Comparakeet » SMS Marketing Software » Callfire Review

Ranking

6^th in SMS Marketing Software

Rating

8.8/10

Price

$99.00/moSee Better Options

What's the Verdict?

Worth It, Some IssuesSee Alternatives

Callfire Review 2020

Item: Callfire
Rating: 8.8
Author: Jonathan Kerns

If you are in search of a solid text message marketing tool or service, you might want to consider a company that has been providing user-friendly, intuitive voice and text connectivity products since 2004, and has been recently named one of The Best Places to Work in Los Angeles: Callfire. With offices in Santa Monica, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and Kiev, Ukraine, this text message marketing service provider caters to over 100,000 businesses, which includes nonprofits, small business owners, insurance agents, political groups, marketers, and more. With the help of Callfire's easy to use platform and useful features that let you blast SMS campaigns to thousands of people, among other things, you can reach out effectively to millions of people. Join us below in the full review as we take an in-depth look at how this text message marketing service can help your business reel in and retain customers.

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Jonathan KernsAugust 16, 2019

Pros

Unlimited Contacts: What use is a marketing campaign if you can only send out messages to a limited number of customers? The whole point is to broadcast your ad to as many people as possible, which, thankfully, Callfire lets you do. The fact that this text message marketing service offers unlimited contacts with no hidden costs whatsoever is definitely a huge plus.
Incredibly Simple and Easy to Use: The best thing about marketing using text messages is the fact that it is far and away much easier to execute, while being more effective, than other marketing methods. This fact can be felt when you use Callfire's campaign interface; its layout is neat with a nice touch of minimalism and incredibly simple to understand, which makes creating text campaigns an absolute breeze.
Training Videos: While it is true that this SMS marketing service's platform is easy to use, it is still a treat that the company took it upon themselves to provide users with a series of introductory training videos that should help ease them into the platform. These videos, which include content for both the legacy and the latest versions of their platform, are definitely a welcome addition.
Anytime Cancellation: Another great thing about Callfire is the fact that you can cancel your subscription at anytime. They do not lock you into any long term commitments so if you feel that their service is not working for you, or if your company can no longer afford their price, or even if your needs have surpassed what they can offer you, you can freely sever your ties with them without any repercussions whatsoever.

Cons

Lacks Advanced SMS Marketing Features: One thing that some might not find all that great about Callfire's text message marketing service is the fact that it lacks some of the more advanced features that other similar services offer its users. Features like advanced interactive SMS campaigns, QR codes, text-to-screen, social media integration, and the like, are nowhere to be found. This SMS marketing service's features are pretty basic, and, while their platform is reliable and the features do work as promised, it is still a shame that they can't cater to businesses that are looking for a more advanced feature set.

Not Just a Simple SMS Marketing Service

While Callfire’s text message features are not as robust as other platforms, they do have other services that could complement your mobile marketing efforts. In addition to text message marketing, you can also take advantage of their Call Tracking features, which allow you to purchase local and toll free numbers from them to use on your advertisements and track the effectiveness of each campaign. The Voice Broadcast feature, on the other hand, lets you send important alerts, promotions, and the like, using a voice recording. They also have the Cloud Call Center, which greatly simplifies call center operations, and Interactive Voice Response, which lets you set up surveys, polls, payments, and more for both inbound and outbound uses.

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Pricing

Interested clients with will be glad to know that Callfire has four different plans that can cater to a wide range of budgets and needs. To start with, they have a Pay As You Go plan that, as the name suggests, charges you depending on your usage, instead of a flat monthly fee. It costs 5 cents per minute or per text, which is pretty reasonable especially if your company’s marketing needs are not all that demanding. In addition, you can also purchase an optional long code number which will cost you $3.00 per month, or additional keywords for $25 each, per month.

Next, the Lite plan, which is perfect for small businesses with tight budgets, organizations, or even individuals, will cost you $99 per month. This plan will give you 2,500 credits for minutes or texts. If you want an optional long code number it will cost you $2.50 per month, while additional keywords will cost you $20 each, per month.

For businesses with a little more budget, the Startup plan will cost you $199 per month, and it will give you 5,500 credits for minutes or texts. If you prefer to use a long code phone number instead of the short code they give you, then you need to pay $2.25 per month. Moreover, if you need more keywords, you can rent them out for $15 each, per month.

Finally, The Pro plan, which is perfect for mid-sized to some large-scale businesses, will cost you $599 per month. This give you 20,000 credits for minutes or text. Optional long code phone numbers for this plan comes down to $1.75 per month, while keywords cost $10 each, per month.

It is worth noting that all plans include features such as unlimited contacts, text-to-speech support, free transfers, simple “Do Not Call” list setup, US and Canada coverage, 6am-6pm PT customer support, free inbound calls recording, and extensive real-time reporting.

Features

While other SMS marketing services’ features trump Callfire’s offerings, it is an undeniable fact that this company provides its users effective ways to strengthen and improve customer relationships, as well as broaden your target audience, all while paving the way to larger profits. With the help of their platform you can send out special promotions or get some customer insight through satisfaction surveys. They also let you track real-time results and view detailed analytics that will help you appropriately prepare for future campaigns. You can also customize messages for all recipients, import your contact lists from your CRM, set up a “Do Not Text” list, easily manage and create Auto-replies, schedule your campaigns to either be sent out immediately or on a specific time and date, as well as easily send out a message to thousands of people with just a few clicks.

Customer Support

Callfire offers phone support for both US and International residents, as well as email and fax. For further information, you can also consult the comprehensive FAQ section of their website, which also includes links for their training videos and live webinars.

What's the Verdict on Callfire?

Worth It, Some Issues