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\nI would argue that good customer support<\/a> is so important to your success (and ROI) that you are better off with an ESP that\u2019s a good fit with excellent customer support vs. an ESP that\u2019s a great fit with mediocre support. <\/p>\n
![\"best-roi\"](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/best-roi.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>You need comprehensive customer support<\/span><\/h2>\nCustomer support is not something you\u2019ll only need periodically or when you have a problem. It\u2019s something that should be available to you in some form 24×7. That\u2019s why it\u2019s called support<\/i>. <\/p>\n
If you invest more money to get a more powerful ESP, but you can\u2019t use that ESP to the full extent because you haven\u2019t received the right degree of support and guidance, then aren\u2019t you losing money? You\u2019re paying for the power and features, but not using them fully. Therefore, you\u2019re not getting your money\u2019s worth. <\/p>\n
In my opinion, it makes more sense financially to invest in an ESP<\/a> that will help guide you, to enable you to take full advantage of the platform. <\/p>\nIn this scenario, you\u2019re going to be able to use that ESP to its fullest extent, getting all of your money\u2019s worth out of the platform, its features and its power, and therefore optimizing your ROI. It might turn out that the best ESP is mid-tier<\/a> in size because many mid-tier ESPs today can compete with the top-tier ESPs, serving clients with large-scale, complex email marketing programs.<\/p>\n<\/span>How to find the ESP with the support worth the cost<\/span><\/h2>\nWhen you\u2019re researching ESPs, it\u2019s not as if you can go to them with these concerns and get straightforward answers. Of course they are going to believe their support is all you\u2019ll ever need. No, you need to be proactive in your research. Try this advice for help:<\/p>\n
\n- Set a clear plan for what kind of support you want. What does it look like for setup, training, troubleshooting, and on an ongoing basis? Is there premium support and how much does it cost?<\/li>\n
- Look at the next 18 to 24 months of marketing evolution you plan to achieve. How much will you rely on the capabilities of the ESP?<\/li>\n
- Review options in the Service Level Agreement<\/a><\/li>\n
- Talk to customers of the ESPs you\u2019re considering and see if that platform can support your existing and future needs by asking about their experiences. Ask specifically about setup, training, problem-solving, day-to-day support and any customizing or integrations that were above and beyond the typical support. Do they fully use the platform? Are their issues dealt with in a timely fashion? What was training like? Decide which issues or concerns are the most important to your goals and ask about those.<\/li>\n
- Look at the available service channels for support and customer succes<\/a>s<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>A powerful platform with poor support is not worth the money<\/span><\/h2>\nAs ESPs evolve and grow in size, their platforms tend to grow in complexity, as they add functionality, integrations, cross-channel marketing, reporting, and much more. Some of these features are user-friendly like drag-and-drop journey builders.<\/p>\n
![\"technical-support\"](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/technical-support.jpg\")
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But often they are complicated to use and therefore don\u2019t get used\u2014or at least not used to their full capacity. And sometimes it\u2019s a five-figure spend to get that part of the functionality enabled for you to use!
\nWhen that happens, you\u2019ve invested in a very expensive ESP in part because of the powerful features offered by the platform, yet you can\u2019t use these powerful features because you\u2019re not getting the training and support\u2014or because you can\u2019t afford it\u2014which means you\u2019re not going to get your money out of this expensive investment. <\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just the money: You invested a lot of time and effort into choosing that ESP, migrating over, and getting ramped up, not to mention the time spent on training. <\/p>\n
<\/span>The four parts to support and why they matter<\/span><\/h2>\nThere are four areas where you need to be able to lean heavily on the ESP\u2019s support in order to maximize your investment in and use of that ESP\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/span>First, at the very start, with setup and training<\/span><\/h2>\nTwo critical pieces must be in place from the very start of your relationship with this new ESP. One is the setup<\/b> and the other is the training<\/b>. For the setup, it\u2019s imperative that your data, integrations and automations are set up correctly from day one. <\/p>\n
As for training, if the ESP doesn\u2019t provide the initial training to the degree needed to ensure everyone on your team really knows how to make the most of the platform and features, then you are screwed. This also applies to the training of new employees you might hire during the duration of your relationship with that ESP.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Second, when something breaks<\/span><\/h2>\nAs much effort as ESPs put into their technologies, things will break. That\u2019s to be expected and doesn\u2019t necessarily reflect poorly on the ESP. However, if something does break, quits working or not work correctly, you as the client need that problem resolved right away. You need a prompt response from the ESP recognizing the problem, and resolution as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
Without that immediate resolution, you\u2019re unable to fully function on your end and your email marketing program will suffer. The degree to which it suffers will depend on large part to one how big the problem is, and two, how sophisticated your program is. <\/p>\n
![\"email-marketing-support-important\"](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/email-marketing-support-important.jpg\")
Technical Support Nerds that are very knowledgable are often a better choice. And sometimes they wear cool matching plaid shirts.<\/i><\/p>\n
If the problem is only that your reporting is not working right that\u2019s one thing, but if you\u2019re suddenly unable to send email<\/b> to any Gmail accounts, or your automated emails aren\u2019t being triggered, or something else goes awry, then you\u2019re losing money and potentially customers as they become annoyed with your brand and move elsewhere.<\/p>\n
In this scenario, you\u2019re going to be able to use that ESP to its fullest extent, getting all of your money\u2019s worth out of the platform, its features and its power, and therefore optimizing your ROI. It might turn out that the best ESP is mid-tier<\/a> in size because many mid-tier ESPs today can compete with the top-tier ESPs, serving clients with large-scale, complex email marketing programs.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re researching ESPs, it\u2019s not as if you can go to them with these concerns and get straightforward answers. Of course they are going to believe their support is all you\u2019ll ever need. No, you need to be proactive in your research. Try this advice for help:<\/p>\n As ESPs evolve and grow in size, their platforms tend to grow in complexity, as they add functionality, integrations, cross-channel marketing, reporting, and much more. Some of these features are user-friendly like drag-and-drop journey builders.<\/p>\n But often they are complicated to use and therefore don\u2019t get used\u2014or at least not used to their full capacity. And sometimes it\u2019s a five-figure spend to get that part of the functionality enabled for you to use! And it\u2019s not just the money: You invested a lot of time and effort into choosing that ESP, migrating over, and getting ramped up, not to mention the time spent on training. <\/p>\n There are four areas where you need to be able to lean heavily on the ESP\u2019s support in order to maximize your investment in and use of that ESP\u2026<\/p>\n Two critical pieces must be in place from the very start of your relationship with this new ESP. One is the setup<\/b> and the other is the training<\/b>. For the setup, it\u2019s imperative that your data, integrations and automations are set up correctly from day one. <\/p>\n As for training, if the ESP doesn\u2019t provide the initial training to the degree needed to ensure everyone on your team really knows how to make the most of the platform and features, then you are screwed. This also applies to the training of new employees you might hire during the duration of your relationship with that ESP.<\/p>\n As much effort as ESPs put into their technologies, things will break. That\u2019s to be expected and doesn\u2019t necessarily reflect poorly on the ESP. However, if something does break, quits working or not work correctly, you as the client need that problem resolved right away. You need a prompt response from the ESP recognizing the problem, and resolution as soon as possible. <\/p>\n Without that immediate resolution, you\u2019re unable to fully function on your end and your email marketing program will suffer. The degree to which it suffers will depend on large part to one how big the problem is, and two, how sophisticated your program is. <\/p>\n If the problem is only that your reporting is not working right that\u2019s one thing, but if you\u2019re suddenly unable to send email<\/b> to any Gmail accounts, or your automated emails aren\u2019t being triggered, or something else goes awry, then you\u2019re losing money and potentially customers as they become annoyed with your brand and move elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/span>How to find the ESP with the support worth the cost<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/span>A powerful platform with poor support is not worth the money<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\nWhen that happens, you\u2019ve invested in a very expensive ESP in part because of the powerful features offered by the platform, yet you can\u2019t use these powerful features because you\u2019re not getting the training and support\u2014or because you can\u2019t afford it\u2014which means you\u2019re not going to get your money out of this expensive investment. <\/p>\n<\/span>The four parts to support and why they matter<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>First, at the very start, with setup and training<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Second, when something breaks<\/span><\/h2>\n
Technical Support Nerds that are very knowledgable are often a better choice. And sometimes they wear cool matching plaid shirts.<\/i><\/p>\n