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Boost Marketing ROI With These 6 Vendor Management Strategies

Boost Marketing ROI With These 6 Vendor Management Strategies

Originally published Dec. 14, 2022. Updated Jan. 31, 2024.

We are living in the age of the tool stack. According to a study of 600 organizations, the average number of tools in a martech stack is 10. Most of us in the marketing world work with a variety of tools and platforms every single day, and that means we work with multiple vendors. While not part of our immediate team, these people are directly connected to how our businesses function and perform

The more vendors we work with, the messier our working lives can become — unless we learn how to manage vendor relationships effectively and how to align vendors’ expertise with our own. Seventy-nine percent of martech tool users report that they have found themselves needing to integrate and merge different systems over the past few years. Without strategic vendor management and alignment, vendor relationships can become expensive and overcomplicated, and important information can get lost in translation.

Why Is Strategic Vendor Management So Important?

Working with vendors is not like working with your internal team. Vendors often work independently with their own working knowledge, their own sense of your business goals, and at their own pace. You don’t always have the desired level of control to keep every vendor on the same page at the same time.

This is why it's crucial to adopt effective vendor management strategies. You need to reflect on and strategize about how to manage vendors effectively and how to align vendors with your overall goals. If efforts are not streamlined, vendors might be working under disparate ideas and values, and the benefits of true collaboration will be lost. Misaligned goals can lead to weakened results, and you could end up spending more money over a longer period of time trying to reach those goals.

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Tips for Managing Vendor Relationships Effectively

Marketing teams can achieve a maximum return on their investment if they learn to streamline communication and efforts across multiple vendors. Follow these steps for strategic vendor management:

1. Determine a single communication platform.

Communication is the most critical element of marketing vendor management and collaboration. If your vendors are using different communication methods and styles, much can be lost in translation. Instead, work to establish a single means of communication for all vendors, and keep all messages visible so they can be checked and cross-referenced. Consider a tool like Monday.com that is designed for team collaboration.

2. Create an organized documentation system.

Communication is the first step to managing vendor relationships, but you need to follow that communication with documentation. By documenting all your vendors' actions, you can compile an overarching strategy. Documentation can describe the set of goals vendors are working toward, the metrics used to gauge success, and the progress being made in each vendor arena against those success benchmarks.

3. Maintain a point of contact.

While much of this communication and documentation will take place virtually, having a human point of contact is also beneficial to keep lines of communication open and to address concerns or issues as they arise. Select one person at your company to be the primary point of contact for all vendors, and ask vendors to use a sole point of contact in return. This will ensure information isn't getting lost in translation between too many people.

4. Show vendors the value of their network.

A benefit of working with multiple vendors is that you can begin to create a network of people with specialized skills and knowledge bases. This only works if that network is collaborative and engaged rather than competitive. If your vendors aren't on the same page, achieving goals will be a much messier process. Help vendors get to know one another and appreciate one another’s value for the most strategic vendor management.

5. Meet regularly with everyone to maximize alignment.

When you're juggling the services of multiple vendors, things can get unnecessarily complicated. The solution is surprisingly simple, and it may be the most beneficial action you take in any given month: an all-hands meeting with every vendor at the same time.

This element of managing vendor relationships gives all parties a chance to see how they fit into the overall vision of your company on a regular cadence. Commit to having these alignment checkups every month, or at least every quarter. That way, everyone receives the same message and stays on the same page.

6. Critically evaluate your vendor partnerships.

Of course, marketing vendor management should also include evaluating whether your vendors are meeting your needs. Assess whether the vendor is hitting the benchmarks you initially set, as consistent performance is vital for long-term collaboration. Additionally, consider the vendor's adaptability and innovation in their field, ensuring they stay aligned with evolving business needs. Lastly, make sure the vendor continues to integrate well with your existing systems and processes. If any of your partners aren't hitting the mark, then it might be time to consider switching vendors.

Knowing how to work with vendors is vital to make sure you get the most from your network. By putting these vendor management strategies to work in your company, you can maintain close alignment between vendors and the goals of your business.

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About Becky Ruyle

I'm the director of brand and content for Intero Digital. I'm a wife and mom to two beautiful girls, and I'm a big Missouri sports fan and lover of sushi. I have a passion for using marketing to educate, tell stories, and drive business results.

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