Intercom

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• Vendor Details:
• Key Metrics of Intercom
• Pricing
• Features of Intercom
• Pros and cons
• Integration
• Specification
• Support
• Top Intercom Alternatives

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Intercom is a platform for customer communication that works utilizing user intelligence and behavioral targeting. It helps businesses benefit from customer communication by understanding their responses and improving their processes. The marketing automation software gives users insights into who is using the company product. It then provides tools that send personal communicators to create a more personal relationship with the customer. It has a suite of integrated products for all the teams in a company. This includes:

• sales
• marketing
• product
• support

Intercom marketing automation software has many products that enable targeted communication with customers. This can be done on the company’s website, inside their web or mobile applications, or via email.

The older way businesses used to run was by using a tangle of point solutions. They would use marketing automation and helpdesk products. All the teams would operate in a silo. This situation made it more difficult for teams to work together, especially when it came to bigger companies with thousands of employees. They could never stay on the same page. The mess resulted in creating an unpleasant and disjointed experience for the customer, and they always felt like the interactions were impersonal.

There are over 17,000 paying customers that use the marketing software across the globe. The users range from startups like General Assembly to public companies like Shopify. Intercom can be used to send targeted, in-app messages as well as emails that are  behavior-driven.

Intercom provides its users with a solution that is a newer and better way to acquire, engage and retain customers. This is ideal for different teams like sales, marketing and support. It helps them connect and communicate with customers and helps the business grow faster. By making use of the live chat features for sales, customer engagement, as well as customer support, a company can nurture its leads and turn them into prospects and then customers. Companies can then send targeted messages to the users already onboard, make announcements, and re-engage people using Intercom. This solves customer problems faster by using an integrated help desk and a public knowledge base.

The live database of customers on Intercom is always updated. The software allows companies to receive feedback from users, send event invites and other communication. Intercom also enables its users to send emails and in-app messages. This can be done across all mobile and web devices.

It is easy to track customer data and events. Companies can see who their customers are and what actions they take or do not take. It is also possible to segment users by their actions and create more live segments that are based on them. The tool gives its users the intelligence and data they may need to acquire and engage customers in a more effective and efficient manner.

Vendor Details:

• Intercom
• www.intercom.com
• Founded 2011
• United States

Key Metrics of Intercom

Capture Leads

Companies can replace forms with targeted messages to instantly engage their best leads. The software helps the companies qualify these leads for them. Intercom routes the leads to the concerned sales people. This allows them to convert leads faster. It also connects the sales team to the best leads, after which they can chat or engage the leads in real-time.

Live Segments and Filters

Companies can view and get notifications about client status updates. The updates include new clients, currently active clients, and also the clients that moved away. Users can create custom segments which are based on user attributes and events. It is easy to get a full picture of each and every customer which includes tracking their activity, location, social profiles, and more. When users have live information on customer behavior, they have vital insights that they can use to build targeted campaigns for desired audiences.

Rich user and company profiles

With Intercom, it is now possible to view all customer data on one single platform. This data includes:

• location
• contact details
• company name
• interaction history
• current activity

It helps receive the much needed intelligence and data that will help the users further fine tune their campaigns and communication. This plays a big role in the improvement of customer support and service.

Real-time metrics

Now it is possible to monitor how campaigns are performing using Intercom in real time. Companies now have access to data such as click-throughs, open rates, and other desired actions. There is no chance of losing out on on important metrics and indicators. It is easy to introduce improvements that can make campaigns more effective and meaningful.

Triggered messages

With Intercom marketing automation software, it is possible to set up behavior triggered campaigns. They will target select users based on their performance. Certain actions are taken are taken at specific stages, like new, active, and inactive users.

Pricing

• FREE TRIAL – yes
• RESPOND $53/month
• ENGAGE $53/month
• EDUCATE $49/month
• LIVE CHAT FOR SALES $106/month
• CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT $53 /month
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT $102 /month

Starting from: $49.00/month

Pricing model: Free, Subscription

Free Trial: Available (No Credit Card required)

One can avail a 14-day free trial. Small companies can avail a flat rate of $49 a month for the first year. Contact the vendor for further details. The following packages are offered:

• Respond: from $53/month –

1. Manage conversations with leads and customers at scale.

• Engage: from $53/month –

1. Send targeted messages to the right people at the right time.

• Educate: $49/month flat rate –

1. Create, organize and publish help articles

• Live Chat for Sales (by Respond and Engage): from $106/month –

1. Capture leads
2. Qualify leads
3. Nurture leads to convert them to customers.

• Customer Engagement (by Engage): from $53 /month –

1. Send targeted messages to on board users
2. Make announcements
3. Re-engage people.

• Customer Support (by Respond + Educate): from $102 /month –

1. Solve customer problems faster
2. Integrated help desk
3. Public knowledge base

Features of Intercom

Live Chat Features

Customer Service Features

Email Marketing Features

Lead Generation Features

Marketing Automation Features

Pros and cons

Some of the benefits that come from using Intercom app are

Integration

Intercom offers an API and integrates with the following applications:

Specification

Devices Supported

• Windows
• Android
• iPhone/iPad
• Mac

Language Support

• English

Pricing Model

• Monthly payment

Customer Types

• Small Business
• Medium Business
• Freelancers

Support

Intercom offers the following support options:

FAQs, Forum, Knowledge Base, Online Support, Phone Support

Top Intercom Alternatives

• LeadSquared

LeadSquared is a marketing automation platform suitable for all business sizes. Whether you are into real-estate, e-commerce, education, banking, marketing or even healthcare, this platform might be the right choice for you. You can use this marketing automation platform to create interdependent workflows, update data in other marketing automation or marketing apps that you use, personalise your email marketing campaigns and others.

• Growth Surf Marketing

A free marketing automation tool, GrowSurf is used by organizations to launch viral campaigns, which help them get more customers, users and subscribers. More commonly referred to as a referral marketing automation solution, GrowSurf comes with a host of tools and functionalities. Using these, users can easily design and execute online campaigns, while targeting specific audiences. Specifically designed to help grow a business in any industry, this tool helps its users multiply the target audience of your campaign and gain more conversions. Moreover, with its user-friendly platform, businesses can easily create campaigns without having to deal with the hassles of coding.

• Salesforce Paradot Marketing 

Part of Salesforce’s extensive list of tools, Paradot is a business-to-business marketing automation and lead management tool. By using Paradot, your sales team will be able to set-up, deploy and handle marketing campaigns online, thereby boosting your company’s revenue and improving efficiency. Filled with a variety of features, Paradot is a cloud-hosted solution that is designed to help you create and maintain relations, generate more pipeline and empower your sales team with data that will help them close more deals.