“Essential Questions to Evaluate Marketing Automation Vendors During a Demo”

Maybe you have decided you need to make an investment in a marketing platform. Maybe you’ve decided you need to change or upgrade your existing solution. For the past five years, the MarTech Replacement Survey has identified marketing automation platforms as the most replaced solution in the martech stack. In either case, the next step is researching vendors and their capabilities.

Here’s how to start:

• Make a list of all the marketing automation capabilities you currently have (i.e., email campaign sending), those you would like to have (i.e., predictive scoring or recommendations) and those you can’t live without (i.e., plug-and-play CRM integration). This last category is critical and could help you avoid a costly mistake. 
• Research vendors using that list to see which ones can meet your needs. Then send them the list of what you need and set a timeframe for them to reply. 
• Decide whether you need to engage in a formal RFI/RFP process. This is an individual preference but be sure to give the same list of capabilities to each vendor to facilitate comparison.

Our new original research, “Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” is now available for free download.

The most effective RFPs only request relevant information from the vendors and provide ample information about your business and its needs. Let the vendor know how you plan to use marketing automation, including your high-level strategic goals and KPIs and how you will evaluate the success of your marketing automation efforts. Include details about timelines and the existing digital technology you have deployed. 

When written properly, an RFP will facilitate the sales process and ensure both sides come to
a shared understanding of the purpose, requirements, scope and structure of the intended
purchase. From the RFP responses, you should be able to narrow your list down to three or four
platforms to demo.

Before deciding on a vendor, check out its online community and review sites, and speak with one or two customer references, preferably someone in a business like yours. The vendor should be able to supply you with references, but you should also ask around in professional discussion forums or at in-person conferences and networking events.

Set up demos within a relatively short time frame after receiving the RFP responses to help make relevant comparisons. Make sure that all potential internal users are on the demo call or at the in-person meeting, and pay attention to the following:

• How easy is the platform to use? 
• Does the vendor seem to understand our business and our marketing needs? 
• Are they showing us our “must-have” features? 
• If we ask a specific question, can they demonstrate the answer on the call? 

Questions to ask each vendor include: 

• How easy is it to integrate this software into my organization? 
• What is the onboarding process? 
• How long does implementation take? 
• What kind of support and training are included in the base price? 
• What does your partner and developer community look like? 
• How can I maximize adoption in my organization? 
• Will we have a dedicated account rep available to us? 
• Do current customers utilize the full functionality? 
• What new features are you focusing on for the coming year? 
• Can we do a test run for a few days on our own (i.e., a free trial)? The most effective RFPs only request relevant information from the vendors and provide ample information about your business and its needs.
• How do you protect and secure customer data Do you have a roadmap for what you would do in the event of a hack or denial-of-service attack? 

Ask for a demonstration of the specific capabilities that you have identified in your RFI/RFP. Consider requesting product demos showing basic tasks and demonstrating core reports such as: 

• Create and edit a new email from scratch. 
• Import and segment data, using any AI or machine-learning capabilities available. 
• Base data management, cleansing and enrichment options. 
• Create and edit a new landing page from scratch. 
• Execute a simple campaign with an email, mailing list and landing page. 
• See a report showing email opens, click-throughs and landing page conversions. 
• See a report showing web traffic and/or specific leads from an email campaign. 
• ROI dashboards and reports at the organization and campaign levels. 
• Campaign attribution options and capabilities. 

This is an ongoing relationship — it’s important to feel that your questions are being answered.

For much more detail about choosing a MAP vendor, download the latest edition of our free report, “Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide.“

The post Questions to ask marketing automation vendors during a demo appeared first on MarTech.

**Essential Questions to Evaluate Marketing Automation Vendors During a Demo**

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, marketing automation has become a cornerstone for businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts, nurture leads, and drive revenue. However, selecting the right marketing automation platform is no small task. With a plethora of vendors offering a wide array of features, it’s easy to get overwhelmed during the evaluation process. A product demo is a critical opportunity to assess whether a platform aligns with your business needs. To make the most of this opportunity, it’s essential to ask the right questions. Here are the key questions to evaluate marketing automation vendors during a demo.

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### 1. **How Does the Platform Align with Our Business Goals?**
Before diving into the technical details, it’s important to understand whether the platform can support your specific marketing objectives. Ask the vendor how their solution can help you achieve your goals, whether it’s lead generation, customer retention, or improving campaign ROI. Look for examples or case studies that demonstrate how the platform has helped businesses similar to yours.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Can the platform scale as our business grows?
– Does it cater to specific industries or business sizes?
– What measurable outcomes can we expect?

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### 2. **What Features Are Included, and How Do They Work?**
Marketing automation platforms often come with a wide range of features, from email marketing and lead scoring to analytics and CRM integrations. During the demo, ask for a detailed walkthrough of the platform’s core features and how they function in real-world scenarios.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Are there any limitations or restrictions on features?
– Are advanced features (e.g., AI-driven analytics, predictive scoring) included in the base package or sold as add-ons?
– How customizable are the workflows and templates?

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### 3. **How Easy Is the Platform to Use?**
Ease of use is a critical factor in determining whether your team will adopt and effectively utilize the platform. Ask the vendor to demonstrate how intuitive the interface is and how quickly new users can get up to speed.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– What is the average onboarding time for new users?
– Are there built-in tutorials or training resources?
– Can non-technical team members use the platform effectively?

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### 4. **What Integrations Are Available?**
Marketing automation platforms rarely operate in isolation. They need to integrate seamlessly with your existing tools, such as your CRM, email marketing software, social media platforms, and analytics tools. During the demo, ask about the platform’s integration capabilities.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Does the platform integrate with our current tech stack (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Analytics)?
– Are integrations native or do they require third-party tools like Zapier?
– How easy is it to set up and maintain integrations?

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### 5. **How Robust Are the Reporting and Analytics Features?**
Data-driven decision-making is at the heart of modern marketing. A good marketing automation platform should provide robust reporting and analytics to help you measure campaign performance, track ROI, and identify areas for improvement.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– What types of reports are available (e.g., campaign performance, lead behavior, ROI)?
– Can reports be customized to suit our specific KPIs?
– Does the platform offer real-time analytics?

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### 6. **What Level of Personalization Does the Platform Offer?**
Personalization is a key driver of marketing success. Ask the vendor how their platform enables personalized customer experiences, from email campaigns to website interactions.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Can the platform segment audiences based on behavior, demographics, or other criteria?
– Does it support dynamic content and personalized recommendations?
– How does it handle multi-channel personalization?

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### 7. **What Are the Automation Capabilities?**
The core of any marketing automation platform is its ability to automate repetitive tasks and workflows. During the demo, ask the vendor to showcase how automation works and how it can be tailored to your needs.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Can we create complex workflows with branching logic?
– How does the platform handle lead scoring and nurturing?
– Are there pre-built automation templates available?

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### 8. **What Is the Pricing Structure?**
Understanding the total cost of ownership is crucial when evaluating marketing automation vendors. Ask the vendor to provide a clear breakdown of their pricing structure, including any hidden fees.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**
– Is pricing based on the number of users, contacts, or features?
– Are there additional costs for onboarding, training, or support?
– What happens if we exceed our contact or usage limits?

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### 9. **What Kind of Support and Training Is Offered?**
Even the most user-friendly platform will require some level of support and training. Ask the vendor about the resources they provide to help your team succeed.

**Key Follow-Up Questions:**