{"id":25263,"date":"2025-11-27T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/?p=25263"},"modified":"2025-12-02T19:41:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T18:41:16","slug":"succesful-martech-rfp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/succesful-martech-rfp\/","title":{"rendered":"5 keys for a successful MarTech RFP in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There will be a surge in RFP activity in 2026. Many brands who planned to take a look at their ESP in 2020\/2021, put it on hold because of COVID-19.

This year, droves of brands will start an Request for Proposal (RFP). A lot of business will be up for grabs.

But the selection process<\/strong> is still as fraught with unexpected problems as ever, and brands need the right plan for success. So with that in mind, let\u2019s take a look at best practices for your 2026 RFP process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>1. Negotiate a contract extension with your vendor before starting the RFP<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the mistake that\u2019s both most common, and the most problematic to brands doing an RFP. And that\u2019s timing.

The selection process is going to take longer than you think<\/a>. Trust me on that. And if you do finish it in the time frame you planned, it\u2019s likely you rushed some things and skipped other steps entirely. Which makes it more likely you made a bad choice. So if your contract expired in the second half of the year (or early in 2026), then you need to get moving on your RFP right away.

It can\u2019t wait \u201cuntil later\u201d. If your contract expires in the first quarter of this year and you want to switch vendors, you might as well flip a coin. You don\u2019t have time to run a thorough RFP process.<\/a> And your current ESP knows that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"7<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You are not going to finish your RFP process in time to get migrated to your new platform before your current contract expires. Even if you are convinced I am wrong about that, what\u2019s the downside to being prepared? None. And if I\u2019m right?

That\u2019s why I always tell our clients to negotiate a month-to-month (preferred) or 3-month (better than nothing) extension before<\/em> issuing an RFP. Because as long as your current ESP believes it has a chance to retain your business, they will be very accommodating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"plan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The minute your current email provider thinks you are leaving, they will become much more inflexible.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now there are some vendors that will never give an extension of less than a year. If you are stuck with one of those vendors, then you need to give yourself 12 months to select a new partner and complete an ESP migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019re 6 months out with one of these, it\u2019s already too late. Start planning for a switch in 2026. If you contact me, I am happy to tell you what you can expect from your current vendor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>2. Bring in an outside resource to help manage your RFP<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The second most common mistake I see brands make when managing an RFP is inviting ESPs into the process who have no business being included.

Listen, I think the vendor landscape is more confusing than ever. Even I get confused!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Do you understand the differences?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are significant differences between the various ESPs<\/a>. These differences have a huge impact on how good a fit a particular ESP will be for your brand.

Most email marketers don\u2019t see these differences. And who can blame them? Sales people will pitch their platform to anyone as a perfect fit, and the various analysts are always rating vendors without a thought to how different they are from one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Don’t fall for the herd mentality<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is also a little bit of \u201cherd mentality\u201d among email marketers. And that thinking leads many to invite ESPs to pitch their business simply because it seems like everyone else is looking at the same 2-3 vendors.

So with a lack of understanding the differences between vendors, and the tendency to look at the same few \u201chot\u201d vendors as everyone else, a brand can end up with 6-8 vendors in its RFP, of which only 2 or 3 are actually going to be a good fit.

I don\u2019t like the odds of making the right selection in that RFP, do you? Which leads us to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Know which channels are most important to your customers<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Particularly in the case of ecommerce <\/a>brands, you need to understand which channels your customers use most often<\/em><\/strong> to engage with you. Some ESPs are \u201cmobile-first<\/strong>\u201d, others are \u201cemail-centric<\/strong>\u201d, while others are truly \u201comnichannel<\/strong>\u201d.

Creating a mis-match between the type of ESP you select and your customer behavior is going to lead to a lot of unhappiness for you and your customers. 

You HAVE to get this right.

Bringing in an outside consultant will greatly increase the odds that you will make the best  choice. Their business depends upon knowing the differences between the vendors, and making sure you only look at those who represent a good fit. I know it sounds self-serving to mention getting outside help. But that doesn\u2019t take away from the fact that it’s a smart thing to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>3.Use a scorecard and make your decisions for the right reasons<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just the other day I talked with a vendor. They were back pitching a prospect they had pitched the year before and finished second.

The winner of that RFP had been the personal favorite of a VP who imposed his will on the entire process. Predictably the team using the platform hated his choice, as did IT. Of course, the VP has long since left the company. So just a few months after the migration to the new vendor, here they were again looking at their options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Do you have the right people in the selection team?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are always going to be people involved in an RFP process who have favorites going into the RFP. That\u2019s normal, and there are a lot of reasons why a particular ESP might be someone’s favorite. And look at it from different angles, like procurement<\/a>, IT, marketing.

But it becomes a problem when the person with a favorite ESP can drive the decision in a particular direction (like the unhappy brand mentioned above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Using a scorecard<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to prevent a new ESP selection based on the wrong reasons<\/a> is to use a scorecard driven process that allows for direct, side by side comparisons of the competing vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"email<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use scorecards that cover features and functionality, services, and pricing. This has two key benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, if everyone\u2019s scores are treated equally, a single person can\u2019t drive the outcome. So even if someone strongly supports one of the ESPs in your review, he or she can\u2019t force that decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, it allows for the input of everyone on your team who wants a say in the decision. If everyone is responsible for the vendor selected, then everyone has a stake in making sure it works out. And trust me, that is a very good thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>4. Complete your RFP and come to a decision<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The road to a great new vendor relationship is littered with the corpses of RFPs that never made it across the finish line. There are so many reasons why an RFP doesn\u2019t come to a conclusion, but the result is the same. Nobody is happy – even the brand involved – when an RFP never gets concluded and a new vendor doesn\u2019t get selected.

Here\u2019s a partial list of reasons why an RFP might never come to a conclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n