We use PFL to send swag to conference attendees and VIP customers of our platform. Individual account managers can request that their customers be sent items and kits at any time, provided they requisition the appropriate budget first. The gifts are intended to thank customers for their participation in events after the close of a sale, or to incentivize an executive meeting.
Pros
Intuitive UI within our Salesforce instance.
Easy to track sending and budget.
Cons
As a Canadian employee of a US-based company, provisioning my personal access to PFL was painful. Neither my Salesforce admins nor the PFL team seemed to be able to align the correct settings.
Likelihood to Recommend
PFL is a great tool for marketing teams who are looking to empower front-line sales execs with access to the collateral they can use to supplement the sales cycle, whether: softening up a customer prior to an in-person meeting, "Hey, did you get that swag pack I sent you?" thanking a customer for their participation in an event; "Just wanted to say thanks for attending the webinar last week." showing VIP customers some love and appreciation; "Happy holidays, so glad we took the time to deepen the partnership this year!"
Breaking through the noise of multiple competitor messages, emails and demand gen activities is a challenge. We are always trying to find unique ways to reach decision makers and influencers in a creative and effective way. We run campaigns from 10 to 10,000 direct prospects depending on the campaign.
Pros
Ability to customize the message to the prospect.
Unique ability for prospect to choose their own gift and make it memorable.
Wide range of price points that fits the budgets we are working within per campaign.
Cons
Ability to add logos/branding for the business providing
Ability to add logos/branding for the business we are targeting
Additional data insights into customer behavior.
Likelihood to Recommend
This solution is ideal for ABM campaigns where we are trying to get in the door with a prospect and have yet to have success. When struggling to get in front of decision makers, this is a great way for us to use this solution and build a relationship with the prospect through a customized message and gift that they will appreciate. It's all about the ability for personalization.
We utilize PFL Direct Mail Platform for our direct mail program to create multi-touch marketing campaigns. We have seen a significant increase in opportunity size and a decrease in days to close an opportunity when direct mail is part of the marketing solution. PFL Direct Mail Platform integrates right with our CRM making it a a streamlined process for our sales team. They make it quick and easy for everyone to use. On top of that the account team works to provide unique direct mail options at all different price points.
Pros
Provides a variety of direct mail kit options
Great customer service
High quality product with attention to detail
Cons
Invoicing us for shipping costs has areas for improvement
Better reporting within their system on kits
Likelihood to Recommend
If your sales and marketing team is looking to create intentional marketing campaigns with multiple touch points, direct mail is a key. It allows for the personal touchpoint and shows that as a company we aren't just targeting everyone out there, but we are trying to make those intentional connections.
VU
Verified User
Program Manager in Marketing (1001-5000 employees)
Our marketing department uses PFL for our direct mail programs. Before PFL, we dabbled with including direct mail in our campaigns, but it was a very manual, disjointed process, and we had zero visibility into the results of the campaigns. With PFL, the process is totally streamlined, from campaign conception to creating the physical kit to mailing, tracking, and, most importantly, integrating with SalesForce, allowing us to capture the results of our direct mail programs via campaigns.
Pros
Marketo & SFDC Integration, allowing visibility in to campaign results.
Providing direct mail options based on our campaigns and goals.
Sourcing all items for the direct mail, including being able to print all items (boxes/brochures/notes/etc.).
Variable, on-demand printing, to create customized pieces instead of static kits.
Cons
More e-Gifting options.
More creative, really different concepts. They typically provide good options but many times similar concepts.
Likelihood to Recommend
I have launched various sorts of direct mail campaigns with PFL, anything from large bulk sends (thousands of kits in a month) for more of an awareness/sales enablement play all the way to triggered direct mails that are going to very specific segments based on engagement with other campaigns or being part of a nurture program.
We use PFL Hybrid Experience Platform across multiple different parts of the organization– Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, etc. We use the PFL Hybrid Experience Platform to incentivize meetings, create net new interest in Checkr, and even thank our existing customers. While PFL addresses some problems, in my experience the platform itself creates a number of additional problems, such as slowing down deadlines, tedious campaign setup, and a disjointed/disorganized communication back and forth (this could be streamlined with an intake form, a template, or even a library of templates to choose from when beginning a project.
Pros
Great Customer Success team
Great printing experience (paper goods, mailers, boxes, PODS, machine written cards)
Good communication from all teams (finance, CS, and design)
Easy to use SFDC integration (more so on the sales side of the house)
Cons
Campaign set up, more support in rule creation
I would love to see a project intake form or even a library of templates to choose from when beginning a project. So it is clear exactly what is needed from us, prior to starting a project.
More QA on the PFL side of the house throughout the campaign setup. We had an instance where one campaign continued to break, and while one of our marketers was at an event, it was being fixed. I am sure both teams (Checkr and PFL) have room for improvement here.
Invoicing and bucketing of funds
Likelihood to Recommend
PFL Hybrid Experience Platform has been suited for almost all of the scenarios we use it for. Unfortunately, we have seen that other vendors meet our expectations more when it comes to things like a campaign setup, the rule setup, timelines, templates, curation teams, etc.
I use PFL Hybrid Experience Platform to send mailers to customers and prospects straight from the Salesforce CRM. It makes it easier for me to make warm introductions to clients and send over gifts as a token of appreciation when they take meetings. The platform handles the address capture process for me so I don't have to wait for an email response to know where to send something.
Pros
sends gift mailers quickly
makes clients feel more comfortable providing a shipping address
Cons
nothing comes to mind!
Likelihood to Recommend
PFL Hybrid Experience Platform is well suited for anyone who wants to offer a gif to a client as a thank you for setting aside time for a quick meeting. It is great for sending a coffee in advance to be enjoyed during the call. I cannot think of a less appropriate use case.
We use PFL [Tactile Marketing Automation] as a lead generation tool for our sales team. We work closely with sales to identify key targets, and then we deliver mailers via FedEx to open the door for our sales team when it comes to building up interest and pipeline. It's used jointly by sales and marketing to power the campaigns.
Pros
Integration with our Marketing Automation system (Marketo)
A team dedicated to helping you scope out mailers and concepts, as well as pricing them out
Warehouse storage of mailers
Cons
Some of the packages they've sent out on our behalf arrive broken, even if we use the packaging they recommended.
We've had instances of them sending out the wrong mailers based on the orders we've triggered.
Before we agreed to the integration with Marketo, there were a lot of issues triggering orders successfully that required direct intervention from their team.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you're working for an organization that wants to do direct mail as a tactic, [PFL Tactile Marketing Automation is] an acceptable basic solution. They can scope out mailers, price them, and help with fulfillment. But the end results of those mailers and the eye for quality has been questionable on occasion from my experience.