Ed Kelly wrote a story on MediaPost today about underperforming reps at online publishers that prompted me to vent a little myself about the clueless, front-end client management I’m experiencing. Let me start by bashing with the metrics and measurement companies.
My company was (is) seeking a reputable 3rd party to validate the performance of our advertising technology. I did my research and identified 5 companies whose service offering seemed to match my requirements, and I sent them our RFP. With metrics being such a hot topic nowadays, with new measurement companies popping up on every corner, you would think that these companies would welcome a rather sizable RFP.
Not so much. Not a single of my prospective vendors honored me with an email or call back. Not even for a qualifying question. Business must be good.
In all “fairness”, I just sent them an email with a brief overview of who we were, and summarized key deliverables in the RFP. I also attached the RFP and mentioned the names of a handful of large online advertisers who would take part in the study. You might think, “why didn’t you call to follow up?”
Frankly, I don’t think I should have to work hard to offer a vendor my business. If they take prospects for granted like this, they don’t deserve my business.
Having been at the receiving end of an RFP in previous jobs, I understand that critical importance of qualifying your leads. You simply don’t want everybody’s business. However, I still made sure that I always responded to every lead in a professional manner. I know personally that I’ve even recommended companies that turned my business down, just because they did it the right way. I’ve even re-engaged a such companies after changing jobs.
Business must be good.
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