The year was 1991. Marching through a busy office full of cubicles and pagers would never entail overhearing the words “marketing automation RFP.” Because, of course, there was no marketing automation software to speak of. It was all done by hand. Then 1992 came along, and Unica — the world’s first marketing automation software — was released. An entire industry seemingly changed overnight.

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That was almost 30 years ago. Back then, according to HubSpot, the MA market was worth $225 million. Now, projections show it’s worth $25.1 billion in 2023. Marketing automation software is a must-have for businesses of any size. However, there’s still a cloud of mystery around procuring not just marketing automation software but the right kind of software.

So, we’re here to demystify the process of creating a marketing automation RFP so you can get your hands on the right software. Read on to learn the ins, outs, and secrets of creating a killer automation RFP.

Article Roadmap

• What Is an RFP?
• Key Components
• Steps To Create Your RFI
  • Begin the RFI
  • Gather Requirements
  • Send Out the RFP
  • Review the Responses
  • Finalize the Price
• Examples
• Next Steps

What Is an RFP?

A marketing automation RFP is a business process in which the buyer (you) searches for marketing automation software, evaluates competing vendors, and ultimately selects the software that suits their needs.

But an RFP, especially a marketing RFP, isn’t just a straightforward form for you to fill out. It’s a multi-stepped, fairly intricate (yet entirely necessary) part of the software procurement process — not just for acquiring marketing software. A good RFP accounts for your budget, industry-specific goals, organizational needs, time constraints and software needs. An RFP is no casual undertaking, but its dividends will be massive.

Marketing automation RFPs don’t look that much different than a regular RFP, though there are a few key differences in how you’re going to prepare your RFP.

1. Your requirements will be different for your unique business needs — consider these carefully. For additional help, check out our requirements template.
2. Consider your marketing needs and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Key Components

To bake a fully-risen souffle, eyeballing the ingredients and estimating the baking time isn’t going to cut it. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to execute the perfect marketing automation RFP, you need to know its key components.

• Project Overview: Provide a blueprint for your project. Let vendors know upfront what you’re looking for. You can share use cases on how you want to use the platform and the challenges you’ll face.
• Company Background: Share information about your business. Include your vision, mission statement, business goals, and relevant past or present projects.
• Project KPIs and Scope: Define your success parameters and detail your project scope.
• Timeline: Set clear but reasonable cut-offs for RFP responses, appointments and project deployment.
• Roadblocks or Challenges: Detail roadblocks so vendors aren’t entering the arena blindfolded. Perhaps you have paper records for some contacts limited API access for certain software or specific workflows. The more the vendors know, the better they’ll understand if they’re up for the challenge.
• Budget: Clearly outline your budget and its limitations to avoid wasting vendors’ time and unaccounted expense hiccups.
• Selection Criteria: Define your selection process. Explain what you are looking for regarding years of experience, industry expertise and project goals and ask vendors to detail how they match up.

Steps To Follow

Crafting a Successful Marketing Automation RFP:

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Begin the RFI

Think of the RFI as speed dating. First, look through a curated list of software vendors, and maybe consult some helpful blog posts about marketing automation buys. Simultaneously, start compiling a list of vendors that catch your eye. Maybe they’re as flashy as Pardot, or as highly scored as Sugar Market — whatever your pick, just make sure the features align with your business requirements. Then, with this list of vendors, you’re ready to send out the RFI.

The questions in an RFI are general. Exchange a few emails before you can shortlist a vendor. Just like speed dating, you spend a few minutes with a person, find out a little more about them and then make a decision. The dive into what makes that person (in this case, their software) tick doesn’t come until much later, and only then can you make more informed choices.

If you’ve completed the RFI and still find yourself unsure about your selection of vendors, it’s possible your introductions or questions were too vague to start with. Make sure your RFI is specific enough so that marketing automation software vendors can understand your needs as a business.

Gather Requirements

While responding to vendors, take some time to compile your marketing automation software requirements into a formal document. Your requirements can be varied but will usually come from your list of software needs you created before you started the RFI. Next on the list should come your needs as a structured enterprise and business (things like who will use the software, what it will cost, training, etc.).

Don’t be afraid to get critical during this stage of the MA RFP. Work on outlining the following details:

• Your ideal timeline for software deployment
• How you’re going to utilize marketing automation software as a whole
• How it fits into the rest of your IT environment
• The benefits you hope to see from your choice of marketing automation software
• How those benefits can help you meet your business goals

This document should be comprehensive and will contain an intro to your organization, your goals and your requirements. Ultimately, you want to produce a reference sheet to help guide you through the rest of the RFP process.

Send Out the RFP

Drumroll, please (you may tap on your desk if you’d like). With vendors selected from the RFI and a formal list of needs where your requirements can live, it’s time to write and send the RFP.

Here is where you drill down into what your wants and needs are. If you’re still unsure, take a step back from the RFP and try RequirementsHub,our in-house piece of software specifically made to help businesses narrow down their software requirements

If you’ve already used our requirements template, or you’ve got a list of requirements and wants for your marketing automation RFP, then you can move on to the next step: developing a list of pointed questions.

Ask questions about product demos, first and foremost. Don’t shortlist a vendor if they’re unwilling to provide a demo. You should also ask for the vendor’s experience in dealing with firms of your size and scope. Remember, you haven’t decided yet, so it’s a good time to ask hard questions. Additionally, get contacts from the vendor. If you can, get their IT and product manager’s contacts. This way, if you do select their marketing automation software, you’re going to have a close-to-the-action touchpoint to use.

If you haven’t already, include your IT team in the creation of the list of requirements. Though they might sometimes be reclusive, get them on board, as they’re the ones who will be managing and installing the marketing automation software for you. They should ask questions about system compatibility, system maintenance, updates, planned features and more. IT questions like these are perhaps the most important ones your team could ask.

To aid in the creation of the RFP you’re about to send, ask pointed questions in your messages. Here’s a list of things published by Marketo (and a few of our metrics) that are important to marketing automation software:

• KPI goals
• Reporting capabilities (which goes hand-in-hand with having a piece of automated software)
• Lead tracking and nurturing
• Automated prospect emailing
• Basic landing page analytics and optimization
• Drip marketing capabilities
• Lead scoring

At this point, be sure to include as much information as possible about your organization while trying not to bombard the vendor with too much superfluous information. The more of your business’s needs and history you share, the better the vendor can help you.

After a satisfactory exchange of information, the vendor should share their comprehensive solution for your business.

At this stage, don’t be afraid to be more flexible with your wants. Your needs should be rock-solid, given that they’re literal requirements, but your wants are some features you may or may not need and are not essential to your marketing automation needs.

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Review the Responses

Tired yet? Well, you’re almost there. A few other steps are involved, but you’re near the finish line! What’s next is to review vendor responses, which can be a lengthy process. After all, these are multi-week (even month-long) endeavors that will require you to analyze each vendor’s response against a checklist of your requirements.

Luckily, we offer a tool that can auto-compute vendor responses as they arrive, freeing up more of your time. RequirementsHubauto-computes vendor responses in real time. Alongside the RequirementsHub and your internal process, we offer a free comparison report for marketing automation software.

Finalize the Price

You’re finally at the finish line. Send the request for quotation (also known as the RFQ) after you’ve significantly narrowed down your potential list of vendors from your RFI questioning. It’s basically like saying, “Good talk, now tell me what your solution costs and how long it’s going to take for me to get it.”

Be as specific as possible during the RFQ. Communicate your exact and specific needs during this phase. Also, be receptive to what the developer needs from you because now you’re down to brass tacks.

If all goes well, the vendor will come back to you with their price estimate and an implementation timeline. For marketing automation RFPs, there’s a good chance the vendor will also return with contract length, a clause that outlines their support plan, and a timeline for their software’s installation.

If you’re working within a strict budget (who isn’t these days?), this part of the process is highly valuable. With a price quote and installation timelines on the table, you can finally see the real price of your ideal software.

Examples

Adopting a trial-and-error method may be how Edison invented the light bulb, but we don’t advocate failing 99 times before finding a marketing automation RFP that works for you. A real-life RFP, out in the wild, will give you an idea of what’s already working.

We’ve compiled the following examples to reference before you get down to brack tacks:

• Los Rios Community College RFP Example
• Michigan Virtual RFP Example
• BOB Financial Solutions RFP Example

Compare Top Marketing Automation Software Leaders

Next Steps

Nailing a marketing automation RFP can be as challenging as online dating. Initially, you want to provide an accurate (and honest) overview of your business and detail what you’re in the market for without wasting either party’s time. Once you’re interested in getting to know each other better, you’ll dive into past experiences and a deeper analysis. After longlisting vendors, narrow your pool further using our handy (and free) comparison report.

What is one marketing automation RFP faux pas you’ve encountered recently? Let us know in the comments!