The Vendor Selection Guide - How to on Assessing Vendor Viability
Managing the Email Marketing Vendor Selection Process
-
date post
21-Oct-2014 -
Category
Business
-
view
3.213 -
download
3
description
Transcript of Managing the Email Marketing Vendor Selection Process
More data on this topic available from::
Managing The Vendor Selection Process
Daniel Kuperman, MBA PMP, Director of Marketing
Quadrant Software, [email protected]
Monday, February 25, 2008
More data on this topic available from::
2© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Quadrant Software
Leading document management solution provider for the IBM System i (iSeries / AS 400).
Provider of Paperless Process Management Solutions.
Privately held, founded in 1990 HQ in Tampa, FL; Technical dept in
Boston, MA. Marketing dept comprised of 4 full time
+ 2 part time employees.
More data on this topic available from::
3© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Our Challenge
Small department, big ambitions Responsible for lead generation In-house development of all collateral,
print and online ads, coordination of trade shows and events and email marketing
Purchased an email solution 5 years ago and have outgrown it Need for better segmentation Need for better reporting Problems with internal IT Time-consuming process for creating and
sending out emails
More data on this topic available from::
4© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
‘Old’ Email Deployment Process
Average Effort per Year:
- 15 hours for newsletter set up
- 100 hours for webcast set up
- 12 hours for trade show email set up
Average Effort per Year:
- 15 hours for newsletter set up
- 100 hours for webcast set up
- 12 hours for trade show email set up
Start
Email and landing page are developed,
approved and ready to be sent
Pre-determined list segment is re-evaluated
based on recent mailing volume
Table is associated with specific email in Email Software
Does the list need to be refined?
Yes
No
Table is rerun and/or manually
appended to remove contacts
or segment(s)
Open tracking code is pasted into html source
code and field is selected for proper open rate
reporting
Write back tab is configured in order to
properly track how many emails were sent
2. Each link is then pasted into the Click Through tab so the clicks can be tracked
Campaign Name and Features
need to be selected
HTML source code is pasted into Email
Software
Plain Text is pasted into Email Software
Email address, cc address, database source, & unique id fields all need to be
selected
Message type, character set, from name, from, bounce, and reply to
addresses, & subject line fields need to be filled out
Click Through reporting is set up
manually
1. Each hyperlink in the email is copied to Notepad
Hard & Soft bounce reporting is manually
set up, pop server field needs to be
filled out
Bounce POP Account needs to
be tested
Misc tab needs to be set up so that
summary report is sent to specific email
address
Email send status tracked in Email Software
Email is tested and sent to Inbox for
review
Is there a problem with
the send?
Send out the email to the list
NO
Yes
Troubleshoot the problem and retest
End
More data on this topic available from::
5© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
The Eye-Opening Experience
More data on this topic available from::
6© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Goal for New Email Software
1. Reduce manual tasks in order to increase team’s productivity
More data on this topic available from::
7© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Vendors Researched
More data on this topic available from::
8© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Revised Goals for Email Software
1. Reduce manual tasks in order to increase team’s productivity
2. Improve the way in which we segment our list in order to deliver targeted messages to our customers and prospects
3. Track responses and generate concise reports that gives us a 360o view of marketing campaigns, results and ROI
More data on this topic available from::
9© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
‘New’ Email Deployment Process
Average Effort per Year:
- 15 hours for newsletter set up
- 100 hours for webcast set up
- 12 hours for trade show email set up
3
23
2
Start
Table is associated with specific email in Email Software
Yes
No
Campaign Name and Features
need to be selected
HTML source code is pasted into Email
Software
Email send status tracked in Email Software
Email is tested and sent to Inbox for
review
Send out the email to the list
NO
Yes
End
Email and landing page are developed,
approved and ready to be sent
Pre-determined list segment is re-evaluated
based on recent mailing volume
Does the list need to be refined?
Table is rerun and/or manually appended to
remove contacts or segment(s)
Smart Set Up in Email Software- Rules based marketing program pre-set up to send message series
based on behavior.
Email address, cc address, database source, & unique id fields all need to be
selected
Message type, character set, from name, from, bounce, and reply to
addresses, & subject line fields need to be filled out
Plain Text is pasted into Email Software
Plain text auto-generated needing only
minor review and cleanup
Click Through reporting is set up
manually
Open tracking code is pasted into html source
code and field is selected for proper open rate
reporting
Write back tab is configured in order to
properly track how many emails were sent
1. Each hyperlink in the email is copied to Notepad
2. Each link is then pasted into the Click Through tab so the clicks can be tracked
Hard & Soft bounce reporting is manually
set up, pop server field needs to be
filled out
Bounce POP Account needs to
be tested
Misc tab needs to be set up so that
summary report is sent to specific email
address
Is there a problem with the
send?
Troubleshoot the problem and retest
More data on this topic available from::
10© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Email Marketing Project
Problem
Current Process
Future Process
Features List
ROI
Sales Buy-in
PresentVendorSelection
More data on this topic available from::
11© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Feature Comparison
Assign a weight for each feature Must Have = 3 Nice to Have = 2 Don’t Care = 0
Compare each vendor’s feature against your usage of the feature Doesn’t Comply = 0 Complies with modifications or additional
customization = 1 Complies fully = 2 Complies fully and beyond = 3
More data on this topic available from::
12© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
VENDORSTOTAL SCORE
TOTAL WEIGHTED SCORE
Vendor 1 16 26
Vendor 2 15 30
Vendor 3 11 24
Comparison Matrix
VENDORSA/B
TestingWeighted
Score
Creation of HTML Emails
Weighted Score
Auto-creation of Text emails
Weighted Score
Reports on Bounces
Weighted Score
Segmentation based on
multiple criteria
Weighted Score
Conversion
Tracking
Weighted Score
SPAM index
Weighted Score
TOTAL SCORE
TOTAL WEIGHTED
SCORE
Vendor 1 1 2 2 6 3 0 2 6 3 6 2 6 3 0 16 26
Vendor 2 2 4 3 9 3 0 2 6 1 2 3 9 1 0 15 30
Vendor 3 2 4 2 6 1 0 2 6 1 2 2 6 1 0 11 24
Weights
2
3
0
3
2
3
0
0 = Don't Care
2 = Nice to Have
3 = Must Have
Segmentation based on multiple criteria
Conversion Tracking
SPAM index
Features
A/B Testing
Creation of HTML Emails
Auto-creation of Text emails
Reports on Bounces
More data on this topic available from::
13© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Lessons Learned
Often times vendors do not know how to sell
YOU have to take control of the process and requirements
Clear requirements is imperative Make sure you understand what
features are must vs. nice to have Get your team onboard – especially if
they will be using the software Get references and speak to them
More data on this topic available from::
14© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Additional Thoughts
Getting buy-in from Sales or other departments may help build your case
Ask questions and get details from the vendors – make sure you match the answers to your process
Even if using a ‘matrix’ to compare features, use good judgment and take into consideration the ‘soft’ characteristics of a product/company
Take control of the vendor selection process by: Knowing what you want Asking what you need Understanding how it all fits with your goals and
processes
More data on this topic available from::
15© 2008 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Credits/Thank You
Daniel Kuperman, MBA PMP
Director of Marketing
Quadrant Software
813-971-9500 ext. 320
Questions?