{"id":2611,"date":"2011-11-01T10:39:36","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T09:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/?p=2611"},"modified":"2011-11-01T10:39:36","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T09:39:36","slug":"choosing-an-esp-is-like-selecting-a-spouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/choosing-an-esp-is-like-selecting-a-spouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing an ESP is like selecting a spouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you choose an ESP, you\u2019re looking for stability, a good fit, room to grow together and a trust fund \u2026er, the first three. You\u2019re not looking for sexy features that are appealing today but will fade over time. <\/p>\n

Choosing an ESP is like selecting a spouse. Here is why and how to do it. Warning: this is a long post\u2026because choosing an ESP is a big deal<\/em>!<\/p>\n

<\/span>How choosing an ESP is like selecting a spouse<\/span><\/h2>\n

Choosing a vendor is a long term\u00a0commitment; you\u00a0might<\/em> select a provider knowing that you\u2019re going to divorce your ESP<\/a> in a few years when you grow out of your relationship, but remember, the switching costs are high. Both the financial costs and the time investment in migrating your data and integrating with a new platform warrant serious consideration up front.<\/p>\n

Exception<\/em>: If you\u2019re a startup betting on totally bananas, Groupon-style overnight user growth, you need a different game plan.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Make a list of choosing an ESP \u2019must-have\u2019 traits<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Define your requirements<\/a> before your get started<\/em>. I\u2019m a broken record, but there it is. Create a simple vendor requirements doc. to guide you through the process. If it\u2019s thorough, it\u2019ll also\u00a0knock the socks off potential vendors <\/em> and let them know you mean business. Neurotic freaks like me can even use this list to create a comparison spreadsheet to log how vendors stack up on each of these items during your sales call! Totally baller tool.<\/p>\n

1. Dedicated IP<\/strong>: If the ESP doesn\u2019t provide a dedicated IP, other users with whom you\u2019re sharing the IP could potentially compromise your sender reputation. Likewise, the ESP might reserve the right to police your account and suspend it at any time <\/em> if they feel that your volume of complaints, etc. put other senders at risk (I\u2019ve heard this about MailChimp\u2026). Update: if your send volume is large enough you may want to use multiple dedicated IPs. Consider starting with at least one for your transactional emails and another for your marketing newsletters.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Email types<\/strong>: Do you need a vendor who supports transactional real-time \u2018triggered\u2019 emails, automated daily emails, one-off Marketing newsletters?<\/p>\n

3. API database integration: <\/strong>Is API integration<\/a> a must-have? Nice-to-have? Don\u2019t need it? Will it add value to your emails? Will it increase efficiency by freeing up your engineers and letting your marketers create email filters\/targets on-the-fly? What integration options are available?<\/p>\n

4. Dynamic merge fields: <\/strong>Again, how critical is this? Sure, it lets you throw in some sick personalization, but will it add tangible value to your communication strategy?<\/p>\n

5. Conditional content: <\/strong>See above. Does this fall into the bells & whistles category?<\/p>\n

6. A\/B testing capabilities<\/strong>: How sophisticated? Subject line only? Body content? Specific sections of body content? Delivery times? You get it =)<\/p>\n

7. Analytics<\/strong>: Start with the basics. At a minimum, they should be abe to show you # sent, # delivered, # bounce, #complaints, open rate (BS metric=), clicks, click-through-rate (clicks\/delivered).<\/p>\n

<\/span>Ask questions on the first date<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Remember that list you made above? It\u2019s time to put it to work! Cover all your bases with each vendor. So when choosing an ESP, \u00a0move down your list to confirm whether they offer your make it or break it features:<\/p>\n