Why most social listening RFPs fail before tools are chosen

When social listening outputs disappoint, tools are often blamed, platforms are swapped (industry churn is unreal), new vendors are introduced, and capability is assumed to be a feature gap.

But long before a tool is ever selected, many organisations have already limited what insight can be produced.

RFPs and technology selection processes often bring flawed assumptions about how social intelligence works. They can prioritise the wrong things and be taken in by shiny demos and sales speak. In doing so, they shape the kinds of questions teams can ask and the kinds of insight they can credibly deliver.

This session examines how tech selection hard-codes success or failure into social intelligence work before the analysis even begins. We’ll explore where procurement logic clashes with sense-making, what questions teams should be asking during RFP/RFIs, and how to align technology decisions with real insight needs rather than feature and capability claims.  

This is about getting the right questions and structure to help you select the best social listening tech for your needs. What you’ll learn:

• The hidden assumptions most RFPs encode about social intelligence
• Why feature comparisons rarely predict insight quality
• How procurement can undermine tool selection
• What better RFP/RFI questions actually look like

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