Working with email marketing consultants #1 When?

Some 18 months ago I wrote about the growing email marketing divide: the haves and have nots.

While you can still get good results from getting the basics right, it's clear there is much to be gained from putting advanced tactics and strategies into place (some examples.)

Unfortunately, "taking email to the next level" requires increasingly specialist knowledge, plus the generalist's understanding of how email might interact with all the other marketing you do.

When it comes to specialist expertise, you can acquire it or hire it. But when does it make sense to seek outside guidance? What should you look for in a partner? And how can you make the relationship work?

These three questions are the subject of a quick mini-series on working with email consultants. To get the answers, I picked the brains of a couple of consultants I trust to give us a fair opinion: Simms Jenkins, CEO of BrightWave Marketing and Dylan Boyd, VP Sales & Strategy of eROI.

So when's a good time for getting in outside help?

The glib answer is the obvious one: when you need it. But it's a little more subtle than that. Outside help only makes sense when you have the right mindset.

Simms sees two prime moments in the development of your efforts: getting things in order and then pushing on from a position of strength.

The first opportunity is what you'd call the classic scenario, when you "...sense you need real help, much like you do in legal or accounting, to handle the many issues that one can find on any given email campaign (strategy, planning, CAN-SPAM, deliverability, testing etc)."

But buying-in help only makes sense if you're also ready to "...dismiss the 'email is easy/cheap' mindset and realize you need help to properly manage email marketing and ensure you don't hurt your brand or company by sending the wrong kinds of email."

The second opportunity is when you already have a solid program in place.

"Response rates are high, you're sending relevant emails that engage your subscribers, conversions and ROI show promise, and (probably most importantly) internally the value of email marketing is realized."

Then you might "...want to keep focusing on your core business and partner with a specialized firm of experts to capitalize on the potential you have uncovered...this is the 'I bought the land that is worth something but don't want to build the house myself' moment."

Dylan offers a list of six indicators that one of those two opportunities has arrived:

• You don't have a full-time employee or resources to execute your plans
• Your metrics (reads, clicks, conversions and acquisitions) are either stalled or falling backwards
• Your deliverability is an issue that you want to get serious about in order to drive better results
• You've decided to get serious about email marketing as a business tool and are moving past the simple batch and blast email tactics that perform so poorly
• You're missing deadlines you've set for your own programs due to other obligations and programs you are responsible for
• Your database is either siloed or a mess and you need someone else to assist you in getting your systems working

Any other suggestions from your own experiences?

(Part 2: what do you look for in an email marketing consultant?)

List of consultants and services | Tags: email marketing consultants

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