PFL Direct Mail Platform vs. WebEngage

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

WebEngage can easily reduce turnaround time for product and marketing teams to execute marketing campaigns for specific user segments as well as remove any dependency on internal tech teams for the development and maintenance of automation journeys. Further, A/B tests can be executed to measure the performance of message variants in real-time directly from the panel. But WebEngage lacks a robust Analytics platform. While basic metrics such as open rate and click-through rate for messages being sent can be considered for reporting, attribution is still not the strongest suit in case the marketing team relies on multiple Ad networks for acquisition. Thus, as per experience, it's better to use the automation suite offered by WebEngage with a different data analytics platform.

Incentivized

• 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

• Ease in creating user journeys.
• Easy implementation of APIs.
• Good reporting dashboard and scheduling features.
• Segmentation of the users is easy.

Incentivized

• 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

• Relays
• Onsite should have more options of templates.
• Backend support for better reachability of the channels.
• Cohort studies should be more customizable.

Incentivized

I will continue to use the platform as long as my employer provides access, but I do not have purchasing power myself.

Incentivized

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

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

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

WebEngage's dashboard is relatively more intuitive and easy to understand. Further in terms of cost as well it is value to money as it delivers excellent ROI. The after-sales support is also better in terms of responsiveness and helps in case of issues with the execution of campaigns. The account managers also ideate and help in the optimization and creation of new user journeys.

Incentivized

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

• 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

• Helped in lowering cost of marketing.
• Driving higher volume of Direct Sales.
• Increasing conversion rate on the website.
• Increasing lead to sale ratio.

Incentivized