Martech, explained · Buying and running · 2:22
What your vendor's filings tell you before you renew
Whose deadline your renewal is, and which of their numbers to trust
The short answer
A listed martech vendor's annual report is free and public, and it tells you three things before you renew: whether your renewal falls in its final quarter, so the deadline is the vendor's, not yours; what it spends on selling against building; and that its retention figure isn't measured the same way as anyone else's.
Questions this answers
Why do so many martech renewals fall in January?
Several listed martech vendors end their financial year on 31 January, so November to January is their biggest quarter. Renewal dates get set when you sign, by someone who knew that calendar.
Should you push for a quarter-end discount?
Know what it usually comes back as: a longer term, an automatic renewal, or a price that steps up in year two.
What does a vendor's spending tell you?
At one listed vendor, three dollars go to winning new customers for every dollar spent on the product. Ask what shipped in the last twelve months that you actually use.
Can you compare vendors' retention figures?
No. One leaves out services, another counts usage, and their own filings say the figures may not be comparable. Ask how they calculate it.
What if your vendor is private?
Most martech vendors are, and they file nothing. Ask one question in the next call: when does your financial year end?
Transcript
Every chapter as text. Click a time to play the film from there.
0:00 January thirty-first
January thirty-first is the day your contract renews.
For some of the biggest martech vendors, it's also the last day of their financial year.
That's very unlikely to be luck.
The vendor's own annual report, free and public, tells you why.
0:19 Start with the calendar
Start with the calendar, not the accounts.
Of fifteen listed martech vendors, six don't end their year in December.
Several close on January thirty-first, so their biggest quarter runs from November to the end of January.
Renewal dates get set when you sign, by someone who knew their own calendar.
So your contract year and their financial year end on the same day.
If yours falls in their final quarter, the deadline is theirs, not yours.
0:51 The discount comes back
One warning before you push for a quarter-end discount.
It usually comes back as a longer term, an automatic renewal, or a price that steps up in year two.
1:03 Selling against building
Next, one line of the accounts: what the company spends on selling, and what it spends on building.
At one vendor, three dollars go to winning the next customer for every dollar spent on the product you already bought.
That tells you where your feature request sits in the queue.
So ask what shipped in the last twelve months that you actually use.
1:26 The retention number
Then the retention figure every vendor likes to quote.
One leaves out services, another counts usage, and their own filings say the figures aren't measured the same way.
Ask how they calculate it.
Then watch the reaction.
1:42 If your vendor is private
All of this works only for listed companies, and most martech vendors are private.
For them, it comes down to one question in the next call: when does your financial year end?
They'll tell you, and you can hold the answer up against your renewal date.
1:59 Before you renew
What do a vendor's filings tell you before you renew?
Whose deadline your renewal really is, where your request sits in their priorities, and which of their numbers to take seriously.
Look at the date on your contract, and then look at theirs.
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