At least we think so and that is why you can try (and use) LoopFuse directly and without any cost to you.  Much has been written about the “consumerization of IT” which is quite a mouth-full to describe the expectations to engage with a web-based product or service directly without friction (salespeople, qualification calls, etc.).

You can then make up your mind about whether or not is solves the problem or delivers the outcome you are seeking.  The role of the vendor in all of this is to support that process, make it easy to understand, and be ready to help where help is needed.  At least that is how we see it.

The thinking on this post comes from a very thoughtful two part post by Ori Yankelev entitled “My Marketing Automation Software Evaluation” over on the very well done OpenView Venture Partners blog.  Ori does a nice job laying out his requirements and grading the large enterprise marketing automation vendors on how they satisfy those requirements.

What struck me the most was this part:

We did not conduct a trial for this evaluation because they require serious resources commitments, and are not completely free from either vendor.

No free trial and requires “serious” resource commitments?  Those seem like huge obstacles for a customer to truly understand what they need and how a product may or may not address those needs.

Regardless of what marketing automation system you choose (and we, of course, want it to be LoopFuse), please try the product before you sign a contract.  If this is not possible then move on to the next vendor on the list.  It will save you time, money, and heartache.