Software platforms getting easier to use, yet many companies still rely on third parties for services. There are pros and cons to having an ESPs for services or having an agencies as email marketing services provider. If neither the ESP nor the agency solutions sound appealing there is another option: Go hybrid!
Go hybrid using an marketing agency AND an ESP
Don’t look for a one-stop-shop where a single organization would meet all your needs, but buy the strengths of multiple providers. At first blush this may sound ideal. Get the executional efficiency and expertise of an ESP with the creativity and marketing savvy of an agency.
It certainly can be a good outcome, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch and there are some trade-offs. If it’s not properly managed you may get the sales mentality and meat grinder approach of an ESP and the limited platform and channel expertise of the agency with a side order of backbiting thrown in for good measure.
The Key to a great email marketing Hybrid solution
The key to success is in identifying the specific strengths and weaknesses of the particular ESP and email marketing agency you’re dealing with and then clearly delineating who does what and how the process will work.
Unfortunately to some extent you’re going to be playing referee. Revenue is revenue and both vendors will want as much of it as they can get. Then there’s the thorny question of accountability and reporting. Do you want “one throat to choke”? That certainly avoids the finger pointing recriminations when things go wrong and gets you away from saying the business equivalent of “don’t make me pull this car over!”.
On the other hand it puts one party (typically the email marketing agency) in the power position and shortcomings may not be visible to you. The non-power party may also endeavour to undermine the power party and good luck figuring out if it’s deliberate or accidental.
Is there a right answer here? As is so often the case it all depends on what you need and your priorities.
A clear view of your third party team
If you have a team that’s sufficiently resourced and skilled to do hands-on day to day management you can play the referee. The benefit of this is that you get a very clear understanding of who is doing what, who is performing and who isn’t. You can put work to the companies that give you the best results and keep them all accountable to you.
If you do need to get a one stop shop there are a growing number of ESPs and agencies that have forged existing partnerships. Companies who have aligned their value propositions and their incentive programs to ensure they work together effectively. Some of them are specialist email agencies, some are closer to ISVs who white-label Saas technologies and add value on top of them. These can be a good alternative if you want a single point of accountability but are concerned about competitiveness, inefficiency and power dynamics.
The key in all the hybrid situations
The key in all the hybrid situations is in accepting that there will be some overhead in managing multiple vendors and then determining three things.
1. What does success look like for you?
2. What is the role of your team in reaching that success?
3. How are the third party players incented to reach that success?
Once you know what success looks like you need to figure out how to measure it. Those measures become your key performance indicators for your internal team and vendors.
Clearly defining the role of your internal email team and the roles and interfaces for your vendors is essential. The more cooks you have in your kitchen the more clearly defined the roles, responsibilities and handovers need to be.
Agency strengths and Weaknesses
Finally, in business people do what you pay them to do, whether they’re an employee, an ESP or an agency. Good companies will take a long term view and try to ensure your success but they’re companies and their own success ultimately comes first. It’s important therefore to ensure that their remuneration is tied to your key performance indicators so that you’re paying them for your success and not inadvertently incentivising them to undermine it.
Summary
Each option has its strengths and its weaknesses, its pros and its cons. In general they break down as follows:
ESP | Agency | |
Account Management | Weaker | Stronger |
Creative | Weaker | Stronger |
Marketing Strategy | Weaker | Stronger |
Platform Knowledge | Stronger | Weaker |
Channel Expertise | Stronger | Weaker |
Execution Efficiency | Stronger | Weaker |
Which way you should go depends very much on what matters to you. You need a provider whose strengths will complement those of your in-house team and not just overlap with them.
Finally never underestimate the importance of a strong cultural and emotional fit. If you and your team get on with a provider’s team on an emotional level there’s a much better chance of creating an effective working relationship.