Select a Marketing Management Suite
A best-fit solution balances needs, cost, and capability.
- Time, money, and effort are wasted on channels and campaigns that are not resonating with your customer base.
- Email marketing, social marketing, and/or lead management alone are often not enough to meet more sophisticated marketing needs.
- Many organizations struggle with taking a systematic approach to selection that pairs functional requirements with specific marketing workflows, and as a result they choose a marketing management suite (MMS) that is not well aligned to their needs, wasting resources and causing end-user frustration.
- For IT managers or marketing professionals, the task to incorporate MMS technology into the organization requires not only receiving the buy-in for the MMS investment but also determining the vendor and solution that best fit the organization’s particular marketing management needs.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- An MMS enables complex campaigns across many channels, product lines, customer segments, and marketing groups throughout the enterprise.
- Selecting an MMS has become increasingly difficult because the number of players in the marketplace has ballooned. Moreover, picking the wrong marketing solution has a direct impact on revenue.
- Determine whether the investment in an MMS is worthwhile or the funds are better allocated elsewhere. For organizations with a large audience or varied product offerings, an MMS enables complex campaigns across many channels, product lines, customer segments, and marketing groups throughout the enterprise.
Impact and Result
- Maximize your success and credibility with a proposal that emphasizes the areas relevant to your situation.
- Perform more effective customer targeting and campaign management. Having an MMS equips marketers with the tools they need to make informed decisions around campaign execution, resulting in better targeting, acquisition, and customer retention. This means more revenue.
- Maximize marketing impact with analytics-based decision making. Understanding users’/customers’ behaviors and preferences will allow you to run effective marketing initiatives.
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Workshop: Select a Marketing Management Suite
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements
The Purpose
Determine a “right-size” approach to marketing enablement applications.
Key Benefits Achieved
Confirmation of the goals, objectives, and direction of the organization is marketing application strategy.
Activities
Outputs
Assess the value and identify the organization’s fit for MMS technology.
Understand the art of the possible.
Understand CXM strategy and identify your fit for MMS technology.
Build procurement team and project customer experience management (CXM) strategy.
- Project team list.
Identify your MMS requirements.
- Preliminary requirements list.
Module 2: Shortlist Marketing Management Suites
The Purpose
Enumerate relevant marketing management suites and point solutions.
Key Benefits Achieved
List of marketing enablement applications based on requirements articulated in the preliminary requirements list strategy.
Activities
Outputs
Identify relevant use cases.
Discuss the vendor landscape.
- Vendor shortlist.
Module 3: Select Vendor and Communicate Decision to Stakeholders
The Purpose
Develop a rationale for selecting a specific MMS vendor.
Key Benefits Achieved
- MMS Vendor decision.
- A template to communicate the decision to executives.
Activities
Outputs
Create a procurement strategy.
Discuss the executive presentation.
- Executive/stakeholder PowerPoint presentation.
Plan the procurement process.
- Selection of an MMS.
Select a Marketing Management Suite
A best-fit solution balances needs, cost, and capability.
Table of contents
ANALYST PERSPECTIVE
Navigate the complexity of a vast ecosystem by taking a structured approach to marketing management suite (MMS) selection.
“Marketing applications are in high demand, but it is difficult to select a suite that is right for your organization. Market offerings have grown from 50 vendors to over 800 in the past five years. Much of the process of identifying an appropriate vendor is not about the vendor at all, but rather about having a comprehensive understanding of internal needs. There are instances where a smaller-point solution is necessary to satisfy requirements and a full marketing management suite is an overinvestment.
Likewise, a partner with differentiating features such as AI-driven workflows and a mobile software development kit can act as a powerful extension of an overall customer experience management strategy. It is crucial to make the right decision; missing the mark on an MMS selection will have a direct impact on the business’ bottom line.”
Ben Dickie
Research Director, Enterprise Applications
Info-Tech Research Group
Phase milestones
Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1
- Understand the MMS market space.
- Assess organizational and project readiness for MMS selection.
- Structure your MMS selection and implementation project by refining your MMS roadmap.
- Align organizational use-case fit with market use cases.
- Collect, prioritize, and document MMS requirements.
Shortlist MMS Tool — Phase 2
- Review MMS market leaders and players within your aligned use case.
- Review MMS vendor profiles and capabilities.
- Shortlist MMS vendors based on organizational fit.
Select an MMS — Phase 3
- Submit request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted vendors.
- Evaluate vendor responses and develop vendor demonstration scripts.
- Score vendor demonstrations and select the final product.
Stop! Are you ready for this project?
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Executive summary
Situation
The MMS market is a landscape of vendors offering campaign management, multichannel support, analytics, and publishing tools. Many vendors specialize in some of these areas but not all. Sometimes multiple products are necessary – but determining which feature sets the organization truly needs can be a challenging task. The right technology stack is critical in order to bring automation to marketing initiatives.
Complication
- The first challenge is deciding whether to implement a full marketing suite or a point solution.
- The number of marketing suites and point solutions has increased from 50 to more than 800 just in the past five years.
- IT is receiving a growing number of marketing analytics requests and must be prepared to speak intelligently about marketing management vendor selection.
Resolution
- Leverage Info-Tech’s comprehensive three-phase approach to MMS selection projects: assess your organization’s preparedness to go into the selection stage, move through technology selection, and present decisions to stakeholders.
- Conduct an MMS project preparedness assessment to ensure you maximize the value of your time, effort, and spend.
- Determine whether your organization’s needs will best be met by a marketing management suite or a point solution.
- Determine which use case your organization fits into and review the relevant vendor landscape, common capability, and areas of product differentiation. Consult Info-Tech’s market analysis to shortlist vendors for your RFP process.
- Take advantage of traceable and auditable selection tools to run an effective evaluation and selection process. Be prepared to answer the retroactive question “Why this MMS?” with documentation of your selection process and outputs.
Info-Tech Insight
- The new MMS market. Selecting a marketing management solution has become increasingly difficult, with the number of players in the marketplace ballooning to meet buyer demand.
- Direct translation to revenue. Picking the wrong marketing solution has a direct impact on the bottom line. However, the right MMS can lead to a 7.3x greater year-over-year increase in annual revenue.
- Don’t buy best-of-breed; buy best-for-you. Base your vendor selection on your requirements and use case, not on the vendor’s overall performance.
MMS is a key piece of the CRM puzzle
In order to optimize cross-sell opportunities and marketing effectiveness, there needs to be a master customer database, which belongs in the customer relationship management (CRM) suite.
| “When it comes to marketing automation capabilities, using CRM is like building a car from a kit. All the parts are there, but you need the time and skill to put it all together. Using marketing automation is like buying the car you want or need, with all the features you want already installed and some gas in the tank, ready to drive. In either case, you still need to know how to drive and where you want to go.” (Mac McIntosh, Marketo Inc.) |  |
A master database – the central place where all up-to-the-minute data on a customer profile is stored – is essential for MMS success. This is particularly true for real-time capability effectiveness and to minimize customer fatigue. |
Understand what an MMS can do for you
Take time to learn the capabilities of modern marketing applications. Understanding the “art of the possible” will help you to get the most out of your MMS.
MMS helps marketers in two primary ways:
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“A marketing automation solution delivers essentially all the benefits of an email marketing solution along with integrated capabilities that would otherwise need to be cobbled together using various standalone technologies.” (Marketo Inc.) |
Review Info-Tech’s vendor profiles of the MMS market to identify vendors that meet your requirements
Use Info-Tech’s MMS implementation methodology as a starting point for your organization’s MMS selection
Info-Tech’s implementation methodology is not a step-by-step approach to vendor selection, but rather it highlights the pertinent considerations for MMS selection at each of the five steps outlined below.1 |
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| Establish Resources | Gather Requirements | Write and Assemble RFP | Exercise Due Diligence | Evaluate Candidate Solutions |
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Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
Professional services provider engages Info-Tech to guide it through its MMS selection journey
CASE STUDY |
Industry: Professional Services | Source: Info-Tech Consulting |
ChallengeA large professional services firm specializing in knowledge development was looking to modernize an outdated marketing services stack. Previous investments in marketing tools ranging from email automation to marketing analytics led to system fragmentation. As a result, there was no 360-degree overview of marketing operations and no way to run campaigns at scale. To satisfy the organization’s aspirations, a comprehensive marketing management suite had to be selected that met needs for the foreseeable future. |
SolutionThe Info-Tech consulting team was brought in to assist in the MMS selection process. After meeting with several stakeholders, MMS requirements were developed and weighted. An RFP was then created from these requirements. Following a market scan, four vendors were selected to complete the organization’s RFP. Demonstration scripts were then developed as the RFPs were completed by vendors. Shortlisted vendors progressed to the demonstration phase. |
ResultsVendor scorecards were utilized during the two-day demonstrations with the core project team to score each vendor. During the scoring process the team also identified the need to replace the organization’s core customer repository (a legacy CRM). The decision was made to select a CRM before finalizing the MMS selection. Doing so ensured uniform system architecture and strong interoperability between the firm’s MMS and its CRM. |
Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs
DIY Toolkit |
Guided Implementation |
Workshop |
Consulting |
| "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." | "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." | "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." | "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project." |
Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options |
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Select a Marketing Management Suite – project overview
| 1. Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements | 2. Shortlist Marketing Management Suites | 3. Select Vendor and Communicate Decision to Stakeholders | |
 Best-Practice Toolkit |
1.1 Assess the value and identify your organization’s fit for MMS technology. 1.2 Build your procurement team and project customer experience management (CXM) strategy. 1.3 Identify your MMS requirements. |
2.1 Produce your shortlist |
3.1 Select your MMS 3.2 Present selection |
Guided Implementations |
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 Onsite Workshop |
Module 1:
Launch Your MMS Selection Project |
Module 2:
Analyze MMS Requirements and Shortlist Vendors |
Module 3:
Plan Your Procurement Process |
Phase 1 Outcome:
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Phase 2 Outcome:
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Phase 3 Outcome:
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Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research
Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.
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This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project. |
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This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization. |
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This icon denotes a slide that pertains directly to the Info-Tech vendor profiles on marketing management technology. Use these slides to support and guide your evaluation of the MMS vendors included in the research. |
Select a Marketing Management Suite
PHASE 1
Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements
Phase 1 outline
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.
Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.
Guided Implementation 1: Launch Your MMS Project and Collect Requirements
Proposed Time to Completion: 3 weeks
| Step 1.2: Structure the Project | Step 1.3: Gather Requirements |
Start with an analyst kick-off call:
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Review findings with analyst:
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Then complete these activities…
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Then complete these activities…
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With these tools & templates:
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With these tools & templates:
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Phase 1 Results:
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Phase 1 milestones
Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1
- Understand the MMS market space.
- Assess organizational and project readiness for MMS selection.
- Structure your MMS selection and implementation project by refining your MMS roadmap.
- Align organizational use-case fit with market use cases.
- Collect, prioritize, and document MMS requirements.
Shortlist MMS Tool — Phase 2
- Review MMS market leaders and players within your aligned use case.
- Review MMS vendor profiles and capabilities.
- Shortlist MMS vendors based on organizational fit.
Select an MMS — Phase 3
- Submit request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted vendors.
- Evaluate vendor responses and develop vendor demonstration scripts.
- Score vendor demonstrations and select the final product.
Step 1.1: Understand the MMS market
1.1 |
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1.3 |
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| Understand the MMS Market | Structure the Project | Gather MMS Requirements |
This step will walk you through the following activities:
- MMS market overview
This step involves the following participants:
- Project team
- Project manager
- Project sponsor
Outcomes of this step
- An understanding of the evolution of the MMS market space and how it helps today’s organizations.
- An evaluation of new and upcoming trends sought by MMS clients.
- Verification of whether an MMS is a fit with your organization.
Speak the same language as the marketing department to deliver the most business value
Marketing Management Suite Glossary
| Analytics | The practice of measuring marketing performance to improve return on investment (ROI). It is often carried out through the visualization of meaningful patterns in data as a result of marketing initiatives. |
| Channels | The different places where marketers can reach customers (e.g. social media, print mail, television). |
| Click-through rate | The percentage of individuals who proceed (click-through) from one part of a marketing campaign to the next. |
| Content management | Curating, creating, editing, and keeping track of content and client-facing assets. |
| Customer relationship management (CRM) | A core enterprise application that provides a broad feature set for supporting customer interaction processes. The CRM frequently serves as a core customer data repository. |
| Customer experience management (CXM) | The holistic management of customer interaction processes across marketing, sales, and customer service to create valuable, mutually beneficial customer experiences. |
| Engagement rate | A social media metric used to describe the amount of likes, comments, shares, etc., that a piece of content receives. |
| Lead | An individual or organization who has shown interest in the product or service being marketed. |
| Omnichannel | The portfolio of interaction channels you use. |
MMS is a key piece of the customer experience ecosystem
Within the broader CXM ecosystem, an MMS typically lives within the CRM platform. Interfacing with the CRM’s master customer database allows an MMS to optimize cross-sell opportunities and marketing effectiveness.A master database – the central place where all up-to-the-minute data on a customer profile is stored – is essential for MMS success. This is particularly true for real-time capability effectiveness and to minimize customer fatigue. If you have customer records in multiple places, you risk missing customer opportunities and potentially upsetting clients. For example, if a client has communicated preferences or disinterest through one channel, and this is not effectively recorded throughout the organization, another representative is likely to contact them in the same method again – possibly alienating the customer for good. A master database requires automatic synchronization with all point solutions, POS, billing systems, agencies, etc. If you don’t have up-to-the-minute information, you can’t score prospects effectively and you lose out on the benefits of the MMS. |
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| Focus on the fundamentals before proceeding. | Secure organizational readiness to reduce project risk using Info-Tech’s Build a Strong Technology Foundation for CXM and Select and Implement a CRM Platform blueprints. |
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Guided Implementation 1: Launch the MMS project and collect requirements
- Call 1: Understand CXM strategy and identify your fit for MMS technology.
- Call 2: Identify staffing needs.
- Call 3: Plan requirements gathering steps.
Guided Implementation 2: Shortlist marketing management suites
- Call 1: Discuss use-case fit assessment results.
- Call 2: Discuss vendor landscape.
Guided Implementation 3: Select vendor and communicate decision to stakeholders
- Call 1: Create a procurement strategy.
- Call 2: Discuss executive presentation.
- Call 3: Conduct a proposal review.
Contributors
- Sara Camden, Digital Change Agent, Equifax
- Caren Carrasco, Lifecycle Marketing and Automation, Benjamin David Group
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