tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post5776367176213014880..comments2023-10-18T08:32:17.510-07:00Comments on Kevin Hillstrom: MineThatData: Time To Address Your Vendors (#OhBoy)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-27393721695452599612016-05-06T09:45:38.861-07:002016-05-06T09:45:38.861-07:00FYI - most large companies eventually move things ...FYI - most large companies eventually move things in-house, in part because of the reasons you outlined, in part because they have control over the process and can customize the process.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-81133082576974245912016-05-06T09:44:07.123-07:002016-05-06T09:44:07.123-07:00I don't have a problem with Marketing Director...I don't have a problem with Marketing Directors and/or Managers and/or Analysts dealing with and finding vendors.<br /><br />But at some point, the Chief Marketing Officer has to scare the living daylights out of the vendor - asserting her sport on the pecking order. She or He must hold the vendor accountable, and make it perfectly clear that the vendor does not get to continue the relationship if the vendor does not behave properly. <br /><br />It has been my experience that marketing folks are frightened of the concept of holding vendors accountable. This must change.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-88175258894491274862016-05-06T09:39:54.007-07:002016-05-06T09:39:54.007-07:00Hi Kevin, in your opinion which person on the mark...Hi Kevin, in your opinion which person on the marketing team should be dealing with and finding new vendors? Marketing Director? Analysts? <br /><br />Here are some of my war stories. <br /><br />SEO Vendor #1: YOY SEO sales and traffic down significantly, they kept trying to make everyone look at month over month data including comparing December to November even though our business is HIGHLY seasonal! Not to mention all their files were last modified 5 minutes before our weekly meetings. One time they even left another company's name on the reports. <br /><br />SEO Vendor #2: They played the CEO like a fiddle by using the FUD card. "YOUR WEBSITE IS UNDER ATTACK FROM LINK SPAMMERS" was their constant go to and he bought it hook, line and sinker... Leading to rash decisions, often poor ones. <br /><br />PPC Management Company: Took care of a lot of "low hanging fruit" but no growth or gains after a a few months. They said they needed to do a better job of "managing our expectations" which basically meant we should let them do a bad job. <br /><br />Remarketing Company: Before we started working with them they said they could hit a 6:1 ROAS goal. They later "revised" this to 3:1 for "test validity" and didn't tell us until campaign was halfway over! They were barely able to meet that goal and then gave an endless parade of excuses as to why it didn't work. <br /><br />Affiliate Management Vendor: They offered a "pay for performance model"... But of course it had a $2,000 monthly fee. Sorry, that's not pay for performance! <br /><br />I can't stand talking to vendors anymore, everyone I've dealt with has over-promised and under delivered. One "best practice" for Ecommerce sites is having customer reviews, but vendors don't follow that. It's next to impossible to find legitimate reviews of vendors, they all use "references". <br /><br />Also, if vendors are so great, then why does Amazon do so much internally? They have their own affiliate program, they have their own email services, they have their own hosting, they have their own personalization algorith/platform. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131182802447746340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-32884676971857623382016-05-06T09:39:04.741-07:002016-05-06T09:39:04.741-07:00Hi Kevin, in your opinion which person on the mark...Hi Kevin, in your opinion which person on the marketing team should be dealing with and finding new vendors? Marketing Director? Analysts? <br /><br />Here are some of my war stories. <br /><br />SEO Vendor #1: YOY SEO sales and traffic down significantly, they kept trying to make everyone look at month over month data including comparing December to November even though our business is HIGHLY seasonal! Not to mention all their files were last modified 5 minutes before our weekly meetings. One time they even left another company's name on the reports. <br /><br />SEO Vendor #2: They played the CEO like a fiddle by using the FUD card. "YOUR WEBSITE IS UNDER ATTACK FROM LINK SPAMMERS" was their constant go to and he bought it hook, line and sinker... Leading to rash decisions, often poor ones. <br /><br />PPC Management Company: Took care of a lot of "low hanging fruit" but no growth or gains after a a few months. They said they needed to do a better job of "managing our expectations" which basically meant we should let them do a bad job. <br /><br />Remarketing Company: Before we started working with them they said they could hit a 6:1 ROAS goal. They later "revised" this to 3:1 for "test validity" and didn't tell us until campaign was halfway over! They were barely able to meet that goal and then gave an endless parade of excuses as to why it didn't work. <br /><br />Affiliate Management Vendor: They offered a "pay for performance model"... But of course it had a $2,000 monthly fee. Sorry, that's not pay for performance! <br /><br />I can't stand talking to vendors anymore, everyone I've dealt with has over-promised and under delivered. One "best practice" for Ecommerce sites is having customer reviews, but vendors don't follow that. It's next to impossible to find legitimate reviews of vendors, they all use "references".<br /><br />Also, if marketing vendors are so great, then why does Amazon do so much internally? They have their own affiliate program, they have their own email services, they have their own hosting, they have their own personalization algorith/platform. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131182802447746340noreply@blogger.com