Why isn\u2019t usability ranked higher among the factors to consider when searching for a new email service provider? In fact, why is there so little mention of it? <\/p>\n
An ESP is really only as good as the people who use it\u2026and if it\u2019s unusable, it\u2019s no good at all. Usability matters, here is how to properly evaluate usability when doing an email service providers comparison.
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Do a search on \u201cevaluating an ESP\u2019s usability\u201d in Google and you\u2019ll only get a few results\u2026 and most of them will either be or point to a blog I wrote about the subject before. This raises the question, \u201cWhy aren\u2019t marketers concerned about usability?\u201d and reiterates to me the importance of going over usability once again.<\/p>\n
When we originally published that usability post, Laura Atkins a well-known deliverability expert linked to it<\/a> saying people often think about email deliverability<\/a> when looking for the best email service provider. She tells them most reputable ESPs are pretty even in deliverability, and that price, features, and usability are what matter. It\u2019s a really good point, and many marketers forget to consider usability when doing an email service providers comparison.<\/p>\n If your new ESP doesn\u2019t have an intuitive interface your team finds easy to use, will your team even use all those cool features you sought out during the long and drawn out RFP process<\/a>? If segmenting is a science and analysis causes paralysis, all the whistles and bells you\u2019ve signed on for will remain silent. The fancy features won\u2019t be used and you\u2019ll start to wonder why you invested all that time and energy to switch ESPs<\/a> in the first place. And if that doesn\u2019t convince you, consider this: A lack of usability can even mean more mistakes!<\/p>\n I can\u2019t give you a checklist of features to look at when evaluating usability. That\u2019s because it\u2019s subjective. There isn\u2019t onebest email service provider<\/a>. You need to start with your team and the others in your organization who might be using the ESP platform. They<\/em> are the ones who will ultimately determine what makes a platform usable or not.<\/p>\n Who will use it?<\/em><\/p>\n First determine which people and departments will use the email service provider\u2019s platform, and even who might potentially use it in the future. Think outside the email team. Will accounting use the platform? What about public relations? Will it be used for internal communications, say for example, a company newsletter? Once you know who will use it, then honestly evaluate their capabilities as users.<\/p>\n How often will they use it?<\/em><\/p>\n Next consider how often each team will use it. Keep in mind the occasional user won\u2019t become intimately familiar with the interface in the same way the daily user will.<\/p>\n What do <\/em>you want to be able to do?<\/em><\/p>\n Next consider what it is that you<\/em> want to be able to do. Are you switching ESPs so you can do more segmentation? Triggered email? Email integration? Dynamic content? Better mobile marketing? Make a list of the reasons why you\u2019re looking for a new email service provider, and a separate list of what you want to be able to do. If you already made it, you can use (part of) your ESP requirements list<\/a> for inspiration.<\/p>\n Now that you are armed with and knowledgeable about your users and their capabilities, as well as familiar with your goals and desired features, you are ready to evaluate usability.<\/p>\n Create a list based on the information you gathered above. Include everything you and everyone else involved needs to be able to do, from email creation to list management to reporting to whatever else there might be. Chances are you won\u2019t get everything you want, so my suggestion is to rank these items in some way to indicate which need to be really easy and which can be more challenging.<\/p>\n For example, if accounting will use the platform once a month to create an email to vendors, maybe email creation should be really easy. On the other hand, if dynamic content will be handled by a top-notch and sophisticated email team, maybe it can be more complicated and can be ranked as lower in importance.<\/p>\n<\/span>Why ESP usability matters<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>How to determine what to look for when evaluating usability<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>How to evaluate an email service provider\u2019s usability<\/span><\/h2>\n