ClickDimensions vs. PFL Direct Mail Platform

ClickDimensions is great for SMB companies looking for an easy to use, robust platform especially in situations where there are only a few people within the Marketing Department.

Incentivized

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

• The nurture campaign builder was great. Easy to use and to follow along with.
• The drop and drag editor was easy to use and you could start using it with no training.
• I always like when a service offers a certification for their product. ClickDimensions training was easy to follow, gave good content/tips/tricks and really helped me learn the 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

• Intergration with Dynamics CRM actually turns out to be a disadvantage, as the system is constrained heavily in its utility by how Dynamics runs. For example, creating marketing lists for segmentation is particularly arduous if Contacts and Lead entities are in use.
• Clickdimensions relies on Dynamics business processes to run automation events, which means if there's a lot going on then it can snarl up the CRM server significantly.
• Getting data imported into CRM and Clickdimensions is extremely clunky - when it doesn't fail entirely, it is often buggy.
• Drag and drop email editor is not great, often introducing undesired stylings due to cut and pasting.
• The real power in this system is being able to monitor key metrics, such as email clicks or page views. However, all of these have to be set up manually in Dynamics to truly leverage the system. And to act on these metrics requires business processes in CRM, as only email clicks and form submissions can be used as triggers from within CRM.

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

I see no reason for us to deprecate use at this point. It is important for us as a business to maintain our partnership with them and keep on the pulse of leading technology. ClickDimensions is a marketplace leader for the world of marketing automation, and in coordination with CRM, it's all the more relevant.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

Easy to use! Although we are still using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, the interface is still extremely usable and functions without flaw.

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

You submit a ticket and they will always come back asking for more information. So the next time you try to be proactive and add that information to the original ticket, but then they come back and ask for something else. It gets to the point where you have to believe it is a stall tactic. You ask for more detail into their processes and you get the runaround. 9 times out of ten they will point the finger at Dynamics 365 as the culprit. It is like pulling teeth to get to Tier 2 support and then the questions start all over again, even if you send screenshots.

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

I did not select ClickDimensions, this business decision was made by previous team members, who were not digital or marketing specialists, due to its integration with Dynamics. I'm sure the demo was great, but operationally it was not great.

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

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 experienced data loss on multiple occasions from forms on our website, which impacted webinar attendance and possibly other communications we may not be aware of.
• Email statistics were not reliable, and these are the foundation of marketing.

• Increased live webinar attendees that lead to booked meetings
• Increased client satisfaction and rapport with sales teams and leadership
• Increased pipeline generation from events we are a sponsor of

Incentivized