A question about strategy and ESPs

[BJohnson35]

Hi guys, 

I'm finding the course really interesting.  One of the key points I learned today was that my choice of ESP should fit my business strategy, which makes sense, but I was wondering, for someone who's brand new like me, without an understanding of what my business tech needs and thus my tech needs may be in the future, how do I put together a solid strategy at the beginning and use it to choose the right ESP and CRM integration? I don't have a good knowledge foundation upon which to make that choice. 

I appreciate the help in advance.

Ben

[Silveraw]

Here is what I like to do. First just define the problem you are trying to solve. What SMART goals are you looking to achieve?

next take a look at your current tech stack. What integrations do you need? Which are just nice to have?

now spend a short time just building a list of candidates. Don't spend more than an hour on this. Find ones that surface level look like they will work. 

next get some demos or trials. Build a campaign or two and really take it for a test drive. Make sure to reach out to support (even if you don't really need it you will eventually, and finding out their support is awful NOW is waaay better than finding out 3 months in when half your biz is deeply integrated). 

kick the tires on at least a couple of them. See what works best for you. 

some other things to consider are their help documents and training. Do they have really good help docs? Do they offer ongoing training?

pick one you can grow with and meets your requirements. Don't worry about having to turn all the knobs and using all the features. Focus on meeting your smart goals you set out before. 

hopefully that helps!

[SMason]

Hi Ben,

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. There are pros and cons to all of them it depends on the needs of your business. Your ESP and CRM should be able to meet your current needs and scale to match your business's growth. Sometimes that means moving to another provider to accommodate the expanded needs your business has as it grows. I am a HUGE advocate for new and small business economics. Meaning that you shouldn't pay more for tools than what you need. Especially if you are bootstrapping your business. If you want to discuss this further reach out.

[BJohnson35]

Thank you for the response, and I think we're on the same page. I've also always been an huge advocate of using what's available and affordable initially, and building your business till it needs and can carry the cost of a bigger and better tool. I suppose, also, at the beginning it's really abut feeling your way, so a more generalised approach to strategy might work until I understand my own processes and customer base better?

[DianaGomez]

Hi @BJohnson35,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community!

I wanted to invite our subject matter experts to this conversation to see if they have any advice.

Hi @Lucila-Andimol, @LautaroDelPlato, @JuanGomez0818  - Do you have any suggestions for @BJohnson35  on this topic?

Thank you!

Best,

Diana

[STorres77]

looking forward to the replies from the subject matter experts.