Likelihood to Recommend My advice in choosing software in general is to know what you want to get out of the software. Then start researching the software on your own to see what features and benefits each has that will help you accomplish what you need. Once you have a good idea of what sorts of features you're looking for, reach out to the vendors that have them to see demos. Get really in-depth with your demos and ask for practical use-cases for each feature. Free trials are pretty useless with this sort of technology because the initial set-up is so time-consuming that you would either not set it up properly, or you would not stop using the provider you chose after the set up because you don't want to do it again!
Read full review The reason it's not a seven or above is purely because of the timing of a solution we had requested originally back in August 2023. It's now February 2024, and we're waiting for a wow-factor pitch deck. Previously, we only received a demo recording and an order form quote. These truthfully aren't helpful enough to convince and sway our senior leaders into spending the $35k+ investment into the PMC.
Read full review Pros It is easy to use without too much set-up. The e-mail engine is simple to use and straightforward, and e-mails seemed to get delivered for the most part. The reporting information is very in-depth and detailed. Read full review Personalization: It allows us to create highly personalized direct mail pieces tailored to individual recipients. For instance, we can include the recipient's name, relevant product recommendations, or even custom images that resonate with their preferences. Multi-Channel Integration: The platform seamlessly integrates with our existing digital marketing tools and CRM systems. It enables us to orchestrate cohesive campaigns that combine email, social media, and direct mail to reach our target audience through multiple touchpoints. Automated Workflows: PFL offers robust automation capabilities, streamlining the entire direct mail process. We can set triggers, such as website visits or email engagement, to automatically trigger the sending of personalized direct mail pieces, ensuring timely and relevant outreach. Variable Data Printing: The platform simplifies variable data printing, enabling us to print custom content for each recipient efficiently. This is particularly useful for A/B testing different messaging or designs within a single campaign. Read full review Cons I think creating the HTML email campaigns could be made easier. I would like to have more HTML templates available. Read full review There is no built-in functionality to automate direct mail; this has to be created through triggers in Salesforce. The sales cloud integration didn't give us the syncing or reporting we thought would be available. We would like to see more support from team members in the post-onboarding process. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Loopfuse was great for a startup with a limited budget and limited technical resources, but it's not something I'd use for a larger company because the functionality can be fairly limited compared to other similar products. If I were in a startup again, I wouldn't hesitate to use them for a second. I would also note that, when I first started using them, they were great about answering questions via phone, email, web form, forum, etc - which is one of the reasons I went with them. When I used them at a later company, I found they were a little less receptive to 1x1 support with the cheaper plan I was using. I can't blame them for that, but it wasn't always intuitive to use their product (even after having used it for a year).
Read full review I will continue to use the platform as long as my employer provides access, but I do not have purchasing power myself.
Read full review Usability It's pretty easy to use without any technical abilities, but the email editor will require html skills (no drag and drop).
Read full review The UI is friendly, clear, and accessible, and I access it directly through the interface (Salesforce) that I perform my function in every day. It is intuitive to navigate, and I am able to find most functionalities I need without the need to consult an admin and/or support teams.
Read full review Support Rating Only thing holding me back from a perfect 10 would be the timelines for involving the technical team on occasion. There have been a few times where the PFL technical support team has been booked up for days or more than a week out which can delay our project timelines. This doesn't happen often, let me be clear. But when it does, it's usually at the worst time for our campaigns.
Read full review Alternatives Considered At the time we had to choose between several versions of marketing products. We decided to choose LoopFuse since a few of our employees were quite amused with the ease of use of LoopFuse. Also when looking at cost-effectiveness LoopFuse is a great product for the smaller companies. Making the decision was not too hard.
Read full review JourneyMail is one I have evaluated. It did not seem as full featured as PFL Direct Mail Platform, nor did it integrate with the rest of the Salesforce products like PFL Direct Mail Platform (journeymail ONLY integrates to marketing cloud). My customers tend to be cross-cloud and own multiple products and want solutions that can integrate across their stack easily.
Read full review Scalability It does take a while to launch or re-launch a campaign, which can make it difficult to pivot quickly. However, if you're integrated with Marketo, then PFL is as scalable as your database and marketing strategy! The sky is the limit in terms of creativity. Post launch, the program is hands-off apart from report monitoring and potential optimization tweaks.
Read full review Return on Investment I can't really quantify ROI from Loopfuse Read full review We've sometimes struggled to maintain a positive ROI due to some issues with packages not arriving, arriving broken, or including the wrong items. Read full review ScreenShots PFL Direct Mail Platform Screenshots