So Long, Silverpop
Updated February 11, 2014

So Long, Silverpop

Jennifer Lewis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Engage 5

Modules Used

  • Email
  • Landing Page
  • Programs

Overall Satisfaction

We have been using Silverpop Engage for the past 3 years, but I've only been responsible for the system for the past year. I've worked with it for 2 years. We are using it for emails, landing pages, marketing automation (nurture) tracks and lead scoring across our global marketing organization. We were looking to provide sales with the ability to rank leads based on how qualified they are depending on the action they took.
  • Scoring Model - it was easy to implement and manage
  • Dynamic content - this worked well once we started using it for emails and landing pages. We used this for localized language versions of programs.
  • Data syncing and errors - Silverpop does not do a great job of getting data to sync regularly with our CRM (Salesforce.com). The data had to flow back and forth several times before being added to campaigns and in some instances, it took days to update leads! Also, failed lead syncs get stuck in an alert list but it does not notify you otherwise that a lead failed the sync.
  • Design issues - we use custom HTML to build emails and landing pages, and we were unable to render background images on our campaigns. Also, once you toggle between design and source (code) view to make edits, it often broke the code and threw off the design.
  • Administrator alerts - when sync fails altogether between systems, there is no email alert sent to the system admin (me/my team) so we at times have found that we have gone 18 hours until we stumble across the fact that the system sync has failed.
  • Reporting - it is not very comprehensive and we had difficulty generating the level of reporting that we need to have.
  • Support - there are a few gems in the support team who know what they're doing, but largely calling support is a lesson in frustration.
  • Product bug fixes - in two instances, my open support tickets were identified as product bugs. One related to incorrect cookie tracking which was causing our leads not to be scoring properly. They determined that this wasn't critical enough to build into their product fix road map. This is core to an automation system working properly.
  • Improved lead process/conversion between marketing and sales - more clearly defined process and SLAs
  • On the downside, the amount of time our system administrator has had to spend troubleshooting data and campaign issues has made her less efficient and strategic
  • We have been able to start attaching ROI to our automation campaign efforts and put a $ value to leads touched by nurture tracks
  • Pardot,Eloqua,Marketo,HubSpot,Vertical Response
I wasn't involved in the tool selection process but inherited the system. I think that Pardot and Marketo are the leaders in the marketplace, followed closely by Eloqua. Hubspot is a nice option with good usability but I was concerned it would not scale for the global campaign volume we have. We worked with Vertical Response before Silverpop but only for email. We are planning to make a switch when our contract ends.
I think its been covered in other answers, but we have outgrown the platform and need a system with better UX, flexibility and reporting.
Silverpop is possibly an option for companies who are just starting with automation in general or are on a tight budget. For us, we run campaigns globally in multiple languages and we are quickly outgrowing it as our automation needs increase. We need an automation program that can grow and scale with us. Also, its important to have a support team that's responsive and listens to the issues that customers face and makes the necessary improvements. We are looking at other solutions like Pardot and Marketo and they have functionality and usability that far surpasses what we have in Silverpop.