. You cannot send MMS messages, group texts, mass texts, assign conversations to team members, or send links in text messages. There are no SMS templates that you can use to send messages.
No two-way communication
Constant Contact SMS is quite limited and restricted as it doesn’t offer two-way texting! It means that you cannot have one-on-one conversations with your recipients. This is a very basic functionality that all texting platforms provide.
Clunky software
Constant Contact SMS is not easy to use; there’s a learning curve involved. A lot of users have left reviews saying that the software is clunky and that they’ve had difficulties getting a hang of it. Mostly texting platforms are designed to make it easy for users to send and receive messages. Since Constant Contact focuses on email marketing, it has not addressed issues pertaining to user experience.
If you’re also facing similar issues, we’ve got two fantastic solutions for you. Keep reading to find out!
How To Deal With The Shortcomings of Constant Contact SMS?
If you’re using Constant Contact for both your email and SMS marketing needs and are facing any of the aforementioned issues, then there are two routes that you can choose from. Let’s discuss the solutions in detail:
Route-1: Constant Contact SMS Integration
This route is ideal for you if you want to keep using Constant Contact for email marketing and do not wish to migrate from it just to be able to use SMS marketing to its fullest potential. The good news is that you can save yourself the hassle of migrating to a different system and enjoy end-to-end SMS marketing solutions by integrating Constant Contact with Emitrr via Zapier.
Whether you need to create a new campaign, send a new message, create a new contact, or send a follow-up message; you can do so with an integration. When you integrate Emitrr with Constant Contact through Zapier, you can easily import and sync contact lists, manage cross-channel communication, send group texts and mass texts, and even send images and links in your messages.
Another interesting feature offered by Emitrr is its Chrome extension. If you sign up with Emitrr and download its Chrome extension, the ease with which you can manage communications is absolutely amazing. You can streamline customer communication without having to leave the browser window with this extension. You can send and receive messages directly from your CRM or web app, add and change contact information, start new conversations, and save new contacts with just a click.
Route-2: Constant Contact SMS Alternative
If you do not want to continue with Constant Contact anymore, then you have the option to switch to a Constant Contact SMS alternative. Here is a list of alternatives for Constant Contact SMS marketing that you can choose from:
- Emitrr
- Brevo
- GetResponse
- SendPulse
- Klaviyo
- Omnisend
- Braze
Let’s explore these alternatives in detail:
Emitrr
Emitrr is a complete customer communication and engagement platform that allows you to leverage the power of text messaging with its diverse features. This is a great Constant Contact SMS alternative that gives you the ability to launch SMS marketing campaigns with utter ease and seamlessly communicate with your customers. Not only does Emitrr offer SMS marketing, but also allows you to send and receive business messages, ensure smooth team collaboration, reduce no-shows, and boost engagement.
When you switch to Emitrr, you need not worry about your email campaigns as the platform also offers assistance with regards to the same. You can send email marketing campaigns via Emitrr with just a few clicks and even use email templates to make your job easier. All in all, Emitrr is a great fit if you’re desperately looking forward to switching from Constant Contact.
Features of Emitrr
- Send two-way text messages to customers
- Use SMS templates to avoid creating messages from scratch
- Import your contacts and lists to Emitrr with a few clicks
- Segment your audience by creating lists
- Set up multi-touch text messaging campaigns
- Automatically sync data from your current CRM (EMR/PMS/Scheduling Platforms)
- Send personalized messages to contacts on a scale
- Automatically follow up with customers using drip campaigns
- Manage customer responses in one centralized dashboard
- Track metrics like delivery rate failed messages
- Filter responses by campaigns to monitor the response rate
- Send group texts and mass texts
Pros of Emitrr
- Easy to use
- Unparalleled support
- Ample integration options
Cons of Emitrr
- More features and integrations are coming soon
Emitrr Pricing
$30 per month (You pay for what you use!)
Emitrr Support Channels
- Knowledge Base
- Chat
- Email/Help Desk
- Phone Support
- FAQs/Forum
- 24/7 live support
Brevo
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is another email marketing platform that also offers SMS marketing capabilities. This Constant Contact SMS alternative allows users to build customer relationships through SMS marketing.
Features of Brevo
- Launch SMS marketing campaigns to targeted lists
- Add images to your messages
- Personalize messages at scale
- Trigger transactional messages for real-time updates
- Get access to detailed campaign analytics
Pros of Brevo
- Intuitive dashboard
- Easy to use
Cons of Brevo
- Limited personalization options
- No SMS templates
Brevo Pricing
$19 per month, a 30-day free trial is also available
Brevo Support Channels
- Knowledge Base
- Chat
- Email/Help Desk
- Phone Support
- FAQs/Forum
GetResponse
GetResponse is another popular Constant Contact SMS alternative that offers SMS marketing capabilities that helo users reach their audience more effectively.
Features of GetResponse
- Send bulk SMS marketing campaigns
- Personalize messages at scale
- Opt-in/opt-out management
- Import contact lists with a single click
- Shorten links to save characters
- Launch omnichannel marketing campaigns
Pros of GetResponse
- Simple user interface
- Ample features
Cons of GetResponse
- Limited automations
- Poor customer support
GetResponse Pricing
$48 per month
GetResponse Support Channels
- FAQs/Forum
- 24/7 (Live rep)
- Knowledge Base
- Email/Help Desk
- Chat
SendPulse
SendPulse is a marketing automation platform that is designed to help businesses streamline their marketing and sales processes
Features of SendPulse
- Send bulk SMS marketing campaigns
- Shorten links to save characters
- Launch omnichannel marketing campaigns
- Personalize messages at scale
- Import contact lists with a single click
Pros of SendPulse
- Easy to use
- Good integrations
Cons of SendPulse
- Limited automations
- Complicated pricing plans
SendPulse Pricing
Starts at $10 per month
SendPulse Support Channels
- Knowledge Base
- Chat
- Email/Help Desk
- Phone Support
- FAQs/Forum
- 24/7 live support
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is an email and text marketing platform that offers camapibilities for better engagement with customers. This Constant Contact alternative offers features such as 2-way messaging, AB testing, Mass texting, MMS, and Message personalization among others.
Features of Klaviyo
- Send two-way messages to your customers
- Follow up with automated messages
- Personalize messages at scale
- Opt-in/Opt-out management
- Send bulk text marketing campaigns
Pros of Klaviyo
- Ease of use and setup
- Good integration options
Cons of Klaviyo
- Confusing pricing plans
- Limited SMS marketing features
Klaviyo Pricing
Starts at $20 per month
Klaviyo Support Channels
- Chat
- Email/Help Desk
- Knowledge Base
- FAQs/Forum
Omnisend
OmniSend is another multichannel communication platform for eCommerce businesses. This Constant Contact alterntaive is mainly an email marketing service, but it also offers SMS services.
Features of Omnisend
- Launch SMS marketing campaigns
- Create automated SMS workflows
- Send web-push notifications
- Personalize messages at scale
- Opt-in/Opt-out management
Pros of Omnisend
- Easy to create workflows
- Good customer service
Cons of Omnisend
- Limited integration options
- Limited customization options
Omnisend Pricing
Starts at $18 per month
Omnisend Support Channels
- Knowledge Base
- Chat
- Email/Help Desk
- Phone Support
- FAQs/Forum
- 24/7 live support
Why Is Emitrr The Best Constant Contact SMS Alternative?
Emitrr is an emerging leader in the SMS marketing space, and this is not a self-claimed title, but is given by major review sites such as Capterra and Software Advice. Here’s why Emitrr stands out from its competitors:
- Diverse features: As compared to all the aforementioned Constant Contact SMS alternatives, Emitrr offers all the features your business needs to run SMS marketing campaigns. Whether you need to acquire new customers, retain and nurture existing customers, or improve team collaboration; Emitrr has everything you need to drive results from your campaigns. Even if you need to send email campaigns every now and then, Emitrr offers assistance with that as well.
- Excellent customer support: Emitrr takes pride in its round-the-clock customer service and has been awarded 5 starts by major review platforms for the same. You can check out what our chsutoemrs have to say here: https://www.capterra.com/p/215815/Emitrr/
- Ease of use: Emitrr’s intuitive interface is a great advantage as it helps you easily manage customer conversations, ensure seamless team collaboration, and run SMS marketing campaigns with utter ease. The software is easy to setup and implement and there is no learning curve involved.
Conclusion
Are you ready to implement SMS marketing to scale your business? Well, pick the route that best fits your business needs. Did Emitrr’s offerings excite you? Book a quick call and get detailed insights from our experts.
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