1. ALAN'S
EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDER RECOMMENDATION
MAIL CHIMP VS. CONSTANT CONTACT
JANUARY 2017
210 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 • www.alansconfections.com
Prepared by Maggie Johnson, Marketing Analyst

2. AGENDA
introduction
objectives
target audience
strategies & tactics
segmentation
price
analytics
customer service & other features
comparison summary
final recommendation

3. INTRODUCTION
As the leading upscale bakery, deli, and
confectionary in the Metro Atlanta area, Alan's
strives to uphold their reputation of quality,
reliability, and friendly service by regularly engaging
with customers through both digital and traditional
channels. In an effort to drive repeat business, be
top-of-mind for brides, and increase catering
orders, Alan's has decided to implement an email
marketing campaign through which customers will
stay informed about menu specials, catering
options, tasting parties, and VIP events. As the
digital marketing analyst for Alan's, I have been
tasked with recommending an Email Service Provider
to carry out our email marketing campaign. Included
in this report is a comprehensive overview of both
Mail Chimp and Constant Contact and concludes
with my final recommendation for an Email Service
Provider.

4. OBJECTIVES
DRIVE REPEAT BUSINESS
BE A TOP-OF-MIND WEDDING CAKE
DESIGNER FOR ATLANTA BRIDES
INCREASE CATERING ORDERS

5. SOCCER MOM SUSAN
TARGET AUDIENCE
As a stay at home mom,
Susan, likes to treat herself
by going out to lunch with
her tennis girls twice a
week. When she isn't eating
at Alan's, she's most likely
drinking a green smoothie
or she is at Panera.
BRIDE-TO-BE BECCA
Bride-to-Be Becca is newly
engaged and fast on the
wedding planning train. Her
dream wedding Pinterest board
is quickly filling up as she
fantasizes about her big day.
Oh, and she just said yes to the
$5,000 wedding dress at the
Great Bridal Expo!
LUNCH BREAK LAUREN
Lunch Break Lauren just landed her
dream job at Deloitte Atlanta.
Lauren and her work wives like to
grab lunch together a few times a
week. They can't even with the ATL
lunch rush, so they usually only go
to restaurants they can walk to.
When they aren't taking their lunch
break at Alan's, they are probs at
Panera or Chipotle. Oh, and she is in
charge of office catering.

6. STRATEGIES &
TACTICS
BLAST EMAILS TO LUNCH CROWD 2X/
WEEK (~200K)
SEGMENT BRIDES BASED ON
WEDDING MONTH, SEND OUT EMAILS
12X/ YEAR
SEND PERSONALIZED EMAILS TO PAST
CUSTOMERS REMINDING THEM OF
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR SPECIAL
OCCASION

7. FEATURES

8. SEGMENTATION
Ability to segment
subscribers by groups
Send relevant content
(August brides vs. January
brides)
Subscribers can sign up
for groups
& Alan's can segment with
internal data
Includes pre-built
segments based on
signup date, engagement
levels, purchase history,
or demographics
Save and auto-update
segments

9. SEGMENTATION
Ability to segment
subscribers by tagging
Use tags to group
subscribers based on
interests, customer
status, location, wedding
date, etc.
Create email lists
Add custom fields to
contact information

10. $875/month
$895/month
PRICE
~200K SUBSCRIBERS
~200K SUBSCRIBERS

11. EASY TO USE FEATURES &
DESIGN
Drag-and-drop
designer
Multi-user
collaboration
options
Code your own
template
Design inspiration
examples
Mobile responsive
Pre-designed
templates

12. EASY TO USE FEATURES &
DESIGN
Customizable
templates
Intuitive drag-and-drop
experience
Visually impactful calls-
to-action that drive
engagement
PDF to Email allows
users to upload a pre-
designed PDF and turn
it into an editable
email
Mobile responsive
design
Social integration

13. ANALYTICS
Track performance
Interactive graphs
Monitor trends
Subscriber activity
report
Revenue report
A/B Testing
Opens by location
Track bounces
Manage unsubscribes
Industry comparison
Customize printable
reports
Track email domain
performance
a/b
testing

14. ANALYTICS
Engagement report
Compare campaigns
Click tracking heat
map
Mobile open rate
Constant Contact
App to track
marketing on-the-go

15. CUSTOMER
SERVICE
& OTHER
FEATURES
Marketing automation
Mobile apps to manage
reports and send campaigns
Robust e-commerce
integration
Google Analytics
compatible
Integration with other apps
and services
Omnivore- Abuse prevention
initiative scans contact list to
prevent bounces and bad
addresses
Knowledge Base Support Site
provides step-by-step guides
(even a guide to transition from
Constant Contact!)

16. CUSTOMER
SERVICE
& OTHER
FEATURES
Online webinars and
local training seminars
Marketing blog with tips
& advice
Online tutorials
Published contact info
Email Template Design Help
team will help design a
custom template
Mobile apps to manage
campaigns on-the-go
Support page for industry
specific email tips
Google Analytics compatible

17. COMPARISON
SUMMARY
SEGMENTATION
PRICE
EASY TO USE
FEAT. & DESIGN
CUSTOMER SERVICE
& OTHER FEATURES
ANALYTICS
MailChimp's segmentation features are more
user-friendly and time-saving than Constant
Contact. Not only does MailChimp allow
users to save the segments, but it auto-
updates info regularly.
With analytics being essential to continual
improvement, it is important that Alan's selects the
Email Service Provider with the most robust analytics
and reporting package. Both MailChimp and Constant
Contact integrate with Google Analytics, which is a
plus. However, MailChimp's A/B testing capabilities
matched with their extensive reports and graphs
make them the better provider for analytics and
reporting.
The monthly cost for roughly 200k
subscribers at MailChimp is about $20 less
than that of Constant Contact.
MailChimp offers several easy-to-use features
and design options that Constant Contact
does not. Although they both utilize a drag-
and-drop interface, MailChimp allows for
more customization options that will help
Alan's show their brand in the best possible
light.
In regards to customer service, Constant Contact
comes out on top. With extensive support pages,
published contact info, webinars, and local training
seminars, Constant Contact goes above and beyond
in making sure their customers are satisfied.
When it comes to additional features, though,
MailChimp does it best. Unlike Constant Contact,
MailChimp is reaching towards marketing automation
and ecommerce integration in order to provide
subscribers with the most personalized and relevant
content.

18. WHO TAKES THE CAKE?
THANK YOU!
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
As a first step in building out Alan's new email
marketing campaign, I recommend MailChimp to be
our Email Service Provider. After conducting a
comprehensive review of Constant Contact and
MailChimp, I believe that MailChimp will be the best
tool to carry out our strategies and tactics in order
to meet our business objectives of bringing Soccer
Mom Susan in several times a month, being a top-
of-mind wedding cake designer for Bride-to-Be
Becca, and reminding Lunch Break Lauren to order
Alan's catering for Deloitte's monthly planning
meetings.
With MailChimp's ease of use and wide array of
features, it will help Alan's engage regularly with
our customers and reflect our brand in the best and
most professional light.