Running a business in a dynamic and highly competitive landscape is difficult enough. Add to that the disruptions brought about by a pandemic, and companies will need all the help available to them to ensure business profitability. To survive and thrive in these conditions, companies should build customer relationships in a smart way that result in loyalty and retention. Growing a business the modern way is done with the use of automation tools included in software like ActiveCampaign and Keap.
Sales and marketing automation improves the experience of both the customers of the company and the users of the software. In this ActiveCampaign vs. Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) article, we compare similar features and the different implementation and approach the solutions provide. Customer experience is key in how teams adopt CRM, sales, and marketing tools. Companies should choose the solution that is easier to use to contact and engage their customers.
Benefits of automation in sales and marketing
CRM platforms now include automation features to help sales and marketing professionals spend less time doing repetitive tasks and more on initiatives that directly impact revenues. Here are some of the reasons why automation is beneficial in a growing business:
- Saves time so users can focus on analysis, creativity, and customer engagement
- Saves on costs and allows users to spend resources properly
- Enables teams and companies scale faster when the business starts to grow
- Improves reporting frequency for better tracking of data
- Boosts efficiency with ready-to-use tools such as templates and A/B testing
- Streamlines processes and tasks with scheduled and personalized emails based on triggers
The ActiveCampaign approach
ActiveCampaign is a customer experience platform with tools and features for email marketing, marketing automation, CRM, and sales automation. Businesses of all sizes in different countries use it for e-commerce, digital business, and business-to-business. Sales, marketing, and customer service teams attract more customers, keep more customers, and grow their revenue with the help of the software. Users reach out and connect with their customers through email, landing pages, messaging, text, conversations, chat, social media, and web personalization.
Email marketing
ActiveCampaign lets you build and send the email campaigns that your prospects and customers want to see. You can send emails in bulk to anyone in your list with one click. The software allows you to send emails automatically based on triggers such as purchase, site visit, or any engagement that shows increased interest in your product or service. It has grouping/segmentation so you can send targeted emails, autoresponders to get in touch right away, and scheduled emails to greet customers on special dates.
Marketing automation
ActiveCampaign has marketing automation features that simplifies marketing in a time-efficient manner. An interactive tool allows you to automate your email followup, find your most engaged contacts, and integrate apps you’re using with a few clicks. Simply drag and drop choices into the automation builder and create an automated marketing workflow that will work consistently day-in and day-out. You can also automate your segmentation process, so you can send targeted communication that will build stronger customer connections. See all your automations from a single view to easily make adjustments.
CRM and sales automation
Similar with marketing automation, you can use the automated builder to simplify your sales process. Automatically notify your sales team when a contact submits a form, or create a task to call a customer when an interested contact visits a webpage. Automation helps you qualify and nurture your leads so you can spend more time on the best deals. ActiveCampaign also includes tools for contact management, a viewable sales process at a glance, lead scoring, win probability, and native iOS app integration.
The Keap approach
Keap, formerly known as Infusionsoft, is an all-in-one CRM, sales, and marketing automation software. It enables entrepreneurs to collect more leads, convert more clients, and create more customers with a software solution that creates a great user experience and repeat business. Hundreds of thousands of users are growing their business with products that range from core CRM, automation, and email tools for startups, to advanced automation, customizable campaigns, and analytics for established business. Infusionsoft software is now called Keap Max for advanced e-commerce and sales teams.
Email marketing
Keap gives you an effective email marketing and automation tool to send personal client communication. It is easy to set up so you can streamline your process to nurture leads and clients with your latest offering via email. The software provides templates for a variety of opportunities, segmentation for dividing your contact list, interaction lists, and reports for tracking the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. Other features included are A/B testing, auto spam checking, and intelligent email sending based on algorithms.
Sales and marketing automation
Keap lets you automate your marketing, sales, and data entry with its built-in automation tools. Use simple templates to capture new leads, assign tasks, and send emails based on rules and triggers. To customize your workflow, use the flexible advanced automation builder to automate any process, such as creating a sequence of email messages based on timed triggers or client actions. Automation works with lead generation and sales pipeline, so you can move leads from one stage to the next. Tasks and checklists ensure the whole team delivers consistent performance every time.
CRM
Manage your clients with a friendly database that manages all contacts, client activity, and communications. Keap allows you handle followups, record updates, and payments easily from a unified platform. It integrates with popular email apps such as Gmail and Outlook as well as other data, applications, and devices to provide a complete view of your customer. The CRM lets you see contact information, contact numbers, email, address, social media, and birthdays at a glance. It also lets you manage attached files and docs, and refers you to other info such as emails, conversations, contracts, and payments.
Ready to decide on ActiveCampaign vs. Keap for your automation and CRM?
Both ActiveCampaign and Keap offer a 14-day free trial of their software.
ActiveCampaign is ideal for mid-sized to large businesses with a minimum of 500 contacts. It has a rich set of marketing automation features geared for digital business and e-commerce.
Keap is an all-in-one CRM and automation solution that enables businesses to organize their team and processes in a modern and efficient way. A variety of products allows companies to use what they need with easy integration customization for the next level of growth.
