Engaging a new vendor brings a wave of potential, introducing new capabilities that can reshape an organization’s martech landscape. Vendors often come with cutting-edge tools, platforms, or methodologies that have been tested across industries.
A vendor specializing in marketing automation might provide AI-driven customer segmentation that a company previously lacked, supporting more targeted marketing efforts.
New vendors can inject fresh perspectives, offering solutions or efficiencies that internal teams may not have considered due to being entrenched in established workflows.
Companies consistently face pressure to innovate, and selecting the right vendor is an avenue for achieving that innovation. An Accenture study shows that companies who successfully onboard external partners grow their revenue by 2.5 times faster than those who rely solely on internal innovation efforts.
When bringing in new tools, vendors also help companies stay competitive, helping them to respond to emerging trends or shifts in consumer behavior faster than if they were to develop solutions in-house.
Nail your vendor contracts to avoid future pitfalls
Contract negotiation is typically concluded before the project kickoff, but the groundwork laid during this phase can define the success of the vendor relationship. This is the stage where stakeholders need to be engaged, as they bring valuable insights into the specific needs of the business and the intended outcomes.
When identifying and discussing these elements early, companies can craft a contract that serves as a roadmap for the vendor’s work.
A contract that lacks stakeholder input or fails to align with business objectives can result in friction between the vendor and client. If the deliverables aren’t tied to clear KPIs, measuring vendor performance becomes subjective, leading to potential conflicts later in the relationship.
A McKinsey study shows that projects with clear, stakeholder-defined objectives are 50% more likely to meet or exceed expected performance.
Get stakeholders on board early to secure your vendor’s success
Early engagement with stakeholders makes sure that the vendor’s work directly supports broader organizational goals. Stakeholders help define the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to evaluate success.
Alignment prevents situations where vendors are judged on metrics that don’t reflect the true business impact of their efforts. Bringing all relevant teams into discussions early also helps identify any overlapping or duplicate solutions that may exist, allowing the organization to simplify its vendor relationships.
Key questions to address at this stage include:
- What are the core business needs driving the vendor engagement?
- How will the vendor’s solution integrate with or replace existing systems?
- What metrics will be used to evaluate success, and are they aligned with broader business goals?
When addressing these questions upfront, organizations reduce the likelihood of misalignment and miscommunication during the contract phase.
Key contract clauses you can’t afford to overlook
Before signing, it’s important to review specific contract parameters that can directly impact the project’s success. These include:
- Product support levels: Make sure the vendor provides sufficient post-launch support. Contracts should detail the hours of operation, response times for issues, and any ongoing maintenance services.
- Allowed design iterations: Be clear about the number of revisions or iterations included in the scope of work, particularly for design approvals, to prevent scope creep and additional costs.
- Training provisions: If your internal team requires training to use the vendor’s product or service effectively, ensure that these provisions are written into the contract.
The Harvard Business Review reports that 30% of IT project failures stem from poorly constructed contracts that fail to address key post-launch needs such as support and training. Comprehensive contract clauses reduce ambiguity and create a foundation for a long-term vendor relationship.
Be clear to prevent vendor missteps
Assumptions can create confusion and inefficiencies, particularly with new vendors unfamiliar with your organization’s systems or processes. Stakeholders often assume that vendors will understand specific business needs or processes without having them explicitly outlined. A lack of clarity can lead to costly mistakes.
By documenting all requirements, no matter how obvious they may seem, you make sure that the vendor has a comprehensive understanding of the project’s scope and your organization’s existing systems.
Documentation should include both functional requirements (what the system needs to do) and non-functional requirements (performance, security, and usability considerations).
A study from PMI (Project Management Institute) found that projects are 2.3 times more likely to be successful when all stakeholders are aligned on project requirements before work begins.
Providing explicit documentation eliminates ambiguity and helps prevent costly delays or rework.
Connect the dots between new and existing features
When bringing in a new vendor to implement features or services that integrate with existing systems, it’s important to clearly outline how the new elements interact with what’s already in place.
This is particularly important when improving existing platforms, such as upgrading a website or marketing automation system. Vendors new to the platform may not fully understand how previous configurations affect their work.
If a company is upgrading its customer relationship management (CRM) software, it must clearly document how the current system tracks customer interactions and what new capabilities are being introduced.
Failing to provide this context could lead to incompatibilities or system failures.
Organizations that fail to communicate how new features link to existing systems risk costly integration errors. Gartner research shows that nearly 60% of large IT projects experience setbacks due to poor documentation and communication during the onboarding phase.
Be fair to new vendors
It’s unrealistic to expect new vendors to understand internal processes and systems immediately. Without clear guidance, vendors are left to make assumptions, often leading to project missteps or delays. Providing all necessary background and context means companies give their vendors the best chance to succeed.
Document everything to give your vendor the full picture
Comprehensive current-state documentation is an invaluable tool for making sure that vendors understand the existing infrastructure and what’s expected from them. Without it, vendors can’t effectively plan how to build upon or integrate their solutions into the company’s current setup.
Detailed documentation helps prevent misunderstandings and missed connections between new features and existing systems. The more transparent the documentation, the fewer assumptions the vendor will have to make, which can prevent delays.
