I provide consultancy as a freelancer for the implementation and operation of IT and marketing services for self-employed professionals and small retailers, such as lawyers, dentists and real estate agencies. In order to find a tool to use as a standard for mail marketing, I recently tested Benchmark mail, but I decided not to stick with it.

Clean, intuitive interface, user doesn't need to learn anything. Just log in and start using. For what it offers, it has a lower monthly price than competitors of the same level.

I needed customer service support and my issue took days to get answered and resolved. Furthermore, although it is possible to create campaigns, newsletters and customer journeys through automation, on other platforms this can be done in a much more intuitive way.

We have used BE since 2016 and only have one other similar service in case we need a backup, but have not needed it. Benchmark Email service is a sure thing we have come to depend on because 90% of our subscribers communicate with us by email rather than social media.

Benchmark Email has an archive page of past email campaigns sent. This also has very good SEO! It also has a community area that works like a blog, but needs some attention to the design and updating the social share buttons. So when we send out an email we also link to either of the above for subscribers to keep track if they missed an email or want to share it. We don't need to depend on a blog or website, though we have that too.

With regards to the archive page the emails send often post out or order, so I have to go in there from time to time an put them in order. There are other glitches like this but not often, that don't really affect the emails being sent, however support has always been accommodating either with a fix or a solution.

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

Ease of use ... pro-active helpdesk This has been reason that we have been using the platform for so many years

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.

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.

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.

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.

No benefits yet

Ease of use. Nice design, Makes it easy to track performance

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).

I'm impressed with how professional they are, as well as how accessible. It's not hard to reach someone when something goes wrong (which is usually due to my inexperience with their interface).

Benchmark is head and shoulders above our experiences with other firms. While the interface is not quite as intuitive as I would like, it is easy enough to master, and there is ample customer service to help along the way. I cannot say enough good things about the people I've dealt with there so far.

I did have a problem with importing a graphic, even though it was in a format normally accepted (jpeg). Haven't found the time to resolve this, but that's on me, not them.

I love the application i think maybe given more time id be able to work the system like a pro

I like there is 24/7 live chat support also the drag and drop feature helped A TON !

The email delivery could be better and im filling up my files almost too quick

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.

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.

Benchmark Email has been a great asset to our non-profit organization. I highly recommend it!

After many years of use, I can't find anything to complain about.

I came across Benchmark when a client decided to use them. I found it very easy to use and to set up for them.

I haven't found any cons thus far. Everything seems to be fairly simple to do.

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).

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).]

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

Its good and price effective.

Very easy to use.As you don't require a trained staff to work on benchmark.

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.

I was very excited to try Benchmark due to its high reviews in various places. I am extremely disappointed by the lack of support received from my national account manager, Tom Mitchell. First he emails to ask if he can help with any questions, then he doesn't respond even with a simple help article about why an email might be "under review," and after I provided screenshots and detailed analysis of HIS product's problems, he wanted to deflect me to chat support. I'm a chief strategy officer. I'm not going to use live chat support, sorry. It seems like this platform is meant for small fries and not for real businesses. I'll be going over to Mailchimp or Constant Contact... they'll at least make an effort to win my business.

Easy to use.

The support received from the company over a simple error with an email "opens" report.

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?

The emails look very professional and the software is easy to use.

I was not getting enough feedback compared to another marketing tool I have used, so I decided to stop using Benchmark.

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 .

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.

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 .

I find it user friendly and has a quality feel and look to it.

I like that once the template is built it is very easy to customize or change components of it from one publication to another as far as text or images, links etc.

I wish when you had an image with text that the text would automatically wrap around the picture instead of having to build in another text box. Otherwise the text is off to the side and there is a large empty column on the right or left. If it had the capacity to text wrap it would be so much easier.

It has multiple email templates that allow for creativity while also allowing us to send to multiple segments, multiple email lists and also import our own personal designs.

Difficulty navigating the site, open rates and automated emails

This has been the best e-mail system we have used. Consistent in delivery, accurate reporting, and analytics.

Benchmark has provided a consistent marketing opportunity for us. The analytics provided are a great added feature to emails. I love the resend option, and the ability to see failure rate and open rate of each e-mail so that we can adapt our wording.

I wish there was an easier way to work with images and templates, and not have to scroll through all uploaded.

We love how easy it is to build emails in benchmark. The drag and drop editor is perfect for our newsletters.

Would love to see more customization options in the drag and drop editor. It can be difficult to match emails to your branding with the font and font weight options.Would love to see more customization options in the drag and drop editor. It can be difficult to match emails to your branding with the font and font weight options.

We are using benchmark for sending new product information and training announcements to all our clients and this is also helping us capture clients who are looking for more details on the program.

Precise report is generated for each email campaign which is easy to review and reflect on campaign performance

Cleaning up hard bounce emails accounts is taking long time as Benchmark doesn't have one client remove hard bounce accounts from all contact list An option to download the report would be much appreciated as it will help us reduce manual report generation, which needs to be submitted to management every week.

Overall, we have experienced no issues with Benchmark. Our sales team is utilizing specific templates to enhance their communications to prospective customers and our slaes flyers are getting a broader reach.

This software is easy to use and navigate through. Easy to train non-HTML users how to create simple emails.

The survey functionality is very limited within the software.

It's very simple to create your own images and templates. Other software applications that we used in the past didn't give us the formatting flexibility that we wanted. This is very user friendly.

Sometimes we have a hard time with text being formatted oddly - especially if you copy and paste verbiage from another program.