An emotional shortcut isn\u2019t just about feelings \/ emotions in your email marketing RFP. As you will see, the definition is more about the absence of facts:<\/p>\n
What is an \u201cemotional shortcut\u201d?<\/b> Emotional shortcuts often aren\u2019t consciously used. Rather in good faith with the belief that everything pertinent has been weighed and considered. <\/em><\/p>\n In the Email Service Provider (ESP)<\/a> RFP process marketers often call on emotional shortcuts. It is tough to process an avalanche of information in your RFP, particularly if it hasn\u2019t been structured to make apples to apples comparisons between the various vendors. It is no wonder we want to reduce the (cognitive) effort and time required.<\/p>\n With this definition in mind, it\u2019s obvious why a marketer who finds himself in the position of believing all ESPs are the same<\/a> will look for other ways to make decisions on which vendor to award the business and which ones to eliminate.<\/p>\n When you rely on emotional shortcuts to separate the ESPs pitching your business, your process has broken down. The problem is threefold:<\/p>\n Vendor salespeople have long understood this. They use this tendency for prospects to take emotional shortcuts to their advantage in the sales process!<\/p>\n Marketers will often take Emotional Shortcuts (ESCs) throughout the RFP process without even thinking about it. It can already start with the decision as to which vendors to invite to your ESP RFP. Here are some of the most common problematic shortcuts we\u2019ve steered our clients away from during some of the RFPs we\u2019ve managed.<\/p>\n Here are a few common Emotional Shortcuts to avoid.<\/p>\n What does the Forrester Wave <\/a>say about vendors? Or any other analyst with whom I am familiar? I will just invite their top 6!<\/strong> This might feel like you are doing your homework. – and analyst reviews can contain valid datapoints – but you are relying on someone else\u2019s opinion who has no particular idea about your unique requirements<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most of these analyst rankings are prepared by folks who\u2019ve never been in your shoes – they\u2019ve never worked for an ESP or been an email marketer that used an ESP as part of their job (don\u2019t take my word for it, look them up on LinkedIn).<\/p>\n Relying on analyst rankings as your main source of information is like buying a car based on the advice of someone without a driver’s license! Imagine if writers for Car & Driver<\/strong><\/em> rated cars without ever driving them!<\/p>\n Which vendors do I know from off the top of my head? Who has made an effort to stay in contact with me?<\/strong> This is certainly a measure of just how well-known a vendor is, or how badly they want your business. We trust what we know, but this has no bearing on who might be the best fit for your company.<\/p>\n As I mentioned earlier, the best salespeople are those that understand this emotional shortcut. They count on the friendship they have built with you to get their company included when you RFP. There\u2019s nothing inherently wrong with having friends, as long as you are not taking a shortcut and have your evaluation colored without considering facts.<\/p>\n What platforms do other marketers use?<\/strong> You can\u2019t talk to a group of other email marketers without their MarTech stack<\/a> eventually coming up. Peer opinions are one of the most dangerous emotional shortcuts a marketer can take. Why do I say that?<\/p>\n At any given time up to 20% of an ESPs customers are extremely unhappy<\/strong> with that vendor (for some vendors that number is significantly higher). There could be lots of valid reasons for that 20% of detractors to be unhappy, but often it\u2019s simply the result of a relationship gone stale.<\/p>\n If the person whose opinion you ask is among the 20%, you\u2019re going to get a very negative impression of their vendor – so you exclude that vendor from your RFP. But if you asked one of the 80% of promoters what they think, and you heard great reviews you would have included that ESP!<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that good review hard data? Not really. All you learned is that their vendor might be a good fit for your company if both of your companies were exactly alike in every way.<\/p>\n How much of your selection is based on facts and how much on feeling?<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n Despite what analysts would have you believe, there isn\u2019t a \u201cbest\u201d ESP<\/a>. But there is a best ESP for your company. You\u2019re not going to find it relying on shortcuts.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s assume that you made a solid shortlist without taking emotional shortcuts. Maybe you even hired an outside consultant to help with your shortlist selection.<\/p>\n
\nAn \u201cemotional shortcut\u201d is drawing a conclusion based on subjective, or emotional criteria rather than decision-making based on facts. It often omits one or more important steps.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"not](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-so-rational-martech-rfp.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/span>The problem with taking these shortcuts in your selection<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Shortcuts to avoid in shortlisting and evaluating ESPs<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>1. The Analyst shortcut<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>2. The Proximity shortcut<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>3. The Peer opinion shortcut<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/rational-email-selection-brain.jpg\")
<\/span>Emotional shortcuts in your ESP evaluation<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"scorecard](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/scorecard-based-evaluation-esp.png\")
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