To be frank, selecting a vendor is a process that requires patience. In order to help you understand the phases, we’ve created the following table with what’s involved and the estimated time to complete each phase:
(To download this table as a PDF, please click here.)
| Phase: | What's Involved: | Estimated Completion Time: |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor search/RFP process | Define basic requirements. Get agreement from everyone who will use the system on what the criteria are & how they should be weighted. Agree on channels & media outlets; a vendor’s ability to collect those outlets are fundamental criteria for success. | 1 week |
| RFP period | Write the RFP & distribute it to vendors who meet your criteria. | 2 weeks |
| Vendor selection | Once the proposals are in, rank them based on the criteria. If there’s no clear winner, test the top two vendors to see which one meets your needs best. | 2 weeks after proposals are due |
| Contract | The contract will need to make its way through legal. Most vendors won’t start until a formal contract is in place. | 1-2 weeks after vendor selection |
| Preparation | While the contract is being prepared, nail down the research specifics. Define & approve search terms. Clearly define the programs/messages/initiatives/subjects to be studied. Provide this data to the vendor so they can set up your account. | 1-2 weeks |
| Set up | After the contract is signed, the vendor will set up your account. This could be a matter of hours or weeks. | 1-4 weeks from signing |
| Testing | Spend at least two weeks monitoring the data to insure it is complete, accurate, & relevant. If you’re using automated sentiment analysis, then validate it against trained human coders or at least a human in-house. 85% agreement means you can trust the data. If anything less, then work with the vendor to modify the criteria to make sure it is interpreting positive & negative correctly. Once you’ve identified errors, the vendor will take at least a week to correct them. Test again to make sure the fixes worked. | 2-4 weeks |
| Tweaking | You will have to make adjustments; clean data takes time and effort. | 1-2 weeks |
| Roll out | As the testing & tweaking phases come to an end, figure out who needs access and what type they need. Provide the vendor their email addresses. If it’s an enterprise-wide system, publish guidelines for usage and conduct a basic training course. | 4 weeks |
| First results reporting | The first report never goes smoothly, so don’t promise anything on a tight deadline. Don’t show results unless you’ve validated them yourself. If you’re using Q1 results as a benchmark, your cut-off date for the data is March 31. Give yourself at least a week to check it & another week to fix mistakes. Then prepare the report. Bottom line: Don’t promise Q1 results until May. | 1-3 months depending on reporting deadlines |
