Cascade Marketing Strategy Software Review For 2024
Cascade enables marketing professionals to build, track, and adapt strategic goals seamlessly, making it a preferred choice for those prioritizing agile, goal-driven planning over static marketing frameworks.
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In this review, I’ll share my analysis and evaluation based on my hands-on experience with Cascade. But first, if you’re just beginning your search for the best marketing strategy software, check out my top picks.
You probably already know Cascade is among the most popular marketing strategy software tools out there, but you need to better understand what’s good and not so good about it. This in-depth Cascade review will walk you through the pros and cons, features, and functionality of this tool to help guide you to better understand its capabilities and suitability for your scenario.
Summary: Cascade
Cascade is a cloud-based strategy execution platform that aids organizations in planning and implementing their strategic objectives. It is used by business leaders, department heads, project managers, and consultants to align team goals with overall business strategy. It offers strategic planning, project management, collaboration, and real-time progress monitoring tools.
Cascade addresses common breaking points of marketing teams including misalignment of goals, lack of accountability, and the need for transparency. With its customizable dashboards, strategy visualization, performance tracking, and collaboration tools, Cascade not only resolves common challenges but adds a layer of clarity and ongoing engagement, ensuring that strategic plans remain active, measurable, and fully transparent.
Cascade Pros
- User-Friendly Interface: Cascade is praised for its intuitive design, making it easy for team members to learn and use the software effectively.
- Transparency and Accountability: The software enhances goal transparency, aligns priorities, and fosters accountability among staff.
- Superior Reporting: Cascade provides excellent reporting features, allowing for comprehensive management and board reports.
Cascade Cons
- Learning Curve: Some users may find that the advanced functionality requires additional time and effort to learn compared to other marketing strategy tools.
- Complexity for Simpler Needs: Some users find the software excessive, which may not be suitable for businesses with simpler tracking requirements.
- Improvement Needed for Printed Reports: Static reports may not effectively convey complex relationships, necessitating improvements in this area.
Cascade Expert Opinion
In my opinion, Cascade is a standout platform for strategic planning and execution, best suited for medium to large organizations. Its cloud-based nature facilitates integration across departments, improving team alignment and accountability. The intuitive interface and customizable dashboards enhance user experience, allowing for quick setup and management of strategic plans. Users can benefit from standout features like performance tracking, goal setting, and collaboration tools that drive engagement and transparency.
However, Cascade's complexity may be overwhelming for smaller teams or those new to strategic planning software. Furthermore, it excels in reporting and actionable insights, but some users note limitations in language support and printed report functionalities. Utilizing this software to its full potential may also require organizational buy-in and commitment which can be a barrier for some teams.
Overall, Cascade is a valuable tool for business leaders, project managers, and marketing professionals seeking to align strategic objectives with daily operations. Its exceptional customer support adds to its appeal, making it a strong contender in marketing strategy software. For those willing to invest time in learning and integrating the platform, Cascade offers a powerful solution for driving organizational performance.
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Are You a Good Fit for Cascade?
Who Would Be a Good Fit for Cascade?
Cascade is ideal for companies seeking structured and strategic alignment. Organizations prioritizing goal setting and performance tracking will benefit from its features, which focus on enhancing collaboration and clarity in achieving business objectives. Teams that need to track progress and align their activities with overarching strategic goals will find this tool effective.
Who Would Be a Bad Fit for Cascade?
Small businesses or startups with limited strategic planning needs may not find Cascade suitable. Its focus on detailed strategy execution and performance management might be unnecessary for companies that do not require extensive goal-setting frameworks. Businesses looking for simple task management without strategic depth might find other tools more aligned with their needs.
Best Use Cases for Cascade
- Large Enterprises: Cascade's broad feature set supports complex marketing strategies across multiple departments.
- Marketing Teams: The software's ability to align team goals and track progress makes it ideal for marketing departments.
- Project Managers: Cascade helps manage extensive projects with its structured approach to goal-setting and tracking.
- Strategic Planning: Its tools for developing and executing strategies, strategic initiatives, and strategy frameworks are particularly advantageous for planning departments.
- Goal Tracking: The platform excels in monitoring and achieving specific marketing objectives.
- Cross-Functional Teams: Cascade's collaboration tools enhance coordination among diverse teams working towards common goals.
Worst Use Cases for Cascade
- Small Businesses: The extensive features are overwhelming for companies with limited resources.
- Freelancers: Cascade's capabilities might be excessive for individual freelancers managing their projects.
- Non-Marketing Departments: Departments other than marketing may find the tool's features less relevant to their needs and may want to consider a broader tool such as project management software.
- Startups: The complexity of the platform could hinder fast-moving startups that require Agile solutions.
- Budget-Conscious Teams: The cost associated with Cascade may not justify its use for teams with tight budgets.
- Simple Projects: For straightforward projects, the tool's comprehensive nature could be more than what is required.
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Cascade Evaluation Summary
- Core Functionality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Standout Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Onboarding: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Customer Support: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Integrations: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Customer Reviews: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review Methodology
We’re a team of software experts who obsess about the features and functionality of different platforms. We know how critical—yet difficult and confusing—software selection can be. We test and score software to find the best solutions, whatever the use case may be.
Using our objective, data-driven testing methodology, we’ve tested 300+ software. We dedicate ourselves to being objective in fully and fairly testing software, to get beyond the marketing fluff and truly understand the platform.
We’ve developed robust testing scenarios to use the software in the same way you will. We leverage our own first-hand, practical experience with the tools, complemented by interviews with users, experts, and software vendors.
How We Test & Score Marketing Strategy Software
We’ve spent years building, refining, and improving our software testing and scoring system for marketing software. The rubric is designed to capture the nuances of software selection, and what makes marketing strategy software effective, focusing on critical aspects of the decision-making process.
Below, you can see exactly how our testing and scoring work across eight criteria. It allows us to provide an unbiased evaluation of the software based on core functionality, standout features, ease of use, onboarding, customer support, integrations, Cascade strategy reviews, and value for money.
Core Functionality (20% of final scoring)
For marketing strategy software, the core functionality we test and evaluate includes:
- Campaign Management: Enables the planning, execution, and analysis of marketing campaigns.
- Analytics: Provides insights through data tracking and reporting capabilities.
- Customer Segmentation: Allows customer segmentation for targeted marketing.
- Automation: Facilitates the automatic execution of repetitive marketing tasks.
- Content Management: Supports digital content creation, storing, and distribution.
- Lead Scoring: Assesses the value of leads based on their behavior and interactions.
Standout Features (20% of final scoring)
We evaluate uncommon, standout features that go above and beyond the core functionality defined and typically found in marketing strategy software. A high score reflects specialized or unique features that make the product faster, more efficient, or offer additional value to the user.
Ease of Use (10% of final scoring)
We consider how quick and easy it is to execute the tasks defined in the core functionality using the software. High-scoring software is well designed, intuitive to use, offers a mobile app, provides templates, and makes relatively complex tasks seem simple.
Onboarding (10% of final scoring)
We know how important rapid team adoption is for a new platform, so we evaluate how easy it is to learn and use the marketing strategy software with minimal training. We evaluate how quickly a team member can get set up and start using the software with no experience. High-scoring software indicates little or no support is required.
Customer Support (10% of final scoring)
We review how quick and easy it is to get unstuck and find help by phone, live chat, or knowledge base. Marketing strategy software that provides real-time support scores best, while chatbots score worst.
Integrations (10% of final scoring)
We evaluate how easy it is to integrate with other tools typically found in the tech stack to expand the functionality and utility of the software. Marketing strategy software offering plentiful native integrations, third-party connections, and API access to build custom integrations score best.
Customer Reviews (10% of final scoring)
Beyond our own testing and evaluation, we consider the net promoter score from current and past customers. We review their likelihood, given the option, to choose the marketing strategy software again for the core functionality. A high-scoring software reflects a high net promoter score from current or past customers.
Value for Money (10% of final scoring)
Lastly, in consideration of all the other criteria, we review the average price of entry-level plans against the core features and consider the value of the other evaluation criteria. Software that delivers more, for less, will score higher.
Cascade Review
Core Marketing Strategy Software Functionality
Strategic Planning: Cascade offers a powerful platform for strategic planning, allowing users to define and align their business strategies. This function stands out as it enables high-level strategies to be broken down into actionable objectives, ensuring all team members are aligned and informed.
Real-time Progress Monitoring: The software provides real-time updates on strategic progress, making it easy to track objectives and projects. This feature enhances transparency and accountability within teams, helping organizations quickly adjust strategies as needed.
Reporting: The platform delivers customizable reporting features, letting users create detailed reports on campaign performance and strategic alignment. This helps marketing teams present insights to stakeholders efficiently.
Customizable Dashboards: Users can customize dashboards to suit their specific needs, enabling tailored views of strategic data. This flexibility makes it easy for different departments to focus on relevant metrics and goals.
Performance Tracking: The platform includes tools for tracking performance against strategic objectives, fostering a data-driven approach to strategy execution. It empowers organizations to measure success effectively and make informed decisions.
Goal Alignment: This feature ensures all marketing initiatives align with the company’s objectives. Cascade allows users to break high-level goals into actionable tasks, creating better team collaboration.
Cascade Standout Features
Strategic Roadmaps: Cascade offers a visual roadmap feature that enables users to plan and map out entire marketing strategies over time. This long-term view helps marketers focus on overarching goals while tracking tactical execution.
Strategy Visualization: Cascade excels in providing a visual representation of strategies, which aids in better understanding and communication across teams. This function is particularly beneficial for simplifying complex plans and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Ease of Use
Cascade strategy software is considered easier to use than many other marketing strategy software due to its intuitive interface and customizable dashboards. Users appreciate its straightforward setup and the ability to align tasks with broader objectives.
However, some have noted that the platform can become complex when tracking intricate initiatives and metrics, suggesting that its ease of use may vary depending on organizational needs.
Onboarding
New Cascade users can expect a well-structured onboarding process that includes guidance on setting up dashboards, aligning strategies, and utilizing collaboration tools. The platform offers comprehensive support to ensure users can effectively integrate the software into their workflow.
Compared to other marketing strategy software, Cascade's onboarding is highly regarded for its thoroughness and user-friendly approach, though it does require full organizational buy-in for optimal success.
Customer Support
Cascade provides customer support through several channels, including email, phone, and direct communication with the Cascade team. Users can expect responsive assistance and effective solutions to their queries. Additionally, Cascade offers a status page to monitor downtime and frequent product updates, ensuring an up-to-date and reliable user experience.
Integrations
Cascade integrates natively with popular tools like Google Workspace, Jira, HubSpot, and Salesforce.
In addition to native integrations, Cascade.app offers options through an API and Zapier, allowing users to connect with a wide range of third-party applications and further customize their strategic planning processes. This flexibility is crucial for organizations tailoring the software to their needs and existing workflows.
Value for Money
I find Cascade's pricing range average to expensive for marketing strategy software. While its starting price is reasonable, it quickly adds up. This is largely because of its custom pricing model, which often accompanies platforms with extensive features that cater to specific organizational needs.
Cascade has three pricing plans:
- The Free plan offers Cascade’s core strategy execution features. It includes up to 4 users and unlimited plans and metrics.
- The Essentials plan includes Cascade’s strategy execution platform, a designated customer success manager, and essential strategy workshops, with pricing available upon request.
- The Enterprise+ plan includes everything in Essentials plus unlimited strategy execution advisory, a designated strategy execution director, and custom integrations, with pricing available upon request.
The Essentials and Enterprise+ plans include a structured implementation process lasting 8-12 weeks. Payments are accepted only in USD.
This pricing structure is typical for platforms offering advanced strategy execution features and dedicated support, which can justify the higher cost for organizations that need these capabilities.
Product Specifications
Below is a table listing common features of marketing strategy software and whether Cascade offers them:
| Feature | Cascade |
| Tool Integration Capabilities | ✅ |
| Analytics and Reporting | ✅ |
| Dashboard, Analytics, and Reporting | ✅ |
| Centralized Strategy | ✅ |
| Alignment Visualization | ✅ |
| Metrics & Measures | ✅ |
| Dashboards & Reports | ✅ |
| Integrations | ✅ |
| Custom Strategy Templates | ✅ |
| Operational Efficiency Tools | ✅ |
| Marketing Campaign Management | ❌ |
| Email Campaign Management | ❌ |
| Lead Generation and Nurturing | ❌ |
| Social Media Campaign Management | ❌ |
| Lead Management and Scoring | ❌ |
| AI-Enabled Features | ❌ |
| Content Management | ❌ |
| Mobile Capabilities | ❌ |
| Traffic Analysis | ❌ |
Cascade Alternatives
If you’re looking for alternative marketing strategy software options to Cascade, here are a few worth checking out:
- Mooncamp: Mooncamp provides clear analytics and advanced data protection, making it an ideal choice for teams seeking a smooth implementation experience.
- Quantive: Quantive, previously known as Gtmhub, stands out with its real-time KPI tracking and predictive analytics, offering enterprises the agility needed for strategic planning.
- Profit.co: Profit.co integrates analytics with OKR tracking, providing automated performance reports and pre-built OKR templates that support data-driven decision-making.
- WorkBoard: WorkBoard offers tools for cross-functional collaboration and executive briefings, focusing on OKR coaching to enhance strategic alignment.
Cascade Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cascade?
Cascade is a strategy execution platform designed to help organizations manage their strategic planning and execution processes. It offers tools for structuring strategies, linking business data to initiatives, and tracking performance through dashboards. The platform includes strategy templates, training materials, and custom workshops to engage stakeholders.
Is there a mobile app for Cascade?
No, Cascade does not have a traditional mobile app you can download from apps like the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. However, it offers a Progressive Web App (PWA), which provides a mobile app-like experience. You can install it directly from your browser on both desktop and mobile devices.
Is Cascade HIPAA-compliant?
Cascade does not specifically list HIPAA compliance among its security features. It focuses on enterprise-grade security with a 99.5% uptime SLA, regulatory compliance, and data encryption. For healthcare-related data handling, verifying HIPAA compliance details with Cascade directly is important.
Is Cascade SOC 2 compliant?
Cascade stresses regulatory compliance and enterprise security, though specific SOC 2 compliance details are not explicitly mentioned. Organizations needing SOC 2 compliance should contact Cascade directly to confirm their current compliance status.
Is Cascade secure?
Cascade ensures data protection with a 99.5% uptime SLA, encryption, and regulatory compliance. Data is hosted in multiple locations to meet compliance needs, and the platform supports single sign-on capabilities and user permissions for secure user access.
Is Cascade FedRAMP certified?
The available information does not explicitly confirm that Cascade is FedRAMP certified. Organizations requiring FedRAMP certification should contact Cascade directly for inquiries about any related compliance or certification efforts.
Is Cascade GDPR compliant?
Cascade adheres to GDPR compliance to protect user data and ensure privacy. The platform uses encryption and security measures to prevent unauthorized data access. Users can trust that data protection is aligned with GDPR standards.
How does Cascade support strategic planning?
Cascade supports strategic planning by providing a centralized platform for strategy structuring and execution. It includes a planner tool, metrics to connect business data to initiatives, and dashboards for performance tracking. The platform also offers strategy templates and training materials to enhance planning processes.
Cascade Company Overview & History
Cascade is a strategy execution software that helps organizations plan, execute, and track their overall business strategies in a centralized system. It was founded in 2014 and is known for its cloud-based tools that enable businesses to align marketing goals with company objectives and streamline strategic processes.
Cascade is not affiliated with other major product lines or companies, but it is known for its culture of innovation and supports marketing professionals and strategy teams. Some notable clients include Fortune 500 companies like Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, BMW, and Honeywell.
Cascade Major Milestones
- 2014: Cascade was founded
- 2019: Cascade launched globally
- 2021: Completed a second seed round, raising over $5 million
- 2022: Raised $29 million in Series A funding led by Telescope Partners
- 2024: Cascade continues to grow, with increased media coverage and an expanding user base, serving over 6,000 teams globally
Want to learn more about Cascade? Check out their site for additional information.
From $29/user/month with a minimum of 5 users
2-week free trial of any premium plan + freemium version
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