
Maybe you have decided you need to make an investment in a marketing platform. Maybe you’ve decided you need to change or upgrade your existing solution. For the past five years, the MarTech Replacement Survey has identified marketing automation platforms as the most replaced solution in the martech stack. In either case, the next step is researching vendors and their capabilities.
Here’s how to start:
Our new original research, “Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” is now available for free download.
The most effective RFPs only request relevant information from the vendors and provide ample information about your business and its needs. Let the vendor know how you plan to use marketing automation, including your high-level strategic goals and KPIs and how you will evaluate the success of your marketing automation efforts. Include details about timelines and the existing digital technology you have deployed.
When written properly, an RFP will facilitate the sales process and ensure both sides come to
a shared understanding of the purpose, requirements, scope and structure of the intended
purchase. From the RFP responses, you should be able to narrow your list down to three or four
platforms to demo.
Before deciding on a vendor, check out its online community and review sites, and speak with one or two customer references, preferably someone in a business like yours. The vendor should be able to supply you with references, but you should also ask around in professional discussion forums or at in-person conferences and networking events.
Set up demos within a relatively short time frame after receiving the RFP responses to help make relevant comparisons. Make sure that all potential internal users are on the demo call or at the in-person meeting, and pay attention to the following:
Questions to ask each vendor include:
Ask for a demonstration of the specific capabilities that you have identified in your RFI/RFP. Consider requesting product demos showing basic tasks and demonstrating core reports such as:
This is an ongoing relationship — it’s important to feel that your questions are being answered.
For much more detail about choosing a MAP vendor, download the latest edition of our free report, “Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide.“
Why we care.. For today’s marketers, automation platforms are often the center of the marketing stack. They aren’t shiny new technologies, but rather dependable stalwarts that marketers can rely upon to help them stand out in a crowded inbox and on the web amidst a deluge of content.
How they’ve changed. To help marketers win the attention battle, marketing automation vendors have expanded from dependence on static email campaigns to offering dynamic content deployment for email, landing pages, mobile and social. They’ve also incorporated features that rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence for functions such as lead scoring, in addition to investing in the user interface and scalability.
Dig deeper: What is marketing automation?