# Will marketing automation cost a fortune? Vbout’s marketing automation platform does not cost a fortune. We offer affordable pricing options to fit any business and any budget. Vbout even offers a free package. Yes, that’s right -- free! ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# How does Vbout differ from other marketing automation companies? Hubspot, Act-On, Buffer, Hootsuite, Infusionsoft? We have a lot of respect for our competition and we look at them as our industry partners. We focus on offering a superior product, premium support, advanced features and unbeatable pricing. One of the main competitive advantages with Vbout is the affordability. Our pricing packages allow you to grow, without becoming cost prohibitive. While most competitors charge for number of subscribers inside your database, we charge per number of emails sent per month and allow an unlimited number of subscribers inside your database. To make your life easier, we created a comparison chart that you can access by clicking here. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# How is a marketing automation platform different from Constant Contact, MailChimp and LeadPages? There is a big difference between single-feature tools and all-in one marketing technologies. The tools above work great on single channels. For example, Constant Contact is an email marketing platform, and MailChimp is an email marketing and automation tool while LeadPages is a landing page builder tool. Buyers today are doing research and looking up products and services on multiple channels, such as the web, social media, mobile and more. Many marketers need multiple tools to reach these clients effectively. A marketing automation platform will usually include the technology you get with these individual tools in one single software platform. This allows you to centralize your efforts, your user data and your account access. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# What factors should be considered when moving from one marketing automation platform to another? SETUP AND INTEGRATION: One of the most critical items that is often overlooked by companies is the initial investment for onboarding. Read the fine print carefully. There are many tools that require significant time and/or cost at set-up. Reviewing these details manages your expectations about the process, and helps you avoid choosing a tool that requires more technical expertise than you have on your team. If you know you need a simple tool, or one that requires little effort to set-up, make sure to take this into consideration. The right tool will be one that strikes a balance between setup costs and time, price, features and service. COST: Many marketing platforms offer a low-cost, entry level package to win new clients who may not be ready or able to invest much. Even with these low-cost packages, it’s important to consider your current and projected marketing needs when choosing. As your company grows, you could lose time and money switching to a new platform or adding tools because the larger packages are beyond your budget or don’t meet your needs. Some major factors to consider when evaluating the features and volume you may need now, and in the future, include: 1) number of contacts, 2) number of outbound emails, 3) number of users, 4) number of domains and pages you’ll want to track, and 5) marketing per impression (ex: limits on your popups or landing page views to a certain number per month). SUPPORT: It would be hard to argue that anything matters more than support. Having a team readily available to address your needs is critical for any service provider with whom you do business. Every minute you spend waiting on service is a minute taken away from being able to make timely deliveries to your clients. You need a platform that understands this and will respond to your requests as quickly as possible. TECHNOLOGY You want to provide the best marketing services to your clients. In order to do that, you need the best marketing software. In this competitive environment, you can’t settle for less. Choosing the right software is similar to the process of buying a big ticket item, like a house or car. To get started, make a list of the features you need, the “nice to haves”, and what you may need in the future. Compare different platforms and find the software that meets or exceeds your requirements. You can use sites like g2crowd to read reviews and side-by-side comparisons of software platforms. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# How difficult is it to switch from one marketing automation platform to another? Many factors will determine the level of difficulty. First and foremost, how complex is your current marketing structure? How many decision makers need to get on board? Once the decision is made, the support team at your marketing automation service will analyze the level of difficulty. The greater the number of marketing channels, email contacts and users, the more time it will take to migrate the data. This part with Vbout can be done seamlessly and without any difficulty on your end, as long as there is ease of access to all the components needed. The real challenge comes with the level of customization you would like built into the platform. Vbout has powerful ways that you can adjust a package to meet your needs. If you need white labeling, or if you would like several add-ons, these require additional time to setup. Vbout manages this entire process from beginning to end, which greatly reduces the required effort on your part. The second challenge with switching to a new platform is the learning curve that comes with using any new software. Our typical client receives 3 hours of training and is ready to start. Training on other platforms depends on the complexity of the software, and can go up to as many as 20 or 30 hours. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# Is it difficult to setup an account? No, not at all. The Vbout support team will work with you in one or two onboarding sessions to setup your social media suite, email marketing, landing pages, lead scoring and website integration. The team will also teach you how to use the platform during these sessions. Most of the information required for successful onboarding and training can be gathered easily by a content coordinator, marketing officer or your web developer. The typical user (mid-level) needs 2-4 hours of training to use the Vbout suite well, and after a couple of weeks, can expect to be a master. After onboarding, our Customer Success Team is always available via live chat support to make sure your campaigns succeed. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# Does marketing automation include a tracking system or analytics? Yes. Each marketing automation platform will usually include analytics for their different tools such as social media, email marketing, pop-ups, users and landing pages. Reports in Vbout can also be customized in different ways to fit your needs. For instance, users can generate reports that display the analytics for each individual marketing channel separately. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# How can a marketing platform benefit marketing agencies? At Vbout, we see agencies as partners and we help them enhance their client services while simplifying their day to day account management. Agencies benefit from Vbout in 4 main ways: 1- Efficiency: Agency managers are able to use multiple tools from one centralized dashboard without the need to learn and run multiple tools. This improves team effectiveness and saves them time when managing large campaigns that include multi-channel touchpoints. 2- Upselling: Agencies receive exclusive volume pricing so they can monetize on selling Vbout plans to their clients. We also offer customized plans to match an individual agency’s needs. You can even give the customized solution your own brand name. 3- Cost Savings: As your agency grows and your clients require more marketing resources, naturally your marketing technology cost will increase. Since Vbout started as a marketing agency, we keep this in mind and offers extremely competitive growth pricing that allows you to invest money into other areas of your business. 4- Branding: Vbout’s whitelabel option allows agencies to offer a digital solution under their own brand. This can be a great added value to your brand for client proposals. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# How does a marketing automation platform help franchises and chain businesses manage their branches effectively? Franchises and chain businesses using a marketing automation platform can manage multiple branches seamlessly by empowering branch managers to market to their customer base using their own Vbout dashboard. Corporate marketing managers can view activities for each of their branches from one single dashboard while keeping individual data separated. Managers can also set up various users with different levels of permissions, which simplifies fring work and monitoring activity. The end result is efficient brand monitoring and management across multiple branches. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2

# Is marketing automation better for large or small companies? Marketing automation is great for any company, large or small. Large businesses benefit from Vbout’s platform because they often use multi-channel marketing and have complex structures across different locations, teams or offices. Small businesses, benefit from the capability of running effective, targeted campaigns with less time and resources. Vbout’s plans are carefully designed to meet the needs of these small companies, which may also be more cost conscious. A single entrepreneur can reduce her or his time managing several social media accounts and a robust email list with regular communications at a fraction of the price for similar technology. ##### Post Metadata - Net upvotes: 2