Screen Shots

The Interactive Edition of the B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool includes these main sections:

Explanations (right-click to enlarge) What It Is: Basic information for people who are just starting to explore marketing automation. It includes a general introduction suggesting how to use the VEST and then provides explanations of what marketing automation means and why it’s important, an overview of the state of the industry, advice on running a selection project, and details on the vendor scoring.

Why It’s There: Many buyers are new to marketing automation. They need a coherent explanation of what it is, why it matters, how it fits into the larger scheme of marketing technology, and how to go about selecting a tool. Industry veterans should also find these materials interesting.
Sector Charts

(right-click to enlarge)

 What It Is: A chart that uses our vendor scores to plot the relative positions of products in terms of how well they fit buyer needs. Leading products are in the upper right quadrant. There are four charts: one each based on weights for small, mid-size and large businesses, plus a custom chart with the user’s own weights. Sliders make it easy adjust the weights assigned to broad categories within product and vendor fit.

Why It’s There: The chart makes it easy for each user to identify the most likely candidates, quickly reducing the consideration set to something manageable. Alternative weights, custom weights, and adjustable category weights all encourage buyers to think about what weights are relevant to their own needs.
Vendor Profiles(right-click to enlarge) What It Is: Concise descriptions of the strengths, weaknesses, market position, and most suitable clients for each vendor. An “at a glance” table displays key facts such as the number of clients, number of employees, and year founded. Additional charts show the position of the vendor in each of the three sector charts and the vendor’s relative strength in categories within the product and vendor fit scores.

Why It’s There: Buyers who have tentatively identified their best candidates can look here to get a better sense of the products. The descriptions are based on Raab Associates’ detailed product research, and thus highlight information not captured in the numeric scores. The category scores provide the next level of detail beneath the general product and vendor scores. This lets buyers compare their priorities with specific vendor strengths.
Item Detail(right-click to enlarge) What It Is: Definitions and weights for the nearly 200 specific items used in scoring the vendors. The detailed definitions are used in rating each item, typically on a scale of 0 to 2. Weights are assigned to each item in the small, mid-size and large scoring schemes. This screen also gives users another opportunity to view and adjust the category weights.

Why It’s There: Item detail encourages buyers to look even deeper below the surface of the vendor scores. The definitions include explanations of when and why each item matters, helping to further the users’ understanding of subtle product differences. Showing weights from the different scoring schemes encourages users to consider what weight makes the most sense for them.
Compare Vendors(right-click to enlarge) What It Is: An opportunity for users to do a side-by-side comparison of any three vendors. The summary view shows the product and vendor fit totals and the sum of both raw and weighted values for the categories. Users can then drill into each category to see the item-level ratings and weighted scores for all three vendors.

Why It’s There: This lets users drill into the vendor details down to the specific items, so they can find what is driving the category scores and how the vendors differ. Showing the sum of the raw values along with the weighted values graphically illustrates the impact of the category weights on the summary scores, encouraging users to match the category weights reflect their own priorities.
Custom Weights(right-click to enlarge) What It Is: An interface for users to define custom item and category weights. They can apply the standard small, mid-size or large weights as a starting point. They can also save any number of weight sets as scenarios which they can reload in future sessions.

Why It’s There: This lets users create scores based on their own needs and the information embedded within the VEST. Custom scoring won’t make the selection decision for anyone, but it will facilitate comparisons between vendors and highlight key items for further research.