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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    OutboundEngine

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AOutboundEngine provides a hands-off way for small business owners to market and grow their business. The product aims to provide small businesses with what big companies have achieved with marketing automation. The service aims to help users keep in touch with clients and prospects with professionally designed, branded campaigns. Benefits include: driving engagement, surfacing warm leads from current contacts, generating referrals and repeat business from their existing contacts, social…

    $199

    per user

    PFL Direct Mail Platform

    Score9 out of 10
    N/APFL helps businesses deliver authentic moments by creating impactful direct mail that is data-driven, bringing measurement, personalization, and predictability from digital to direct mail. PFL offers direct mail that is... Simplified: PFL simplifies direct mail execution by managing the entire process under one roof from strategy and production to delivery and measurement. Engaging: Supports engagement that results in action by paring digital tactics with memorable…

    $40,000

    per year

    Pricing
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Editions & Modules
    Essential
    $199
    per user
    Value
    $299
    per user
    Premium
    $499
    per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup Fee$99 per user$10,000
    Additional DetailsMore information is available on the vendor's website.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Considered Both Products
    Elm Street Technology
    No answer on this topic
    PFL
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    75%
    Would buy again
    42 Answers
    88%
    Would buy again
    28 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    75%
    Delivers good value for the price
    38 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    28 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    75%
    Happy with the feature set
    42 Answers
    84%
    Happy with the feature set
    27 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    67%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    81%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    21 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    47 Answers
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    21 Answers
    Features
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of OutboundEngine and PFL Direct Mail Platform
    Feature
    OutboundEngine
    5.9
    50 Ratings
    22% below category average
    PFL Direct Mail Platform
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile optimization8.643 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting3.050 Ratings00 Ratings
    List management6.044 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead Management
    Comparison of Lead Management features of OutboundEngine and PFL Direct Mail Platform
    Feature
    OutboundEngine
    5.3
    38 Ratings
    23% below category average
    PFL Direct Mail Platform
    -
    Ratings
    Automated sales alerts and tasks5.338 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social Media Marketing
    Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of OutboundEngine and PFL Direct Mail Platform
    Feature
    OutboundEngine
    10.0
    48 Ratings
    36% above category average
    PFL Direct Mail Platform
    -
    Ratings
    Social sharing and campaigns10.048 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Small Businesses
    HighLevel
    Score9.3 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    LocaliQ
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Sendoso
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Sendoso
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (61 ratings)
    9.0
    (33 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    7.6
    (7 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    8.8
    (27 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.9
    (24 ratings)
    9.4
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.9
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    OutboundEnginePFL Direct Mail Platform
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Elm Street Technology
    OutboundEngine does a referral campaign and I've been able to close a couple of deals based on getting in touch with people who engage with this campaign and state they could use my services in the next 6 months. This is a great follow up tool for those you may or may not know are going to be needing your services.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PFL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Elm Street Technology
    • The content that they generate to send to our clients is relevant and the clients want to engage with us. It makes us appear more professional and consistent, even though we are a smaller company.
    • It helps us stay in touch with clients and helps us stay top of mind. We are able to generate more new business leads if we are in consistent contact with current, former, and potential clients.
    • Their customer service and support is outstanding. All my questions were answered and I went into the program feeling confident and knowledgeable.
    Read full review
    PFL
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Elm Street Technology
    • I do not like the use of drawings to attract new customers, and they have ignored my requests to eliminate that for my personal emails.
    • I do not like it when a competitor in my immediate market has the same posts. It cheapens the service or makes it appear that I am simply sharing another's post.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PFL
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Elm Street Technology
    The biggest issue is poor ROI. The second biggest issue is rigid customer service process, lack of a sense of urgency, and inability to reach out to upper management with issues.
    Read full review
    PFL
    I will continue to use the platform as long as my employer provides access, but I do not have purchasing power myself.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Elm Street Technology
    Overall, OutboundEngine is very user friendly. It is simple to set up and explore, and if there are any issues or questions, the customer service team and account managers are always available to help. They are very knowledgeable and were able to explain everything in detail to me. The program is easy to navigate and helps me stay organized, and an uncomplicated and straightforward solution was exactly what I was looking for
    Read full review
    PFL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Elm Street Technology
    I haven't had to contact Outbound Engine because I haven't had any application errors or unplanned outages. I basically have had such a trouble free experience with them that I haven't had to call. Everything is automated and I get a notice to review every isse. I suppose if I personalized the newsletter a bit more and added some of my own articles, I would need to contact them, (which I should really start to do) but so far things have been so on point, I haven't felt the need.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PFL
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Elm Street Technology
    The customer service was excellent! Everyone I spoke to was kind and knowledgeable. My account manager was easily reachable. Setup of the OutboundEngine program was explained really thoroughly, and we knew how we could best use the product to meet the needs of our clients and get our online and social media presence off the ground.
    Read full review
    PFL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Elm Street Technology
    I selected it for the ability to have an automated system do 3 things all at once, social media posts, emails and the instant communication with the chat box. I have never seen a chat come through that lead to a helpful client touchpoint. I have never used another product but have since begun to weigh some of the less expensive options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PFL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Elm Street Technology
    No answers on this topic
    PFL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Elm Street Technology
    • One client identified how one article I sent that he read saved him from having to replace his entire AC system.
    • One client actually thought I was sending this to him personally because I valued him
    • One of the above transacted with me twice for over $3M in sales
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PFL
    • We've sometimes struggled to maintain a positive ROI due to some issues with packages not arriving, arriving broken, or including the wrong items.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    OutboundEngine Screenshots

    Screenshot of Automated Social Media MarketingScreenshot of A personalized snapshot of your account activity and warmest leads.Screenshot of Personally designed, tested, and automated emails

    PFL Direct Mail Platform Screenshots

    Screenshot of Custom kits available for useScreenshot of Entering the sender addressScreenshot of Personalization at scale with custom messaging and signaturesScreenshot of Product selection with product details, template data, and advanced options