Working with email marketing consultants #2: Who?

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handshakeIf you're ready to get outside help with your email marketing (see Part 1), how do you judge your options? What makes a suitable email marketing consultant?

It goes without saying that you need to consider all the usual issues when selecting a vendor: price, type of service offered, testimonials, communication style, working arrangements etc.

But what do you need to look for specifically in an email marketing consultant?

Simms Jenkins, CEO of BrightWave Marketing and Dylan Boyd, VP Sales & Strategy at eROI were kind enough to pass on some tips for us...

Specific email experience critical


Topic-related expertise is a must, obviously, but the temptation might be to go for a generalist online marketing consultant, rather than an email marketing specialist.

There are two risks here.

First, email has its own nuances. Take HTML email design, for example. It's not like web design. Anybody who thinks they can simply apply web design concepts to email is likely to come up with a template that simply does not work for email.

Second, mistakes have a bigger downside in email. A bad AdWords campaign just loses money or misses out on a few clicks. Poor email practices can lead to serious brand damage, blacklisting and other problems.

So even if you hire a big interactive agency, make sure the dedicated expertise is there. Simms asks:

"How important is email marketing to their business? Is their core strength email marketing or is that something that receives two lines of copy on their website? Many times interactive marketing firms answer 'yeah, we do that' just to get the business."

He adds:

"How many email campaigns have they managed? Specific results, awards and what comes up when you Google them? Is it info related to an FTC investigation or links demonstrating leadership and authority in the email industry?"

Watch for bait and switch


One trap to watch for is getting a pitch from an email marketing expert at, for example, a consulting agency, but the person you'll actually work with is not an email specialist. Simms notes:

"Ask who will be working with me on my account? How often do we talk? Is my reporting a quarterly powerpoint with opens and clicks or meaningful analysis of the email program's impact on business goals?"

"If it is a coordinator job and the sales and executive team disappear after the agreement is signed, you may be in trouble. Do you get just a 1800 number and a help desk email or do you get regularly scheduled meetings with an experienced email marketing veteran?"

Dylan also emphasizes the importance of specialist skills, noting that your consultant must have a...

"...deep understanding of not only email but behaviors in the browser for landing pages and programs. What is the experience or expertise of the consultant/agency? What relevant industry experience do they have for the types of programs you are interested in?"

Big picture skills


This makes the further point that an email marketing consultant must also understand how email fits in with other elements of your business, particularly landing pages (conversion), branding and complementary marketing channels.

These days, a good consultant should, for example, understand the possible synergies between email and social media marketing. Simms says:

"Can they complement email campaigns with other tools like SMS or Facebook?"

Where to get recommendations


By definition, it's hard to tell if a consultant has the skills you need. All your usual business networks can help with recommendations, but here some specific suggestions for finding email marketing specialists:

Email Marketer's Club (social network for email marketers)
Email Marketing Roundtable (discussion list for email marketers)
Campaign Monitor forums (good place to find an email designer)

So, do you have any tips for us on finding a good email marketing consultant?

(See Part 3: how do you make the relationship work?)

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[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
Permalink | March 13, 2009 | 0 comment(s) - add yours!
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