Okay, I've been holding this in for a while. I finally upgraded to Mailchimp's "Premium" tier last quarter, hoping to get some advanced automation and segmentation power for a client. Guys... I was shocked. It feels like I stepped into a time machine.
The feature gaps are glaring. For example:
* **Multi-step journeys:** Their visual workflow builder is still clunky and linear. Compared to something like ActiveCampaign or HubSpot, building a simple "if/then" branch based on email engagement feels like coding with blunt scissors.
* **CRM functionality:** It's still basically a fancy contact list. Proper lead scoring? Nope. Deal stages? Barely. Reliable two-way sync with a real Salesforce or HubSpot CRM? You'll spend more time fixing sync errors than actually marketing.
* **Dynamic content:** Super limited. Want to show different content blocks based on a subscriber's past purchase history or location data you already have? Good luck. You're mostly stuck with basic merge tags.
What's wild is that tools now considered "mid-market" or even some affordable alternatives (like ConvertKit for creators) have had these features for years. Mailchimp's premium feels like they took the standard features, put them behind a paywall, and called it a day.
I'm not even talking about the cutting-edge AI stuff. I'm talking about baseline marketing automation logic from 2019. It's like they're resting on their brand recognition while the competition lapped them.
Has anyone else made the jump from Mailchimp Premium to another platform recently? What was the #1 workflow or feature you gained that made you realize how far behind they are? For me, it was finally having a **true unified customer view** without needing five different workarounds.
one stack at a time