The 5 Best Email Platforms for Investment Firms

We all spend a lot of our days sending emails. Now imagine if you had the tools to make that process more streamlined, faster, and easier to report on. It’s a great image, right? We think so, too. 

At Dakota, everything we do is centered around connecting with our clients and prospects. In The Dakota Way, we share the importance of knowing what to say, how to be a master messenger, and having a killer follow-up system. We’ve used that same process to raise over $40 billion since 2006, and in that time, we’ve really honed in on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to sending investment industry emails. 

In this article, we’re going to highlight the five best email platforms for investment firms, and how you can use them to streamline your email marketing and outreach. By the end of the article, you’ll have a clear idea of what your choices are so that you can move forward with the right platform for your firm. 

1. Hubspot

With over 86,000 customers, Hubspot is not only a well-recognized CRM and inbound marketing solution, but a great option when it comes to email marketing. 

Hubspot offers a free option, which allows companies to get a sense of the product and what it can do, as well as more advanced, paid solutions. The software can help all aspects of your business to run more effectively, but can take your email marketing to the next level with things like sequencing and in-depth reporting and analytics, so you always know how you can be improving. 

At Dakota, the entire firm relies on Hubspot for emails of every kind. 

2. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is great if you’re a smaller firm, or if you’re just starting out. The platform now has over 130,000 customers, and offers robust email marketing automation tools. To cast a wider net, re-engage prospects, and save your sales team time, ActiveCampaign’s email platform offers everything from triggered emails, targeted emails, email segmentation, and more. 

This platform, like Hubspot, also serves as a CRM, something we highly recommend every firm includes in its tech stack. This capability will save your sales team time and effort, as they will be able to do everything all on one platform. And finally, ActiveCampaign can fit just about any budget, with pricing that starts at just $9/month. 

3. Formget Bolt

Formget Bolt is the email marketing platform for venture capital and investment firms. Designed for those who raise funds for a living, Formget helps investment sales professionals get and stay organized when it comes to their email marketing contacts. 

Additionally, Formget is designed to help you set up and monitor drip and outreach campaigns, and monitor bounce, spam, and unsubscribed lists with ease. 

Like Hubspot, this platform offers a free option, so you can send up to 9,000 emails for free and see if it’s a fit for your team. 

4. Benchmark

In their own words, Benchmark Email “makes the tools you need simple, so you can get back to building relationships, accelerating your business and raising the bar.”

What stands out about Benchmark is their easy to use templates that offer eye-catching designs. There’s no doubt you’ll make an impression with an email sent from Benchmark. But it’s not just about looks, it’s about the ease of use behind the scenes, and with a robust email builder, automation system, and reports and dashboards, you’ll never be left to wonder which of your emails were a success and which could use more attention. 

Benchmark pricing starts out with a free plan, which allows you to send up to 250 emails, then increases to $13/month for unlimited emails.

5. Outbound Engine

Another email platform designed for the financial space, Outbound Engine allows you to keep in contact with your clients and prospects in a meaningful way. It also takes the work out of your firm’s hands, and leaves the sending to email marketing experts. 

With the partnership comes detailed reporting, so you know which emails are converting and how. 

Outbound Engine partners with your firm to create and send newsletters that will keep your firm top of mind. Because of the all-in-one service that comes with Outbound Engine, this is one of the more expensive options, starting at $199/month. 

Which email platform is right for your firm?

This really comes down to the size and needs of your sales team. Each platform offers customizable emails and automation, but specialize in different areas. 

If you…

• ...Have a bigger team, want an all in one email and CRM solution, with in-depth reporting and analytics, Hubspot is probably the best fit for you. With a free option, it’s a great place to get started, and let the platform grow with you if it works. 
• ...Want to create engaging, eye-catching emails that convert, Benchmark is probably the answer to your email marketing problems. This is another platform that allows you to start at no cost to you, and work your way up as you go. 
• ...Are looking for something designed for the investment and financial space, Formget Bolt and Outbound Engine are both great options that specialize in what we do every day. The difference between these two platforms is the cost, so it will come down to what your firm’s budget looks like. 

Take your email efforts a step further

No matter what email platform you’re using, if the contacts you’re sending those emails to are outdated or expired, your emails are going to go unread. It’s critical to stay on top of your data, and ensure that the accounts and contacts you’re sending to are fresh. 

If you’re looking for tips on exactly how we keep our email lists clean here at Dakota, you can check out our tips for doing just that here. 

If you want a way to link your accounts and contacts with your Salesforce instance, we have a tool, Dakota Marketplace for Salesforce, that can do just that, and we’d love to set up a free, 15-minute consultation to see how we can work together to help you emails not just get sent, but get sent to the right people at the right firms.