EMAIL MARKETING REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 1 Author: David Hughes Email Marketing RFP Guidance and Templates E-consultancy March 2007 Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 – not for distribution to non-subscribers without written permission Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 2 Author: David Hughes Table of Contents About E-consultancy ............................................................... 3 Contact.................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction to Email Marketing ......................................... 4 2. Setting out the RFP process................................................. 6 Why selecting the right partner is critical .................................................................................. 6 A technology supplier or a marketing partner? ......................................................................... 6 What kind of service do you want? ............................................................................................ 6 What if you need more than just the technology? ..................................................................... 7 How long do you want the relationship to last?......................................................................... 7 How will you judge the winner?.................................................................................................8 How much firepower do you really need?..................................................................................8 How long will the process take?................................................................................................. 9 Who should get involved from your organisation?.................................................................... 9 Where do you look for ESP vendors?....................................................................................... 10 3. The Invitation to Tender Process...Error! Bookmark not defined. Information you need to share.............................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Narrowing down the field – to one ......................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Final review and negotiation................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 4. RFP Template................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Background to our organisation, email marketing and business goalsError! Bookmark not defined. Background to this project ...................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Timescale..............................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Project deliverables ..............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Account set-up and training.................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Pricing Error! Bookmark not defined. Platform and System Capabilities ........................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Service Level Agreements ....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Other requirements of your proposal ..................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 5. Appendix .......................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Roles and Responsibilities for Email Campaign..................Error! Bookmark not defined. Detailed Specification of ESP Capability .............................Error! Bookmark not defined. Technology Platform, Security and Integration..........................Error! Bookmark not defined. Account Set-up, Training and Account Management.................Error! Bookmark not defined. Data Management.........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Delivery and Deliverability Capabilities ......................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Campaign Deployment .................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Reporting Capabilities ..................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. * Not available in Sample RFP Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 3 Author: David Hughes About E-consultancy E-consultancy is an online publisher of best practice internet marketing reports, research and how-to guides. E-consultancy, which was recently named Publisher of the Year at the 2006 AOP Awards, also publishes buyer’s guides and has a directory of 100,000+ third party internet marketing white papers. Since moving to a paid-content model in 2003 E-consultancy has amassed thousands of paying subscribers, more than 50,000 registered users and 150,000+ unique users sessions per month. E-consultancy is popular among internet professionals around the world, for delivering practical, time-saving advice and insight. Subscribers pay from £149 per year to access the exclusive and highly practical content. E-consultancy has more than 100 events lined up for 2007, including roundtables and monthly Supplier Showcases, where six suppliers pitch to an audience of pre-qualified buyers in a Central London venue. E-consultancy also runs both in-house and public training courses. http://www.e-consultancy.com/about/Contact If you would like to know more about Corporate Membership and our roundtables then please contact us on +44 207 681 4053 or Peter@e-consultancy.com. If you have any comments or queries about this briefing then please contact Linus@e-consultancy.com E-consultancy URL: http://www.e-consultancy.com Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 4 Author: David Hughes 1. Introduction to Email Marketing Based on a wide variety of criteria, email marketing is now accepted as one of the most important tools in the marketer’s armoury. Some organisations see it simply a case of using a channel customers have requested to be communicated through – if they like it by email, we’ll send it by email; others will identify the huge cost differential between messages delivered digitally and messages conveyed through direct mail or telemarketing and use “sticks and carrots” to encourage more customers to opt in to lower-cost email messaging; yet more marketers will argue that email allows such a rich click-stream of response history to be built up that they can segment, personalise and trigger campaigns based on the “watch, don’t ask” mantra of digital marketing. In short, email is being used by more and more consumers and business professionals and for marketers is a low cost-per-contact channel which provides a wealth of tracking and reporting information. Originally restricted to “welcome” messages and regular “e-zines” or newsletters, email is now woven into many companies’ relationship marketing programme. For instance, some pioneering marketers are moving away from just sending out messages based on the rhythm of marketing life (newsletters every third Thursday of the month) to messaging based on actions and/or events in the customer lifecycle. Consider how much more engaging messages would be if they were based on the last time you flew with an airline, the destinations you have visited with a travel company, or the type of white-paper you downloaded from a website. Add in email programmes of reminders about important events, or alerts to new web content or relevant new products and you have a medium that adds real value to a customer relationship programme. In late 2006 the DMA USA published its “Power of Direct” economic impact study (DMA USA “The Power of Direct Forecast”, August 2006). In it they showed that email returned $57.25 for every dollar spent in 2005. Compare and contrast, they said, with print catalogs generating $7.09 revenue and all non-e-mail internet marketing delivering a healthy $22.52. Not only that, E-mail is going to keep delivering significant contributions -$51.45 for every dollar spent in 2006, $48.29 for every dollar spent in 2007, and $41.05 for every dollar spent in 2011. This huge rise in use and quantified success is in no small part down to the size and maturity of the Email Service Provider (ESP) marketplace. Whether a client is looking for a global tech partner or a local supplier with basic email capabilities and a high level of account management and support, there will be the right partner out there. The trouble is, there are quite a few to choose from… The 2006 E-consultancy Email Marketing Buyers Guide lists 26 vendors in the UK market able to manage your email broadcasting, and more seem to spring up every month. The marketplace includes organisations with truly international scope and Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 5 Author: David Hughes ones that just serve the UK; there are suppliers with full-service managed options, self-service web-based systems and even in-company installed solutions; there are some that just offer the technology and those that offer strategy, account management and technical support. This report guides you through the choices that you need to make to select the right vendor for your needs. It looks at the things to consider at the planning stages, the questions you need to ask of a technology partner and some guidance on how the process could be managed. We do not seek to offer a definitive template for all client situations – the email marketing world is too complex for that. Instead, we give you the high level issues and detailed checklists from which you will be able to build your own RFP process and documentation One final point – this document is intended to cover the selection of a web-based email service provider, rather than any possible combination of software, technology architecture and platform management solutions. We have assumed that clients will turn to this document because they have chosen the ESP route and will use a separate technology solution evaluation process if weighing up an installed/in-house solution. A number of the vendors who offer web-based platforms also have in-company systems but we will not be extending this RFP process to these products. Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 6 Author: David Hughes 2. Setting out the RFP process Before getting into the detail of how we choose one supplier out of the many in the marketplace, we’ll need to step back and look at some wider issues. Why selecting the right partner is critical Your choice of which vendor to work with will have a huge impact on your email marketing effectiveness. If you select a partner with too few technical tools and capabilities your campaign management and execution will be compromised. Similarly, if you know that you will need plenty of hand-holding, guidance and support during the contract then selecting a partner with less focus on service may leave your marketing team exposed to risk. Integration capabilities with existing up and down-stream technologies need to be considered as the wrong choice could mean expensive re-engineering of data processes. There is also the cost issue of trying to work with an un-suited partner…paying too little for the wrong solution will result in lost revenue opportunities and may be more commercially damaging than paying too much for an over-elaborate solution! A technology supplier or a marketing partner? Some organisations see email marketing technology as a commodity and, with little perceived difference in supplier capabilities, can be traded for at the lowest cost. However, most marketers probably want a deeper relationship with their key partners and we should not treat them in the same way that we treat utilities suppliers! Some ESP’s are more akin to marketing agencies and you should strive to find a partner where the “chemistry” between organisations and personnel feels right. After all, your teams may be speaking several times a day and your email marketing campaigns will become increasingly important to corporate commercial success. Use the like-for-like benchmarking tools provided here, create scorecards to determine the winner, but pause to reflect whether you can really work with the team that comes out top. It is notoriously hard to factor these softer relationship qualities into a formal RFP document so your intuition about whether you can really work with the chosen vendor becomes critical. What kind of service do you want? Most ESP’s in the UK market offer some or all of the following levels of engagement: • Full service – staff available to manage data, creative, production, broadcast and reporting using own platform • Self-service – use a technology provider’s broadcast architecture but all campaign management is handled by client-side staff • Hybrid service – a self-service contract where clients can draw on additional resource when manpower is scarce or when specialist skills are called for. Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 7 Author: David Hughes Your choice of service level will depend on a number of factors. For instance, an organisation just finding its way in email marketing will value the support, guidance and experienced staff that a full-service solution offers, but over time may choose to dedicate resource internally for data or campaign management. Organisations with in-house resource able to manage all aspects of campaign activity will benefit from the lower management costs and more flexibility in campaign production that a selfserrvic solution offers. Work hard weighing up the possible service options and evaluate which one will suit you best. Bear in mind that your needs may evolve over the duration of the contract (you may recruit extra campaign management resource once you get up and running) and make sure that your RFP and subsequent contract identifies the cost implications of any alterations like this. What if you need more than just the technology? ESP’s all have different business models and you may want to consider what range of services you require now, and as your email experience grows. For example, some players see themselves as “technology providers” and seek to make their money through contracts that offer a huge degree of self-service dependence and very little manpower support. Guidance about email delivery issues, HTML support for message design or strategic help with testing will probably not be readily available and you will need to seek this elsewhere. Conversely, some ESP’s have a model more akin to traditional agencies and will have account teams that manage everything from data integration, campaign production and strategic input – more of a full service solution with manpower hourly rates and service levels. There is no right or wrong answer for which model to use and your needs may evolve over time too. Ensure that if you need that extra bit of hand-holding in the first 6 months your chosen ESP can provide it, or you factor in the costs of tapping into providers of strategy, design or production services alongside your ESP budget and contract. The E-consultancy Email Marketing Buyers Guide provides some useful reference material provided by each ESP for where they see themselves in the marketplace. How long do you want the relationship to last? As a general rule, the longer the contractual period, the more attractive the terms will be from vendors. In a fiercely competitive marketplace ESP’s will probably be happy to trade a lower cost for greater commitment – with many offering significant discounts for 24 or 36 month contracts. For them, a well-established client familiar with the ESP’s technology and processes will also be less of a “burden” on account management and technical support and they will reflect this with better commercial terms. As for a minimum term, there are no hard and fast rules but given the strategic nature and technical complexity of many contracts anything less than 12 months probably won’t yield high returns for the effort expended. One alternative to the “winner takes all” process is for a Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 8 Author: David Hughes client to run projects with two suppliers and compare the experience on a range of different levels – a judgement on the “softer” qualities of responsiveness, willingness to help and commercial acumen can be more effectively gauged after such a trial. Your own needs will determine if this is necessary or possible and do not underestimate the additional planning required to manage the potential issues of multi-IP address campaigns, un-subscribe management from different sources and campaign management on different platforms. How will you judge the winner? A detailed RFP process will enable you to glean information in a consistent format from all potential partners but will not necessarily tell you who will be best. Indeed, there will be many criteria where virtually all ESP’s will provide the same answers (“Will you provide dedicated IP addresses?” Yes; “Can you offer real-time, web-based reporting?” Yes). But restricting the questions to a binary yes/no sequence will make the tender unnecessarily complex and may not allow a good potential partner’s expertise to shine through. Where possible allow vendors to respond to standard questions about their company and services, but give them enough opportunity to demonstrate how well they could support you. This could be a “campaign planning scenario” that asks them how they could configure their segmentation, personalisation and response analysis tools to tackle a complex (but likely) set of circumstances. The way they respond to this should give you a good indication of how they might cope with similar requests in future. If you are fortunate then you will now have an objective set of scoring values and a more subjective feel for how the vendors compare, allowing a winner to be selected. A scorecard could be created to evaluate the “softer skills” that each vendor displays – a simple system of marks from 1 to 3 for “commercial acumen”, “ability to contribute to strategic discussions” or “depth of account management support team” will help to nail a winner. How much firepower do you really need? There are a number of suppliers in the UK market with sufficient technology functionality to match the needs of the most demanding, sophisticated client marketers. Everybody wants to broadcast messages in text and HTML formats, or have access to tracking and reporting for every campaign; but do you really need to be able to broadcast more than 1 million messages per hour? Or segment based on a telemarketing conversation 15 seconds ago? Or trigger messages based on the pages people have visited on their last web visit? The E-consultancy Email Marketing Industry Census 2007 noted that: More than half of Company Email Marketers (57%) said their organisations were using less than 50% of their email systems’ functionality. Less than a third said they are using more than 50% of their email systems’ functionality. Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 9 Author: David Hughes This suggests that, as with many technology applications, most people are only using a small amount of the functionality they have bought into. This does not necessarily mean that they have over-specified their brief and are paying a premium for a system they under-use; firstly, most of the ESP’s bundle together their technology so that for a fixed price you get access to all the modules regardless of whether you use them. Secondly, this observation does not take into account the scalable opportunities that great technology offers – just because you are not using functionality today does not mean that it will not be needed before the end of the contract. As a result, you may end up opting for a technology provider that has much more capability than you need right now. As you become more experienced you may need these extra tools and they probably come bundled into the basic package price in any case. How long will the process take? You may take the view that if a supplier comes highly recommended and seems to tick all the right boxes you may not have to go through the tender process at all! However, for a long-term partnership it may be worth casting your net as wide as possible and give all suppliers enough time to do justice to the brief. Before that you will need to build your pitch document and that may take weeks. (See the next section for the outline RFP) Once the brief has been given to the suppliers they will need time to digest the brief, prepare the bespoke elements and respond in the format you have specified. It is reasonable to allow at least 2 weeks for this stage of the process, but the more time you allow the better the responses may be…you are appointing a strategic marketing partner and a critical success factor may not be how fast their new business team can turn around complex tender documents! Who should get involved from your organisation? Each company has its own procurement processes and selection of an email marketing partner should follow the necessary financial, technical and legal steps. Your email marketing activity is likely to touch the lives of many personnel across the company and you may want to consider who should be involved in the process, at what stage, and with what influence. Here are a few of the functional teams that may be affected by your choice of vendor: • IT – systems integration, security, bandwidth, support • Customer Service – in-bound email, call centre activity • Database marketing – data supply, data hygiene, results importing • Sales management -integration with sales management systems • Web management – post-campaign tracking, conversion tracking • Legal – is there is a “show stopper” clause in the contract Email Marketing RFP – Guidance and Templates – SAMPLE SAMPLE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Full version: http://www.e-consultancy.com/in/email-rfp Copyright © E-consultancy.com ltd 2007 10 Author: David Hughes Where do you look for ESP vendors? There are several lines of enquiry you should follow to determine your prospective partners. Firstly, ask colleagues internally if they have worked with, or heard good things about, any player. Secondly, turn to sources like exhibitors at trade shows (Technology for Marketing, Internet World etc) or buyer’s guides in the trade press…the E-consultancy Email Marketing Buyer’s Guide 2006 lists 26 UK players. Finally, monitor the trade press and marketing web sites and look out for ESP’s getting a reputation for great technology, service and strategy. Affiliation to trade organisations like the Direct Marketing Association should offer a final sweep of the supplier marketplace.