If you have a marketing agency, you’re a part of one, or you are looking to build one on your own, you know that providing high-quality marketing solutions to businesses is no cakewalk.
Things are twice as challenging if you don’t possess the tools or the right experts in your organization. For many agencies, the reason they don’t offer new services or can’t grown their own, is because they don’t have the tools or experts.
And the reason they don’t get those quickly is either because they can’t afford it, or they don’t want to handle the hassle of growing and managing teams.
But what if there was a solution that could fix this for you?
In this article, I review this comprehensive software and discuss its advantages, disadvantages, and pricing in detail. I also discuss alternatives if you think Vendasta isn’t for you.
But before we begin, here is what I like and don’t at a glance.
| What I Like + | What I Don’t Like – |
|---|---|
| ✅ Allows you to offer new services easily and outsource all the work to Vendasta’s team or vendor | ❌ Pricey for beginners |
| ✅ Allows you to create your own store with its branding directly on Vendasta, with the ability to choose all the services you want to offer | ❌ Steep learning curve |
| ✅ Allows you to expand as much as needed without worrying about hiring people and managing them | ❌ Onboarding fee |
| ✅ Excellent customer support, helping you even when you need to close leads |
What Is Vendasta?
Vendasta provides an all-in-one platform for companies selling to online businesses.
They’re a Canada-based organization that offers various marketing-focused solutions to channel partners who serve small and medium businesses.
If you’re new to Vendasta, this may seem confusing to you. So, let’s break it down.
What Services Does Vendasta Offer?
The Vendasta platform provides various marketing-related solutions, such as:
- Snapshot Report
- Vendasta Marketplace
- Marketing Automation
- Workflow Automation
- Project Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Digital Marketing Services (SEO Services, Social Media, Creatives, etc.)
Vendasta’s goal is to offer these services to channel partners to help them better serve their local business clients.
What Is A Channel Partner?
A channel partner is any company that collaborates with another company (e.g., Vendasta) to provide solutions to its clientele.
Vendasta’s channel partners include:
- Marketing agencies
- Broadcasting and media companies
- Publishing companies
- Banks
- Telecommunications providers.
What Is A White-Label Product or Service?
A white-label product or service is any product or service one company offers and sells to another company (the buyer).
The buyer then rebrands and resells these products and services. In the case of Vendasta, it provides these types of solutions to various channel partners.
These products are known as white-label because the providers sell them unbranded.
The channel partners that buy white-label solutions are the ones that stick their branding onto whatever product or service they purchase.
The Vendasta logo doesn’t appear on any of the services you get. You are free to customize the branding to fit your organization.
At its most basic, the flow of business at Vendasta and most white-label solutions provider looks like this:
- Vendasta supplies white-label services to a channel partner.
- The channel partner adds their branding and resells these services
- Prospects (such as local businesses) buy these services from the channel partner
Here’s an (over)simplified example:
A white-label solutions provider sells you peanut butter in plain, unlabeled glass jars. You are then free to label these peanut butter jars and sell them to your customers with your own logo and branding.
White-label service providers such as Vendasta work behind the scenes. When you acquire these products or services, your customers won’t know you’re dealing with Vendasta because you are selling the services as your own.
Who is Vendasta Best For?
Vendasta is best for organizations that provide marketing services to local businesses, such as:
- Marketing Agencies
- Managed Service Providers
- Telecommunications Companies
- Newspapers
- Publishing Companies
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) trust these organizations to help them improve their business in terms of their online presence and ROI.
I recommend Vendasta especially if your organization helps businesses in your area. Vendasta doesn’t cater directly to SMBs, Vendasta can only help you help them.
Although Vendasta has pricing plans for individuals (one member seat) and small agencies (five member seats), some may find the prices a little steep.
If you’re a member of a smaller organization, you may want to consider other options before making a final decision.
Is Vendasta worth it for individuals and small agency owners? That depends on what you are looking for. If you think you can maximize Vendasta’s feature set, then go for it.
On the other hand, if you just want listings management or reputation management, then it’s best to explore other options.
The Complete Vendasta Review
Vendasta considers the company an all-in-one solution that provides various high-quality services to empower its channel partners.
In this review, I analyze what Vendasta promises and has to offer.
Vendasta’s Best Features
There are various Vendasta services, but here’s what I think the best ones are:
Snapshot Reports
Vendasta can provide a tool that gives you valuable insight into your client’s digital marketing performance. With Snapshot Reports, you can automate your research and gain insights on the following:
Marketing Opportunities
You can get information regarding your clients’ digital marketing performance and establish areas for improvement.
You can use Snapshot Reports to get detailed analyses of your clients’ performance on every channel, including email, social media, and SEO.
When you know what your customers need to do to improve, it’s easier for you to create personalized strategies for them and persuade them to get your services.
For example, you use this feature and determine that your client’s email marketing performance is lacking.
You can then create a tailor-made strategy for your client. With such a strategy, you can position your organization as one that can offer the best solution to local businesses and other potential customers.
Competitor Analysis
Get a detailed breakdown of how your clients are performing compared to their direct competitors. You can even get data on how they’re doing compared to their industry in general.
Combine competitor analysis data with marketing performance data.
This way, you can show your prospects which channels they’re ahead of the competition and which channels they’re behind. Doing so will allow you to provide relevant information to your customers, help them set measurable goals, and give them a competitive edge.
Customizable Widget
You can put a widget on your website so that customers can request an automated report on the fly. With this widget, you no longer have to spend so much time manually answering inquiries.
You are free to customize the widget. Add your branding to the widget to make it look like an organic part of your website.
You can also add an automated function on the widget so that it adds any new prospects who type in their info to your email list.
Marketing Automation
Vendasta technologies can automate virtually any marketing function. Vendasta’s automation will make it much easier to attract potential customers, whether you’re a marketing agency owner, media company, or publishing company.
Save yourself loads of time by taking advantage of Vendasta’s platform. You can create pre-made campaigns in seconds that point out your prospects’ problems. Forge deeper connections by personalizing your pre-made campaigns and offering your clients tailor-made content.
You can do all this in just a few clicks. Instead of spending hours, you only need minutes to create customized content that will make any local business feel like you reached out to them personally.
Reputation Management
Today’s Internet age has made online reviews a crucial part of any business’s success. Sometimes, it takes only one online review to make or break a business. Vendasta knows this, which is why they provide reputation management services.
The Vendasta white-label reviews management service enables you to monitor, manage, and improve your online reputation on a single platform.
Use this feature to monitor all customer feedback from over a hundred websites. You can also set it up to send email alerts every time you get a new review.
For easier viewing, you can filter reviews by source or star rating. By filtering reviews, you can choose to look at specific reviews first. For example, you can filter out all the 1-star reviews to see why customers gave you such a negative review.
You can also respond directly to online reviews from Vendasta’s dashboard. Don’t have the time to think of responses to feedback? Streamline the process with Vendasta’s intelligent response suggestions.
Organize the online reviews from the dashboard to make it easier to respond to the most critical reviews first. You can even ask Vendasta’s experts to help you respond to customer feedback. Remember to acknowledge every review to keep customers happy and make them feel valued.
Digital Marketing
Hiring in-house experts costs a lot, but Vendasta’s entire suite of marketing services means you don’t have to worry about that.
Vendasta’s marketing services include:
Listings Management
This service allows you to get your clients listed on as many sites as possible to boost their online presence. It doesn’t matter if you’re not familiar with listings management. Vendasta’s listings management experts will do it for you.
Digital Advertising (PPC)
Vendasta has digital advertising specialists who can run ad campaigns for your customers on various platforms, including Google, Instagram, and Youtube. Vendasta’s team will also provide you with detailed reports so that you can update your clients regarding PPC performance.
Content Marketing
Need writers? No problem. Vendasta has content specialists that can write high-quality, SEO-focused website copy and blog posts for your customers. Vendasta assures that you and your customers will be impressed with the quality of their content.
Social Media
Vendasta can manage your client’s social media accounts for you. The Vendasta team can help your customers better engage with their customers. Vendasta can promote your client’s business on social media via eye-catching posts.
Web Design
Vendasta has web design experts who can create stunning, fast-loading, and secure websites for your clients. You can also use Vendasta’s Website Pro product to host your client’s website on the Google Cloud Platform to ensure website performance and security.
Vendasta Support
Vendasta helps channel partners use their platform by providing comprehensive support on various topics, such as:
- Onboarding – Resources to help newcomers get a handle on the basics of Vendasta
- Training – A library of training courses and videos that will help turn you into you become a digital marketing expert
- Vendasta Partner Center – Resources to help you learn how to manage your accounts and Vendasta’s different products
- Billing & Payments – Teaches you how to create invoices and accept payments through Vendasta
- Sales and Marketing Tools – Access resources for Vendasta’s marketing tools like CalendarHero
If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the Resource Center, Vendasta has an automated chatbot that gives you the option to talk to a live support specialist.
Vendasta Pricing
Vendasta has a tier-based pricing system consisting of the following tiers:
Individual
As its name suggests, this tier is for one Vendasta user only. This tier costs $119 monthly for a 12-month contract if you want monthly billing. If you prefer annual billing, the price is $1,188 per year or $99 monthly. Onboarding is not available for this tier.
Team
This is Vendasta’s most popular tier. It’s for a maximum of five users. This tier costs $579 monthly for a 12-month contract if you want monthly billing. There’s also a $749 onboarding fee.
If you prefer annual billing, the price is $5,988 per year or $499 monthly. The onboarding fee is waived if you choose to get billed annually. Discounts are also available for the two-year and three-year plans.
Advance
The Advance tier is for a maximum of 50 Vendasta users. This tier costs $1,159 monthly for a 12-month contract if you want monthly billing. There’s also a $1,499 onboarding fee.
If you prefer annual billing, the price is $11,988 per year or $999 monthly. Vendasta waives the onboarding fee if you choose to get billed annually. Discounts are also available for the two-year and three-year plans.
Custom
If you have more than 50 Vendasta users, you need to contact Vendasta for a custom quote. Custom pricing is ideal for enterprise-level users.
Free
Vendasta also has a Free tier, but it’s nearly worthless. Apart from one Snapshot Report monthly, the Free tier offers nothing else of value.
Vendasta Pros and Cons
Here are the good and bad things about Vendasta
Pros
- Feature-rich Platform
From marketing automation software to web design services, Vendasta offers an extensive array of tools and services. Signing up for Vendasta allows you to take advantage of virtually any marketing service. The platform is made up of a Partner Center, Sales & Success Center, Business App, and Task Manager.
- Wide Range of Use Cases
Vendasta isn’t geared to just one market. Whether you run an agency consisting of just a handful of people or an enterprise-level organization, Vendasta has features you will find helpful provided you can afford the price.
- Customer Support
Vendasta offers countless resources to help you navigate the platform. The company also offers live chat support.
Cons
- Pricey
Even on the low end, Vendasta may be a bit pricey for some users. Even if you were the only user, you’d still have to pay at least $1,188 annually ($99 monthly) for Vendasta. Furthermore, signing up means you are tied up to a 12-month contract.
- Big Learning Curve
There are so many Vendasta products. Vendasta isn’t the easiest to use. Even with all the resources available to you, learning Vendasta and maximizing its potential can take a significant amount of time.
- Onboarding fee
As if Vendasta wasn’t pricey enough. You’d have to pay an onboarding fee on top of your Vendasta subscription if you choose monthly billing and get either the Team or Advance tier. I feel the Onboarding fee is unnecessary because other similar platforms don’t require an onboarding fee
Vendasta Alternatives
Here are some Vendasta alternatives you might want to check out.
DashClicks
Like Vendasta, DashClicks offers white-labeled services such as reputation management and analytics. However, DashClicks seems to have more competitive pricing. DashClicks’ Pro Tier has five team member seats and costs only $97 monthly. Vendasta’s Individual tier has only one team member seat but costs $119 monthly.
Synup
Synup is a listings management and reputation management platform. While not as feature-rich as Vendasta, Synup still provides automation, analytics, and content marketing. Synup may be an excellent option if you’re looking for a solution with a much cheaper price tag (as low as $30 per location monthly).
Yext
Yext also offers listings management, reputation management, and analytics. The main difference is that Yext has much more affordable prices for listings management. Yext’s Starter Package is only $4 weekly (billed at $199 annually). If your primary need is listings management, Yext might be your best bet.
The Bottom Line
Vendasta is a feature-rich platform for any agency that wants to provide local businesses with the best possible marketing solutions.
Some might be put off by Vendasta’s priciness and deep learning curve. But if you’re willing to pay Vendasta’s fees and take the time to learn the platform’s ins and outs, you’ll likely find it very helpful to you and your clients.
If you aren’t sold on Vendasta and want to test it out, don’t hesitate to sign up for the platform’s 14-day free trial.
For more in-depth reviews of marketing tools, visit our blog.
