ESP Frustrations

ChiefMarketer.com offers some insight into why clients are frustrated with Email Service Providers, or ESPs. This is the money quote:

"Choosing between ESPs is about choosing the lesser of two evils. No matter who you go with, there's going to be some pain. That said, it's still better than broadcasting inhouse."

I've managed campaigns inhouse and through ESPs, and this is absolutely right - a good ESP makes life much easier. Inhouse broadcasting and tracking create technical and administrative burdens that are simply too great for many companies and agencies to justify (This assumes you're sending a relatively large volume of mail; if you're blasting out a few hundred emails a month this probably doesn't apply to you). A good ESP takes care of deliverability and tracking so you can focus on strategy and creative.

And yet. Finding the right ESP is a headache. Recently I went through an ESP search for a client. Sorting through services, claims and counterclaims (ESPs love to talk about the competition), pricing models, credibility, and measurement standards was for a brief period a full time project. But as the clients interviewed for the article demonstrate, you're really left to evaluate the ESPs and have a certain amount of faith that they can deliver on the basics. And that delivery isn't something to take for granted.

Fortunately my search had a happy ending. I selected an ESP that provided the right mix of services and tools, had credibility on the delivery front, and offered a comprehensible pricing model. Oh, and it didn't hurt that they weren't obsessed with selling against their competitors. We're now three months into our working relationship. Are they perfect? No, but they deliver on the fundamentals and are exceptionally responsive when I want help. Which, judging from the article, puts me a little ahead of the game.