Have you Seen that new Orange Bird?
Updated September 21, 2017

Have you Seen that new Orange Bird?

Hannibal Pharaon | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Robly

We initially transitioned from Constant Contact to Robly as a way of cutting down costs. They were aggressive in reaching out to us and giving us a new customer offer. It turned out they had a few patents pending for OpenGen and later on, "AI Sending" advantages that the competition did not catch on to, early on. We would have liked the offering to also include a measure of whether the emails are likely to go to SPAM or not. We love the 6 mobile responsive templates they have. Wish they had more! The subscription rate is right and the support is great since it's a smaller outfit and they remain private and so affordable.
  • OpenGen - Great way to automate the sending out process and change the subject line retroactively. Plan ahead.
  • AI Sending monitors the open rates and maximizes the potential open click rates based on the user's habit and proclivity to email.
  • Sends out dual function email push attempts to guarantee better success the next time around.
  • We would have liked spam filters to ascertain where the email would have otherwise gone to spam.
  • We would like dual address footers as options for companies like ours that have several physical addresses for sending out emails.
  • Better compliance with social media tabs and presence.
  • Expertise workshops held in big cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to spread the word and attune users into best practices. They could be used for retention and marketing as well.
  • Feedback with account managers at Robly that can take the account to the next level and up sell and retain needs that are addressed early on.
  • Spam filters need to be addressed.
  • More interaction with my customers. We like the new Profile mugshots you have attached to our contacts online, but wonder how you were able to bring them up like that.
  • Tracking and calibrating campaigns is very useful.
We like Robly. We love the logo too. Send us freebies. We would like to have more use of CRM on Robly. We would like to use Robly as a CRM and integrate it with our email lists on Facebook and Zoho (which we use). We need to get people more inclined to interact back with us in our physical location. We have a cafe onsite called GainVille Cafe. We would like to use Robly (much like SpotOn and Belly) for customers to input their details potentially or leave us Yelp or Google reviews.
The mobile responsive emails need more templates. Examples are welcome. We tested a new beta phase roll-out back in April but were not happy with the results so we asked to go back to the old firmware since the beta was not up to par and was not stable. We kept losing out work! But I am sure they have improved upon the new firmware now that the Beta is a thing of the past.

Robly Feature Ratings

WYSIWYG email editor
9
Dynamic content
8
A/B testing
6
Mobile optimization
9
Email deliverability reporting
8
List management
9
Triggered drip sequences
9
Standard reports
9

Using Robly

1 - Marketing Manager, Working on Print Ads and web banner ads. Customer The main focus is to hone-in on a Retention and Attrition specialty. One one person works on ROBLY in order to maximize output and plan better campaigns and minimize risk of sending out inappropriate email pushes without a group input and timely feedback (Quality Control)..
2 - Minimal use of ADOBE Photoshop. Strong attention to detail. An interest in image photography. Strong proofreading skills. An interest in people. Knowing and recognizing the subscribers in the database.
  • Newsletters - monthly pushes
  • Quarterly reminders for EARLY BIRD SPECIALS
  • Holiday wishes and the Standard communication with subscribers during Thanksgiving, Valentines' day and Presidents' Day.
  • OPEN GEN allows and insures the email campaigns are opened when spaced 4-to-7 days apart.
  • I. allows for deliver-ability without risk of SPAM blockers.
  • Timely use of OPEN GEN to insure campaign subscribers are clicking and opening emails.
  • Putting in the REGISTER NOW button directly in the email so that people can have free access to our Schedule of Classes.
  • Direct LINK to our ACTIVEKIDS.com registration portal so that they can REGISTER on their own or get back in touch with us.
  • Embedding the PDF flyers in the form of a downloadable permanent link so that subscribers can OPEN and PRINT from the comfort of their home.
  • Mobile Responsiveness is important for smart phones and tablets.
  • Social Media embedding of EMAIL Newsletters.
  • A way to subscribe on the spot (in physical storefront) without having to manually input emails on the back end.
  • Working with APPLE or GOOGLE to create an APP in the APP STORE for incorporating tracking for business owners.
Because we like the price and value. The annual subscription model allows us to maximize usage without worrying too much about cost, being a small mom and pop outfit.

Evaluating Robly and Competitors

Yes - We opted to change gears and switched from Constant Contact although they had a good model but the annual subscription was a bit too much for the benefit. It was Purely a ROI reasoning when we opted out.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
OPEN GEN and A.I. were the main reason. A good logo always helps.
We would do a bit more research before transitioning. We were sold by a good salesperson working for ROBLY or on their behalf (Mauricio Mo Garcia). All is needed is trust on the phone and a good initial promotion in order to sign-up. It takes a very good sales tactic to close the deal. We did not do any research but we ought to have considering ROBLY was very aggressive initially to convert Constant Contact users. They did not have OPEN GEN or A.I. at the time, but we still went along with a great promotion early on. The offer to "create and customize an email template for free" was the trigger that closed the deal. We should have asked for a Mobile Responsive template back then (circa 2015). We did not!

Robly Implementation

We should have been granted a MOBILE RESPONSIVE email template from the get-go. We were never offered any alternatives.
Yes - We had Mauricio Mo Garcia sell us the ROBLY promotion over Memorial Week back in May 2015. After he offered us the promotion to start with, he handed the second phase of the implementation by having Denis, the in-house web designer, work on a customized template that befitted our needs. This became a template we could use moving forward on our own. We ought to have been hand-held a tad bit further by having him design a mobile responsive email campaign template instead.
Change management was minimal - Trust was a major component. Since I handle the decision making when it came to implementation, I handled the transition and learning curve all by myself.
  • Working with Denis, the web designer on HTML that included a CALL US button at the very top of the email launch out process.
  • Having a MENU that matched our existing web site colors, theme and layout in terms of ABOUT US, International, Schedule of Classes, etc.
  • Designing a layout with the email template that was 600 pixels across
  • Working with the Designer until the template was good enough over the course of a week

Robly Support

We sometimes got through to a message taking service but they were not able to resolve our issue with a one-call solution necessarily always.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
No - Again we got into ROBLY because of its competitive edge. We are not that big of a company to go for Premium anything. Period.
Yes - We did not like the issue with the new firmware that was rolled out in APRIL. There were too many unstable issues with the beta release initially. We were able to remedy the problems but we had to go back to the previous firmware because we lost our email campaign work and the service did not auto-save.
This was the case...When we asked for an h-tag CUSTOMER SERVICE specialist to implement a CODE line on our HOME PAGE html on the back-end to minimize spam-blockers from preventing emails to be delivered to our subscriber base (and be marked as SOFT or HARD bounces). They came through on that front

Using Robly

We feel that allowing the USER to interact with templates more readily is NOT there. The social media APPS could be simplified and marketed better to allow users to discover ROBLY through our Facebook page or TWITTER account in order to subscribe.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Using the Library and linking images that are readily accessible for future usage and re-usage.
  • Using the 2 subject line options for OPEN GEN campaigns.
  • Tracking what subscribers are clicking on and what emails are getting a lot of clicks and which ones are not.
  • Tracking people in the network by assigning them different groupings.
  • testing the email and sending it out mobile responsively on an incremental basis through A.I. Sending over a 6-12 hour duration to minimize SPAM blocks and maximum readability.
  • A/B sending and testing campaigns from a birds-eye seems cumbersome.
  • Sending out emails that are not mobile responsive and being limited by the limited choices of what few templates are readily available.
  • Putting LOGO Pictures that are not calibrated well in a campaign. We need a way to pace LOGOs in a campaign so that they place in the HEADER of the email easily (not treated like a regular image).
  • Assigning descriptions (CAPTIONS) as titles on IMAGES.
  • Tweaking and re-sizing BUTTONS in terms of placement in the body of an email campaign.
Yes - MOBILE RESPONSIVE templates are limited in terms of what is available to use. There is not a whole lot of choices to choose from. We continually use only a few select options.