Great Service
Pros
When creating an email, it is ever so easy. There are many templates to choose from and if you don't want a template you don't have to use one!
I can create an email within minutes as the click and drop feature allows me to have my email layouts exactly the way I want it.
Cons
Some of the templates I am unable to add things to. For example, there was a template with a blank space for aesthetic reasons. I would have much rather place an image in the area, however I couldn't. There isn't many negatives I can comment on this software as it is brilliantly done.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Hasnain,
Thanks for the great feedback.
Next time you're working on a template and need assistance, let us know!
- Benchmark Team
Easy to use platform
Overall, I am satisfied and will continue to use Benchmark . I started on a Free Trial and upgraded to a paid service. I plan on sticking to Benchmark for a quarterly newsletter and using to send invitation or special emails.
Pros
This platform is very user-friendly. It doesn't take much effort to get up to speed on how to use it, and there are many email templates to choose from so you don't always have to create something from scratch! I think it's good value for the money, and the support team has been very helpful in my experience.
Cons
There ares some features where I feel limited. I am not too experienced with softwares like this, so I don't know what's available....but I really wish there was a pop-up feature, where users could click on a button and it would connect to their email to forward a newsletter for example. I also have experienced some deliverability issues and have not been 100% satisfied with the response. I think with this and being a new user, it takes time to learn and develop the best strategy.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Andrew,
Thank you for the review and high rating.
Regarding the feature you mentioned, we do have a forward option for the campaigns you send. When you have a moment, log in and chat with us, we'd love to show you how this feature works and also how to improve your deliverability.
- Benchmark Team
A Very Good Auto-responder That Fits My Needs
Pros
What I like most about the software is when I signed up it was free up to the first two thousand subscribers and still allows the feature of having an auto-responder on it. This is very helpful to someone when you're first starting out, as an independent self-published author you need something that can send a lead magnet/free gift to get people to sign up to your email list, a lot of the other email list providers don't allow for the auto-responder aspect unless you use a paid version of their software.
Cons
As of yet, I can honestly say I haven't found anything difficult with using Benchmark or that there's anything missing or needs to be improved on. It's hard to complain about the free email account when you're starting out.
Waiting For the Beta
I have used other email marketing programs. I chose Benchmark because I wanted an inexpensive option for a project for a client. I would say Benchmark is easy to use and easy to learn especially if you have ever used an email marketing program before. But like all software programs, it has its quirks and you learn to get around them.
But Benchmark's tutorials, FAQs and feature lists may not supply you with all the information you need. For instance, there are two email automation programs that each offer only one or two automated steps after the trigger. Nowhere in the documentation did it clearly state that only the Automation Pro, that is still in Beta, offers a customer's journey that you can use to send out more than two emails in a sequence.
On the other hand, don't pay for more than you need. If you blast out emails to a list of established customers with only quarterly sales discounts, or discounts for birthdays and holidays, Benchmark is enough. And Benchmark is inexpensive. But if you want to onboard various segments of your customers, educating them and eliciting their engagement, this is not the email marketing program for you.
There are two locations for live support, one is offshore and the other is domestic. The offshore folks are nice people but they mainly operate by rote. The domestic support gets it right, but I am still waiting to find out if a personalized greeting can be added to the Automation Beta. In my opinion, a personalized greeting should be a standard feature in a customer's journey. I don't know if it is or not and none of their stated info tells you.
Pros
Benchmark is easy to use. Easy to set up. Good for very simple customer outreach, i.e a storefront that collects emails and wants to alert customers to sales.
Cons
Very limited feature set. Not standard at this point.
Response from Benchmark Email
Hi Judith,
We appreciate you using Benchmark Email and taking the time to provide some feedback. Thank you for your kind words in regards to our ease of use as well.
We do, however, want to address some of your points in regards to our FAQs and tutorials as well as Automation Pro. Admittedly, our FAQs and tutorials are an area we¿d like to put more focus on. That¿s why we¿ve recently established a training department to help keep those areas better up-to-date and helpful to marketers. Our tools are constantly evolving and the support resources we provide must as well. We¿re confident this new department will succeed in this regard, as well as with keeping all support offices across the globe on the same page.
Your feedback in regards to Automation Pro is an integral part of the beta process. We expect new features to continue to be added to the automation platform throughout the beta period and after.
Again, thanks for the kind words and feedback.
Loving It!
Very happy!
Pros
As a new user to emailing lists, automations, etc., benchmark has been incredibly user friendly, simple and I actually switched over from mail chimp and much prefer it!
Cons
The pricing is a little high in my opinion with Canadian exchange factored in but otherwise no complains yet!
Benchmark Email
No benefits yet
Pros
Ease of use. Nice design, Makes it easy to track performance
Cons
I have sent the first email yesterday. Out of 409 people, only 75 have viewed the mail so far. No one registered online yet.
One concern is that emails go to promotion or to junk.
Another, is that marketing for your software is misleading. Is started with the free plan thinking that I can upload up to 2400 contacts and email them. The free plan did not work properly, I was allowed to email 250 persons a month, and I wasnt allowed to upload the contact list because your check found out that I have more than 5% invalid emails ( I believe this is a policy to force upgrading to pro, which we were going to do after testing the performance of benchmark).
Great Software!
With Benchmark I'm able to communicate with all of my clients, inform them about new deals, and work to promote my business well. Not only that, but Benchmark also provides us with valuable statistics about how our well our email was received.
Pros
This software is extremely organized and user friendly. I am able to navigate my emailed newsletters with ease and convey everything in one place.
Cons
There isn't much I don't enjoy about this product. I will admit there is a bit of a learning curve to the formatting; however, once you get the hang of it it is smooth sailing.
simple yet powerful
Pros
benchmark provides a great WYSIWYG editor - much better than most and all of the preset templates are fully responsive. Navigation is simple, the layout is clean, and the reporting functionality is great. seamless automation mapping makes setting up automated campaigns a breeze. GREAT customer service is also a bonus.
Cons
Like most email marketing suites, it can get pricey as subscribership grows a there are lower cost alternatives available but they lack the functionality that benchmark offers. image storage is limited to 10mb without upgrading to unlimited for an additional five a month. Deliverability is ok but could be further improved but is getting better.
Response from Benchmark
Thanks for the review Mathew. We have worked countless hours to get the editor where it's at. It makes our day to read a comment like this :). At this time, email delivery is our top priority and we look forward to continuously improve our sending methods for best delivery to the inbox. Thank you for choosing Benchmark and for taking the time to write this review.
Great but needs improvement
Its a decent program but for the money, it is to many glitches that need to be addressed. Spell check needs to be added back into the program as well.
Pros
Easy to Use
Clean layout
Ease of customizing templates
Training other team members on how to use is easy
Cons
Customer service is not that great - Most are not American so language is hard to understand
Too many glitches when working in templates
Have to send several TEST emails to make sure the functions are correct
The same email delivered to different members of my team show up differently or have different links
A lot of bugs in the back that need to be addressed
No Spell check function anymore
The image editor is not that great
uploading lists can be a pain sometimes you have to do them multiple times in order for them to get uploaded
Response from Benchmark
Hello Derrick,
Thanks for your feedback.
Whenever you have a moment, chat with us and let us know your concerns. We'll be glad to offer you a solution.
- Benchmark Team
New to Benchmark
Pros
So far I really have enjoyed the ease to get quickly started on a project.
Cons
I would like a 1:4 column template. Can't add a 2nd user.
Great list management and decent email software
Benchmark helps us communicate with our clients in a way that is both easy for us to use and easy on the eyes (for clients).
Pros
Creating and using lists is very easy, especially with the new upgrades! Adding contacts to lists works well with various options. I tend to upload excel files to make new lists, very easy within Benchmark.
I do like that it's easy to merge lists -- and that the software only accepts one contact (if that contact is already on the merge to list).
Somewhat easy to use when creating emails -- selecting blocks and design [but the source code isn't as easy to decipher and use (my commands do not seem to "take").] Using attachments and links and media is pretty easy as well.
The reports (opens, click thrus etc) are very good! [However with the new interface, it's not as easy to back-track to the original Email Report (I find myself having to choose again from the report list).]
Cons
I don't really like that I can't "re-send" emails on my own schedule (not have to wait 1 week after last send).
Also, emails from Benchmark DO get caught up in Junk Spam Trash Promotions folders of recipients and we do need to remind them (often) to check for their email.
Also, when "copying" an email to use and re-name as a new email, I do not like that the software selects the "old" contact list to also mail to -- I've mistakenly sent emails to old contact lists and that was not a good thing in my situation.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Marcy,
Thanks for your feedback.
Whenever you have a moment, chat with us and let us know about your concerns, we'll be glad to assist you.
- Benchmark Team
Happy customer
Overall I enjoy using it very much.
Pros
Unlike other email programs, benchmark allows me to send as many emails as I need without having to pay extra. I think benchmark is one of the only platforms that allows me to pay on the basis of the number of records and add the number of emails that I send.
Cons
Sometimes there is massive delays in receiving test emails.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Michael,
Thank you for your review.
Please don't doubt to chat with us if you're encountering issues with our test emails. We'll be glad to help.
- Benchmark Team
Hits the Mark!
We are a Provincial Health Authority covering an area roughly the size of France, and current health related information is critical to our subscribers. Benchmark resolved an issue of timely, wide reach that we had been trying to resolve.
Pros
The best part of this software is the ability to plan the reach in advance so our contacts are kept 'in the know' even when the editor is otherwise occupied with meetings, conferences, etc. We have three separate weekly and bi weekly going out to three different audiences, covering 2,500 individual contacts, and we can pre-populate weeks in advance and backfill where necessary at the last min, or just let the information go as scheduled.
Cons
The learning curve was steep, but short. We had a couple of false starts to begin with, but learned from our errors.
Line spacing can be an issue. Even when the preview shows single spaced sometimes the publication comes out 1.5 or double spaced - not a big problem for our use, but we get some calls from our constituents about "weird formatting".
Response from Benchmark
Hello Brian,
Thank you for your feedback and great rating.
Chat with us to help you with the formatting of your email, sometimes something as small as copying and pasting can affect the format.
- Benchmark Team
Good but better customer communication needed
Overall, the program works well. Communication needs worked on.
Pros
The software is easy to use and offers a variety of layouts.
Cons
Over the past 12 months or so, Benchmark has removed several internal functions. No communication about the changes was shared and we did not find out until we had to contact customer service. Each time we were told that Benchmark now recommends third-party add-ins.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Amanda,
Thanks for your review.
We will take your feedback into consideration.
- Benchmark Team
Easy to use and scalable
Email marketing , small business
Pros
Easy to use and very practical, code, 3th parts options, partnert programs
Cons
Sometimes emails go to spam and reports dont show exactly what happened
Response from Benchmark
Hello,
Thanks for your review. Please let us know what you need to see on your reports. We're always improving our features.
- Benchmark Team
Best for email marketing
Its good and price effective.
Pros
Very easy to use.As you don't require a trained staff to work on benchmark.
Cons
More templates to be included. As for travels there are very few. You must include new templates in every 2/3 months. So that we dont use the same templates again and again. Also templates options for Indian Festivals.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Jeetendraa,
Thank you for the review and high rating.
We will take into consideration the templates request.
- Benchmark Team
Review
Easy comunication of our services and products to our contacts.
Pros
Is easy to use, and have a good team of client support.
Cons
The editor should be easy adjust to the client design, and i would like to know how to use all the tools but the informations or videos are in english and it will be good to have it in my own language.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Jessica,
Thank you for the review and high rating!
Chat with us at any time and ask for our spanish YouTube channel.
- Benchmark Team
Email feedback from
Average
Pros
Good for normal email campaign and good that BM has inbuilt list of unsubscribe and invalid contats
Cons
Not at all suitable for heavy automation no form for opt out like mail chimp offer
Response from Benchmark
Hello Mohammed,
Thank you for the feedback.
Whenever you have a moment, chat with us and ask us about our Manage Subscription form and share with us other concerns you may have.
- Benchmark Team
Using Benchmark for last 8-9 years
Excellent - till a year back
Poor - since the last few months (just unacceptable)
Unless there is restoration of Benchmark used to be, we will stop using the platform
Pros
Ease of use ... pro-active helpdesk
This has been reason that we have been using the platform for so many years
Cons
There has been a serious deterioration in the quality of the platform. Delivery rates have dropped upto by about 90-95% of what it used to be. Frivolous checks have been introduced that even your helpdesk is helpless to explain. Currently the platform as good as useless for us and already we have started working parallel to other platforms where are getting similar results that we used to get using Benchmark.
All our emails through your platform is directed only to our clients or prospective clients who have signed with us to receive communication from us.
Response from Benchmark
Hi Ranjan,
We're sorry to hear that you feel this way. Email is a constantly evolving medium and we work hard to keep our processes up-to-date with best practices to ensure deliverability.
While I don't have the information I need to identify your account and speak to the issues at hand, if you would contact our support team via phone, chat and email, we can review your account to see where we may be able to help.
- Benchmark Team
My Review of Benchmark Email
Very good! Customer support responded quickly to my inquiries. For emailing your customer base easily and on a regular basis - this is good value for the money.
Pros
I loved the ability to design newsletters and email them directly to my subscribers. They have many different templates for you to choose from. The ease of use made my actual "writing time" for a newsletter minimal.
Cons
I used Benchmark when I first started in online business. It was very easy to use and the price was in my comfort zone. I then tried to set up a couple of "funnels" and could not do so (this was a couple of years ago - so time may have changed). I contacted Customer Support and was informed that the system I was trying to put in place was not available through Benchmark, that they were only for emailing directly. Unfortunately, I had to close my account and move on to a competitor that did allow me to build out my funnels for online marketing.
Benchmark Email is Indeed the Benchmark
Benchmark Email continues to raise the bar and continue to be the benchmark in terms of creating genuine email campaigns and automated emails. We are closer to our clients now because of this amazing platform
Pros
It has a drag and drop email design which makes it really easy to use. It is also possible to send out automated emails and personalized emails to help drive revenue. Their customer relations is also really impressive
Cons
Everything works perfectly in my opinion. There is virtually nothing to dislike
Response from Benchmark
Hello,
Thanks for your review.
- Benchmark Team
It just didn't work for me.
I tried Benchmark Email for a couple of months and while I found it fairly easy to use, I was disappointed in the low amount of "views" my emails got when I checked on the status. I understand that since I do not have my own domain named email, that free email services such as "Gmail" often end up in spam filters. However, I have used another email marketing service and got more opened emails through them, so I fear the stigma is more on Benchmark than the fact that I use a free email provider. Otherwise, I can't explain why the other service I have used worked better. For this reason, I have stopped using Benchmark, after a couple of months, and went back to my previous provider. It's no offense to the service, but if it's not working for me, as a marketing tool, why should I continue to use it?
Pros
The emails look very professional and the software is easy to use.
Cons
I was not getting enough feedback compared to another marketing tool I have used, so I decided to stop using Benchmark.
Response from Benchmark Email
Hello Michelle,
Thank you for this feedback, it really means a lot to us.
Based on your feedback, I understand your decision to use an alternative service.
Email delivery is essential to our service. We know we had issues with this in the past and we are working hard to provide our clients with the best email delivery possible. We are improving our vetting systems to avoid "spammer" like clients that could affect our sending reputation and we are improving our back end technology as well.
We are also working on more education to help our users understand best email marketing practices.
Again, Thank You for this feedback and we hope the next time you try us, your experience is much better.
- Daniel Miller
Review
We have been using it for a long time
Pros
This software is practical to use in a daily v
Cons
The e-mail sender is always changing so the receiver can not record the e-mail address in is non spam list.
Response from Benchmark
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Whenever you have a moment, please chat with us, we'd love to assist you on the email sender matter.
- Benchmark Team
Benchmark Email Saves me money
Benchmark email saw this my problem of keeping in contact monthly with my clients. I find that I’m able to keep my name in front of them and distribute information to them very efficiently. When I relied on mailings I did it much less frequently and it cost a lot more. Paying yearly reduces the fee so much that it’s a no brainer not to use benchmark. And I’ve tried to lease three other services. I found all the others are use more difficult to create and do the emails and much more expensive .
Pros
Benchmark software allows me to easily create catchy emails to keep in contact with my clients . I can easily create emails and track it’s openings and click rates.
Cons
The software is very good occasionally since I do a lot of my work on the iPad I may have the occasional issue where I need to get on the laptop to do something. But that issue is usually because I’m on an iPad not a PC .
Response from Benchmark
Hi,
Thank you for your review and high rating.
We would love to hear your feedback on what part of our email editor is not responsive enough to use your iPad. We're always looking to improve our platform features.
- Benchmark Team
Customer service is great - but there are glitches in the program that need fixing.
FREE Subscription!
Pros
That is free to PTA's! I like the fairly ease of use - -but wish there was a little more flexibility in the design features. And the blocks can sometimes make it tricky and tedious to edit.
Cons
The login -it never saves my password. And - sometimes it asks for the email address to login and other times it asks for username. This is confusing. I have had a lot of trouble with this. I also don't like that your account is closed down if you have too many bounces - - on the first time sending something out. It shouldn't do this unless it is a multiple case scenario. Schools search for alumni - this is the case. They give an email address to Harris Publishing that does our directory and we assume it is "good" but then it comes back. And - major corporations do not like Benchmark emails -and bounce them.
Response from Benchmark
Hello Kristina,
We are happy to see you use our PTA Email Marketing plan. We made this plan to help improve the communication to parents. In regards to editing the templates and your login issues, I would like to try to setup a support call to review this. Please contact us at your earliest convenience to schedule a 30 min call with your account manager or a support representative.
All the best!
- Daniel Miller
The software overall is great. It allows me import the contacts I want in any way I want, create emails, schedule or send emails out immediately and even has analytics for the emails that have been sent out.