Like many marketing agencies, we had been helping clients with their email marketing campaigns for nearly 20 years and around 2010 we knew basic email marketing technology was going the way of the dinosaurs, minus the climatic impact.
ESP’s provide little value
There is little you can do with only seeing “email opens & clicks” using conventional email marketing tools. Imagine being able to see actual prospect or customer profiles of who engaged in your emails and the behavior of their interactions on prior emails and website activity.
We live in a world where technology is excelling at a rapid pace every day. Using email marketing software that was built over 20 years ago is like using a feather and ink today instead of a pen. They both work, but one is way more effective than the other.
The hunt for the next evolution of technology
So we began to research and test a variety of marketing automation tools, which was relatively new technology at the time. If you have done any software research you know there are many platforms in any given class, and they vary greatly in features, price, usability, and ease of implementation.
Most businesses do not have software experts on staff, nor do they have the time and desire to focus on creating a strategic implementation plan, setting up an unfamiliar platform, testing it, training their teams, and are not able to provide ongoing internal support.
Realizing this, our priority was to find a fully integrated CRM, Marketing Automation, and Sales Tool, with the following needs for our clients:
- Simple user interface
- Ease of onboarding for sales & marketing teams
- Scalable for future business growth
- Robust customizable CRM
- Integration to hundreds of common business apps
- Built-in business tools: Calendar scheduling, video calling, social media posting, landing page designer, and more
- Affordable flat pricing model, not based on user count
It was clear that SharpSpring fit all of these needs and much more!!
Nearly a decade later, SharpSpring is still our top choice!
Cultivize has elevated our partnership with SharpSpring over the years and is the only NY Platinum Partner and one of a few worldwide that have this certification. The culture and support the SharpSpring team provides is unparalleled when compared to its competitors. They are constantly innovating the platform with new features based on the feedback of over 2000 partners worldwide.
What we love about SharpSpring
- Our client’s sales and marketing teams are able to adapt quickly, in weeks, not months
- Easily customizable CRM and extensive marketing toolset
- Highly effective at helping salespeople identify “hot leads” and see the full picture of their buyers journey
- They are constantly innovating with new features added on a regular basis. For example, video calling, digital re-marketing, and appointment scheduling are just a few of the new tools launched in 2020 (all included in the platform)
- It promotes teamwork and collaboration
- Saves time by automating mundane tasks like email follow up, reminders, etc
- Identifies inbound marketing campaigns that need to be tweaked or ditched
Who can benefit from using SharpSpring?
- Organizations that have at least 2 full-time salespeople
- Have an active in-bound lead-gen campaign and spend at least 30K/year on marketing
- Those with a product or service with a sales cycle of 45 days or more
Shop around, you won’t find a better value.
Get the Marketing Automation Comparison guide here
Sharpspring is a workhorse. It has everything you need and nothing you don’t. Clean and efficient to use. This helps with adoption by the teams you support and reduces the time required to generate a payback.
