How And Why To Switch Email Service Providers May 2007 Introduction In a perfect world, your email service provider is flexible, responsive to your needs, knowledgeable of new technology, and cost effective. It is not a perfect world, though. Instead, working with an email vendor, or any vendor for that matter, can be frustrating as you negotiate contracts and customize service plans. Too often, the level of customer service exhibited during the initial “sales” process drops off after the contract is signed. In times of frustration, the natural reaction is to look for a new provider; to start from scratch with a clean slate. Abandoning the vendor and moving to another bigger, faster, cheaper or closer provider is not always the best answer. There are more than one hundred Email Service Providers (ESPs) selling their services in the market today and all of them are on the hunt for new customers. Before jumping ship with your current ESP, a little planning can go a long way. Consider these questions: • Why do you want to switch? • What risks are involved in switching? • What are your exact needs? • What kind of relationship do you want to have with them? • How should you conduct a search for a new ESP, if that is your ultimate choice? Taking the time to evaluate your options will prevent making a snap decision and getting locked into an annual contract with a vendor that doesn’t fit your needs or organizational culture. Reasons that Justify Finding a New ESP Since email is fast becoming the dominant form of communication with stakeholders, it is essential that your ESP provide you with quality features and even higher quality customer service. They are the “experts” of the emarketing industry so it is up to them to provide you with guidance when you want to ramp up your emarketing efforts and help you problem solve technological issues. Below are, what we call, “decision points,” factors that make it worth your while to consider finding a new ESP. Decision Point 1: Shared IP Address. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t share your IP address with any of your ESP’s other clients because there is no distinction between the two organizations. Sharing IP addresses puts your reputation, and your email, at the mercy of another organization. Organizations don’t get blacklisted, the IP associated with the organization does. In other words, if ABC Corporation is flagged as a spammer and you share their IP, you also share their punishment. If you don’t know if you have a unique IP, ask your ESP and do it right now. Credible ESPs offer unique IP addresses as part of their service package while some charge extra for it. If they don’t offer a unique IP your business is in an unnecessary position of risk and it is time to look for a new vendor. Decision Point 2: Your ESP cannot handle the volume of email you send. If they can’t accommodate the sheer volume of your lists and distribution totals, you should consider severing your relationship. Reliance on email as a communication medium will only increase and, presumably, so will your readership. If there is a problem with volume today, tomorrow the problem will be worse. Decision Point 3: The ESP does not provide high-level features to create one-to-one campaigns. Personalization is an important component of emarketing. It is also one of the main reasons marketers rely so heavily on it. Without the ability to use dynamic content, surveys, unique landing pages, poll questions, and other advanced features, the impact your campaign makes suffers. Your ESP should not only have these features available, but be available to tutor you on how to maximize their use. Decision Point 4: You cannot integrate with a third-party system. One of the most important features of emarketing is personalization that can be achieved by linking your customer database (and the data you have collected) with your distribution list. Being able to use the data you have collected from current and potential customers not only helps you create dynamic content they will respond to, it also shows them that the surveys and demographic information they submitted to you is being used for their benefit. Decision Point 5: Your ESP is overcharging you. Fees for “per email transmission” are well documented in the industry so you should be able to see find out how your ESP compares. Most ESPs now charge on a per volume basis, meaning you pay a per email transmission rate that decreases as you send more emails. Most ESPs charge extra for using features such as dynamic content, but some do not. Decision Point 6: Your ESP’s customer service is lacking. Nothing is more frustrating than having a technical problem on a campaign that is due to go out in moments. The test message comes back with coding issues that you aren’t skilled enough to fix. When you call for technical support, does the phone ring and ring? Is there an emergency contact number? Does your ESP promptly alert you to any service problems? Do they look for ways to ramp up their service? If not, start your search today. Below is a quick self-evaluation check list. If you check off more than one or two, continue reading for more information on how to switch vendors. • • • • • • • • • You paid a premium to send HTML formatted email. You paid a premium to use advanced features such as dynamic content. Your current ESP won’t give you your own IP address. You are locked into a service contract. You are required to send a minimum number of email per month. You paid a set-up fee just for turning on your account. You paid upfront to send email without getting a discount. You current ESP charges high fees for inadequate training. Your current ESP never answers the phone. How to Make the Switch If the reasons to find a new vendor are compelling enough to warrant a search, use the following guidelines. • Gather data on your current emarketing efforts and discuss what it is that was lacking with your previous vendor. In other words, develop a plan. Consider these questions: 1. What type of service do you need? 2. How much flexibility do you have with budget and contracting? 3. How much integration do you really need? 4. How do you transition from one vendor to another effectively and efficiently? 5. What type of partnership do you want? Plan out your search. Just popping some words into Google will give you pages of responses, but that is a blind query. Ask your colleagues and friends. Request references from professional associations and listservs. Research potential leads and develop a list of questions you want them to answer before talking to them. Export invalid (bounced) email address and opt outs from old ESP and import to new ESP. As an emarketer, you have to honor all previous opt-out request and provide a seamless transition to the new ESP for your recipients. Make sure that you have a current list of invalid addresses and opt-outs before leaving your ESP. Export and set-up templates to keep consistency and implement a seamless transition for customers or members. Make sure you are looking for an ESP that offers DNS configuration – DNS configuration allows email to be sent from you domain instead of your ESP’s. But, you also want the recipient to receive a message identified by your server, not a strange one. For example, instead of receiving email from client. goldlasso.com you receive mail from domain.client. com. Reverse DNS legitimizes this process allowing mail servers to identify this domain and who it belongs to increasing deliverability and preventing “spoofing.” Ask questions about the ESP’s white list action. A qualified ESP will review major email provider’s white lists to make sure you haven’t been identified as a spammer. Bottom line is that you need a way to monitor SPAM complaints and your ESP should provide you with that service. • Reasons to Give your ESP a Second Chance If you have low delivery rates or your campaigns are not garnering the response you hoped or planned for, don’t automatically assume it is the vendor’s fault. There are plenty of other reasons for poor performance that are out of the hands of your ESP. For as many reasons as there are to look for a new provider, there are also key reasons to stay. • Switching vendors isn’t the magic bullet to successful campaigns. Your practices as a mailer are as important to consider. If you don’t take steps to maintain and update your list or you avoid using advanced features, such as dynamic content, your campaigns may not succeed. If those services are available to you and you don’t use them, set up a meeting or training session with your ESP to find out how to best incorporate all the features of the service, not just the basic ones. Cheaper isn’t always better. No one wants to pay more for what they are getting, but if you are only switching to save money, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Because there are so many vendors jockeying for your business, it is easy to assume that the level of service is the same, but it might not be. The biggest thing to consider is the volume and available features. Is the same price getting you the same number of e-mail transmissions and features? Low delivery with a unique IP address. If you have your own IP address with your ESP and delivery rates are still low, there may be other things damaging the effectiveness of your campaign such as the quality of your list (are email addresses current) or the content of your message. It is important to consult with your ESP on the issues you are having before jumping ship. • • • • • • Page 2 - How And Why To Switch Email Service Providers Conclusion Communication is one of your most valuable assets. The importance an email service provider that understands your needs and strives to exceed your expectations with quality customer service and knowledge that distinguishes them among other ESPs is paramount. If your campaigns are not successful, your first reaction should not be to find another vendor. Instead, analyze your processes, consult with your current vendor, and find a solution that works best for you. If a new ESP is necessary, plan your search to ensure your communication medium, and more importantly, your data, is protected. 312 Main Street, Suite 200 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 301-990-9857 Phone 301-990-9856 FAX http://www.goldlasso.com © Copyright Gold Lasso, LLC All rights reserved. Page 3 - How And Why to Switch Email Service Providers