I run a digital marketing agency focused on financial sector clients. We handle automation workflows including email sequences, landing page creation, lead nurturing campaigns, and customer journey mapping.
Right now we use SharpSpring for all our client work but I’m worried about its future. Ever since Constant Contact bought them in 2021, there haven’t been many updates or improvements. The platform feels stuck in 2019.
We need a new solution that can handle these requirements:
Strong integration capabilities with third-party tools and APIs
White label options for our brand
Multi-client dashboard access from single login
Easy setup without needing developers for each new client
Direct reselling capability without involving sales teams
SOC2 compliance for data security
Flexible pricing that works for smaller clients (some have budgets under $1000/month for less than 10k contacts)
I’ve looked into HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Creatio, MailChimp, and SugarCRM. ActiveCampaign seems closest to meeting our needs but I want to make sure I’m not missing other good options.
Fellow agency owners - what platforms are you using successfully?
Especially interested in hearing from ActiveCampaign users about their experience.
We switched from ActiveCampaign to Pardot (now Marketing Cloud Account Engagement) two years ago for our financial clients. Compliance was the main driver - we needed SOC2 plus banking regulation support that ActiveCampaign just didn’t have back then. Managing multiple clients through Salesforce’s partner portal is pretty straightforward, though setup’s more technical than I’d like. Pricing gets expensive fast, but it works for mid-size financial clients who actually need enterprise security. The integration options are endless since it’s built on Salesforce. White labeling exists but isn’t great compared to dedicated agency tools. Biggest downside? It’s way too complex for smaller clients under $1K monthly budgets - we still use a separate ActiveCampaign instance for those. But the compliance reporting alone made it worth switching for our main client base.
I totally get the SharpSpring frustration. When platforms get acquired and stop innovating, it’s time to bail.
I’ve dealt with this across multiple clients. Traditional marketing automation platforms suck for agencies - they’re designed for single companies, not us managing dozens of clients. You end up with hacky workarounds and overpaying for stuff you don’t use.
Game changer for us was building custom automation workflows that plug into whatever tools each client already has. Instead of cramming everyone into one expensive platform, we build tailored automation that connects their existing email service, CRM, landing pages - whatever they’re using.
This works especially well for financial clients since you’re not asking them to move sensitive data to another platform. Just connect what they have and layer automation on top.
Multi-client management becomes stupid simple when everything runs through one automation platform. Single dashboard, white-labeled for your agency, and you control the whole workflow without platform headaches.
Cost-wise, it’s huge. Instead of paying per-client enterprise licenses, you pay once and serve unlimited clients. Those sub-$1000 monthly clients actually become profitable instead of breaking even.
We handle everything this way - lead scoring, email sequences, complex financial compliance workflows. Setup is actually faster than configuring traditional platforms because you’re not fighting how the platform thinks you should work.
Switched from HubSpot to Keap about 18 months ago - it’s been solid for agency work. White labeling’s decent (not perfect), and multi-client management through their partner program works well. What sold us was their automation builder - way more intuitive than other platforms we tested. Pricing fits smaller clients better than HubSpot, and we can resell without jumping through sales hoops. SOC2 compliance is handled. Integrates with most tools we need, though complex setups sometimes need Zapier. Heads up on the learning curve when migrating client campaigns. Took us two months to fully transition everything, but the workflow efficiency boost was worth it. Support team actually responds fast - nice change from other platforms.
i gave activecampaign a shot too about a year ago. loved automation, but as soon as we had more than 5 clients, things got messy. white labeling is okay, but support? way too slow these days. it was great at first, but now just frustrating.
Been running an agency for eight years and hit the same SharpSpring mess. The acquisition killed their product development. Tested everything on your list and went with Ontraport. Not perfect, but beats the alternatives for most of your needs. White labeling works well, multi-client management runs through their agency dashboard, and they’ve got SOC2 compliance. API integrations handle financial sector work just fine. Pricing makes sense for agencies - start clients small and scale without crazy price jumps. Setup’s pretty straightforward, though the interface takes some getting used to. Main win over ActiveCampaign? Built-in agency tools. No workarounds needed for client separation and billing. Automation builder handles complex financial workflows without being a nightmare to use. Downside: their reputation isn’t HubSpot or ActiveCampaign level. Some clients question it at first, but results speak for themselves. Do a real trial with a test client before you commit. Their onboarding team helps with migration - saved us weeks versus doing it solo.
Had similar issues with platform transitions three times in my career. Each time the acquisition killed innovation.
For financial sector work, I’d push back on ActiveCampaign. Their compliance story isn’t strong enough for serious financial clients. You’ll hit roadblocks during client audits.
Went through this exact evaluation six months ago helping a partner agency. Ended up recommending they split their stack instead of finding one platform that does everything poorly.
For sub-1K clients, stick with something simple like ConvertKit or Mailchimp. For the bigger financial clients, bite the bullet and go enterprise with Marketo or Pardot despite the complexity.
The multi-client dashboard dream is mostly marketing fluff. Every client wants different reporting, different integrations, different workflows. Trying to standardize everything usually creates more work.
What saved us time was building standard operating procedures around client onboarding and campaign setup, regardless of platform. The process matters more than the tool.
Also consider that financial clients often prefer you use tools they already know. They trust Salesforce way more than some marketing platform they’ve never heard of. Sometimes the “best” technical solution loses to client comfort levels.
Reseller programs sound great until you realize you’re doing customer support for the platform vendor. Not worth the margin unless you’re really scaling up.