Launched recently, the Email Marketing Software Review Pack contains independent reviews of 19 leading web-based email marketing systems. Taking the perspective of a small to mid-sized business, the reviews are designed to give you the hard facts and opinions that you need to cut through the marketing spiel and reach an informed decision. Here’s what a couple of customers have to say so far:

“This report is awesome. It’s comprehensive and concise at the same time.”  (Yoel, Paralert.com)

“Excellent service and analysis. We are actually searching for a eDM system and this report has now made that easy.”  (David, Leadmaster.com.au)

One of the most popular elements of the Email Marketing Software Review Pack is the convenient feature matrix. Here we  looked in detail at 39 key features that are critical for email marketing and identified which of the 19 products offer each feature.  As one reader explained:

“I really like the matrix of product features because it is very easy to identify things that I know I need and confirm or not whether a package provides them. It also triggered some thoughts about features that I hadn’t considered and maybe I should.”  (Yoel, Paralert.com)

Also in the report, you’ll find plenty of information on each email marketing system. We’ve given each product we reviewed a full page and ensured it is in a consistent format so you can easily flip between pages and compare products. Information on each product includes:

• Written review about what our independent reviewer liked and didn’t like
• Overall star rating
• Ratings on ten key dimensions, such as ‘ease of use’, ‘powerful reporting’, ‘grows with your business’, etc
• Pricing information (with actual prices cited for all products)
• Vendor contact details

Interestingly, we’re finding that software vendors are buying the report for competitive intelligence reasons. They aren’t our primary  audience – we focus instead on SMBs looking to buy software – but it is encouraging that they see the value of an independent perspective on how they and their competitors compare.

To find out more about the review pack, or to buy yourself a copy, visit the Email Marketing Software Review Pack page on our website.

Yes, you heard right. The higher the rating, the lower the price …even though price was just one of ten factors we considered. See the graph below for a summary of average price by star rating for the solutions reviewed.

This finding is great news for small and mid-sized businesses who want to get started with (or ramp up) their permission-based email marketing. You can rest assured that there are great solutions out there at a very affordable price. However, it also means you need to choose carefully as price, functionality & usability vary considerably.

For example, looking at the scenario of a business sending 5000 emails per month to a list of 2500 subscribers, the products given five-star ratings cost an average of $31 per month, compared to over $166 per month for the two-star products. The most expensive solution in our list cost a remarkable 17 times more than the most affordable, but was actually much less useful. Ouch!

Launch of our Email Marketing Software Review Pack

The findings above are based on the reviews in our new Email Marketing Software Review Pack, which we’re pleased to officially launch today.

This comprehensive 33 page report contains detailed independent reviews of 19 leading web-based email marketing solutions, including AWeber, Benchmark, Campaign Monitor, Campaigner, Constant Contact, Email Brain, Ennect Mail, GetResponse, GraphicMail, iContact, inwise, JangoMail, MailChimp, newzapp, Savicom, SimplyCast, Streamsend, Vertical Response, and Vision 6.

Buy the Review Pack

You can purchase the Review Pack on Software Shortlist (RRP $149) and download the report immediately.

Win a Review Pack!

To celebrate the launch of the Review Pack, we will be giving away 2 free copies.

For your chance to win, simply complete our email marketing software survey, including the final question about the challenges you’ve faced in choosing email marketing software and why you want to win the Review Pack.  We’ll choose two (2) winners based on how interesting & insightful your answers are. Entries close 31st March 2010. For full terms & conditions, see the survey.

Enter now!

Previous Winner: Congratulations to David M. from Australia. He completed our February survey about email marketing software and his answer was judged to be the best by Software Shortlist staff. David will be receiving his free copy of the Email Marketing Software Review Pack today.

First and foremost, we’ve given the home page a fresh new look and streamlined the interface for starting a software search. Say goodbye to stock images, general clutter, and complex drop-downs. Say hello to a simple, scrolling interface, customer testimonials, and a screenshot of the software comparisons.  We believe this new homepage is easier to use and conveys more clearly what we do.

Across the site, you’ll notice a nice clean header and a new look for the landing pages and directories. The footer has been tidied up, including a quick sign-up form for our newsletter. Speaking of which, you can expect the next edition of The Shortlist to hit your inbox in the next week or so.

And last but certainly not least, we’ve expanded our coverage across more software types. If you’re looking for email marketing software or online database software, then our online recommendations and convenient side-by-side comparisons are just what the doctor ordered.  Stay tuned for more news soon about our reviews.

There’s lots more on our to-do list – but in the meantime, let us know what you think of these changes.

“While the ability to choose is generally a good thing, too much freedom of choice is crippling us with indecision and making us unhappy.”

This snippet caught me eye in a recent news article recently called “Too much choice: variety the strife of life“. The article talks about key findings from a new study soon to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research by Professor Hazel Rose Markus from Stanford University.

Although their focus was broad (i.e. the study is called “Does choice mean freedom and wellbeing?” ), the study’s findings resonated with what we’ve seen at Software Shortlist in terms of how people feel about choosing software.  Excessive choice can be a real problem.

Does the following sound familiar to you?

“People can become paralysed by too much variety, or racked with uncertainty and regret about whether they have made the right decision. Ultimately, these people can be less satisfied by the choices they have made.”

Our experience at Software Shortlist is that people want to know that all software options have been looked at, but doing the full research and evaluation process themselves can be frustrating and even counter-productive. This is why we do the detailed legwork  for you – and present you with a manageable shortlist, so you can make an effective choice from the best and most relevant options.

After a slowdown in the financial turmoil of 2009, spending on software and other technology is expected to rebound strongly in 2010 according to a recent report by Forrester Research.  Global IT spending dropped 8.9% last year, but is predicted to bounce up in 2010 by about the same amount. Software is among the sectors leading the charge, with spending predicted to increase by 9.7%.

We wrote last year that the upside of a downturn is that it can prompt companies to re-examine processes and improve operations. The statistics show that many companies do the opposite and bunker down. Now many firms are again starting to open up their wallets and invest in software, hardware and other technology.

So, if you haven’t already, now is a good time to think about how new software can help drive your business in 2010…

It’s a great opportunity ahead of you but it also presents some risks and pitfalls that need watching.  The search process itself can also be a big hidden cost. Here are a few things you should be aware of before you jump into the process…

Deciding on software for small business

1. Owners or partners of a small business often delegate the software selection process to employees they see as more technically-savvy or more organised than most. Your job is to present a shortlist of recommended options, to help them make the final decision. Think of the task as a vote of confidence in you.
2. Employees made responsible for software selection often feel overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. There are so many products available, and you may not have been through a process like this before. That’s normal.
3. A sense of personal risk is often involved – this is a chance to prove yourself but conversely you don’t want to make a recommendation that backfires on you. You don’t want to be “that guy” who suggested buying the software everyone hates.
4. Research shows that owners of a business choose software differently than managers. [ref 1] For instance, managers often think the price and popularity of a package are critical … but business owners rate those amongst the least important! Research suggests owners tend to be more strategic, considering more factors and weighing them differently than managers do when evaluating software.

What does this mean for you?

Firstly, it means you should take the task seriously because the owners of the business certainly will.

You should also look for ways to educate yourself about good software selection practices and involve outside experts or information sources if possible. Adhering to a solid process gives the owner confidence, and can help you manage the many stakeholders involved.

You should also discuss what the important factors are with your boss and other stakeholders, and ensure that you are transparent in how you arrived at your recommendations. This focuses the discussion on the evaluation process (not just the end outcome) and not only does it help you choose software more intelligently, it also protects you from any perceived personal risk.

How Software Shortlist can help

Software Shortlist provides a “shortlist + compare” tool that can help you recommend software for your business. It steps you through a more robust software evaluation process than small businesses typically use, but it is still simple and easy to use for non-IT experts.

Software Shortlist also gives you the flexibility to adjust the weighting of different factors (e.g. price, ease of use, scalability). So if your boss turns out to have a different view on priorities you can easily adjust your shortlist accordingly. Plus, we’ve screened out products that aren’t up to scratch and have conducted independent reviews on each software product included in the comparison service. User reviews are available too to give you an additional, external perspective.

Go find that software

I hope this post helps you understand a bit more about the challenge and opportunity ahead of you in choosing software for your small business.

Why not let us know how it goes, and share your thoughts or experiences below so others can benefit too?

[ref 1]: P.Y.K Chau “Factors use in the selection of packaged software in small businesses: Views of owners and managers,”Information & Management 29 (1995) 71-78

This increase in uptake has come about through a strong need for service providers to raise awareness of their specialist expertise and to generate qualified leads. Currently there are very few options available to assist SME customers in finding the most competent IT service providers for thier specific needs. And, conversely, there are very few options available to IT service providers who would like to make easy direct contact with interested SME customers.

In response to this demand, Software Shortlist has now signed up service providers across a number of competences. This includes CRM software, ERP software, Accounting packages, BI software and the like. Software products are now listed on our website from across all of these areas.  This list was included in one of our recent News Postings.

If you know of any IT consulting organisation that may be interested in profiling themselves, to generate much needed contacts and leads, please let them know about our Service Provider Listing options.

Don’t make them wait until their competitors have already gained the upper hand!

If you have software to promote, head over to our software directory and check out the benefits of upgrading your listing today. It’s never been more affordable.

We are also building up a directory of service providers and consultants who help install, customise and support particular software packages. Given the early stages of this offering, introductory pricing has been set at a very low setup fee plus only $1 per click-through. Compared to buying keywords, this represents exceptional value given the more targeted nature of the Software Shortlist audience. See this example profile. Qualified leads for prospective customers will also be available to purchase.

The reason for this was a series of hardware failures at our hosting company and unfortunately this translated into considerable downtime over the past few days. This has been frustrating for all involved. Nonetheless, we have been assured that the situation is now fixed and the site should be back to normal.

However, if you do encounter any further issues in using the Software Shortlist service, please let us know.

As a result, their questions were typically things like ‘will people pay enough to fund your service?’,  ’how do you create the content cost effectively?’, and ‘how will you reach your customers?’

After all that, it was interesting yesterday to see a question posted on a LinkedIn discussion group that really captures the essence of the customer need we solve:

Wanted: online CRM program
Our business uses both a desktop CRM program and an online email marketing software program. Time to get “one-does-all” online program I think so we can create and follow the opportunities pipeline better.

Have been trawling the Internet but one after the other promises a lot, but don’t really feel like having to do xxx free trials to find the one that would suit us best.

Is anyone using an online CRM program they can recommend to a small business?

In our view, this quote really captures the essence of why customers need a service like Software Shortlist. Now we just need to expand the range of software we cover so we can help more people like this…