Constant Contact Review - The Heart of Small Business?

Constant Contact in Detail

Criterion	Rating/Info	Notes
Ease of Use		Generally it’s easy to navigate yet a bit dull-looking. As there aren’t too many options, it’s logically laid out you can get to most places within a couple of clicks. Sometimes sections can take a while to load, though, which slows down the experience.
Newsletter Creation
-Editor		The editor is fast, but light on features, especially in the styling department. One of the limits we discovered, for example, is that a three column layout is not (yet) possible. Apart from that it’s easy to work with.
-Personalization	yes	This is very basic though, only allowing you to insert simple greetings or contact details. There is no if/then/else logic available.
-Types of Emails		Classic, autoresponders, recurring newsletters, event registrations, coupons, surveys and polls.
Choice and Flexibility of Template Designs		While the templates aren’t particularly stylish, there are a few to choose from, and you can also start from scratch. Using the previewer allows you to see how templates look in both desktop and mobile format.
Marketing Automation		Not available, simply autoresponders.
List Management		Constant Contact have quite basic list management and segmentation. It’s done through a simple search while with contacts, using “is”/”is not” filters, and once you’ve got your results you can check them to either add them to a list, remove them from one, or apply a tag.
Registration Forms/ Opt-in & Opt-out- Process		There is next to no customisation with the form, and it simply offers a description box, basic field options (which you can’t add to) and then a list, or lists, that people can check to be added to. Embedded forms also have a limit of 200 sign-ups per day.
Reports and Analysis		Constant Contact have just the basics in terms of reporting. Openers and clickers, and Google Analytics integration. No advanced tracking available though.
Languages		The site is only available in English, but you can choose to change some of the non-editable email sections to one of 10 languages available, mostly European.
Further Features
-Spam- and Design-Testing		Under development.
-Bounce Management	yes	Soft bounces are placed on temporary hold for 15 days, and then resent. If it happens again they are moved into a suspended bounce category. They have a ‘recommended for removal’ filter available to view these, but don’t remove them automatically.
-Blacklist	no	Not available.
-Storage Available for Data and Images	2GB	Max image size of 5MB.
-Social Media Integration		They have 40 social media integrations/apps in their marketplace, including Facebook. You can also add a social bar within your email, which includes up to 7 of the main networks.
-Newsletter Archive	no
Pro Features
-Authentication	yes	SPF and  DKI M  are supported.
-Own Domain?	no
-Different Access Levels	yes	The Account Owner can also assign roles to be either an Account Manager or a Campaign Creator.
-Integrations	yes	Constant Contact offer a massive amount of apps and integrations, over 270.
-Landing Page Editor	yes	This is only available via their event management tool.
Support		Support was a letdown with Constant Contact. While they do have a moderately useful knowledge base, sometimes the links just didn’t work. I didn’t test the phone, but email and live chat were disappointing. Email help claimed a 4 hour response time, but it took 10. And live chat staff were often unable to help, directing me several times to call the international number.
Overall Rating	3.5/5	For a basic email tool, you could do worse than Constant Contact. The main issue here, though, is that they’re asking a premium price for a sub-premium product.

© EmailToolTester Matrix

Conclusion:

As Constant Contact  themselves reiterate through their site, they are a tool for small businesses. And, as such, it’s worth evaluating them on these terms. As mentioned above, they definitely have enough of the basics covered to satisfy most small businesses, and if it were as simple as that then we’d recommend them more highly.

The issue, these days, is that there are plenty of other email tools offering even more than Constant Contact, and for a lot less money. This includes not only features, but also user experience and, of course, customer service. This last point is a bit of a sore point for Constant Contact. I really didn’t feel valued as a customer during my interactions with their support team. It wasn’t that they were unfriendly, just that the level of knowledge was lower than expected and getting the right information was a multi-step process.

They do pick up points for their general integrations, particularly social media integrations, and for allowing different access levels for separate users. But their lack of advanced features, such as marketing automation, makes it difficult to recommend over others at their price point.

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Updates

12 Aug 2016 - Video review added.
28. Jul - 01. Aug 2016 - Initial tests.

Last Update: 12 Aug 2016 | Steve Lamattina