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Transcript of Red Pill Email 2017 Features & Functions Guide.pdf
Red Pill Email’sRed Pill Email’s
Email Vendor Features& Functions Guide
20172017A Comprehensive Guide to ESP Capabilities
© RED PILL EMAIL
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution strictly prohibited. Information provided by participants and issubject to change with product advancements. CONTACT Red Pill Email – 310-488-6769
EMAIL VENDOR FEATURES & FUNCTIONS GUIDEA Comprehensive Guide to ESP Capabilities
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Participant Selection
Using This Guide
Vendor Overview
Defining Markets & Users
Features & Functions
Business Offerings
Regions served
Supported channels
Product Offerings
Platform
Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Data Back-up, & Redundancy
Security Features
Security Scores
Set-up and Onboarding
Average Annual Updates
Supported Browsers
Data & Segmentation
Data Control:
Queries & Segmentation:
Form Processing
Exporting Data Via The User Interface:
Data & Segmentation Scoring:
Data & Segmentation Score Breakdowns:
4
5
5
6
6
10
11
11
12
27
28
29
29
30
30
30
31
33
34
39
44
49
54
58
Business & pricing models
Pricing options by participant
13
15
Professional services
Targeted verticals & Geographic markets
17
25
Supported API Protocols 31
Deliverability & List hygiene
Deliverability & List hygiene Scoring:
Deliverability & List hygiene Scoring numeric values:
60
62
66
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Campaign Building & Workflow:
Account Management:
67
68
Participant Statements
Adestra Message Focus
181
181
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Asset Support: 73
Deployment Management:
Pre-Configured Programs:
77
81
Content Support:
User Support:
86
95
Testing & Reporting 105
Campaign Building & Workflow Scoring: 100
Campaign Building & Workflow Score Numeric Values: 104
CRM
Ad-serving Integration
129
130
Remarketing Integration
Review Services Integration
131
132
Profile/persona Services Integration
Email Validation Services Integration
133
134
Content Management Systems 135
Real-time Content 136
SMS (Short Message Service)
E-commerce
137
138
Other Integration 139
Industry Associations 140
Testing: 106
Reporting:
Testing & Reporting Score numeric values:
111
123
Third-party Integration 125
Deliverability 126
Suppression Management
Analytics
127
128
Differentiators Seen By Users
Differentiators Seen By Participant
167
172
Biggest Competitors Seen By Participant 178
Additional Information – Open Q&a 146
Protecting User Accounts & Data 147
SLA Offerings & Processes
Asset Retention Policies
154
163
Training & Support 141
Training 142
Documentation
Support & Account Management
144
145
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Brick Street Connect 182
Communicator 183
Delivra 184
Dotmailer 185
Epsilon Agility Harmony 186
Experian Marketing Suite 187
Expertsender 188
Greenrope 190
Harland Clarke Digital 190
IBM Marketing Cloud 190
Inboxmarketer Connect 190
Messagegears 192
Net Atlantic 192
Postup 193
Quickpivot 195
Salesforce Marketing Cloud 196
Selligent Engagement Sphere 197
Striata Application Platform 199
Zeta Hub 200
Appendix
Additional Charts & Graphs
Supported API Functions
Asset Support
215
215
215
218
Report Levels
Reports
222
225
Vendor Scores Across All Categories
Preparing for Vendor Selection
202
210
Glossary of Terms
About Red Pill Email
231
234
Discovery 210
S.A.M.E 212
The S.A.M.E. Project Metrics & Calculations 213
Functional
Non-Functional
210
210
Preparing an RFP 211
Scoring the Prospects 211
Sample Discovery Questions 227
Sample RFP 228
Sample score card 230
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Welcome to the eighth annual edition of the Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide from Red Pill Email; the only guide compiled and written by an email marketing veteran who has made a living sending email and integrating email deployment tools, not just talking about it.
Over the years we have included all market vendors in the same edition of our guide, and have produced separate small/mid-market and mid-market/enterprise editions of our guide. In doing so we’ve found that we don’t see a lot of interest in the small/mid-market editions so we’ve decided to drop small-market vendors from our 2017 edition. In past years small and low mid-market participants were scored against an abridged criterion compared to upper mid-market and enterprise platforms. This year all participants are scored alike.
Vendors do not pay to participate on our Guides. Participants were asked a series of Yes/No questions about their product features and functions, and about the skill level required to utilize those features and functions. Information is provided by the participants and is accepted as submitted.
Responses to our questionnaire are converted to binary values and then weighted by the responses in each category and subcategory to provide an objective view of each participant’s features and functional capabilities. Other factors such as hourly throughput may also impact a participants effective and/or overall score and/or product placement within this Guide.
Before delving into this guide, it is important to understand the foundational concept on which it is built. The guide is not a high-score-equals-good and low-score-equals-bad reference.
Vendors are scored on a binary, yes/no basis. Either a vendor offers a particular feature or function or it doesn’t.
And failing to offer a feature or function in no way reflects badly on a particular provider. Sometimes the decision whether or not to offer a particular feature or function boils down to business focus. Other times it boils down to philosophy.
For 2017 Red Pill Email surveyed 22 International providers with over 600 questions across 8 top-level categories regarding their technical product offerings and service options important to prospective users.
PARTICIPANT SELECTION
USING THIS GUIDE
Participants were selected from the previous editions of this Guide, the author’s hands-on experience, from vendor evaluations conducted by the author on behalf of end-user clients, from International market presence, and from active Industry participation.
All participants in this Guide support their own email deployment tools. While several vendors leverage OEM products and services such as commercial MTAs, no white-labeled services of other turn-key products are included. Vendor revenue was not taken into consideration, nor was the size or revenue of vendor clients.
Over 60 vendors were invited to participate in this Guide. Act-On, All Web Email, Apsis, BlueHornet, Bronto, Campaign Monitor, ContactLab, Elite Email, Emarsys, GetResponse, GoldLasso, Goolara Symphonie, GreenAr-row, Iterable, Listrak, Live Data, Marketo, Measuremail, Message Systems, Responsys, SendGrid, SmartFocus, StreamSend, TotalSend, Venntive, WhatCounts, and Yes did not meet this year’s criteria, did not meet the questionnaire deadline, or selected not to participate.
This document provides general overview information about the product and service offerings of the partici-pants, and the ranking of participants across all categories and by category.
Data is presented in aggregate at the beginning of each section, and by each market separately following aggregate data. When using this Guide in the selection of an appropriate vendor, users should focus on vendor capabilities within their market categories and not aggregated data. Buyers should not focus on price alone and should let business requirements and contact strategy drive the selection process.
We realize that most users of email deployment products will rarely use more than 30% of the features and functions available from any vendor; however not all organizations will use the same 30%. Know what features you need to support your business objectives before shopping for email deployment vendors.
Because most users will rarely use more than 30% of any platform selecting vendors based on our cumulative total will not find the best-suited platform for you, only the platform with the most features and functions. The total cumulative vendor scores should not mean anything to the end user; it’s the category scores that the astute reader will focus on in their selection of capable vendors.
Users of this Guide will find the best results if they first define and list the messaging specifications unique to their own organization, then see how each vendor rates in each category that addresses those specifications.
Marketers can compile their own unique vendor rating or score by weighting each category of importance to their unique specifications and organization’s needs and disregard features and functions not required by or important to the organization.
As stated throughout this Guide, we look only at what the vendor can do; how they do it will be unique to each participant. The skill level required to implement features and functions of interest should be a part of any product demonstration.
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A key consideration of an enterprise-class email deployment tool is its ability to send tens of millions of messages per month per client. Other considerations include bi-directional data integration capabilities with the client’s data base(s), with the most advanced tools featuring open relational data table structures; integra-tion to third-party applications; multi-channel support; integrated Promotional and Transactional platforms; dedicated IP addresses; and conditional data-driven messaging based on the user’s business rules.
Advanced campaign and operational reporting at a granular level in real or near real time is a standard feature of an enterprise-class ESP. Sophisticated User Interfaces provide non-technical user access to the advanced functions of the tool, while more technical users may operate the tool via command line or API. Better SLAs, superior uptime, and an improved user experience allow internal IT staff to focus on core competencies and strategic tasks.
Enterprise-class tools benefit intermediate to advanced users with email volumes of several million to tens of millions of messages per month; those with highly sophisticated conditional rules-driven messaging needs; and/or those requiring a high degree of integration and customization.
There is often a fine line between Enterprise and Mid-Market platforms and an astute buyer will consider the platform’s abilities more than their classification in this or any other guide.
We categorize a participant’s market focus based on how the participant responded to our question regarding their market focus. Participants responding with 50% or more market focus on Enterprise users are catego-rized as Enterprise for the purpose of this guide.
In some instances we may place a participant into one category or another as we see them if they are evenly split in their market focus, or if they traditionally have had a larger presence or consideration in a market other than one they place more focus on.
Enterprise vendors for 2017 include Adestra Message Focus, Brick Street Connect, Epsilon Agility Harmony, Experian Marketing Suite, HCD Subscribermail, IBM Marketing Cloud, MessageGears, Quick Pivot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Selligent Engagement Sphere, Striata Application Platform, Zeta Global Zeta Hub.
The fundamentals for implementing email marketing deployment tools are the same regardless of the size of the organization. The primary difference between the vendor’s abilities to support Small, Mid, or Enterprise clients is scale and sophistication at the account level.
Participants of the 2017 Guide were asked if their marketing efforts were targeted exclusively by business size. Their response weighs heavy on how they are segmented in this Guide.
DEFINING MARKETS & USERS
Enterprise (Highly Sophisticated; High Volume):
VENDOR OVERVIEW
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Mid-Market deployment tools are competitive with Small-Market tools on one end of the spectrum and Enter-prise tools at the other. While some Mid-Market vendors offer free trials of their products, most require term contracts; unique IP addresses per customer are standard fare. The widely varying capabilities of mid-market applications can make comparing solutions difficult. The costs, the stability of the vendor, and flexibility of services are all key considerations in selecting mid-market deployment tools.
Mid-market vendors provide a higher degree of integration and customization than most small-market solutions, and like enterprise applications, generally provide import and export wizards, application program interfaces (APIs) and third-party integration tools for streamlined system implementation. As with enterprise tools, mid-market tools provide the ability to more readily customize the application for particular business requirements and objectives.
Mid-Market class tools benefit beginner to advanced users with email volumes of tens of thousands to several millions of messages per month; those with enhanced data and messaging automation needs; and/or those requiring a moderate level of integration and customization.
There is often a fine line between Mid-Market and Enterprise platforms and an astute buyer will consider the platform’s abilities more than their classification in this or any other guide.
We categorize a participant’s market focus based on how the participant responded to our question regarding their market focus. Participants responding with 50% or more market focus on Mid-Market users are catego-rized as Mid-Market for the purpose of this guide.
In some instances we may place a participant into one category or another as we see them if they are evenly split in their market focus, or if they traditionally have had a larger presence or consideration in a market other than one they place more focus on.
Mid-Market vendors for 2017 include Communicator, Delivra, dotmailer, ExpertSender, GreenRope, Inbox Marketer Connect, Marketing Cloud, Net Atlantic, and PostUp.
Mid-Market (Moderate Sophistication; Moderate Volume):
Signs of Small-Market email tools generally include free trial offers with no contracted month-to-month service, pre-made message templates, and shared IP addresses, although more and more Small-Market vendors offer optional dedicated IP addresses at an additional cost.
Several vendors offer basic to intermediate integration capabilities, and many support advanced features such as RSS, video, and built-in social sharing. User Interfaces and segmentation capabilities range from basic to intermediate as do reporting features.
Small-Market tools benefit beginner through intermediate users; those with email volumes of thousands to tens of thousands of messages per month; and/or those requiring only basic messaging and reporting needs.
Small-Market vendors are not included in this edition.
Small-Market (Minimal Sophistication; Low Volume):
Participants of the 2017 Guide were asked the percentage of full-service and self-service clients. For the purpose of this Guide those vendors stating 55% or higher will be considered Full-Service vendors. Full-Service vendors are a subset of Small, Mid-Market and Enterprise vendors included in this Guide.
Full-Service vendors may cater to Small, Mid or Enterprise markets. Clients are involved in the decision making and approval processes however the vendor handles and is responsible for all aspects of the client’s email marketing programs including design, coding, execution, and subsequent reporting.
Full-Service vendors for 2017 include Epsilon Agility Harmony, Inbox Marketer Connect, Quick Pivot, Striata Application Platform, and Zeta Global Zeta Hub.
Full Service:
The Intermediate user has developed experience in basic segmenting and testing and is proficient with built-in data filters and wizards. Intermediate users are proficient in HTML and understand opens, clicks, and other metrics. They can execute time-based message triggering and messages containing dynamic content based on data elements within their distribution list. Intermediate users understand the impact that integration and automation has on the organization and are beginning to develop the knowledge and skills to specify and/or implement them.
Identifying features and functions as Intermediate suggest the user has moderate email marketing skills and is gaining technical and implementation experience.
Intermediate:
Beginner:
SKILL LEVELS
Beginners have between no and basic HTML skills and usually use WYSIWYG editors built into their email deployment tool to add content to pre-defined templates. The Beginner’s understanding of data and/or data management may be limited making segmentation more challenging. They are beginning to learn the use of filter and query wizards available in the deployment tool but may not understand and may be just learning the nesting of operators within a filter or query. Beginners hear and read about "integration", "automation", message triggering, and APIs, but haven't developed or are developing the knowledge or technical expertise to specify or implement them.
Identifying features and functions as Beginner suggests the user has little to no email marketing skills and may be unfamiliar with the email lexicon.
» HTML/ CSS Coding» CAN-SPAM Regulations» Simple Broadcast deployment» Uploading data and/or content» Metrics Reporting
Beginners are learning and/or practicing basic:
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
» Specifying and/or Developing API-based Automation» Specifying and/or Developing Stored Procedures» Complex Program Development and Implementation» Multi-Channel Data and Metrics Integration
Advanced users are comfortable with and/or proficient in:
Advanced users understand the technology and what it takes to integrate with their back-end and/or peripher-al systems to automate data transfer and complex messaging programs. They understand business rules, functional and non-functional specifications, can translate them into technical specifications, and are technical-ly capable of implementing or assisting in the implementation of those specifications. Advanced users under-stand data and data base management and are comfortable creating nested queries within filters and/or creating raw SQL queries.
Advanced:
Configuration and implementation is available only through the organization’s Professional ServicesOperations. Example; User can specify data table configuration, but cannot hands-on develop via UI orAPI; or, user can specify a file name of a data table, but cannot add that field via UI or API.
Professional Services Only:
» Filter/Query Wizards» Nesting Operators in Filters» Basic SQL Skills» Lifecycle Program Implementation» Segmented Distribution» A/B Testing
Intermediate users are learning and/or practicing:
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
FEATURES &FUNCTIONS
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
More and more Email Service Providers (ESPs) are extending their market presence around the globe. While the majority of participants in this Guide edition are based in North America, those that are not are supporting a physical presence on the Continent. Challenges of providing service to global markets often include:
BUSINESS OFFERINGS
Regions Served
»
»
»
»
Dilution of Brand-Name Power - Being popular in your home country doesn't mean you'll be as popular when introduced in other countries.
Cultural Nuance - Expanding into other counties requires more than accurate translation of the message from one language to another.
Communication Style - Besides language differences the customs and pace of business negotiations can be different.
Time and Distance - Time zone differences can make it difficult to coordinate projects where collaboration is required.
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
LATAM
APAC
EMEA
NOAM
n = '22'
NOAM EMEA LATAM APAC
90% 81% 71%100%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
ESPs are not just about Email Marketing anymore. In addition to expanse into Social Marketing with the ability to share to and from social networks, as well as collecting and leveraging that data, ESPs have long integrated with and supported SMS platforms. Only about 40% of all participants’ clients are multi-channel users, down from an 81% average in 2016 and from 50% in 2015.
SUPPORTED CHANNELS
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Social
Push
SMS/MMS
Direct Fulfillment
Fax
Television
Display
n = '22'
Tele-vision Fax Direct
Fulfillment Print Display Push Social SMS/MMS Email
5% 19% 29% 48% 48% 67% 86% 100% 100%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
Organizations without technical resources to support an on premise solution will look to SaaS vendors. Advanced users with available technical resources may consider Licensed Software or Appliance vendors. Fast-growing larger senders may consider vendors capableof supporting more than one business model.
BUSINESS & PRICING MODELS
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Licensed Software
Appliance
White-Label
SaaS
n = '22'
Appliance Licensed Software White-Label SaaS
36% 68% 100%14%
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
SaaS LicensedSoftware Appliance White
Label
Net Atlantic
PostUp
Mid-Market Business Models
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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Enterprise-Level Business Models
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
SaaS LicensedSoftware Appliance White
Label
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
(855) 835-0471 | [email protected] | www.adestra.com
Adestra has exempli�ed an overwhelming commitment to and obsession with providing unparalleled software AND a service to email marketing for over 12 years.
Give us a call and see what real support is like.
Dallas | Toronto | London | Sydney
Are you tired of getting bad servicefrom your ESP? Look no further.
Once again CPM rates vary wildly amongst participants with low-volume rates anywhere between $7.50 and $0.90 compared to $27.50 and $0.50 in 2016, with high volume rates anywhere between $0.90 and $0.14 compared to $2.50 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM across all participants is $3.68, compared to 2016 at $7.50, and with the average high-volume CPM coming in at $0.33 compared to 2016 at $0.75.
Contracted rates define a minimum message or data/record volume over the term and often build in a tiered pricing structure. Not meeting or maintaining minimum contract volume requirements will result in a higher Effective CPM (ECPM) than the contracted rate when based on the volume of messages sent or amount of data/records stored.
Flat-Rate offers a single fixed fee regardless of the volume of messages sent and is usually based on the number of records hosted on the platform. Flat Rates may be Tiered based on the number of records hosted on the platform. This generally includes both active and inactive – including unsubscribed – records.
PRICING OPTIONS BY PARTICIPANT
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Organizations without technical resources to support an on premise solution will look to SaaS vendors. Advanced users with available technical resources may consider Licensed Software or Appliance vendors. Fast-growing larger senders may consider vendors capableof supporting more than one business model.
MID-MARKET PRICING
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Term Contract
Flat Rate
Free Trial
Tiered Rates
CPM-Based
n = '22'
Free Trial Flat Rate Term Contract Tiered Rates
64% 73% 77%
CPM-Based
77%32%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Flat Rate CPM Based Tiered Rates Term Contract Free Trial
Mid-Market Business Models
ENTERPRISE MARKET PRICING
The most common pricing model of Enterprise Market vendors is CPM (75%; down from 79% in 2016) on a term contract (92%; up from 86% in 2016) with tiered rates (92%; up from 79% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from over half (58% compared to 57% in 2016) of the Enterprise Market vendors, with none (com-pared to 7% in 2016) offering a free product trial.
Low-volume rates from Enterprise vendors can run CPMs as high as $7.50 and as low as $1.00 compared to $15.20 and $2.00 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.90 and as low as $0.14 compared to $2.50 and $0.40 in 2016.
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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Enterprise-Level Pricing Models
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Flat Rate CPM Based Tiered Rates Term Contract Free Trial
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Organizations with limited marketing resources might consider vendors providing full-services or à la carte full/self-serve. Vendor in-house professional services might include Strategic, Technical, Production, or Creative services and are billed by the hour or by quote.
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
In-house Strategy
In-house Creative
In-house Production
In-house Technical
n = '22'
In-house Creative In-house Strategy In-house Production In-house Technical
73% 86% 95%73%
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
Not every type of Professional Service will be of equal importance to all users. Consider and prioritize those Professional Services required by or important to your organization when selecting a vendor.
Professional Services like in-house creative may mean less to an organization staffing those roles than one that does not. An organization staffing strategic and creative roles may not staff technical or production roles and require those services from a vendor. Likewise, an organization may be well staffed technically, but require strategic and creative services.
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STRATEGIC SERVICES
100% of participants surveyed this year offer Strategic Services, compared to 88% in 2016. Of those 77% are company employees, compared to 78% in 2016; the rest are from 3rd-party providers. 100% offer Tactical Recommendations, up from 84% in 2016; Likewise 100 % offer Reporting Metrics, also up from 88% in 2016. 100% also offer Actionable Analysis, which is up from 75% in 2016, while 95% offer Competitive Analysis, up from 75% in 2016. The number of participants offering Strategic Services has increased over the last year after having dropped from the year before.
While almost all participants are now offering Competitive Analysis it may be difficult for vendors that do not have a high enough sampling of client verticals to provide data that is valuable enough to one client while not divulging confidential or sensitive information on another. Likewise, “Financial Services” may include banks, credit card companies, pre-paid credit and gift cards, credit reporting agencies, mortgage brokers, and lenders of all stripes making available data too broadly categorized to provide actionable intelligence.
92% 93% 94% 95% 96% 97% 98% 99% 100%
Tactical Recommendations
Competitive Analysis
Reporting Metrics Analysis
Actionable Analysis
n = '22'
CompetitiveAnalysis
TacticalRecommendations
ReportingMetrics Analysis
ActionableAnalysis
100% 100% 100%95%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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TECHNICAL SERVICES
All participants surveyed offer Technical Services, up from 91% in 2016, of which 95%, up from 75% in 2016,are company employees and the rest 3rd-party providers. 95% offer Specialized Training and TacticalImplementation, while all offer Systems Integration, Systems Architecture and Design, and TacticalImplementation.
Vendors have a vested interest in integrating a client’s internal system with the vendor platform. Generally speaking, the deeper the integration the more sophistication can be gained by the platform; and the more difficult – and expensive – it is to switch to another vendor. All Mid-Market and Enterprise-level vendors surveyed integrate with third-party products (listed later in this Guide) to provide greater business intelligence while extending the functionality of the vendor platform.
92% 93% 94% 95% 96% 97% 98% 99% 100%
Tactical Implementation
Specialized Training
Systems Integration
Architecture/Design
n = '22'
SpecializedTraining
TacticalImplementation
SystemsIntegration
Architecture/Design
100% 100% 100%95%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
XX127
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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PRODUCTION SERVICES
This year all of participants surveyed offer Production Services, up from 91% in 2016, of which 86% (up from 75% in 2016) are company employees and the rest 3rd-party providers. All participants this year, up from 91% in 2016, offer Automated Message and/or Campaign Development, and Message and/or Campaign Reporting, and Message and/or Campaign Assembly and Deployment.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Development
Reporting
Deployment
Assembly
n = '22'
Reporting Development Deployment Assembly
100% 100% 100%100%
CREATIVE SERVICES
73% of participants surveyed offer Creative Services, down from 78% in 2016, of which 73%, up from 66% in 2016, are company employees and the rest 3rd-party providers. 91% offer Graphic and Design Services. Up from 75% in 2016, while 82% offer Copywriting and/or Editing Services, up from 66% in 2016.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Other
Copy/Copywriting/Editing Services
Graphic/DesignServices
n = '22'
Other Copy/Copywriting/Editing Services Graphic/Design Services
82% 91%27%
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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SERVICE TYPES
10% of participant’s surveyed offer a Self-Service option compared to 91% in 2016, 91% offer a la carte services, or a mix-and-match offering of Self- and Full-Service options, up from 81% in 2016, while 82% offer a Full-Ser-vice option; an increase from 78% in 2016.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Full-Service
à la carte
Self-Service
n = '22'
Full-Service à la carte Self-Service
91% 100%82%
Service Types by Mid-Market Participant
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Full-Service Self-Service à la carte by Hour by Quote
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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Service Types by Enterprise Participant
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Full-Service Self-Service à la carte by Hour by Quote
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
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The most common pricing structure among Mid-Market vendors is CPM-Based (80%; unchanged from 2016) on a term contract (60%; down from 70% in 2016) with tiered rates (60%; also down from 70% in 2016). Flat-rate pricing is available from well over half (70%; up considerably from 40% in 2016) of Mid-Market vendors. And
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES STAFFING
Of those organizations sharing staffing data the average number of In-House Production staff is 62.1 compared to 30.5 in 2016, and 14.0 in 2015, with an average of 6.9 years of experience compared to 6.6 years of experi-ence in 2016 and to 4.9 in 2015. In-House Technical staff averages 39.3 compared to 72.4 in 2016 and 6.7 in 2015, and averaging 8.0 years of experience compared to 9.31 years in 2016 and 7.4 in 2015.
The average number of In-House Strategy staff is at 28.8 compared to 13.2 in 2016 and 5.5 seen in 2015. In-House Creative averages staff of 32.7 down slightly from 36.8 in 2016.
While public companies are sometimes reluctant to share staffing numbers, most come forward with average years of experience for each category.
When tallying staff averages we include both insource – an employee – or outsource – a third-party – resources. For most the difference between in or out-sourced services should be of no concern.
It is important to note before moving ahead that scores in categories that you will not use should have no influence on your choice of vendor or platform.
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0
In-house Creative
In-house Production
In-house Strategy
In-house Technical
Average Years
Average Number
In-house Technical In-house Strategy In-house Production In-house Creative
8.0 9.1 6.9 7.9
32.762.128.139.3
Professional Services Staff
well over half of Mid-Market vendors offer a free product trial (70%; up from 50% in 2016).
Low-volume rates from all Mid-Market vendors can run CPMs as high as $6.25 and as low as $2.00 compared to $27.50 and $1.50 in 2016. High-volume CPM rates can run as high as $0.40 and as low as $0.14 compared to $0.80 and $0.35 in 2016. The average low-volume CPM rate for Mid-Market vendors is$3.34, considerably less than $8.50 in 2016; $5.17 in 2015, and from $6.27 in 2014. Average Mid-Market high-volume CPM rate is $0.30 down from $0.36 in 2016; from $0.67 in 2015, and from $0.38 in 2014.
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Mid-Market vendors sometimes limit their Pro Service offerings to those with the most demand, which are increasingly technical and tactical services.
Pro-Services Score Pro-ServicesScore
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
GreenRope Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
5.00
ExpertSender
PostUp 5.00
5.00
5.00 4.72
4.44
5.00 4.72
Mid-Market Professional Services Score
Enterprise-Level Professional Services Score
Pro-Services Score Pro-ServicesScore
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
5.00
HCD Subscribermail Striata Application Platform
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.44
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
IBM Marketing Cloud
Zeta Global Zeta Hub 5.00
5.00
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Targeted Verticals
TARGETED VERTICALS AND GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS
Several vendors focus on and/or excel in specific vertical markets. Having specialized experience in a specific market often influences the features and functions of the email platform. Professional Services staff experi-enced in specific vertical markets often brings experience that can accelerate their client’s marketing efforts, but there is often a fine line between repetitive efforts across a targeted vertical and treating all clients within a vertical the same.
0% 2% 4% 8% 12%6% 10% 14%
Non-Profit
Health/Insurance
Other
Entertainment
Travel
Business to Business
Media/Publishing
Banking/Financial
Consumer/Retail
Automotive
Education
Real Estate
n = '22'
RealEstate
2.5%
Educa-tion
3.3%
Automo-tive
3.4%
Non-Profit
5.2%
Health/Insurance
5.5%
Other
6.4%
Entertainment
7.0%
Travel
7.9%
Businessto Business
11.4%
Media/Publishing
13.1%
Banking/Financial
14.1%
Consumer/Retail
18.2%
16% 18% 20%
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Targeted Geographic Markets
Targeted Market Location
n = '22'
International36%
Domestic64%
Average Client Mix
n = '22'
B2C 72%
B2B 28%
Client Mix
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PLATFORM
The average user won’t be concerned with a vendor’s platform. Advanced and technical users may have opinions on commercial and proprietary MTAs (Message Transfer Agents) that may influence their purchasing decisions.
A commercial MTA is a software agent supported by an independent vendor. A proprietary MTA is a software agent supported by the vendor. 72% of participants this year are developed on commer-cial MTAs compared to 59% in 2016.
73% of participants using a commercial MTA use Port25’s PowerMTA, with 20% of participants using Message Systems’ Momentum MTA, and 7% of participants use another commercial MTA. With Message System’s purchase of Port25 and Power-MTA, Message Systems MTAs are used by 93% of all participants in this year’s Guide.
MTA Type
Commercial72%
Proprietary28%
n = '22'
Most users won’t have a preference or concern regarding the MTA used by their provider. Those that do are encouraged to ask their sales representative for details.
MTA Brand
n = '15'
All Else7%
PMTA 73%
MessageSystems
20%
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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Supports SSL
Multi-Level Authentication
IP-Based Access
Data Security Policy
Geo-Based Access
PCI-Compliant
Encrypt Data at Rest
Record Encryption
SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS (SLAS), DATA BACK-UP,& REDUNDANCY
96% of participants will contract SLAs, up from 94% in 2016. 100% back-up their own and client data daily or more, with 96% supporting redundant platforms.t
SECURITY FEATURES
ESPs protect not only their own data, but also the data of hundreds of clients. Security breaches at ESPs and their users within the past few years have heightened the need for improved security of vendor and user data alike. PCI Compliance is on the rise amongst leading ESPs, as is Multi-Level Authentication. Geo-Based Access Restrictions are gaining in popularity while basic record encryption remains flat. Popular encryption methods include MD5#, PGP/GPG, and TripleDES.
n = '22'
PCI-Compliant
Geo-Based Access
Encrypt Dataat Rest
RecordEncryption
Multi-LevelAuthentication
SupportsSSL
IP-BasedAccess
Data SecurityPolicy
41% 73% 77% 95% 100%82% 82% 100%
SECURITY SCORES
SET-UP AND ONBOARDING
Mid-Market Vendor Security Score
Security Score Security Score
Enterprise Vendor Security Score
Security Score Security Score
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Adestra Message Focus
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
HCD Subscribermail
5.00
Experian Marketing Suite MessageGears
Brick Street Connect
3.75
3.75
4.38
3.75
4.385.00
5.00
4.38
4.38
Quick Pivot IBM Marketing Cloud 2.504.38
The average account set-up time across all participants is seven days, with average on-boarding of new users averaging twenty-four days. The average set-up time for mid-market participants is two days, while enterprise participants average 13 days. The average onboarding time for mid-market participants is fifteen days, and for enterprise participants is as many as thirty-two days.
AVERAGE ANNUAL UPDATES
The average number of updates per year for all participants is twenty, with mid-market participants averaging thirty-four per year and enterprise participants averaging eight updates annually.
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Communicator
Delivradotmailer
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect Net Atlantic
3.13ExpertSender
PostUp 3.75
3.13
5.00
4.38
2.503.75
4.38
SUPPORTED API PROTOCOLS
APIs play an important role in bi-directional data integration and real-time messaging. Technical users and resources will appreciate knowing what API protocols are available for the transfer of documents and data to or from the vendor. See Appendix for percentages of Supported API Functions.
SUPPORTED BROWSERS
All participants in 2017 support more than one browser. Although browser support is interesting information, it should not really be a consideration when selecting an ESP. The most common “Other” supported browser is once again Opera.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Internet Explorer
Safari
Other
Firefox
Chrome
n = '22'
Other Safari Internet Explorer Firefox
86% 91% 96%
Chrome
96%23%
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Mid-Market Supported API Protocols
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
PostUp
Net Atlantic
SOAP XML GET/ POST JSON REST WCF
Enterprise-Level Supported API Protocols
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
SOAP XML GET/ POST JSON REST WCF
? ? ? ? ? ?
Data is at the heart of any email marketing program. The greater the options are to transfer, structure, query, and segment data the more intricate and complex messaging can become. Participants were surveyed in four subcategories of data and segmentation.
DATA CONTROL
Organizations with complex data matching as a core function of their business will at some point want to flatten multiple sources to a series of single relational tables that may be joined together and queried for reference and/or supplemental data to support a variety of messaging programs; or may just want a well-structured flat file hosted on the vendor.
The greater control over your data at the vendor the more flexibility you will have with complex queries, Primary and Foreign Keys, and joining and querying multiple and/or relational tables. The ability to bypass filter wizards and directly query data may decrease processing time while yielding more refined data sets for advanced messaging.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product. Some will require advanced programming skills and/or technological resources implement, while others may be easily accessed and/or configured by non-technical resources via the UI.
0% 10% 20% 40% 60%30% 50% 70% 80% 90% 100%
External Data
User-defined FK
User-defined PK
Multiple Indices
Control Over Tables
Relational Tables
Qry Any File
Access to Logs
User-defined fields
SQL Queries in UI
Data Version Control
n = '22'
DataVersionControl
SQLQueries
in UI
ExternalData
User-defined
FK
User-defined
PK
MultipleIndices
ControlOver
Tables
RelationalTables
Accessto Logs
User-defined
fields
QryAnyFile
45% 55% 65% 73% 77% 77% 82% 86% 95% 95% 100%
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MID-MARKET DATA CONTROL SCORE
Full-Service vendors implement features and functions on your behalf. While the features and functions supported by Full-Service vendors will be important, ease of use should not be a concern.
Data Control
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
GreenRope
Delivra
PostUp
ExpertSender
Communicator
NetAtlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
dotmailer
Average
Mid-Market Data Control Ease of Use
Data Control Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Data Control Score
Data Control
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Adestra Message Focus
IBM Marketing Cloud
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
Experian Marketing Suite
Brick Street Connect
Striata Application Platform
HCD Subscribermail
Average
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Enterprise-Level Data Control Ease of Use
Data Control Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Several participants provide advanced data querying and segmentation wizards making it easier on marketers with limited technical skills or resources to segment data required for advanced messaging programs.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product. Some will require advanced programming skills and/or technological resources implement, while others may be easily accessed and/or configured by non-technical resources via the UI.
QUERIES & SEGMENTATION
0% 10% 20% 40% 60%30% 50% 70% 80% 90% 100%
by Client
by Channel
by Device
on The Fly
by Mobile Use
Hosted Query Tool
Compound Rules
Nested Queries
Behavior-based Queries
by Social Sharing
by Operating System
Drag & Drop
Drag&
Drop
byOperating
System
bySocial
Sharing
byClient
byChannel
byDevice
onTheFly
byMobile
Use
CompoundRules
NestedQueries
Behavior-based
Queries
HostedQueryTool
77% 82% 86% 86% 86% 91% 95% 95% 95% 95% 100% 100%n = '22'
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Mid-Market Queries & Segmentation Score
Queries & Segmentation
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
NetAtlantic
PostUp
GreenRope
Communicator
Inbox Marketer Connect
ExpertSender
Delivra
dotmailer
Average
WE PRODUCE OVER 2500
CUSTOM EMAILS TEMPLATES &LANDING PAGES EVERY MONTH.
Email Monks
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Mid-Market Queries & Segmentation Ease of Use
Queries & Segmentation Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Queries & Segmentation Score
Queries & Segmentation
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
MessageGears
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
HCD Subscribermail
Average
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Enterprise-Level Queries & Segmentation Ease of Use
Queries & Segmentation Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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FORM PROCESSING:
The ability to process forms supported by the vendor opens a variety of data collection and user-triggered messaging possibilities. The more flexible vendors are to write data to a table, with the option of triggering a message as a result, the greater the application options are to the user.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product. Some will require advanced programming skills and/or technological resources implement, while others may be easily accessed and/or configured by non-technical resources via the UI.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Trigger Pre-Def Message by Form
Supports Form Processing
Trigger any Message by Form
Trigger by Action
n = '22'
Supports FormProcessing
Trigger Pre-Def Message
by From
Trigger anyMessageby Form
Trigger byAction
100% 100% 100%95%
Network, collaborate, andlearn with thousands of email marketing professionals.
NEW MEMBERS -SAVE $100!USE CODE JOINEEC
* Applies to first year only
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Mid-Market Form Processing Score
Form Processing
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
NetAtlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
PostUp
Average
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Mid-Market Form Processing Ease of Use
Form Processing Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Delivra
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Form Processing Score
Form Processing
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Striata Application Platform
Average
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
MessageGears
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Enterprise-Level Form Processing Ease of Use
Form Processing Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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EXPORTING DATA VIA THE USER INTERFACE:Most vendors will you allow the export of lists through the User Interface. Not all provide the option to export account logs, content, or message rules.
UI Export
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Logs
Rules
Lists/Tables
Content
n = '22' 86% 95% 95%59%
Rules Logs Lists/Tables Content
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0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
PostUp
NetAtlantic
Delivra
Communicator
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Average
Mid-Market UI Export Ease of Use
Form Processing
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Mid-Market UI Export Ease of Use
UI Export Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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UI Export
Enterprise-Level UI Export Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Experian Marketing Suite
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
HCD Subscribermail
Average
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UI Export Estimated Skill Level
Enterprise-Level UI Export Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Data & Segmentation
DATA & SEGMENTATION SCORING
Data & Segmentation scores are based on scores of each of the four subcategories; Data Control, Queries & Segmentation, Form Processing, and UI Export.
Mid-Market Data & Segmentation Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
GreenRope
NetAtlantic
Delivra
PostUp
Communicator
ExpertSender
Inbox Marketer Connect
dotmailer
Average
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Data & Segmentation Estimated Skill Level
Mid-Market Data & Segmentation Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Data & Segmentation
Enterprise-Level Data & Segmentation Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
IBM Marketing Cloud
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Experian Marketing Suite
MessageGears
Striata Application Platform
HCD Subscribermail
Average
Enterprise-Level Data & Segmentation Ease of Use
Data & Segmentation Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro ServicesEm
ail V
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unct
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DATA & SEGMENTATION SCORE BREAKDOWNS
The following charts provide a side-by-side comparison of the scores of each of the four subcategories and the total Data & Segmentation Score for each participant. Participants are ranked first by the total score, then by each subcategory in order below. Users of this Guide may choose to consider the total score for each partici-pant or may weigh prospective vendors by subcategory.
Mid-market Data & Segmentation Score Breakdown
Data &Segmentation
Score
DataControl
Queries &Segmentation
FormProcessing UI Export
Inbox Marketer Connect
ExpertSender
Communicator
4.84
PostUp
4.68
4.35
4.35
Net Atlantic
Delivra
GreenRope
dotmailer
4.19
4.19
3.71
2.26
4.55
4.09
4.09
4.09
4.55
3.18
1.82
1.36
5.00
5.00
4.58
4.58
3.75
5.00
4.58
2.08
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
3.75
3.75
3.75
3.75
5.00
2.50
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Enterprise-Level Data & Segmentation Score Breakdown
Data &Segmentation
Score
DataControl
Queries &Segmentation
FormProcessing UI Export
Experian Marketing Suite
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
5.00
4.84
4.84
5.00
4.55
4.55
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
4.52
4.52
4.52
2.74
4.52
4.35
4.84
4.35
4.68
3.64
3.64
4.09
1.36
4.09
5.00
4.55
3.64
4.55
5.00
5.00
5.00
3.75
5.00
4.58
5.00
4.58
4.58
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
3.75
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
3.75
1.25
3.75
2.5
5.00
5.00
5.00
DELIVERABILITY& LIST HYGIENE
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Delivery, Delivered, or Accepted is the mail sent less mail rejected by the receiving server that has bounced back.
Deliverability is the ability to deliver to the recipient Inbox and not the spam or junk folder. Deliverability and List Hygiene tools help the user to maintain good list health which is essential to maintaining high deliverability.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product. Some will require advanced programming skills and/or technological resources implement, while others may be easily accessed and/or configured by non-technical resources via the UI.
» Throttling/Metering per ISP» Integrated Feedback Loops» Authentication» Good ISP relations» White-listing services
Deliverability & Hygiene
Not every line item will be of equal importance to all users, however the following key items will be:
0% 10% 20% 40% 60%30% 50% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Validate Data on Import
Unsub/Pref Page
Throttling by ISP
Suppress dupe email at send
Separate IPs for Trans/Promo
Opt-Out bypass for Trans
Frequency Caps
Different Opt-out Per List
Deliverability Scoring
Custom Bounce Rules
In-bound Message Mgt
Data Householding
Selectable IPs
SelectableIPs
DataHouse
holding
In-boundMessage
Mgt
CustomBounceRules
ValidateData onImport
Unsub/PrefPage
Throttlingby ISP
Suppressdupe email
at send
Opt-Outbypassfor Trans
FrequencyCaps
DifferentOpt-outPer List
DeliverabilityScoring
SeparateIPs for
Trans/Promo
73% 73% 86% 91% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%n = '22'
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Deliverability & List Hygiene scores are based on participant responses to the questions in the eleven Deliverability & Hygiene categories.
DELIVERABILITY & LIST HYGIENE SCORING:
Mid-Market Deliverability & List Hygiene Score
Deliverability & Hygiene
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
dotmailer
Inbox Marketer Connect
Communicator
PostUp
NetAtlantic
GreenRope
ExpertSender
Delivra
Average
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Deliverability & Hygiene Estimated Skill Level
Mid-Market Deliverability & List Hygiene Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Deliverability & Hygiene
Enterprise-Level Deliverability & List Hygiene Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Quick Pivot
Epsilon Agility Harmony
MessageGears
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Striata Application Platform
Average
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Deliverability & Hygiene Estimated Skill Level
Enterprise-Level Deliverability & List Hygiene Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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DELIVERABILITY & LIST HYGIENE SCORE NUMERIC VALUES
The following charts provide the numeric scoring values for each participant.
Mid-Market Deliverability & List Hygiene Score Numeric Values
Enterprise-Level Deliverability & List Hygiene Score NumericValues
DeliverabilityScore
DeliverabilityScore
Delivra
GreenRope
Net Atlantic
PostUp
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
Communicator
Inbox Marketer Connect
dotmailer
Expertsender
4.62
4.62
4.23
5.00
DeliverabilityScore
DeliverabilityScore
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Adestra Message Focus
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.62
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Striata Application PlatformExperian Marketing Suite
4.62
4.62
4.62
4.62
4.62
4.62 4.62
CAMPAIGNBUILDING
&WORKFLOW
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ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
CAMPAIGN BUILDING & WORKFLOW
Having an ordered sequence of campaign building and management tasks makes deployment tools easier to learn and more productive in developing and managing campaigns.
Flexibility, ease of use, and implementation of built-in features such as personalization & dynamic content; segmentation & filtering functions; campaign deployment & reporting options; and content & asset manage-ment will also add to operational productivity which means less time building and supporting and more time marketing.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product. Some will require advanced programming skills and/or technological resources to implement, while others may be easily accessed and/or configured by non-technical resources via the UI.
Organizations often support multiple domains for different identities, business units, or subsidiaries. Rather than having a unique user and/or billing account for each identity, business unit, or subsidiary, organizations may take support of multiple domains into consideration. This is not a Parent/Child account configuration, but a single account capable of support-ing more than one sending domain under the same account.
Where Parent/Child accounts are supported the Parent account has unidirectional control over one or more “Child” accounts.
It is not uncommon for an organization to wish to exclude domains, such as those of their competitors or services such as SpamCop or Spamhaus . For those organizations domain exclusion might be a tipping factor in their decision between two otherwise equally matched vendors.
Organizations that send Transactional messages on a different IP or IP set than their Promotional messages frequently look for vendors that support both through the same Login, same interface and/or platform. They find having to login to two unique accounts or interfaces less efficient than a single point of operation.
Participants were surveyed as to their functional capabilities surrounding domain and IP/Transactional/Promo-tional interface support.
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Mid-market Account Management Score
Account Management
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Workflow Collaboration
Integrated Multi-Channel UI
Child Accounts Under Master
Multiple Top-Level Domains
Integrated Transa/Promo
Domain Exclusion
Workflow Approval
n = '22'
WorkflowApproval
WorkflowCollaboration
IntegratedMulti-
Channel UI
77% 86%
ChildAccounts
Under Master
95%
MultipleTop-LevelDomains
100%
IntegratedTransa/Promo
100%
DomainExclusion
100%73%
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Communicator
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Expert Sender
PostUp
Green Rope
Average
Dotmailer
Delivra
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69
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Mid-Market Account Management Ease of Use
Account Management Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Account Management Score
Account Management
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Striata Application Platform
Message Gears
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Average
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
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Enterprise Account Management Ease of Use
Account Management Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Experian Marketing Suite
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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ASSET SUPPORT
Participants were surveyed as to their functional capabilities surrounding content management, image hosting, Personalization, dynamic content, and more. See Appendix for Asset Support breakdown by percentage.
Mid-Market Asset Support Score
Asset Support
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Communicator
Dotmailer
Delivra
PostUp
Expert Sender
Net Atlantic
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
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Mid-Market Asset Support Ease of Use
Asset Support Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
NetAtlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Message Gears
HCD Subscribermail
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Brick Street Connect
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Experian Marketing Suite
Adestra Message Focus
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Asset Support
Enterprise-Level Asset Support Score
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Asset Support Estimated Skill Level
Enterprise-Level Asset Support Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Mid-Market Deployment Management Score
Deployment Management
DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT
Deployment Management helps to support and make adjustments to ongoing message programs, manage links, the ability to stop or pause campaigns, and more.
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Net Atlantic
Green Rope
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
Expert Sender
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Mid-Market Deployment Management Ease of Use
Deployment Management Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Deployment Management Score
Deployment Management
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
HCD Subscribermail
Message Gears
Striata Application Platform
IBM Marketing Cloud
Adestra Message Focus
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Experian Marketing Suite
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Enterprise-Level Deployment Management Ease of Use
Deployment Management Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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To make the marketer’s life easier, several vendors provide pre-configured versions of popular email messaging programs like Abandoned Order, Welcome, and Win-Back programs. Just add data, your own content and adjust the messaging rules, and you’re programs are ready to run.
PRE-CONFIGURED PROGRAMS
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Other
Abandoned Order
Welcome
Win-Back
n = '22'
Win-Back Other Abandoned Order
68% 73%
Welcome
86%68%
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Mid-Market Pre-Configured Programs Score
Pre-Configured
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Dotmailer
Delivra
Net Atlantic
Communicator
PostUp
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Average
Expert Sender
Mid-Market Pre-Configured Programs Ease of Use
Pre-Configured Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Post Up
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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83
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Enterprise-Level Pre-Configured Programs Score
Pre-Configured
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Message Gears
Brick Street Connect
HCD Subscribermail
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Average
IBM Marketing Cloud
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Adestra Message Focus
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Enterprise-Level Pre-Configured Programs Ease of Use
Pre-Configured Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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CONTENT SUPPORT
Email messaging has moved beyond simple text and HTML to include Content Management Systems (CMS), RSS-driven content, SMS messaging, video email, and share-to-social network features and functions.
CMS Content Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
CMS Content Preview
CMS Integration
Personalize CMS Content
Integrated CMS Reporting
n = '22'
Integrated CMS Reporting CMS Content Preview CMS Integration
59% 64%
Personalize CMS Content
73%36%
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Mid-Market CMS Support
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
CMSIntegration
PersonalizeContent
ContentPreview
IntegratedReporting
Enterprise-Level CMS Support
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
CMSIntegration
PersonalizeContent
ContentPreview
IntegratedReporting
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Mid-Market RSS Support
RSS Content Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Deploy RSS by Post
RSS Content Personalization
RSS Content Preview
Deploy RSS by Schedule
Supports RSS
Integrated RSS Reporting
n = '22'
Integrated RSSReporting
Deploy RSSby Post
RSS ContentPersonalization
45% 64%
RSS ContentPreview
Deploy RSSby Schedule
SupportsRSS
73% 73% 82%36%
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
SupportsRSS
Deployby Schedule
Deployby Post Personalization Preview Integrated
Reporting
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Enterprise-Level RSS Support
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
SupportsRSS
Deployby Schedule
Deployby Post Personalization Preview Integrated
Reporting
OUR WHITE LABEL Emails & Newsletter production service is being used by many leading AGENCIES & ESPs.
We could be your secret arsenal too!
Email Monks
visit : emailmonks.com/agencies-love-monks
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SMS & Video Content Support
SMS/MMS Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Integrated Reporting
Supports SMS
Supports MMS
n = '22'
Supports MMS IntegratedReporting Supports SMS
77% 95%55%
Video Email Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Video in Email
Video Reporting
n = '22'
Video Reporting Video in Email
77%32%
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Mid-Market SMS/MMS/Video Support
Enterprise-Level SMS/MMS/Video Support
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
SupportsSMS
SupportsMMS
SMS/MMSReporting
SupportsVideo
VideoReporting
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
SupportsSMS
SupportsMMS
SMS/MMSReporting
SupportsVideo
VideoReporting
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Mid-Market Social Sharing Support
Social Sharing Content Support
Social Sharing Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Share-to-Social Reporting
Link/Content Share-to-Social
Integrated Sharing-FROM-Social
n = '22'
Integrated Sharing-FROM-Social Share-to-Social Reporting Link/Content Share-to-Social
77% 91%45%
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
ShareFrom
ShareTo
SocialReporting
Bar Coding Content Support
Dynamic Bar Coding Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Barcode Reporting
2-D Bar Coding
1-D Bar Coding
3-D Bar Coding
n = '22'
3-D Bar Coding Barcode Reporting 2-D Bar Coding
32% 36%
1-D Bar Coding
41%18%
Enterprise-Level Social Sharing Support
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
ShareFrom
ShareTo
SocialReporting
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Mid-Market Barcode Support
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
Dynamic 1-DBar Coding
Dynamic 2-DBar Coding
Dynamic 3-DBar Coding
BarcodeReporting
Enterprise-Level Barcode Support
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Dynamic 1-DBar Coding
Dynamic 2-DBar Coding
Dynamic 3-DBar Coding
BarcodeReporting
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Features and functions that support user productivity include integrated Promotional and Transactional products, user-level permissions, workflow approval options, and more.
USER SUPPORT
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Integrated Survey Tool
Subscribe from Social
Forward-to-a-Friend
Landing Pages & Micro-sites
OAuth Social Sign-In
n = '22'
OAuth SocialSign-In
IntegratedSurvey Tool
Subscribe fromSocial
77% 82%
Forward-to-a-Friend
82%
Landing Pages& Micro-sites
86%45%
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Mid-Market User Support Score
User Support
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
NetAtlantic
Expert Sender
Communicator
Dotmailer
Delivra
PostUp
Inbox Marketer Connect
Average
GreenRope
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Enterprise-Level User Support Ease of Use
User Support Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Mid-Market User Support Ease of Use
User Support Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level User Support Score
User Support
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Message Gears
Brick Street Connect
Striata Application Platform
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Adestra Message Focus
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Average
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
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CAMPAIGN BUILDING & WORKFLOW SCORING:
Campaign Building & Workflow scores are based on scores of each of the six subcategories, Account Manage-ment, Asset Support, Content Support, Deployment Management, Pre-Configured, and User Support; and six Content subcategories, CMS, RSS, SMS, Video, Social, and Bar Coding.
Mid-Market Campaign Building & Workflow Score
Campaign Building & Workflow
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Net Atlantic
Dotmailer
Communicator
Delivra
Expert Sender
PostUp
Average
Green Rope
Inbox Marketer Connect
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Mid-Market Campaign Building & Workflow Ease of Use
Campaign Building & Worflow Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Campaign Building & Workflow Scores
Campaign Building & Workflow
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Message Gears
HCD Subscribermail
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Striata Application Platform
IBM Marketing Cloud
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Average
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Selligent Engagement Sphere
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Enterprise-Level Campaign Building & Workflow Ease of Use
Campaign Building & Worflow Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Message Gears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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CAMPAIGN BUILDING & WORKFLOW SCORE NUMERIC VALUES
The following charts provide the numeric scoring values in the Campaign Building & Workflow category for each participant.
Mid-Market Campaign Building & WorkflowScore Numeric Values
Enterprise-Level Campaign Building & WorkflowScore Numeric Values
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
PostUp
ExpertSender
4.45
4.10
3.70
3.30
3.15
2.35
1.90
Delivra
2.65Communicator
dotmailer
Net Atlantic
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
4.85
4.30
4.20
4.15
3.80
3.70
3.50
3.35
3.20
2.90
2.10
1.85
IBM Marketing Cloud
Striata Application Platform
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
HCD Subscribermail
Message Gears
TESTING &REPORT
TESTING &REPORT
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Testing is essential for the long-term success of your messaging programs, and the only way to determine what works best with your audience. Having a wide variety of testing options allows you flexibility to develop target-ed and insightful tests to help guide your message programs.
Each vendor will have their own unique way of implementing the features and functions of their product.
Testing is the foundation upon which world-class email programs are built. It allows marketers to make better decisions, consistently over time to show measurable improvement while proving success based upon rational, objective decision making. Vendors offer many features that make ad-hoc and/or repetitive message testing easier to implement and measure.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Machine or Self-Learning Testing
Automated Split-Path Testing
Archive Test Results
Testing by Percentage
Testing by Amount
Supports List Seeding
Randomized Segment Creation
Multivariate Tests
Split-List Test
n = '22'
Machine orSelf-Learning
Testing
AutomatedSplit-Path
Testing
ArchiveTest
Results
77% 82%
Testingby
Percentage
95%
Testingby
Amount
95%
SupportsList
Seeding
95%
RandomizedSegmentCreation
95%
MultivariateTests
95%
Split-ListTest
100%55%
Testing
TESTING
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Mid-Market Testing Score
Testing
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Net Atlantic
Delivra
Communicator
PostUp
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
Dotmailer
Average
Expert Sender
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ARE YOU TESTING YOUREMAIL BEFORE YOU SEND?
WWW.EMAILONACID.COM
Instantly test your email inthe most popular inboxes.
TRY IT NOW
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Mid-Market Testing Ease of Use
Testing Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
PostUp
Net Atlantic
Inbox Marketer Connect
Green Rope
Expert Sender
Dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Average
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Testing Score
Testing
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Striata Application Platform
HCD Subscribermail
MessageGears
Average
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Enterprise-Level Testing Ease of Use
Testing Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Mid-Market Reporting Levels Score
Reporting
The Reporting scores are based on vendor response to asked in the three subcategories Reports, Report Levels, and Audit Trails. See Appendix for breakdown of Reporting Levels and Reports by percentage.
REPORTING:
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
dotmailer
Communicator
ExpertSender
Delivra
PostUp
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
NetAtlantic
Average
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Mid-Market Reporting Levels Ease of Use
Reporting Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Reporting Levels Score
Reporting
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
HCD Subscribermail
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Quick Pivot
Experian Marketing Suite
Brick Street Connect
IBM Marketing Cloud
Adestra Message Focus
MessageGears
Average
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Enterprise-Level Reporting Levels Ease of Use
Reporting Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Mid-Market Reports Score
Reports
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
NetAtlantic
dotmailer
PostUp
Marketing Cloud
Delivra
ExpertSender
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
Communicator
Average
www.maropost.com
Because email should be easy.
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Mid-Market Reports Ease of Use
Reports Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Reports Score
Reports
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Brick Street Connect
HCD Subscribermail
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
IBM Marketing Cloud
Adestra Message Focus
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Average
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Enterprise-Level Reports Ease of Use
Reports Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Mid-Market Testing & Reporting Score
Testing & Reporting Score
Email audit trails are a sequence of electronic logs used to track email campaign deployment, delivery and subse-quent action. Email audit trails are used to respond to any internal or external inquiries or complaints, and to provide a basis for email campaign reconciliation. Email audit trails provide veri�cation and validation of records processed to and deployed by the ESP, in addition to recipient interaction with the email message. Email audit trials are also used to meet regulatory requirements and to aid in ISP relations.
All participants in this edition of the Guide received a perfect score for Audit Trails.
AUDIT TRAILS
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
dotmailer
Communicator
Delivra
PostUp
ExpertSender
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
NetAtlantic
Average
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Mid-Market Testing & Reporting Ease of Use
Testing & Reporting Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Enterprise-Level Testing & Reporting Score
Testing & Reporting Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Brick Street Connect
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Striata Application Platform
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Experian Marketing Suite
Adestra Message Focus
HCD Subscribermail
MessageGears
Average
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Enterprise Testing & Reporting Ease of Use
Testing & Reporting Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Average
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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The following charts provide the numeric scoring values for each participant. Testing & Reporting features & functions have evolved to table stakes items.
TESTING & REPORTING SCORE NUMERIC VALUES
Mid-Market Testing & Reporting Score Numeric Values
Testing &Reporting Testing Reporting Reports Audit Trails
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
ExpertSender
4.90
PostUp
4.90
4.71
4.61
Delivra
dotmailer
Communicator
Net Atlantic
4.41
3.92
3.92
3.73
4.44
4.44
5.00
4.44
3.89
4.44
3.89
3.33
5.00
5.00
4.55
4.77
4.55
3.64
4.09
3.64
5.00
5.00
4.67
4.33
4.33
3.67
3.33
3.67
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
WE CONVERTYOUR BEAUTIFULLYCRAFTED DESIGNS
INTO AWESOMEWEBSITES
Webby Monks
RESPONSIVEWebsites & Landing Pages
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Enterprise-Level Testing & Reporting Score Numeric Values
Testing &Reporting Testing Reporting Reports Audit Trails
Experian Marketing Suite
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Selligent Engagement Sphere
5.00
Striata Application Platform
5.00
4.90
4.80
4.80
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Brick Street Connect
Quick Pivot
IBM Marketing Cloud
Adestra Message Focus
4.61
4.51
4.51
4.51
4.41
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.44
4.44
5.00
4.44
4.44
4.44
4.44
5.00
5.00
4.77
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.32
4.09
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.67
4.67
3.67
3.67
3.67
4.67
4.67
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
HCD Subscribermail 4.31 3.89 4.55 4.00 5.00
MessageGears 3.63 3.89 4.09 2.33 5.00
Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
THIRD PARTYINTEGRATION
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
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Deliverability Reseller
Many organizations want to leverage data from analytics and other third-party vendors to improve the perfor-mance of their messaging programs. Others may want to leverage email data across other messaging medi-ums as part of a larger cross-channel effort. Due to customer demand, email vendors regularly resell third-par-ty services.
The most common third-party applications sold by and integrated with email vendors can be divided into fourteen vendor categories; Deliverability, Suppression Management, Analytics, CRM, Ad Serving, Remarketing, Reviews, Profile/Persona, Validation, CMS, Real-Time Content, SMS, E-Com, and POS vendors.
DELIVERABILITY
Deliverability products typically seed email addresses to a message deployment and then measure the amount of messages delivered to the different folders of popular email clients, and allow users to weight seeded domains to more accurately reflect the users subscriber base. Deliverability products often test third-party filters, such as Barracuda, and provide views of how messages render in different email clients.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Other
Internal/Own Brand
250ok
Return Path
Unica (Pivotal Veracity)
ISIPP - Surety Mail
MailMonitorApp
GreenArrow
n = '22' 0% 9% 9% 23% 27% 32% 36% 73%
GreenArrow MaiMonitorApp
ISIPP -Surety Mail
Unica (PivotalVeracity)
Internal/OwnBrand
Other 250ok ReturnPath
Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
For the second time in four years less than 100% of participants resell or out-of-the-box integrate with deliver-ability products. We still consider deliverability integration a table stakes option.
73% of participants resell or integrate with Return Path deliverability products compared to 66% in 2016 and
68% in 2015, which was down from 81.25% in 2014 yet up slightly from 71% in 2013.
36% of participants resell or integrate with 250ok, a significant increase from 25% in 2016; from 11% in 2015; and from the collective “other” category in 2014. This is the greatest year-over-year adoption of a third-party service that we’ve seen in our nine years of producing this guide.
27% of participants provide or offer their own brand or internal deliverability products, down from 31% in 2016 while up from 20% in 2015, yet down from 38% in 2014.
23% of participants in this edition of the Guide of participants resell or integrate with Unica deliverability products, noticeably up from 16% in 2016 while down from 28% in 2015, 31% in 2014 and on par with 24% in 2013.
Suppression Management
SUPPRESSION MANAGEMENT
Suppression management tools are most often used by publishers sending messages through affiliates to aid in CAN-SPAM opt-out compliance.
64% of participants offer a custom suppression management solution, on par with 63% in 2016 and up from 56% in 2015, from 53% in 2014, 39% in 2013, 38% in 2012, and 42% in 2011.
27% of participants resell or integrate with Unsub Central suppression management services, up from 13% in 2016; from 16% in 2015; from 9% in 2014, 8% in 2013, and from 11% in both 2012 and 2011.
Optizmo brings up the rear at 9% and on par with 8% seen in 2015.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Other
Optizmo
Unsub Central
Custom
n = '22' 14% 27% 64%9%
Optizmo Other Unsub Central Custom
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
ANALYTICS
Analytics tools can help develop a firm understanding of the behavioral patterns of subscribers and their predominant purchasing trends while helping to predict the rate of subscriber engagement and response. They are important to the success of your messaging strategies and can help to ascertain the current behavio-ral patterns of your subscribers.
86% of participants offer Google Analytics integration, up slightly from 84% in 2016 yet down when compared to 92% in 2015, 93.75% in 2014 and 92% in 2013.
68% of participants offer a custom analytics solution, compared to 63% in 2016, 80% in 2015, 63% in 2014 and 66% in 2013.
64% of participants resell or integrate with Omniture compared to47% in 2016, 76% in 2015 and 69% in 2014.
59% of participants resell or integrate Coremetrics, compared to 47% in 2016, 52% in 2015, 47% in 2014, and 53% in 2013.
45% of participants resell or integrate WebTrends, compared to 34% in 2016, 48% in 2015, 31% in 2014 and 40% in 2013.
0% 10% 20% 40% 60%30% 50% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Nedstat
Comscore
Click Tracks
Other
WebTrends
Coremetrics
Omniture
Custom
Google Analytics
Fireclick
Econda
eTracker
Webtrekk
Webtrekk eTracker Econda Fireclick Nedstat Comscore Click
Tracks OtherCoreme
tricsOmniture Custom
GoogleAnalytics
WebTrends
5% 5% 5% 9% 14% 14% 14% 32% 45% 59% 64% 68% 86%n = '22'
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
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CRM
Most CRM systems fall short when it comes to supporting the kind of email statistics needed to measure for program and sales funnel improvements. Integrating CRM systems to email deployment vendors can provide that statistical information at the campaign and recipient level while gaining better message and template support, and moving deployment from corporate IP addresses.
0% 10% 20% 40% 60%30% 50% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Saleslogix
SageCRM
Netsuite
SugarCRM
Unica
Other
Custom
MS Dynamics CRM
Salesforce
SAP
Oracle On Demand
Teradata
Pearl
Zoho
Batchbook
Javelin
Javelin Batchbook Zoho Pearl TeradataOracle
OnDemand
SAP Saleslogix
5% 5% 9% 9% 14% 14% 18% 18%
SageCRM
NetsuiteSugarCRM
Unica Other CustomMS
DynamicsCRM
Salesforce
18% 18% 23% 32% 41% 41% 50% 77%
n = '22'
77% of participants resell or integrate with Salesforce CRM, compared to 59% in 2016, from 64% in 2015, from 81% in 2014, from 84% in 2013, and from 68% in the 2012 Guide.
MS Dynamics is up with 50% of participants reselling or offering integration, while participants that offer custom integration of CRM solutions come in at 41% compared to 31% in 2016, 56% in 2015 and 50% in 2014.
AD-SERVING INTEGRATION
Newsletter and other email publishers are often advertiser-supported. Publishers of all sizes will often turn to ad networks for advertisements to be featured in their newsletters and on their web sites. Ad networks will track ad placement statistics and generate reports for their advertisers.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Custom
LiveClicker
LiveIntent
Other
DoubleClick
Experian Digital Advertising
Proprietary
Direct Response Technologies
Improve Digital
n = '22' 5% 5% 14% 14% 18% 27% 27% 32% 41% 50%
ImproveDigital
DirectResponse
TechnologiesProprietary
ExperianDigital
Advertising
DoubleClick Other Google Custom Live
ClickerLive
Intent
50% of participants resell or integrate with LiveIntent compared to31% in 2016 and 44% in 2015. In 2014 LiveIntent was the most mentioned platform under the collective, “other”.
LiveClicker jumps from 16% of participant reselling or integrating in 2016 to 41% this year.
32% offer custom integration, compared to 34% in 2016,48% in 2015, 28% in 2014, 32% in 2013 and 29% in 2012.
27% of participants support Google AdSense, compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 6% in 2014, 18% in 2013 and 21% in 2012.
DoubleClick sits at 18% compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 9% in 2014, and 18% in both 2013 and 2012.
14% of participants offer their own proprietary ad serving solutions, compared to 19% in 2016 which was on par with 20% in 2015 and up from 9% in 2014.
Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
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50% of participants resell or integrate with LiveIntent compared to31% in 2016 and 44% in 2015. In 2014 LiveIntent was the most mentioned platform under the collective, “other”.
LiveClicker jumps from 16% of participant reselling or integrating in 2016 to 41% this year.
32% offer custom integration, compared to 34% in 2016,48% in 2015, 28% in 2014, 32% in 2013 and 29% in 2012.
27% of participants support Google AdSense, compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 6% in 2014, 18% in 2013 and 21% in 2012.
DoubleClick sits at 18% compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 9% in 2014, and 18% in both 2013 and 2012.
14% of participants offer their own proprietary ad serving solutions, compared to 19% in 2016 which was on par with 20% in 2015 and up from 9% in 2014.
Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
REMARKETING INTEGRATION
Remarketing services and solutions target across multiple channels previous prospects, customers, and subscribers that didn’t take the desired action the first (or subsequent) time(s). Most often used by retail organizations, remarketing services automate the analysis and execution of cross-channel marketing programs through systems integration.
53% of participants integrate their products with Remarketing services technology compared to 60% in 2015, 50% in 2014 and 44% in 2013.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Other
SeeWhy
MyBuys
Certona
Windsor Circle
SmarterHQ
n = '22' 9% 14% 23% 23% 23% 23%
SmarterRemarketer
Windsor Circle SeeWhy Other MyBuys Certona
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Product/Service Reviews
23% of participants offer review services from MyBuys, compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 22% in 2014, and 24% in 2013.
Bazaarvoice review services are offered by 18% of participants compared to 9% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 19% in 2014, and 24% in 2013.
18% offer services from Certona, compared to 13% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 16% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
REVIEW SERVICES INTEGRATION
Good product and service reviews boost sales, and when written by a customer can instill value in a company or its products and services.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Certona
RichRelevance
Bazaarvoice
MyBuys
iGoDigital
Other
n = '22' 5% 5% 9% 18% 18% 23%
Other iGoDigital RichRelevance Certona Bazaar
voice MyBuys
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
PROFILE/PERSONA SERVICES INTEGRATION
Profiles of prospects and customers modeled into Personas identify the possible actions and behaviors of prospects and customers helping to create better customer experiences to increase sales and revenue.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Other
Windsor Circle
Customer Portfolios
n = '22' 9% 14% 18%
Other WindsorCircle
CustomerPortfolios
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
Email Validation
Email Validation services have grown in popularity as they aid in deliverability and hygiene by validating and verifying email addresses in real-time or by batch.
FreshAddress was once again the most widely resold or integrated email validation service supported by 55% of participants compared to 31% in 2016, 36% in 2015, 25% in 2014, and 21% in 2013.
45% support BriteVerify, compared to 25% in 2016, 40% in 2015, 25% in 2014, and 8% in 2013.
27% offer integration with Experian Data Services compared to 19% in 2016.
23% support or resell StrikeIron, which has been purchased by Informatica, saw 19% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 18% in 2014, and only 5% support in 2013
18% offer custom or “other” integration, compared to 41% in 2016, 40% in 2015, 38% in 2014, and 20% in 2013.
After debuting at 12% in 2015, and seeing 13% in 2016, Webbula is now resold or supported by 18% of partici-pants of this guide.
EMAIL VALIDATION SERVICES INTEGRATION
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Experian Data Services
StrikeIron
BriteVerify
FreshAddress
Other
Webbula
Impressionwise
n = '22' 9% 18% 18% 23% 27% 45% 55%
Impressionwise
Webbula Other StrikeIronExperian
DataServices
BriteVerify
FreshAddress
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
CMS enables the user to more easily manage web and email content. 77% of participants provide “out-of-the-box” integration with a content management system, an increase from 59% in 2016, 56% in 2015 and from 47% when this item debuted in this guide in 2014.
Once again the most supported CMS integration is with Magento at 45%, up from 31% in 2016, from 36% in 2015, and 41% support in 2014.
Support for WordPress from participants is at 36%, up from 31% in 2016, 32% in 2015, and from 25% in 2014.
Drupal comes in at 27%, up from 25% in 2016 and from 16% support in both 2015 and 2014, while Joomla is at 5%, down from 9% in 2016, 8% in 2015, and from 13% in 2014.
23% of participants support a CMS system not listed, compared to 9% in 2016 and from 20% in 2015, with the most common once again being Adobe.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Drupal
Other
WordPress
Magento
Sitecore
Hybris
Joomla
Share Point
MODx
Open Text
OpenCMS
Radiant
n = '22' 0% 0% 0% 0% 5% 5% 9% 18% 23% 27%
Radiant OpenCMS
OpenText MODx Share
Point Joomla Hybris Sitecore Other Drupal
36%
WordPress
45%
Magento
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
In 2015 we introduced Real-Time Content resale or integration to our questionnaire and report and found that 60% of 2015 participants offered integration or resale with Real-Time Content platforms. In 2017 73% of participants offer or support Real-Time Content, compared to 56% in 2016.t
In 2015 the most supported Real-Time Content platform by 44% of participants was Movable Ink followed closely by LiveIntent at 40%. This year the roles are reversed with LiveIntent at 34% and Movable Ink at 31%
The most supported Real-Time Content platform by 64% of participants for 2017 is Movable Ink, which was at 34% in 2016 and 44% in 2015 when this category debuted in this guide.
LiveIntent is also up at 55% compared to 34% in 2016 and 40% in 2015.
55% of participants support a Real-Time Content platform not listed compared to 44% in 2016 and 36% in 2015.
LiveClicker is now offered or supported by 45% of participants compared to 22% of participants in 2016 and 32% of 2015 participants.
REAL-TIME CONTENT
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Other
LiveIntent
Movable Ink
LiveClicker
n = '22' 45% 55% 55%
LiveClicker Other LiveIntent
64%
Movable Ink
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
Back for the third year are vendors integrating with commercial SMS platforms
55% of this year’s participants are integrating with an SMS system not listed compared to 34% in 2016 and 56% in 2015.
For the third year Dynamark was the most named SMS platform integrating with 32% of participants, compared to 19% in 2016 and 16% in 2015.
Clickatell fell from the second most named SMS platform to the fourth with support from 23% of participants, while still being up from 13% in 2016 and from 12% in 2015.
SAP increased from 8% in 2015 and 13% in 2016 to 18% this year this year, with OpenMarket passing at 27%, up from 9% in 2016 and from 8% in 2015.
SMS (SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Twilio
OpenMarket
Dynmark
Other
Clickatell
SAP
EZ Texting
MessageBird
RingCentral
Trumpia
n = '22' 9% 9% 23% 27% 32% 32% 55%
Trumpia RingCentral
18%
SAP
9%
EZTexting
9%
MessageBird Clickatell Open
Market Twilio Dynmark Other
SMS/MMS Platforms
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
50% of participants offer integration with the Magento platform compared to 41% in 2016 and 40% in 2015, followed again by Shopify at 32% compared to 22% in 2016 and 20% in 2015.
E-COMMERCE
64% of participants are integrating with commercial E-Commerce platforms compared to 47% in 2016 and 52% of participants when this category debuted in 2015.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Other
Demandware
Shopify
Magento
Hybris
IBM Websphere
Tibco
iCongo
Intershop
Marketlive
Venda
eSellerate
Yahoo Stores
n = '22' 0% 0% 5% 5% 5% 5% 9% 9% 18% 23%
YahooStores eSellerate Venda Market
live Intershop iCongo Tibco IBMWebsphere Hybris Deman
dware
27%
Other
32% 50%
Shopify Magento
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Certona comes in on top with 23% of participants reselling or offering integration compared to 16% in 2016, 20% in 2015, 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2013.
23% support MyBuys compared to 22% in 2016, 28% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
23% offer SeeWhy, compared to 16% in 2016, 24% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 24% in 2013.
Windsor Circle is at 14% and on par with its 2016 debut at 13%, while SmarterHQ dropped to 9% from 13% in 2016 yet on par with 2015 and 2014 wen it saw 8%.
Point of Sale
50% of participants offer integration with the Magento platform compared to 41% in 2016 and 40% in 2015, followed again by Shopify at 32% compared to 22% in 2016 and 20% in 2015.
OTHER INTEGRATION
Just 18% of participants provide integration with Point-of-Sale systems, on par with 17% in 2016 compared to 24% in 2015, 19% in 2014, and 16% in 2013.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
GotMerchant
Lightspeed
MS Dynamics RMS
Other
ShopKeep
Springboard
n = '22' 0% 0% 0% 0% 5% 23%
Springboard ShopKeep Light
speedGot
Merchant
MSDynamics
RMSOther
We’re not just Software as a Service,we’re Software AND a Service.
(855) 835-0471 | [email protected] | www.adestra.com
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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
For the first time 100% of participants belong to one or more Industry associations compared to 84% in both 2016 and 2015, 97% in 2014 and 74% in 2013.
77% of participants belong to one of the chapters of the Direct Marketing Association compared to 69% in 2016, 76% in 2015, 63% in 2014 and 71% in 2013.
73% belong to the Email Experience Council, compared to 66% in 2016, 68% in 2015, 59% in 2014, and 66% in 2013.
45% belong to MAAAWG, compared to 50% in 2016, 56% in 2015, 63% in 2014, and 55% in 2013.
59% belong to ESPC, compared to 56% in 2016, 48% in 2015, 47% in 2014, and 37% in 2013.
27% belong to the Online Trust Alliance, with 23% belonging to IAPP, and 19% at the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
36% belong to an association not listed, compared to 38% in 206, 48% in 2015, 50% in 2014, and 57% in 2013.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
ESPC
MAAAWG
EEC
DMA
Other
OTA
IAPP
APWG
n = '22' 19% 24% 29% 33% 48% 62% 76% 81%
APWG IAPP OTA Other MAAAWG ESPC EEC DMA
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Training and support provided by vendors is crucial to the overall success of their clients. Whether basic or customized for a particular business, training is essential to giving clients the ability to maximize their utilization and effectiveness of the tools available within the ESP. A company’s growth within the email channel relies on the capabilities of the user, not just the service provider. While account management and high levels of support are valuable, being able to provide basic training and self-administered training for clients who are semi-techni-cal can also benefit both client and vendor.
TRAINING
Vendors offer a variety of training options. Standard On-site Training is in-person basic product training at the user location. Custom On-site Training is in-person product training customized to specific corporate goals, terminology, and business processes. Basic product training is commonly performed via scheduled online conferencing.
Video or On-Demand Training is a common alternative to On-site Training and lets the user progress at their own speed. Through presentations and demonstrations, and on-demand topic modules, training should provide step-by-step instructions and illustrate best practices to help the user get started right away.
Mid-Market Training
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
PostUp
Net Atlantic
StandardOn-site Training
CustomOn-site
Training
StandardVendor-site
Training
CustomVendor-site
Training
Video / On-Demand
Training
Anti-SpamTraining
Platform
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Enterprise-Level Training
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
StandardOn-site Training
CustomOn-site
Training
StandardVendor-site
Training
CustomVendor-site
Training
Video / On-Demand
Training
Anti-SpamTraining
Platform
Quick Pivot
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Mid-Market Documentation
Enterprise-Level Documentation
DOCUMENTATION
Comprehensive documentation is key to learning vendor operations and implementing features.
ComprehensiveDocumentation
SearchableHelp
ComprehensiveDocumentation
SearchableHelp
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Net Atlantic
PostUp
ComprehensiveDocumentation
SearchableHelp
ComprehensiveDocumentation
SearchableHelp
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
IBM Marketing Cloud Zeta Global Zeta Hub
??
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SUPPORT & ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Technical Support helps solve problems in implementing the vendor's tools. Account managers and teams work with users to identify their needs and work out how the vendor can best meet them. The average standard support resolution time across all participants in this edition of the Guide is 7.54 hours, down from 10.48 hours in 2016, with the average actual resolution time at 5.12 hours compared to 2.48 hours in 2016.
Mid-Market Technical Support
Mid-Market Account Management
TechnicalSupport
ImplementationSupport
PremiumSupport
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
AccountManager
AccountTeam
AccountManager
Account Team
Communicator
Delivra
dotmailer
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
Net Atlantic
PostUp
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – OPEN Q&A
Training and support provided by vendors is crucial to the overall success of their clients. Whether basic or customized for a particular business, training is essential to giving clients the ability to maximize their utiliza-tion and effectiveness of the tools available within the ESP. A company’s growth within the email channel relies on the capabilities of the user, not just the service provider. While account management and high levels of support are valuable, being able to provide basic training and self-administered training for clients who are semi-technical can also benefit both client and vendor.
Enterprise-Level Technical Support
TechnicalSupport
ImplementationSupport
PremiumSupport
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
IBM Marketing Cloud
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
? ? ?
Enterprise-Level Account Management
AccountManager
AccountTeam
AccountManager
AccountTeam
Adestra Message Focus
Brick Street Connect
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian Marketing Suite
HCD Subscribermail
MessageGears
Quick Pivot
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
IBM Marketing Cloud Zeta Global Zeta Hub
??
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Adestra Message Focus
Customer accounts are in separate logical databases within our database server cluster, the application servers can only connect to one database at a time, and each connection can only access data from the designated account to ensure data security. We also prevent data loss by performing a comprehensive, daily backup - alongside frequent offsite backups.
MessageFocus allows administrators to manage user access at a granular level. Restricting their access to only the actions they need to perform, in the spaces they need to perform them in. This helps to ensure that contact data is used within the right sections of an account and prevents users from editing content and data that they’re not entitled to.
Adestra offers two-factor authentication with a One-Time Passcode (OTP) token. Helping provide an extra layer of security to your account by preventing unauthorised access.
We adhere to a strict data policy and have been accredited by the DMA’s DataSeal standard, recognising our information security management systems. Assuring you that we have a robust approach to managing and protecting consumer data. We are currently working towards ISO 9001/27001 and are hoping to be accredited with this early in 2017.
Brick Street CONNECT
Connect allows remote access to servers, as well as web access to UI and API, through SSH and with whitelisted IPs. Internal network communication is performed between nodes in a Connect cluster which can be encrypted with any symmetric encryption method supported by Java.
Database access is able to be configured with encrypted connections and at-rest encryption (TDE). Connect is able to support the customer’s choice if industry-standard databases hosted with Amazon RDS: Oracle 11G, SQL Server, and MySQL. The encryption method used is typically AES256.
Connect uses two-factor authentication on the Amazon AWS accounts. Two factor authentication may option-ally be configured on the server remote access. Amazon AWS keeps audit logs of changes made to server configurations allowing auditing of all changes. As well, Connect keeps audit logs of changes made to campaign objects.
Within the Connect application itself, the security module protects data across the organization. Users are assigned to specific departments and companies that create specific boundaries to data access within the application. The security module also locks down functionality access by role.
PROTECTING USER ACCOUNTS & DATAWe asked participants the question, How do you protect user accounts/data?
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Communicator
We’re ISO27001 certified, meaning we take an information security minded approach to business operations.
We offer role based platform access to manage who can do what with data. We have secure SFTP and HTTPS connections for data encryption in transit and data encryption at rest. We let clients have full control over how long their data is stored and we have annual independent penetration tests.
Delivra
Information Security Policy. Delivra provides 24/7 monitoring to ensure your data is reliable and secure. A successful digital marketing campaign requires user-friendly tools and reliable support and we take pride in providing just that – but at Delivra, we don’t stop there. We know that keeping the program secure is of the utmost importance.
To achieve the most guarded data security, we have aligned ourselves with Expedient, a true partner that guarantees the availability and reliability of our network, monitors our IT servers around the clock and provides a world-class data center for the backbone of our digital marketing software. Our relationship with n|Frame has allowed us, in effect, to add an entire SAS 70 type II – compliant IT team that does nothing but focus on our technical infrastructure and the security of our data.
Physical access to your data is strictly controlled with 24-hour-monitored video surveillance, biometrics, and multiple security checkpoints in an environmentally controlled and monitored facility. Background checks are performed on all personnel in critical infrastructure positions at Delivra. Electronic access is strictly controlled and monitored around the clock in n|Frame’s state-of-the-art Network Operation Facility.
Our world-class monitoring system continually scans in real time looking for unauthorized access attempts and unusual network activity. We use enterprise tools for keeping all of our applications patched and current.The benefit to our clients? Unparalleled data and network security and the most reliable email campaign tool on the market.
Dotmailer
Dotmailer has implemented a suitable set of information security controls including policies, practices, proce-dures and organizational structures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal data entrusted to it and to protect against unauthorised or accidental access, change, loss or destruction, unauthor-ised transmission or other unauthorised processing as well as other misuse. Furthermore, the data importer is accredited with the Cyber Essential Plus certification, and has a security assessment program where periodic independent assessments are undertaken with an aim to ensure continual effectiveness.
Organizational MeasuresWith regard to organisational protection the data importer undertakes to apply at least the following measures:
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• Security Management
- Employs a full time Chief Privacy Officer to oversee the security, privacy and compliance programs of the organisation.
• Personnel Security (Human Resources Security)
- Maintain starter/leaver policies and procedures which will include the conducting of background checks (where available) on employees joining the organisation, and revocation of access rights on termination of employment.
• Physical & Environmental Security
- Restrict access to workspaces, and secure data centre facilities were information systems that process personal data are located to identified authorised individuals.
Technical MeasuresWith regard to technical protection the data importer undertakes to apply at least the following measures:
• Workstation Security & Server Security
- Employ a maintenance schedule that facilitates the timely installation of security patches.
- Install and regularly update anti-virus software.
- Commission annual independent build reviews of customers and servers.
- Use role based permissions to restrict access to resources.
• Network Security
- Deploy firewalls at network perimeters; running management authorised rule sets.
- Maintain a vulnerability management program to regularly asses the security of network perimeters.
- Subject both internal and external networks to annual independent security assessments.
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Epsilon employs a complex multi-layered security controls approach across the enterprise using best-of-breed technical solutions. This is coupled with policies and procedures that align with industry best practices such as the ISO27001 series and NIST Infosec Framework. Technologies employed within Epsilon include, but are not limited to, data encryption (database, laptop, DKIM, TLS), host and network intrusion prevention system (IPS); advanced persistent threat (APT); data loss preven-tion (DLP); 2-factor authentication; API management; automated user account provisioning/deprovisioning and user attestation reviews; and more. These adaptive security controls feed into Epsilon’s advanced log correla-tion solution which is then managed by a highly trained certified Security Operations Center (SOC) team on a 24x7x365 basis. The team uses these tools to aggregate and normalize millions of system logs in order to detect and provide a continuous response approach to possible security threats.
Experian Marketing Suite
No Response.
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ExpertSender
The following documents covering data privacy are in effect at ExpertSender:Security Policy, Software Change Control Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, Backup Policy, Security Operation Procedures (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annual), Personal Data Security Policy, Business Contingency Plan, Disaster Recovery Plan. All procedures are monitored and enforced by the Security Manager appointed in writing. Where applicable, rules are enforced programmatically (e.g. password lengths, geo-based access restrictions).
Access to user accounts is restricted to account manager, security manager and user logins. User logins can have different access permission levels.
Customer's data can also be encrypted on the database level. On top of that it's possible to obfuscate the email addresses in the user interface, so users without appropriate credentials will not see the email addresses when logged into the system. It's also possible to completely revoke access to segmentation for particular users, so they don't have access to the user base at all (like agencies providing creative work).
Physical security of the data is ensured by Tier III Data Center (all requirements apply, i.e.: CCTV, electronic entry control system, physical security 24/7/365).
GreenRope
Accounts are password protected, in a multi-user environment. User data is encrypted at rest. Export ability must be granted by account owner before exporting.
IBM Marketing Cloud
IBM Marketing Cloud protects accounts and data with overlapping layers of security technologies, controls, and processes at the application and infrastructure layers. In addition to the 24x7 Application Delivery Response Team (ADRT), IBM has personnel dedicated to security in the Security Operations Center (SOC) and an Informa-tion Security Team.
Application security include:
• Secure connections & data transfers
• Role-based access w/ configurable, granular permissions for data sets & select features/functions
• Multi-factor authentication
• Configurable authentication & session-management controls
• Storage of passwords in encrypted form
• Self-service password resets via emailed validation code
• Email notifications for key events
• Security-event logging & monitoring
Harland Clarke Digital
No Response.
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MessageGears
No Response.
Net Atlantic
Net Atlantic uses SSL to encrypt authentication information when logging in to the platform. Customers with higher requirements for security have the option of a site to site VPN and locked down access to further protect data.
Net Atlantic uses industry best practices for security including IPS/IDS, mandatory monthly security patches, segregated networks, layered security and more.
InboxMarketer Connect
Inbox Marketer has hosted customer data for a cross-section of corporate clients since 2002. Large clients across North America, such as financial institutions, telco's and retailers, rely on our SaaS technology to deploy targeted digital messaging campaigns. Inbox Marketer is an active member of industry associations. (CMA, MAAWG, EEC) and we adhere to industry best practices on privacy and security. Our core competence is digital messaging and the hosting of data marts that serve the marketing needs of various companies. Inbox Marketer is located in Guelph, Onatrio, Canada.
Our Tier 2 hosted data centres have elaborate physical access security procedures and are equipped with a full fire control system, backup systems, and redundancy of critcal systems and disasterrecovery capabilities. We are continually expanding and investing in our IT infrastructure to ensure we meet our highest security require-ments. In the past 10 years, Inbox Marketer has not expereince any security breaches. Inbox Marketer has passed security audits for a number of clients in the financial services sector where security requirements are paramount.
Inbox Marketer contracts 3rd party application dynamic & static scanning (quarterly) and penetration test service (annually) to perform risk and vulnerability testing. Data is sent to and from Inbox Marketer in a variety of ways. All channels are SSL signed, including web connections and email systems. Methods that transfer data include (but are not restricted to) the following: Email Attachments (preferably encrypted), Secure FTP Tranfers over SSH, and Direct Data Query (preferably over SSL connection). Inbox Marketer encourages its clients and partners to deliver data in an encrypted format. Inbox Marketer has expereince using most encryption stand-ards including PKI, PGP, etc. Inbox Marketer has an SSAE16 SOC2 Audit report.
• Segregation of customer data w/ logical keys & multiple checks
Infrastructure security includes:
• Colocation or hosting of the production infrastructure in Tier 3 (or higher) facilities
• Firewalls & load balancers isolating production environments
• Automatic encryption of data at rest
• Intrusion-detection systems
• Anti-virus/anti-malware (AV/AM) solutions
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Salesforce Marketing Cloud
No Response.
PostUp
We operate our own authentication system which offers the ability to use strong passwords and multi-level security groups with fine grained ACL controls for client facing UI access. All web activity is over HTTPS. User data is stored in our data center. Active directory authentication is utilized for a single point of access control, only accessible by senior level administrators, for back end systems.
QuickPivot
QuickPivot provides multiple levels of security to protect data assets from unauthorized access and misuse:
• Strong physical security (SSAE 16 cloud hosting facility)
• Network partitioning
• Server hardening
• System Integrity Monitoring (24x7x365)
• Multi-factor authentication
• Centralized logging and alerting
• Vulnerability scans
QuickPivot also categorizes customer data as restricted data. QuickPivot applies the highest level of security controls to this type of data. Restricted data is encrypted while being stored on disk, and cannont be transmit-ted outside of the company without the use of strong encryption.
Beyond these measures, QuickPivot deploys each client as a unique instance of the application. Along with system integrity monitoring, administrative access is given to a minimal set of employees to ensure that only authorized resources are allowed to make changes to production systems. All changes are logged via SIM and are manually posted by system administrators for review. Applications are designed with role-based permis-sions to allow for granular control over all client instances (and data).
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Security is a top priority at Selligent. We have ISO 27001 certification for the secure operation of our business. We will also have ISO 27018 certification in 1H2017, which is standard for protecting personally identifiable information (PII) in the cloud.
Striata Application Platform
Protecting customer data is fundamental and a key focus of our software development. We ensure that data passing through our platform is protected by multiple layers of security and our strict access control ensures
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Zeta Hub
To protect sensitive data, Zeta has multiple security controls in place. This includes role based database access control, service layer interaction between application and database, separation of duties, firewalls, IPS, Antivi-rus, log rotation, archiving and encryption of the backups with AES. Log files will not have any client sensitive data except the audit data. The client specific database instance and warehouse instance has access review, administrative controls and background checks. Separation of development, staging and production environ-ments is maintained.
In addition, Zeta requires encryption to protect any data containing confidential data or sensitive data defined in the Data Classification policy. Proven, standard encryption methods (e.g. AES, Blowfish, RSA, RC5, IDEA, etc.) must be used as the basis for encryption technologies. These methods represent the actual cipher used for an approved application. The Zeta Encryption Policy addresses the following: • Network level encryption
• Data encryption
• Standards Support for Open PGP
• Algorithms
• Key Management
that only authorized users or systems can retrieve stored documents.
Multiple layers of security protect customer data throughout the processing and distribution of messages:
Access control - Role-based user permission system controls access to the application and hierarchical tree structure that allows for tiered access levels.
Documents in storage - Stored documents are protected by multiple layers of security, including document encoding, database encryption and application access control.
Document security - Stored and sent documents are encrypted and can be protected by a pin, password or shared secret known only to the recipient.
Reader application - Our reader app allows users to securely decrypt and open documents on a desktop or mobile device.
• Devices and Media Requiring Encryption
• Electronic Data Transfers
• Physical Transfer of Electronic Data
• Software
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Delivra
Ticketing with a 30 minute response time average.
dotMailer
No Response.
Adestra Message Focust
Our standard contract contains a 95% uptime SLA, and we do provide higher SLAs for an additional charge. Our uptime is very high (99.97% currently) and historically very good, but we try to avoid rigid SLAs where possible, preferring instead to publish our uptimes publicly so our customers can see our history and decide for them-selves.
status.adestra.comstats.adestra.com
Also, we publish a customer charter - http://www.adestra.com/clients/customer-charter/We aim to follow the KPIs described in our ‘Customer Charter’. We measure quality through our support case survey and target scores average greater than 4.5 out of 5.
Brick Street CONNECT
Brick Street SLAs detail the full offering and service that will be provided over the course of the engagement. SLAs will define the scope of usage of the Connect software, the number of users, the valid geographical territories of use and the terms of application training and support.
The terms of the SLAs will also differ depending upon whether the instance of Connect is delivered as a single deployment on-site or hosted as a cloud solution.Details of the full cycle of problem reporting and resolution are outlined.
Communicator
Our current SLA for platform uptime is 99.9% – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our aim is to reach 99.99%!
SLA OFFERINGS & PROCESSES
We asked participants the question, What are your SLA offerings and processes?
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Epsilon Agility Harmony
Harmony leverages a set of synthetic transactions that provide measurement for all SLAs. These synthetic benchmarks measure platform uptime and availability of the user interface and API, data import and export performance, and messaging throughput.
ExpertSender
ExpertSender’s average uptime is 99.9%.
Maintenance works are always conducted within fixed maintenance windows. New features are introduced in quarterly production cycles.
Support is offered 24/7. Average response time for non-critical requests is 3 hours.
GreenRope
We have redundancy in place for all systems and only schedule maintenance that brings the system down about once a year.
Harland Clarke Digital
Experian Marketing Suite
No Response.
No Response.
IBM Marketing Cloud
IBM Marketing Cloud SLAs allows for credits related to downtime.
Clients submit a Claim by filing a Severity 1 support ticket for each Event with the IBM technical support help desk, within twenty-four (24) hours of first becoming aware that the Event has impacted Client's use of the Service. Client must provide all necessary information about the Event and reasonably assist IBM with the diagnosis and resolution of the Event. Client must submit a Claim for an Availability Credit no later than three (3) business days after the end of the Contracted Month in which the Claim arose. Availability Credits are based on the duration of the Downtime measured from the time Client reports that it was first impacted by the Downtime. If Client reports an Event of Application Downtime and an Event of Data Processing Downtime occurring simultaneously, then IBM will treat the overlapping periods of Downtime as a single period of Downtime, and not as two separate periods of Downtime. For each valid Claim, IBM will apply the highest applicable Availability Credit. IBM will not be liable for multiple Availability Credits for the same Event in the same Contracted Month. The total Availability Credits awarded with respect to any Contracted Month shall not, under any circumstance, exceed 20 percent (20%) of one twelfth (1/12th) of the annual charge paid by Client to IBM for the Service.
InboxMarketer Connect
Protection of Your Data: Information that You upload to the Services, including without limitation Your marketing plans, email lists, materials or content, remains Your exclusive and confidential property at all times ("Your Data"). Inbox Marketer takes commercially reasonable precautions to prevent the loss of or alteration to Your Data at all times, including without limitation the precautions and procedures outlined herein. However, Inbox Marketer cannot guarantee against any such loss or alteration. Accordingly, You must, to the extent that You deem necessary, keep copies of all source documents related to Your Data that has been uploaded to the Services and You must also maintain a system external to Inbox Marketer for the backup of Your Data.
Data Center: At any time, Inbox Marketer may host servers and infrastructure at a variety of hosting providers including its own data centre. When hosting is with an external provider, only Tier-2 providers or better are used. Each such provider employs no less than the following:
• Redundant web servers, database servers, application servers, and firewalls
• Weekly update of OS patches and firewall patches
• Daily anti-virus definition updates
• 24-7 application and hardware monitoring with email alerts to operations staff
• UPS or generator power backup
• Multi-Layer Physical and Network Security including Fire Detection & Suppression
Server and Data Backup: Within its hosted environments, Inbox Marketer employs the following configuration and procedures for server and data backup.
• All customer data, including without limitation Your Data, resides on Raided subsystems, which provide real-time data redundancy in the unlikely event of disk failure.
• Inbox Marketer has scheduled daily incremental and weekly complete hosting system backups ("System Backup"). A System Backup includes without limitation all content and data and system resources to allow for the recovery of an entire server in a short period of time.
• All system backup data is stored on backup media on-site at the respective data centre and operates on a 7 day incremental rotation.
Scheduled Maintenance & Upgrades: Inbox Marketer may occasionally perform maintenance and upgrades to the Services, its data centre or network environments including bug fixes and patches. All Scheduled Mainte-nance and Upgrades shall be performed during non-business hours (local time) where possible and shall be kept to a practical minimum.
Support & Incidence Procedures: Inbox Marketer will provide phone and email support to you through its tiered management structure listed in this document under section 4 Key Contacts. Most support requests fall into one of the following categories and will be dealt with accordingly:
Technical in nature:
• During regular business hours: within 4 hours
• Outside of regular business hours: within 12 hours
Customer Service related:
• During regular business hours: within 2 hours
• Outside of regular business hours: within 12 hours
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Work request items:
• Typically 72 hour turnaround from time of receiving final assets to time of deployment (for email campaigns) please check with your account manager for actual turnaround times depending on the nature of the request.
• In the case of emergencies, a 24 hour turnaround may be accommodated based on current workload at Inbox Marketer.
In the case of an incident which interferes with Your immediate ability to use the Services, the following escalation procedures are used. Escalation Inbox Marketer monitors System Outages ("Problem Reports") on a 24/7 basis. You may contact Inbox Marketer to report problems with Your Services at any time by submitting a Problem Report by either email or phone in accordance with the Key Contact list. PLEASE NOTE: Inbox Marketer WILL ONLY RESPOND TO PROBLEM REPORTS RECIEVED FROM YOUR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES.
A. Problem Report Prioritization. All Problem Reports are prioritized as follows.
B.
i. Inbox Marketer, in Inbox Marketer's sole and absolute discretion (acting reasonably), will make an initial investigation of the severity level of each Problem Report and classify it as either a platform error or anexternal problem.
ii. If the Problem Report is classified as a platform error, then it will be assigned a severity level according to the descriptions set forth below.
iii. After further research, Inbox Marketer may reclassify platform errors from one severity level to another upon consultation with You.
iv. When a severity level is assigned, Inbox Marketer will promptly designate appropriate management and technical support personnel to investigate and take corrective action with respect to any platform error.
v. Corrective action for platform errors may initially include a temporary fix or work-around solution.
b. Severity Levels. Platform errors are separated into severity levels depending on System Access and availabil-ity of the Services for users. The severity levels are as follows: i. Level 1 is a Platform Error that makes the general use of the Services impossible and that cannot be circum-vented or avoided on a temporary basis. The condition requires an immediate solution that is not already available. Inbox Marketer will initiate an effort to replicate and verify the reported Platform Error within one (1) hour of Platform Error classification during applicable support hours, provide continuous effort to arrive at a fix or work-around, and will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide You with a fix or work around within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving the Problem Report. You shall be updated on the current status of severity level 1 problems by telephone or email every two (2) hours during normal business hours.
ii. Level 2 is a Platform Error that makes the general use of the Services difficult and that can be circumvented or avoided on a temporary basis. Inbox Marketer will initiate an effort to replicate and verify the reported Platform Error within two (2) hours of receiving the Problem Report during normal business hours, and will try to provide You with a fix or work-around within three (3) business days of receipt of the Problem Report. iii. Level 3 includes all other Platform Errors that are not covered in severity levels 1 or 2. Inbox Marketer will begin work on such problem identification and verification within two (2) business days of receipt of the report of the problem during normal business hours, and will provide You with a proposed fix or work-around within seven (7) business days.Documentation and Reporting: Inbox Marketer will provide online and offline documentation as it may become available. Such documentation might include basic training elements for use of Your Services. Examples of such documentation include:
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• Access to reporting system and available functions
• Retrieval of specific campaign reports
• Access to secure FTP site for data transfersUptime Commitment: Inbox Marketer will assure 99% uptime for Your Services where Uptime is calculated on an annualized basis (the "Uptime Commitment"), excluding Excusable Downtime, as defined herein.
1. System Access to Your Services means: access to the Services that You have purchased at any time.
2. System Outage means: Non-access to any System Access, excluding Excusable Downtime.
3. Excusable Downtime means: (i) Scheduled Maintenance and Upgrades as described herein; (ii) acts or omissions by You or Your customers, users, employees, agents, or contractors, or anyone gaining access to Your Services by means of Your passwords or equipment (except where such access is the result of an act or omission by Inbox Marketer); or (iii) suspension of Your Use of the Services due to Account Lockout ortemporary suspension for unpaid services.
4. Emergency Action. Inbox Marketer reserves the right to take immediate corrective action in order tomaintain stability and overall availability of the Services as reasonably required and such emergency action shall not be considered or calculated towards system downtime.Remedy: Your sole remedy for Inbox Marketer's breach of its Uptime Commitment level contained herein shall be a pro-rata reimbursement of monthly or annual fees actually received by Inbox Marketer from You for any percentage of System Outage outside the Uptime Commitment on an annualized basis.Security: Inbox Marketer takes commercially reasonable precautions to prevent commonly known means of obtaining unauthorized entry into Your Services. Inbox Marketer will notify You of a security breach within two (2) hours of discovery of any such occurrence.
• Password Management. System Access is password protected according to industry standards. Users are responsible for security of their passwords. Lost or forgotten passwords may be reset directly from the Inbox Marketer login page. All passwords can be administered by a client administrator designated by you and by the senior Inbox Marketer administrators.
• Account lockout. Misuse of the Services or non-conformance with Inbox Marketer’s Privacy Policy is reviewed by Inbox Marketer personnel and may result in account lockout and or termination of user privileges. • Physical Security: The hosted data centre has elaborate security measures including:
• Escorted Access only
• Tamperproof multipath fiber and copper lines all run via underground conduit
• Redundant cooling and power, including backup generators
• Concentric Security model
• Recorded video surveillance
• Internal punch code door lock system
• Biometric scanning
• Steel, fire-rated interior doors
Hardware and Disaster Recovery Hardware Restoration: In the event of a hardware failure, all critical systems will be promptly restored via first-line support services from relevant hardware manufacturers and/or data centre personnel. In the event that additional or new hardware is required to rectify any hardware failure, Inbox Marketer will obtain such hardware at its expense as soon as commercially practicable. All data will be restored on hardware as soon thereafter as commercially practicable as defined in paragraph 2 of this section. If the affected hardware cannot be restored within one (1) business day, then all affected customers will be notified. Inbox Marketer maintains a team of technical support personnel on duty and standby for physical replacement, as necessary and as per the support hours outlined above.
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Message Gears
No Response.
Net Atlantic
Net Atlantic has an uptime history of 99.9% over the past year. By default, services are offered on a best effort availability.
The support department has a history of responding to email requests within 4 hours during normal business hours.
Customers requiring specific SLAs regarding uptime or support requests can request so when contracting services.
Data Recovery:
A. First notification. Upon first notification of a hardware or data failure, Inbox Marketer's disaster recovery coordinator will:
i. Assess all damage and failure issues, including networks, hardware and data; ii. Promptly notify Inbox Marketer's technical support personnel of a failure status; iii. Determine immediate courses of action; iv. Retrieve backup media of all affected systems and sites; and v. Provide You with an initial status report either by phone or email.
B. Restoration. As soon as reasonably possible after first notification, the disaster recovery coordinator will commence the process of restoration as follows;
i. Develop a restoration and recovery schedule; ii. Begin the system recovery process for normal network operations; iii. Restore any of Your affected servers or systems; iv. Provide You with an updated assessment of progress and status of any failure to Your data; v. Continuously monitor restored servers and systems to verify that data recovery is complete and accurate.
C. Conclusion. At the conclusion of the recovery process, Inbox Marketer will provide all affected customers with a final status report in accordance with the Service Level Commitments and Procedures section above and further detailing the cause(s) of the failure, all corrective steps taken and any future preventative measures added.
Terms for conclusion of Services: In the event of termination or conclusion of Services for whatever reason, You must promptly contact Inbox Marketer to arrange to remove and recover Your Data. Your Data will be permanently removed and deleted from Inbox Marketer databases and servers within ninety (90) business days and backups of data will be removed 4 months thereafter after the conclusion of Services. Inbox Marketer IS IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT), INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, RESULTING FROM THE FAILURE TO REMOVE YOUR DATA AND CONTENT WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
No Response.
Selligent Engagement Sphere
No Response.
PostUp
We have an established SLA process that ensures the following:Availability - 99.5% uptime outside of regularly stated maintenance windows. Availability is measured on a monthly basis beginning at 12:00:00 AM CT on the first day of a calendar month and ending at 11:59:59 PM on the last day of the calendar month.
Response time to errors - Severity 1 Error (most critical) will receive a response within 1 hour of notification. Severity 2 Error will receive a response within 2 business hours of notification. Severity 3 Error will receive a response within 4 business hours of notification.
QuickPivot
QuickPivot conducts scheduled monthly maintenance windows. These windows are scheduled off hours are run to minimize impact to platform. Critical services such as API and link services remain functional during these windows. QuickPivot also updates its software with scheduled windows for upgrades. These windows can impact access to applications and customers are notified of these updates in advance. QuickPivot main-tains a 99.9% uptime and provides for failover in the case of a disaster.
Support SLAs are based on the following criteria:
Level 1:• All Help Desk and Deliverability requests• All Product Support Service requests, not specifically listed as Level Two or Level Three
Level 2:• Important application features are unavailable in the production environment but a workaround is available• Potential production load or data issue is identified• Potential segment issue is identified• Less significant application features are unavailable with no reasonable workaround• Minor loss of operational functionality and impact on users is minimal
Level 3:• The production application is unavailable or so severely impacted that one or more users cannot reasonably continue work, and no acceptable workaround is available• Important application features are unavailable in the production environment with no acceptable worka-round.
Level 3 issues will be acknowledged within 30 minutes, with a level of effort (LOE) and resolution timeframe within 2 hours.Level 1 and 2 issues will be acknowledged within one business day a, with an LOE provided in two, or one business day respectively
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Striata Application Platform
Striata Offers different SLA options & pricing
- Bronze - Silver - Gold - Custom
Services Provided
1. OperationsOperational services included in this Service Level Agreement are:Receipt of data/document transfer from Client to Striata. Automated processing of documents and data received from Client.
Reporting on process successes and failures.Distribution of messages.Reporting on batch and email status.Managing / investigating Client queries regarding business processes.Agreed deliverability services.Monitoring of all processes.Ad hoc tasks and change request channel. HousekeepingAny ad-hoc operational requirements or other mutually agreed activities required by the Client for the continu-ous operation of all the business processes.
2. InfrastructureThe infrastructure services included in this Service Level Agreement are:Retention of message data online. Data archivingData securityHardware, software and bandwidth monitoring and maintenance.Optional DR solution.Corrective and preventative maintenance on the infrastructure as required
3. SupportThe support services included in this Service Level Agreement are:Provision of a process through which the Client can log issuesConfirmation of receipt of logged issuedDiagnosis of logged issueWhere applicable, resolution of issue.Communication during problem resolution process. Performance tuning as and when required.Causal analysis in the case of frequent occurrence of the same or related problems or issues.Any ad-hoc support requirements or other mutually agreed activities required by the Client for the continuous operation of all the business processes.
Process
1. Client Operations QueriesThis SLA includes an agreed number of client queries. These ad hoc operational requests will be raised through the agreed operations channel, and they will be investigated and managed by the Striata operations team.
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Zeta Hub
Zeta has an established standard Service Level Agreement (SLA), however, Clients have the ability to work with their account management team for project specific SLAs to configure an SLA to their specific needs, be it a small or large scale.
Our typical SLA addresses the following performance agreements:
• Uptime and Performance Guarantee of being fully functional 99.5% of any calendar month
• System monitoring the availability of the Zeta Hub
• Data Privacy, storage and backup related to response data and client customer data
• Server response times - ensuring that all HTTP requests are responded to in under 1 second
• Scheduled platform maintenance
• Customer support and client services request acknowledgement, status update and resolution timelines
2. Change Request ManagementAll requests for changes to the business processes i.e. system, datasource or configuration will be done via the change control process. All change requests need to be raised by supplying a fully completed change request form (see Schedule C). The change request must be emailed through to the operations channel provided.Any costs associated with this type of request will be payable in addition to the support fees as specified in Schedule B. A quotation will be provided by Striata, and work will only commence once the costs are agreed, and a signed change request form is received by Striata.
3. Monitoring and ReportingRequired monitoring, report types, report format, frequency and content will be defined, delivered and paid for as part of each business process project. The process to be followed will be appended to this agreement in Schedule A. Depending on the SLA option chosen additional monitoring and/or ad hoc reports, or report information may be requested through the agreed operations channel. Any requests exceeding these allowances will be regarded as a change, and will follow the change request process.
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Epsilon Agility Harmony
Harmony provides the user with flexibility to archive any data, reporting, or content asset as they see fit. Data and content assets are archived at the user’s discretion while aggregate campaign reporting data is retained for 36 months, and detailed activity data is retained for 15 months. Epsilon also offers solutions for clients who would like to extend the retention of the reporting data beyond the system defined policies should it be required.
Delivra
Data - forever; Reporting - forever; Content - forever; Images – forever
dotMailer
Unless explicitly requested, dotmailer does not delete any data during the term of the agreement with the client. Data may be deleted thereafter as part of ongoing maintenance tasks.
Adestra Message Focus
Aside from the contents of bounce messages (3 months) and temporary data storage (up to 1 month), we typically retain everything up to the life of the contract.
Brick Street CONNECT
No Response.
Communicator
Primary contact information is stored for the lifetime of the account; all other data linked to a contact (filtering, segmenting, personal, behavioural) is user controlled with automatic deletion processes. Email activity transac-tional data (sent, opened, clicked, etc.) is kept for 16 weeks before being rolled-up into anonymous data summaries.
ASSET RETENTION POLICIES
We asked participants the question, What are your asset retention policies (data, reporting, content, images)?
Experian Marketing Suite
No Response.
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ExpertSender
Data retention policy – all personally identifiable data is by default purged within 1 month of user agreement termination.
Reporting retention policy – full account statistics by default are kept for 14 months, but this can be adjusted on per-account basis; aggregated statistics are stored for an unlimited amount of time; all reporting data is by default purged within 1 month of user agreement termination.
Content and image retention policy – all past email content and images are permanently kept within the account throughout the duration of the contract; all content data is by default purged within 1 month of user agreement termination.
IBM Marketing Cloud
IBM Marketing Cloud can support databases of more than 150 million contacts. Data is transferred into/out of the platform either by synchronous/real-time API (over 130 APIs available) or via batch file import or export. Customer data can be imported at 175,000 rows/minute. IBM currently stores about 250 terabytes of data.
The retention period applied by the platform is dependent on the type of data (e.g., structured "recipient" databases, "content" such as email templates and graphics, anonymous web-tracking data, known/authenticated web-tracking data, etc.), and IBM Marketing Cloud’s standard policy is to store recipient-level data and aggregated mailing-level data for a period of 15 months following a mailing. This can be negoti-iated to be longer for specific customer needs. Key data types are retained indefinitely as long as they are used at least periodically and the service remains active, some types of data are deleted after a given period, and other types are archived ("offlined") after a given period of inactivity. For example, mailing metric details and databases that are inactive (e.g., no sends, updates, additions, etc.) for a period of 450 days are archived; customers can still access the archived data and objects through the user interface after archival takes place. The archived data is retained as long as the service is active. After 15 months from a specific mailing, recipient-level data is archived at that point. Mailing-level data (i.e. The record that a mailing was sent) is preserved indefinitely. Archive files are available from within the platform. If the mailing content and tracking have been off-lined, then the mailing is found in the Archive tab when viewing mailings
GreenRope
We store data in nightly backups indefinitely.
Harland Clarke Digital
No Response
InboxMarketer Connect
Protection of Your Data: Information that You upload to the Services, including without limitation Your market-ing plans, email lists, materials or content, remains Your exclusive and confidential property at all times ("Your Data"). Inbox Marketer takes commercially reasonable precautions to prevent the loss of or alteration to Your Data at all times, including without limitation the precautions and procedures outlined herein. However, Inbox
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Depending on the level of service that customers sign up for, detailed data is retained for between 30-180 days before being rolled up into summary reports that are available as long as the account is kept open. Content and images are retained as long as the account is kept open.
MessageGears
No Response
Net Atlantic
Marketer cannot guarantee against any such loss or alteration. Accordingly, You must, to the extent that You deem necessary, keep copies of all source documents related to Your Data that has been uploaded to the Services and You must also maintain a system external to Inbox Marketer for the backup of Your Data.
Data Center: At any time, Inbox Marketer may host servers and infrastructure at a variety of hosting providers including its own data centre. When hosting is with an external provider, only Tier-2 providers or better are used. Each such provider employs no less than the following:
• Redundant web servers, database servers, application servers, and firewalls
• Weekly update of OS patches and firewall patches
• Daily anti-virus definition updates
• 24-7 application and hardware monitoring with email alerts to operations staff
• UPS or generator power backup
• Multi-Layer Physical and Network Security including Fire Detection & Suppression Server and Data Backup: Within its hosted environments, Inbox Marketer employs the following configuration and procedures for server and data backup.1. All customer data, including without limitation Your Data, resides on Raided subsystems, which provide real-time data redundancy in the unlikely event of disk failure.
2. Inbox Marketer has scheduled daily incremental and weekly complete hosting system backups ("System Backup"). A System Backup includes without limitation all content and data and system resources to allow for the recovery of an entire server in a short period of time.
3. All system backup data is stored on backup media on-site at the respective data centre and operates on a 7 day incremental rotation.Scheduled Maintenance & Upgrades: Inbox Marketer may occasionally perform maintenance and upgrades to the Services, its data centre or network environments including bug fixes and patches. All Scheduled Mainte-nance and Upgrades shall be performed during non-business hours (local time) where possible and shall be kept to a practical minimum.
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Selligent Engagement Sphere
Negotiable.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
No Response.
PostUp has varying levels of retention based on the type of data being retained. In many cases the retention time is configurable based on the needs of our customers. The retention policies outlined here are based on the averages we see our customers use, but should be noted that in certain instances the data may be retained longer than stated here.
For data: Recipient information, lists, segments, and campaigns are retained as long as the customer is using our platform. When a customer elects to leave our platform we will allow a 30 day period for the customer to export their data.
For reporting: Reporting on sent mailings is retained for the duration the customer uses our platform. Recipi-ent level data within the mailing is archived off after 180 days, however the aggregate totals remain. (Example, you can download the actual recipients from a mailing for up to 180 days. After the 180 days you'll no longer be able to download the actual recipients, however you will still see the number of recips that the mailing was deployed to. This holds true for bounces, responses, opens and clicks as well.
Content from deployed mailings, as well as, content uploaded into our native CMS is retained for the duration of the customer using our platform. The same holds true for images as well.
PostUp
Resource hosting is available in the platform without additional cost or capacity limits. Resources which are not accessed by recipients for more than 18 months are archived. Hosted resources can also be replaced by users and will be updated in real-time. Reporting data is available through the UI, for real-time reporting or ad-hoc & automated export, for a three year period after which it is archived.
QuickPivot
Retention of assets is configurable by client and/or project and ranges from 3 months (default) to 7 years. Retention period can also be different per asset type e.g. SDR/Document retention vs. Incoming data vs. hosted images.
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Hub retains response and opt-in/opt-out data forever. All other data is stored within Zeta Hub for up to 7 years according to our standard issued SLA, however we will work with you to modify this timeframe should you require a longer retention period.
Zeta Hub
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Adestra Message Focus:
Most companies will go on and on about how their users love their product and magically those align to their USP's creating an almost deafening echo-chamber. Adestra takes a different approach. We differentiate from our competitors because we let our clients speak for themselves.
Actual Quotes from just some of our client partners:
“As an expanding media company we have been working with Adestra for a number of years and have found that their system meets all our growth requirements – from ease of use to detailed reporting to campaign automation. And when we need help, their support team are always there.” – Field Gibson Media
“The new email editor is light years away of anything else I have used before” – Wyvern DM
“When our company first signed up with Adestra nearly 2 years ago, it was their design-friendly interface that sealed the deal. And my satisfaction has only continued to soar ever since.
There are many things about working with Adestra that I love, but what springs to mind over anything is how much they truly care about the importance of doing awesome email marketing and their clients' success. They get super geeky and excited about educating their clients and it gets me pumped-up to do the best email marketing possible.
The main reason why Adestra is, and always will be our number one choice for email marketing, is their continual push to keep evolving their platform and educating us on the email marketing industry. Message Focus itself is super intuitive and easy to use. I love the automation options that allow us to set up smart, targeted campaigns to reach people at the most optimal times. And I'm excited to try out their new automated workflow campaign solution” – Extra Energy
“A very quick response and resolved the issue in a professional manner, I'd heard the Adestra support service was good but was still very impressed when I first used it” – CC Media Group
“I can truthfully say that, if I'd received the same level of customer support and guidance from some of the other companies I've worked with in the past, my life would have been a great deal easier!” – DataCenterDy-namics
“The service from the Support team is like seeing a TRIPLE RAINBOW while riding a unicorn. It doesn't get much better.” – Blueberry Wave
“We’re huge fans of Adestra. Software is software – it’s only as good as the users that put the data in and analyse the results at the end. The difference with Adestra is their customer service. Suzy and the team go out of their way to ensure that things are completed in a timely and competent fashion. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an ESP.” – Cobb Digital
“We have been delighted with how Adestra’s email platform works! It has provided us with fantastic ways of using our data and getting accurate and useful reports to improve how we work. This understanding of our data means we now send more personalised and more relevant emails than ever before.” – Fuel Card Services
DIFFERENTIATORS SEEN BY USERS
We asked participants the question, What do your users say differentiates you from the competition?
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Epsilon Agility Harmony
Epsilon’s clients consistently identify Epsilon’s outstanding client service approach and team as a major differentiator from the competition. Epsilon partners with its clients to serve as an extension of their teams and they often see Epsilon as a strategic partner, working closely to get the most impact out of their digital marketing initiatives. Clients also note Epsilon’s ability to deliver against creative needs via an award winning Creative organization and the innovative features, functionality, and technology of Epsilon’s Agility Harmony platform. Epsilon’s users attribute their ability to achieve impressive program performance including, deliverability, open rates, and revenue results to Epsilon’s Agility Harmony platform. Clients see Epsilon’s strategic partner approach and cutting edge Agility Harmony platform as a winning combination. Many of Epsilon’s clients also leverage its long established industry leadership in data and delivering actionable insights to add even greater impact to the performance of their marketing campaigns.
Brick Street CONNECT
Brick Street's Connect offers a comprehensive enterprise solution allowing clients to target customers across 11 delivery channels with a full reporting suite. Every Connect engagement is functionally tailored and priced to meet the budget of each client. Brick Street's Support team works with clients directly to ensure that all issues are dealt with completely and in a timely manner.
Communicator
Our guidance to supplement the platform's functionality, our customers find our Sophistication Scale very useful for setting their strategy.
Delivra
No Response.
dotMailer
Ease of use of the platform.
“My new project manager has been Roisin Alvy and I have to say she has been outstanding. An absolute pleasure to work with – knowledgeable, clear and concise, helpful, friendly, the list goes on. I have to be honest – I was expecting the whole changeover from Pure360 to Adestra to be a very stressful experience but it has been very smooth and we are now up and running with our first send going out yesterday which has already generated quite a few leads! My whole experience with Adestra so far has been excellent – from Sean Webb to your support team yesterday who have all been great. I will certainly be promoting Adestra to all of my clients.” – Action for Charity
“I chose Adestra initially based on a recommendation and because the customer service and support was uk based, a strong USP for us. I have been so pleased with my choice, not only because of the product and results but the support and service is some of the best I have ever received. Friendly and efficient every time whether it's online chat, email or on the phone. They always make sure they find the answer for me every time. I’d like to say a big thank you to them all. Great job Team Adestra.” – Eligo Recruitment
“We are excited to begin to offer MessageFocus to our clients. The intuitive user interface, powerful automa-tion, integration tools, and reporting features are going to be of key importance moving forward. We believe Adestra’s commitment to customer service and industry-leading support put them firmly at the front of pack of ESP options both here in the U.S. and abroad.” – Inbox Group
It's this partnership with our clients that makes Adestra different in the marketplace.
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InboxMarketer Connect
Our users love our simple, fast, and accurate self-serve email platform. They are able to quickly and easily manage their high volume email campaigns and don't have to worry about whether or not their messages make it to the Inbox. They also love the dynamic personalization it offers, enabling them to drag and drop segmentation that ensures they are targeting their customers with the right content. Lastly, they love the service and support offered by Inbox Marketer, with many clients saying they feel as if Inbox Marketer is an extension of their own team. With Inbox Marketer and CONNECT we look at you as a true client, not just a number or user ID. Our top notch level of service with the human touch seperates us from the very crowded ESP market.
GreenRope
Our main advantage over other systems is the breadth of service offerings included. We also provide free domestic customer service via phone, chat, email, and web meeting if required.
IBM Marketing Cloud
Our customers frequently tell us that what makes IBM Marketing Cloud different is our ability to deliver advanced email features along with powerful marketing automation and important segmentation capabilities while remaining easy to use. Additionally, it is important to them that it features common data and segmenta-tion capabilities that can be used seemlessly throughout the platform. Our customers appreciate that while we offer a wide range of Services from a highly skilled team, we have designed our product to be used successfully without the need for additional Services--it is an option for those who prefer additional assistance or even a full service approach. They also recognize the value of our agile approach to incorporating various marketing technologies and see our extensive APIs as a differentiator. Finally, they appreciate our excellent customer support and dedication to providing them with thought leadership and guidance on best practices.
Experian Marketing Suite
No Response.
Harland Clarke Digital
No Response.
ExpertSender
1) proactive support
2) intuitive user interface
3) high level of data security
4) great ROI
5) powerful segmentation and personalization
6) easy to automate marketing processes
7) detailed help with integration
8) high inbox placement rate
9) international experience
10) easy to test without annual commitment upfront
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PostUp
We have received a wide range of positive feedback when bringing on new customers, as well as, speaking with long term users of PostUp. Some areas that we hear regularly about is our reporting capabilities, service offerings and responsiveness, and the ease of use our platform offers. More specifically, our integration with Tableau BI gives PostUp users powerful analytics to better optimize campaigns. Our service offerings have been able to off-set resource constraints on the client side, provide strong strategic direction to improve email ROI, and assist in achieving the highest inbox delivery rate possible. Customers also have noted that our user interface is very intuitive and easy to use, and if they do have a question for our support team they are responded to very quickly, with answers that give them exactly what they need instead of just dropping a document off to them and having them figure it out on their own.
MessageGears
"The simplicity of the product, while still being robust is very impressive. In the past I've worked with 4 other "Top-Tier" ESPs and this is by far the easiest one to use."
"Our previous tool required us to manually pull and upload lists and we wanted to deep segmentation or include new attributes, while MessageGears allows for this in real time with some simple queries. Recent updates have enabled us to roll out campaigns translated in our 12+ languages with significantly fewer steps."
"There were 3 primary reasons we chose to switch to MessageGears from our previous solution- 1) the 'hybrid' solution allows us incredible flexibility with our data, 2) responsive developers & support, and 3) aggressive approach to pricing that fits well with our unique sending patterns. We've been very happy for about 3 years now with the service and the team. All 3 of our initial reasons have remained positives for the service."
Net Atlantic
Our deliverability and personalized support are our two main differentiators. Our platform shows real-time deliverability information (including SMTP transaction level detail if needed) showing exactly how your campaign is performing. Open and click data is shown by IP, device, geolocation and is also real-time.
Our support department is all US based and goes above and beyond what customers need. Trainings can be provided if needed.
QuickPivot
Users typically say three things differentiate QuickPivot:
(1) Speed and simplicity of segmentation - The QuickTarget module provides an incredibly simple view of all customer data, with pre-aggregated counts of the most commonly used attributes, and sub-second perfor-mance on complex queries and large data sets.
(2) Intuitive and easy-to-use lifecycle planning - QuickPalette is the "Visio-Style" lifecycle planning and execution module is both award-winning and patented. It radically simplifies the complex process of building
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Zeta Hub
Our users would say that Zeta is not just another vendor providing email marketing services, we are a trusted business partner. We focus on proactively guiding our clients based on our expert industry, analytics, strategy, creative and operations knowledgebase. Our teams take full ownership of the program as true partners as well as expanding our expertise on the program and industry. We design our account and planning processes to ensure regular and efficient interactions with our clients based on their specific needs and expectations. Unlike some providers who focus on software over service, we believe service is just as important to your success, and we provide the industry’s best service.
Zeta prides itself on our dedicated people, exceptional customer service, unrivaled ability to deliver, fine-tuned processes and best-in-class technologies that drive better results for our clients every day. With our engage-ments, we bring an experienced account team with a small company feel, but behind each account team, Zeta has massive resources to deliver added value across the spectrum of our end-to-end solution.
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Our clients frequently tell us that they see us as a strategic partner and appreciate our focus on omnichannel campaign management. Clients often highlight customer service, support and reputation as key strengths of our company, while they value our platform for its performance, reliability and data management.
Striata Application Platform
Our clients believe that our advanced document security differentiates us from our competitors. We deliver the ultimate in eDocument security by ensuring customer data is protected throughout the flow of the document lifecycle. At an application level, data is protected during transfer, processing, storage and within the Striata infrastructure. At the recipient level, data is protected by authentication protocols and document encryption.
Also, our proven adoption methodologies give us a competitive advantage, as they have enabled our clients across all industries to achieve a significant increase in customer adoption. And because our client's customers don't want a static communication, they find our transformational, interactive approach is reinventing the definition of a digital document to meet the future needs of their digital consumers.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
No Response.
and deploying automated customer lifecycle workflows. Users report that it eliminates 50%+ of the clutter associated with typicaly workflow tools
(3) Integration - QuickPivot provides over 200 APIs for easy integration with any application or data source. Dozens of clients explore these APIs to create a more flexible deployment model of the overall solution. For example, IKEA uses QuickPivot to integrate with store kiosks and trigger messages from those kiosks when consumers update/request profile changes and other transactional type message content.
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Brick Street CONNECT
Connect's full solution provides targeted marketing across multiple channels of message delivery, affording the end-user a full suite or reporting to determine campaign success. Users of the system are granted access to functionality, departments and companies, allowing organizations to tailor their security access plan for their users in a granular manner not seen in other software offerings.
Brick Street's ability to tailor pricing to their clients affords us the ability to provide individual clients with the functionality they require at a price that is manageable.
Communicator
We're focused on helping ambitious brands improve their email sophistication. All of our work is focused around our Email Marketing Sophistication Scale – www.communicatorcorp.com/emailsophistication
Adestra Message Focus:
Scalable technology that you can and will actually useBuilt to fit our clients business; Adestra is uniquely designed from its core, using a multi-layered structure that is infinitely scalable and adaptable. MessageFocus at it’s core is not only built for marketers, it’s built around marketers to conform to their business needs. From single campaigns to complex, data-driven and dynamic real-time communication programs, whether you are an organization with one team or a large-scale enterprise with a number of globally distributed marketing teams; with Adestra, marketers can deliver with ease.
Connected technology at the heart of your MarTech landscapeOur open API and extensive partner network allows marketers to connect with the systems and the rich data and content marketers need. We believe in letting marketers choose the context that drives their communica-tions to deliver the best possible results. Why? Because we believe that an email platform should conform around what the marketer needs.
Customer-obsessed service and support, assuring your successOver a decade of being a global award-winning client service network which is responsive, thought-leading and determined to help you meet marketers goals. We are obsessed with providing the type of support and guidance that the market and first person marketers demand. With dedicated account management for every partner, plus less than 30 second response times for customer support, Adestra is there when our partners need it!
DIFFERENTIATORS SEEN BY PARTICIPANT
We asked participants the question, What do you say differentiates you from the competition?
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dotMailer
Industry leading drag and drop editor, enteprise functionality with an easy to use interface, flexible NoSQL data storage capabilities, from self-service to full service offerings, award winning Magento integration, and most of all our features offer great flexibility to accommodate most business cases.
Epsilon Agility Harmony
1) Agility Harmony, unlike competitive solutions, was developed and introduced after the mobile and social revolutions. Purpose-built for today’s modern marketer, Agility Harmony is open and features a flexible and dynamic architecture. It’s easily integrated with other systems without compromising user experience. The platform is built to be scalable and grow with the evolving multichannel experience and the introduction of new innovations in email and digital technology.
2) Epsilon is one of the few ESPs still focused on providing full services for enterprise email marketing with global resources in account management, creative design, program strategy, campaign management, and deliverability. Epsilon doesn’t outsource services, which means clients can count on consistency in quality and a central point of contact for service and support. Outstanding client satisfaction scores reinforce Epsilon’s dedication to quality and superior client services. Epsilon’s teams are compensated for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. It’s in the company culture.
3) Epsilon is much more than just an ESP, which means clients can take advantage of Epsilon’s broader offer-ings to solve additional business problems without having to engage multiple vendors. For example, Epsilon can provide proprietary third-party data to enhance customer insight and personalization; orchestrate email strategy with additional channels including SMS, online and device retargeting; and expand their offerings to include CRM, marketing automation, and loyalty engagement strategy.
4) Epsilon is backed by ADS management who continually acquire the long-term capabilities to put Epsilon in a leadership position. Across the ADS and Epsilon portfolio, we have a rich history in loyalty solutions, retail transactions and payment technologies for some of the largest brands around the world. As a high growth Fortune 500 company, Epsilon has the capital and support from long-term shareholders to acquire and invest in the right capabilities to set Epsilon up for another 40 years of growth.
Delivra
No Response.
Experian Marketing Suite
No Response.
ExpertSender
1) the best segmentation engine
2) knowledgeable, proactive & dedicated support
3) powerful multi-channel marketing automation workflows
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Harland Clarke Digital
No Response.
IBM Marketing Cloud
Watson Marketing combines Design, Agility and Cognitive Expertise into a unique solution for marketers. We strive to help marketers more effectively collaborate across teams to design and continually improve customer experiences. Often, to deliver these personalized experiences marketers want or need to take advantage of multiple marketing technologies and data sources. We make that possible by taking an open approach that allows for innovative, click-to-connect integration of applications and customer data. Woven throughout the entire process are cognitive capabilities that understand, reason and learn and ultimately help marketers make smarter decisions faster. More specifically, IBM's email offering powers the delivery of exceptional experiences for customers across the buyer journey by leveraging customer data and behaviors, providing analytical insights and automating relevant interactions. It provides a rich set of email features that can grow with customers as they become more sophisticated, by providing an enterprise level email marketing platform capable of delivering highly personalized interactions at incredible scale. The IBM Marketing Cloud's ability to collect and automatically act on a massive amount of data (including behaviors) results in incredibly relevant and customized email communications that increase loyalty and revenue. IBM aggregates data from through-out the customer lifecycle, and leverages these deep understandings into compelling and timely offers that convert at impressive percentages. IBM also offers a breadth of services, including onboarding, product advisors, best practices advice, managed services, marketing transformation and strategic account directors, allowing customers to determine the level of interaction that best suits their needs.
InboxMarketer Connect
Broader, deeper, more actionable reports in in real time enable clients to see where their customers have clicked, when they viewed their email, and the best ways to target them in real time. CONNECT has 9 layers of reporting, allowing users to see trends and changes to continually improve their campaigns. We also like our clients to think of us as their digital marketing partner. CONNECT reporting allows marketers to send smarter email. We’ve got the skills and expertise to handle whatever they throw our way. Full-serve or self-serve, our experts have the industry experience and strategic know-how to provide clients with a plan and the valuable insights they need to boost their results and achieve their goals.
GreenRope
Some key points include unlimited emailing, unlimited users, included marketing automation, CRM, CMS, event management, project management, knowledge management, learning management (LMS), SMS/MMS/telephony, ticketing, forms, web analytics, predictive analytics -- all embedded into the platform and included with every account.
4) relational database (RDBSM) capable of integrating and storing user data from any external system
5) highest value for money ratio
6) unique features, i.e.: split test statistical significance results, drag&drop editor for building responsive
message content, recounting segments in real time
7) unique services, i.e.: eye tracking tests of message content
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MessageGears
Our technology (Hybrid vs. SaaS or On-Premises) is the key differentiator. It removes limitations of data synchronization and integration for large-volume senders while keeping the efficiency and scalability of cloud delivery in place. Enterprises frustrated with the limitations of SaaS ESPs and Marketing Clouds find MessageGears to be exactly what they were looking for!
Net Atlantic
Our platform offers unparalleled performance. We offer the ability to guarantee send speed performance for customers whose needs require them to deliver emails within certain timeframe.
We offer feature rich software coupled with top tier deliverability for an affordable price.
PostUp
We look at our business offering as a way to achieve overall business results that our customers are targeting. We do not focus only on platform features and functionality. We employ a wide range of strategic efforts outside of our platform to help customers grow their audience base, achieve maximum inbox delivery, increased engagement, and ultimately their bottom line revenue. For example, a couple of our programs , Audience Development and Continuum Digital Publishing Suite, are designed specifically to grow our custom-ers audience base through better ways of capturing email addresses upon website visits. When combined with our award winning platform our customers have the power to significantly increase their bottom line revenue.
QuickPivot
In addition to the items above, two differentiators of our value proposition are as follows:
(1) Completeness of coverage combined with affordability - We built QuickPivot to be a very complete, closed-loop marketing cloud, and our architecture allows us to scale on commodity hardware. This provides the market with a very powerful but affordable alternative to traditional "Big" marketing clould providers. For example, at Allen Edmonds QuickPivot was able to replace 4 vendors, provide far superior and fully integrated functionality, reduce overall costs, and improve operational efficiency in a significant way
(2) Ability to manage data - QuickPivot's roots are in data management, and we maintain a full data refinery as a service to support the platform. That means that there is no data challenge too big or too small for Quick-Pivot to solve and automate. Clients leverage this service to incrementally improve (month by month) the data used to inform customer decisions, without every having to justify or wrestle a one-time, risky and large data project. Clients can literally crawl, walk and run their path to a 360-degree view of the customer, getting production value and incremental quality at each stage of development.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
No Response.
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Selligent Engagement Sphere
Today's consumers demand relevance, immediacy, and convenience. To give them the immersive, personalized experience they demand, today's successful relationship marketer captures data from a consumer’s key moments, interprets it, and tailors engagement in real time. At Selligent we call this approach Consumer-First Marketing, and our Engagement Sphere platform is designed to deliver these highly relevant experiences at critical moments of consumer-brand interaction. With Selligent’s proprietary Data Core architecture, omnichan-nel execution capability, and intuitive interface, Engagement Sphere is uniquely positioned to help brands build stronger consumer relationships through individualized real-time engagement across channels.
Striata Application Platform
We deliver resultsWe tailor our solutions to achieve our client’s specific goals, be it to drive paperless adoption, deliver cost savings, enhance the customer experience or meet campaign objectives.
Security is a core focusOur customer communication solutions provide end to end security. Our platform and processes are designed to protect customer data; in transfer, during processing, in storage and in the customer’s inbox.
We are data expertsLeveraging data is a core competency. Our approach enables seamless integration with a client's processes and our data integration capabilities ensure a fast project set up.
Our range of capabilitiesWe are known by many names: digital marketing experts, secure document delivery specialists, paperless adoption consultants, ESP with security and document security authority. Our range of capabilities means our clients can engage with one digital communications partner for all their needs.
Our specialist skills and servicesWe offer a wide range of specialist skills and services: providing guidance on best practice techniques, paper-less adoption strategies, deliverability, as well as generation and analysis of reports to improve future campaigns.
We have global expertise We hold nearly two decades of experience in the financial, utilities, telecommunications and insurance verticals helping organizations develop effective digital relationships with their customers. Our operations are located in New York, London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Sydney and we have partners in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Our technical servicesWe provide advanced email deliverability services to achieve the highest possible inbox penetration, increasing the rate of return-on-investment for clients. Our platform processes and stores millions of messages a day across deployed-on-site and SaaS infrastructures.
Our consultative approachIn our consultative approach, we first identify our client’s goals and requirements; then provide the most suitable solutions. We hire experts who are passionate about digital communication. In all our engagements, we strive to provide great service.
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Zeta Hub
Zeta is differentiated in the marketplace combing the power of advertising and publishing capabilities into the traditional multichannel marketing platform, driving precision marketing, ROI and success for our clients. Our platform is the best in the industry for sophisticated, data-driven, enterprise marketing.
Further, our industry-leading service expertise and operational efficiency, strong commitment to client service and our email and cross-channel marketing platform make us a standout provider in this space - here's why:
Client Service Commitment1) Client service culture and commitment to the success of our clients2) Highly dedicated associates who are available to our clients 24/7 3) Extensive track record of providing proactive client management and responding quickly to urgent client needs
Leading service expertise and operations
1) Leading resources and expertise in marketing strategy, analytics and creative specializing in 1-1, data-driven
email and cross-channel marketing
2) Large scale, highly efficient global campaign operations enabling high quality campaigns with fast turna-
rounds at low cost
3) Broad technical resources with deep experience and expertise
Leading enterprise data-driven marketing platform
1) Ability to process highly complex campaigns at scale for easy execution of multi-mailing, large volume
campaigns
2) A clearly defined process flow with collaborative tools for quality campaign execution
3) Robust reporting and analytics with flexible and easy-to-use visual dashboards
4) Best-of-Breed approach to omni-channel campaign orchestration
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dotMailer
Mailchimp, Bronto, ExactTarget
Adestra Message Focus:
SalesForce Marketing Cloud; Oracle Marketing Cloud (Responsys); IBM Watson Marketing
Brick Street CONNECT
No Response.
dotMailer, RedEye, Adestra
Communicator
BIGGEST COMPETITORS SEEN BY PARTICIPANT
We asked participants the question, What three companies do you most often compete with?
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Experian CheetahMail, Salesforce (ExactTarget), Oracle (Responsys).
Experian Marketing Suite
Salesforce, Oracle and Adobe
ExpertSender
Emarsys, SmartFocus, Teradata
Delivra
No Response.
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MessageGears
Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Oracle Responsys, Selligent Engagement Sphere
Net Atlantic
Constant Contact, Get Response, Bronto
PostUp
Marapost, Sailthru, SalesForce Marketing Cloud
QuickPivot
When in competitive situations for brands over $100M in revenue, where the focus of the deal is full cross-channel campaign management, then we typically encunter:
(1) Salesforce Marketing Cloud (2) Oracle Marketing Cloud (3) IBM Marketing Cloud
When in competitive situations for brands under $100M in revenue, where the focus of the deal is ESP capabilities vs. a full marketing automation solution, then we typically encounter:
(1) Bronto (2) Listrak (3) Blue Hornet
GreenRope
Infusionsoft, Hubspot, Marketo
Harland Clarke Digital
No Response.
IBM Marketing Cloud
Salesforce (Exact Target), Oracle (Responsys), CheetahMail
InboxMarketer Connect
Marketing Cloud, SendGrid, Campaign Monitor
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No Response.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Oracle Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Marketing Cloud
Paymentus, Kubra, GMC
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Hub
For email services, we consider our top three competitors to be Experian, Oracle and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
Adestra Message Focus:
With over a decade of dedication to email marketers, Adestra is a leading global provider of one-to-one email and lifecycle marketing solutions for global and growing brands alike. The company's industry leading digital marketing platform provides marketers with a powerful infrastructure that helps them communicate more effectively with their customers and subscribers by providing hyper-relevant context. This proprietary technol-ogy also allows for automated messaging and incorporates enterprise-class native functionality, which reduces implementations. Along with a superior platform to execute marketing automation, Adestra was founded on the principle that marketing success takes more than technology, which is why customer service is at the heart of our business. We differentiate ourselves in the market through three key approaches to enabling best in class email marketing.
Scalable technology that you can and will actually use
Built to fit you and your business; MessageFocus is uniquely designed from its core, using a multi-layered structure that is infinitely scalable and adaptable. MessageFocus at it’s core is not only built for marketers, it’s built around marketers to conform to their business needs. From single campaigns to complex, data-driven and dynamic real-time communication programs, whether you are an organization with one team or a large-scale enterprise with a number of globally distributed marketing teams; with MessageFocus you can deliver with ease.
Connected technology at the heart of your MarTech landscapeOur open API and extensive partner network allows you to connect with the systems and the rich data and content you need. We believe in letting YOU choose the context that drives your communications to deliver the best possible results. Why? Because we believe that an email platform should conform around what the client partner needs.
Customer-obsessed service and support, assuring your success
Over a decade of being a global award-winning client service network which is responsive, thought-leading and determined to help you meet marketers goals. We are obsessed with providing the type of support and guidance that the market and first person marketers demand. With dedicated account management for every partner, plus less than 30 second response times for customer support, Adestra is there when our partners need it!
Adestra is trusted by top companies like UBM, FranklinCovey, Incisive Media and Toyota, among others. Established in 2004, Adestra is based a global company with offices in London, Oxford, New York City, Dallas and Sydney. For more information, visit www.adestra.com.
PARTICIPANT STATEMENTS
The decision to bring email marketing in-house is not something to be taken lightly. On-premise solutions often require dedicated technical staff for regular maintenance and monitoring, and take longer to effectively implement than do hosted solutions.
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Brick Street CONNECT
In 2017 Brick Street is launching CONNECT 11 with an open-source Community Edition, and a proprietary Enterprise Edition. CONNECT 11 CE will always be FREE for email marketing campaigns and transactional email, and will provide a seamless upgrade path to the Enterprise Edition.
Brick Street’s CONNECT 10 Enterprise plaform provides our clients with the technology to power conversation. Trusted by the world’s largest banks and telecommunication brands, CONNECT 10 manages high-volume outbound messaging across 11 channels including email, SMS, and mobile push, with no need for synchroniz-ing across different interaction engines or customer databases.
CUSTOMER DATA MANAGEMENT:
CONNECT tracks all customer profile and customer behaviour in the Connect database. Customers records can be enriched by linking customer profiles to external database tables. Customer interests can be inferred from the click data and this information can trigger automated followup campaigns. All outgoing communication can be archived for compliance purposes, and a single CONNECT instance can handle campaigns in any language.
CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT:
CONNECT offers a wide range of communication options for campaigns:
- One-time campaigns
- Recurring
- Subscribe/unsubscribe autoresponders with single or double opt-in
- Drip & follow-up messages triggered by customer behaviour (clicks, conversions, referrals)
- Automated click, open, bounce, feedback loop (FBL) and reply handling
REAL-TIME TARGETING:
CONNECT can target campaigns based on customer profile data or customer behaviour. CONNECT also provides automated follow-up campaigns that are triggered by user clicks, conversations or referrals. Custom-ers are targeted with messaging specific to their behavior and interests.
TRANSACTIONAL MESSAGING:
Transactional messages are triggered by event records received from external line-of-business systems via message queues or web services. Event records gather the set of targeted customers, parameters, XML data and attachments. Parameters and attachments may be encrypted. Event data is then converted to channel-specific message content and sent on the targeted channel.
WEB AND MOBILE INTEGRATION:
Connect allows organizations to grow their customer base with native opt-in forms or from external websites and applications through web services. Our referral marketing feature automatically tracks referrals and sends follow-ups. Single and double opt-in functionality is available for email and SMS as well.
FORMS:
Connect provides a full forms integration package, executing rules to update customer profile data based on their form response data. Form actions are extensible. Connect tracking pixels can fire from your website or mobile apps allowing you to track conversations instantly. Drip campaigns can be stopped and new campaigns triggered from conversion events.
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Communicator
Communicator is a strategic email service partner, focused on helping ambitious brands optimise their perfor-mance across multiple channels.
We are experts in email performance.
Combining our own, intelligent and easy to use technology with expert guidance and support, Communicator really understands what customers want, from idea to execution. Communicator works in partnership with its customers to offer flexible solutions that help them drive results and achieve their objectives. Having worked closely with brands for more than a decade, we’ve channelled our experience into one easy to understand format. We call it our Email Marketing Sophistication Scale. Find out where your brand lines up on it today – www.communicatorcorp.com/emailsophistication
Everything we do is based around helping our customers improve their email sophistication. We do this across four key areas:
1. PERFORMANCE
Our expertise, industry-leading guidance and first class customer experience provide unrivalled engagement and ROI. We seek to deliver results customers can’t get anywhere else.In 2015, over 90% of our emails were placed in the inbox opposed to 79% across the industry. We consistently outperform the email industry by over 10% when it comes to getting messages into the inbox (validated by ReturnPath).
2. PEOPLE
Communicator stands out because of our people, our high quality counsel and our consistent delivery of truly impactful results.Our Compliance Officer, Steve Henderson, is a recognised thought leader across the industry in data compli-ance and both EU & UK regulations. He regularly consults on the DMA’s Legal & Best Practice Hub and has recently been invited to the Houses of Parliament to consult with the Which? Nuisance Calls and Texts Taskforce.Our Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Prest is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.All of our Account Managers are qualified email marketers and receive training from the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM).
MULTI-CHANNEL ARCHITECTURE:
Each of Connect’s 11 channels is a way to deliver customized messages to your customers, providing two-way communication. Every mobile application is also a separate channel, allowing multiple apps to be managed from a single Connect instance. Connect currently supports communication via email, SMS, mobile push (APNS, GCM, MPNS), Twitter, JMS, database, fax/print, voice (VXML). Other social networks and chat apps are coming online soon.
DEPLOYMENT AND INTEGRATION OPTIONS:
CONNECT can be deployed on-premise or in public clouds using industry-standard infrastructure. Data integration is performed in real-time using record-at-a-time using REST web services or message middleware. Bulk customer and event loading is provided through database stored-procedures.With its fully flexible, enterprise solution allowing communication across multiple channels, CONNECT is your best choice for deployment and integration in complex IT environments.
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3. PARTNERSHIPS
Partner with us for the power of many. Our long-standing technology partnerships give our customers access to a portfolio of feature rich, best in class software. We manage the relationships, letting our customers focus on the results.
One of our key partners, Litmus, provides email rendering previews and spam filter testing for more than 30 email clients and devices – giving results back within seconds. Working together with us for over 18 months, Litmus offers confidence that when emails hit the inbox, they display correctly.Another of key our Partners, Dynmark, brings enterprise class SMS provision directly to our platform - capable of processing over 8,000 messages per second.
4. PLATFORM
For more than 10 years, Communicator has built its own best in class technology to enhance message reach, by sending highly personalised automated messages, increasing engagement and ROI.At Communicator our technology offering stands out from the rest. Built around three key pillars of Trust, Data and Simplicity, Communicator is the perfect choice for ambitious brands looking to optimise their perfor-mance across multiple channels. We heavily invest in both our sending infrastructure and the maintenance of our IP reputations. This allows us to:
• Deliver more emails to the inbox; independent estimates from Return Path show we’re more likely to deliver more of your emails to the inbox than other providers – by potentially an extra 10%.
• Send large volumes of emails at speed – up to 1.7 million emails per hour, from each of our six outbound servers.
We’re trusted by our customers because we can guarantee the long-term reputation of our IP addresses as they’re owned by us, not by any third parties.
If you’re interested in learning more about Communicator, you can call us on +44 (0) 844 870 8971 or email is on [email protected]. We’d be delighted to hear from you!
Delivra
When people ask how Delivra is better, the answer is simple - service.
IMPLEMENTATION.
Whether you’re brand new to email marketing or you’re a seasoned pro, we’ll make sure your transition to Delivra is fast and easy. Here’s how it works. Before your client success manager helps you set up your new Delivra account, she will sit down with you to talk about the ins and outs of your business. From there, we can help you optimize your work flow and get started on creating your email marketing campaigns. You’ll be delighting inboxes in no time. Through a personalized training session, hosted by our client experience training manager, you and your team will learn the ins and outs of our software. When you’re ready to import your existing contacts and email lists, we ensure everything transfers without a glitch and that nothing is lost along the way. Once your account is setup and your contacts are live, you’re ready to start sending. Don’t worry, we’ll be there to help, every step of the way.
DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT. At Delivra, every single one of our clients is paired with a dedicated account manager from the very beginning. In addition to being your main point of contact, your account manager will help execute your email marketing strategy and ensure you always have access to the right tools and services. When you choose Delivra, the first thing your account manager will do is help you and your employees get to know our software by hosting a personalized training session. Our number one priority is to make sure you feel confident, prepared, and ready
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to start sending emails. Every quarter, your account manager will offer you an account review to talk through your email marketing strategy to discuss where you’ve been and where you’re headed. After this conversation, your account manager will offer you some recommendations on how together, we can keep crushing your marketing goals and take your email program to the next level. Looking for more than just recommendations? Your client success manager can implement them. With years of experience in the industry, our success managers know how to plan and execute winning marketing campaigns. Whether you need someone to manage your entire strategy or just need a little support, your client success manager can do as much (or as little) as you need.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT.
We want your experience to exceed expectations. When you run into a technical problem, you shouldn’t have to wait days (or longer) for an answer. That’s why we put real people behind our support team to make sure you get the help you need, fast.
CUSTOM INTEGRATIONS.
Delivra’s software integrates seamlessly with hundreds of different tools and platforms. However, we know that sometimes it takes a customized integration to deliver the best results. That’s where we come in. Our engineers have the power to customize Delivra to work for you. We’ll make sure that when you start using our software, it fits in perfectly with your current Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Content Manage-ment System (CMS) workflows. That way, you won’t have to change a thing. Why does custom integration matter? It’s simple. Customized solutions lead to customized conversations. By combining your existing tools and CRM workflow with Delivra, you’re strengthening your data.
Integrating all of your data into one unified ecosystem will unlock valuable insights about your customers. As you begin to see your different data points working together, you’ll be able to take advantage of advanced segmentation and can tailor your emails to specific audiences. And finally, we have a feature set that is designed specifically for the midmarket. That means intuitive yet robust enough to get the job done!
dotMailer
dotmailer has grown to become a global leader in the provision of intuitive Software as a Service (SaaS) technology and tools for digital marketing professionals that are easy-to-use, scalable and that improve email ROI.
Dedicated to helping clients grow their businesses online, the company has a spirit for innovation and continu-ally develops, and expands its core product suite to add more value for marketers. The latest includes the launch of a new user interface in January 2017 designed to provide customers with an easier, more consistent experience that allows for a high degree of personalization, as well as the measurement and metrics needed to monitor and improve campaigns. Through its platform, dotmailer offers simple, but powerful email and cross-channel marketing automation solutions, which allow businesses to easily create, automate, test and send emails in minutes, utilizing transactional, behavioral and social insights to improve lead generation and conversion. dotmailer's easy platform integration via plug-ins into all leading CRM and ecommerce platforms, including Magento, Shopify, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, gives marketers a fast and easy way to track customer interactions.
The company also offers a robust partner program to help agencies ramp up their clients email marketing channels to provide more services and sell more retainers as well as offers regular trainings to help increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
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Epsilon Agility Harmony
Epsilon is the global leader in creating connections between people and brands. A $2.2B global marketing company, Epsilon goes well beyond email marketing to harness the power of rich data, unmatched reach, consumer identity services, an expansive media network, loyalty solutions, engaging creative and strategic services to get the results their clients require. Recognized by Ad Age as one of the largest marketing agencies in the world and the second largest digital agency in the U.S., Epsilon provides email marketing services including: customer strategy, analytics, creative, campaign and deliverability services to some of the world’s most recognized global brands.
Epsilon's platform, Agility Harmony, lets brands create truly connected customer experiences, orchestrated in real time across multiple channels including email, SMS, and mobile push. Agility Harmony, unlike competitive solutions, was developed and introduced after the mobile and social revolutions. Purpose-built for today’s modern marketer, Agility Harmony is open and features a flexible and dynamic architecture. It’s easily integrated with other systems without compromising user experience. The platform is built to be scalable and grow with the evolving multichannel experience and the introduction of new innovations in email and digital technology.
Epsilon is one of the few ESPs still focused on providing full services for enterprise email marketing with global resources in account management, creative design, program strategy, campaign management, and deliverabil-ity. Epsilon doesn’t outsource services, which means their clients can count on consistency in quality and a central point of contact for service and support. Outstanding client satisfaction scores reinforce Epsilon’s dedication to quality and superior client services. Epsilon’s teams are compensated for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. It’s in the company culture.
Epsilon is much more than just an ESP, which means clients can take advantage of Epsilon’s broader offerings to solve additional business problems without having to engage multiple vendors. For example, Epsilon can provide proprietary third-party data to enhance customer insight and personalization; orchestrate email strategy with additional channels including SMS, online and device retargeting; and expand offerings to include CRM, marketing automation, and loyalty engagement strategy.
Epsilon is backed by ADS management who continually acquire the long-term capabilities to put Epsilon in a leadership position. Across their portfolio, Epsilon has a rich history in loyalty solutions, retail transactions and payment technologies for some of the largest brands around the world. As a high growth Fortune 500 company, Epsilon has the capital and support from long-term shareholders to acquire and invest in the right capabilities to set Epsilon up for another 40 years of growth.
Alongside the company’s SaaS technology, dotmailer provides expert email marketing consultancy and managed services for businesses seeking dramatic growth through integrated, multi-channel engagement, conversion, acquisition and retention.
dotmailer’s ongoing commitment to protecting the digital privacy of its customers remains a key priority for the company as it continues to scale in different regions of the world. In August 2017, dotmailer was named the first email service provider to receive the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield Certification from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
dotmailer boasts more than 70,000 users in more than 150 countries. Clients span numerous sectors and some notable names include Asana, BBC Worldwide, Converse, DHL, Fujifilm, Harley Davidson, Simple Human, VIZIO and Wine Enthusiast.
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Experian Marketing Suite
Experian Marketing Services leverages customer data to power insight-driven marketing through our unique blend of software and services. We are dedicated to the long-term success of our clients. As such, we work closely with each client to develop solutions that meet their unique business needs today and grow with them as their business needs evolve tomorrow and beyond.
The technology and services we offer help brands transform the data generated by today’s connected consumer into the insights required to create and execute personalized, meaningful interactions. We do this through:
• Unrivaled customer data management that is accessible, flexible, scalable, and secure
• Real-time communication engine offering seamless integration across channels, devices, media, and partners
• Powerful analytics that unlock new insights to deepen marketers’ relationships with customers
• Trusted marketing experts who partner with clients and who care about their customers as much as they do
Marketing SuiteThe Marketing Suite is a single, cloud-based, customer data management and cross-channel marketing platform. Built on a scalable foundation, the Marketing Suite powers the delivery of more than 350 billion marketing messages each year and 350 million real-time event-based marketing messages each month.
There are five core functions of the Marketing Suite –Customer Data Management, Customer Data Segmenta-tion, Campaign Orchestration, Campaign Execution and Reporting and Insights. In addition to its native capa-bilities, the Marketing Suite can connect to a variety of third-party data sources, platforms and applications across the marketing ecosystem.
Core features and functionality of the Marketing Suite include: Customer Data Management: Customer data management is at the heart of the Marketing Suite, facilitating and simplifying the capture, ingestion and consolidation of data from any source – in real time – to build a complete customer view. The Marketing Suite was built to accept and normalize all customer information while placing no restrictions on the size, composition, or structure of the data that is housed. A centralized and flexible customer database comes standard for all Marketing Suite clients. Table structures can be easily configured to satisfy your unique requirements, and can scale quickly to meet future needs.
Customer Data Segmentation:
Leverage any customer data point, from any table and any activity within the platform to create custom audience segments for highly personalized marketing campaigns. The Marketing Suite provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that gives you the power to create complex and sophisticated segmentation logic, without having to write a single line of code.
Campaign Orchestration:
The Marketing Suite’s campaign orchestration capabilities provide you with access to real-time customer data through an easy-to-use visual interface for building cross-channel programs and creating dynamic campaign assets based on data-driven business rules.
• Program Builder: The Marketing Suite’s campaign management canvas allows you to visually lay out all cross-channel touch points, accounting for planned and unplanned customer interactions. It allows for activity in one channel to influence message delivery, content or context in another – ensuring that customers consist-ently receive relevant communications in the right channel at the right time.
• Campaign asset creation and management: Direct from the platform, you can build reusable campaign assets, including dynamic content and creative elements, or import existing components to use in cross-channel campaigns. Any customer data stored in the Marketing Suite, including channel preference, demo-
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customer.
Campaign Execution:
The Marketing Suite captures and shares customer data across campaigns, automatically triggering the delivery of consistently personalized, contextually relevant, value-added cross-channel communications. Communica-tions can be deployed directly from the Marketing Suite or through third-party delivery systems. Execution channels natively supported in the platform include email, mobile, social, digital print and web.
Reporting & Insights:
The Marketing Suite provides direct access to real-time campaign performance, customer insights and activity data for program optimization. An intuitive and easy-to-use reporting interface – powered by big data storage that scales to support diverse data volumes, velocities and formats – enables marketers to quickly run reports off any campaign or data point stored in or published to the Marketing Suite. From the platform, you have access to a library of prebuilt reports and dashboards that can be used to generate actionable insights across channels, and can distribute reports with select recipients on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis direct from the platform.
Ecosystem connectivity:
The Marketing Suite connects to 1st and 3rd party applications and data sources through a comprehensive set of API’s.
ServiceIt’s rare to find a trusted partner who cares as much about your customers and your business success as you do. When you partner with Experian Marketing Services, our marketing experts join forces with your team to ensure your programs are successful, your customers are engaged and your business continues to grow. We firmly believe that service goes hand-in-hand with technology, and with a wide variety of industry-leading services available, we’re ready to help you as much as you need. A few more reasons why companies choose Experian Marketing Services
• Security – Ranked #1 in 2015’s Security 500 Rankings for Business Services/Consulting, Experian is an industry leader in data security and is committed to continuous investments in upgrading talent, processes and technologies needed to protect our systems. We’re the largest and most advanced data company in the world, and as such, we comply with and extend all Experian information security policies. Experian employs more than 200 highly skilled and experienced information security professionals, and we supplement our own resources with leading third-parties, as needed. Additionally, the Marketing Suite is powered by best-of-breed technology and services, with the infrastructure, organization and processes behind its technology to meet the most stringent of security, redundancy and disaster recovery policies.
• Global scale and expertise – Our global scale and expertise is unmatched in the industry. We operate in 17 countries with local offices and local expertise across the world. Our multi-language interface creates a fully localized user experience, regardless of the user’s global location, providing a single platform that can be easily adopted by any globally distributed marketing team or organization. Currently our platform supports German, English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and the library of available languages is rapidly growing. For a fee, we can also translate to a language that is not generally available. Additionally, any content stored within the platform can be stored in any language or format – including double-byte characters.
ExpertSender
ExpertSender is a marketing cloud for managing, executing and measuring complex multi-channel marketing campaigns. Our platform allows companies to communicate with their clients via email, mobile and push channels. Communication empowered by ExpertSender ranges from marketing and advertising content (e.g. discounts, coupons, new products/collections, advertising partnerships), behaviour based one to one commu-
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nication (e.g. abandoned shopping carts, abandoned views, abandoned search, price alerts, stock change notifications), newsletters (news updates from companies/services/products, magazines or blogs, investor relations), to strictly non-marketing transactional messages such as order confirmations, payment reminders, invoices and product shipping updates.ExpertSender focuses on providing multi-channel marketing solutions for companies located in the USA, EU, Russia, China, Brazil and India, processing over 15 billion messages a year. With the support of our customers and team of internal experts, our proprietary platform is being continuously developed to accommodate the needs of contemporary marketing departments in terms of features, marketing practices and emaildeliverability.
Unique features:
Customer lifecycle automation - predefined sequences of events can be created with drag & drop blocks that support any marketing scenario (abandoned shopping cart campaigns, lead scoring or lead nurturing scenarios, etc.).
Powerful and scalable segmentation engine. It allows using nested statements mixing demographic, behav-ioural and transactional data to define any size of target audience within a matter of seconds.
Dynamic content capabilities allow for serving different message content based on conditional statements along with each recipient’s demographic and behavioural data. Content can be served from external servers, RSS feeds and RDBMS. Dynamic Content powered by C# technology from Microsoft allows much more than content manipulation from converting time zones or calculating invoices to operating external APIs. Virtually any scenario can be implemented using the power of a real programming platform for advanced users.
Relational Data Tables (RDBMS) allow storing client data from external systems (CRM, billing systems, loyalty programs, etc.). It is used for storing data that has a complex structure, as is typically the case with purchase history from an online store, offline sources like frequent customer cards or points from reward programs. This powerful data hub allows the marketing department to centralize data from different systems and use it for customer communication and increasing customer retention / sales. Storing data in RDBMS enables the customers to use the data spread throughout the company with even more advanced segmentation built using intuitive visual statements. For complex data queries it’s possible to use SQL queries prepared by IT that can be later merged into the visual segments. All data in the RDBMS can also be used to generate truly one to one content sent to each individual subscriber with ExpertSender’s Dynamic Content.
Unique selling proposition:
Direct access to account managers bypassing any ticketing systems or call center phone trees. Account manag-ers can be contacted directly via email, phone or IM. They work with designated customers from initial onboarding and thoroughly understand each customer’s business processes.
No additional fees for enabling features. All available services are included in the package from the account transfer date and new features are deployed for all customers every quarter.
Month-to-month contracts instead of long-term commitments. At ExpertSender we offer its customers flexible terms and believe they stay for years because they value and appreciate the service rather than being constrained by fixed contracts or exit fees.
Flexibility and responsiveness. We listen to our customers’ needs and quickly shift our development pipelines to match specific requirements. We do not operate with rigid, long-run release plans and we always adapt swiftly.
Selected customers:
Auchan, AXA, Citroen, Domino’s Pizza, Kaspersky Lab, Michelin, MediaMarkt, Mothercare, National Geographic Learning, Next, SEAT, The Body Shop, TUI, Vans, Victoria’s Secret.
InboxMarketer Connect
Inbox Marketer is a leading email marketing services and technology solutions company. Headquartered in Canada’s Technology Triangle, we provide expert strategy with turnkey execution for mid-size and enterprise brands.
IBM Marketing Cloud
The IBM Marketing Cloud powers the delivery of exceptional experiences for customers across the buyer journey by leveraging customer data and behaviors, providing analytical insights and automating relevant interactions. It provides a rich set of email features that can grow with customers as they become more sophisticated, by providing an enterprise level email marketing platform capable of delivering highly personal-ized interactions at incredible scale.
IBM’s vision for our marketing technology is to bring all of our technology for marketers together into Watson Marketing. Watson Marketing combines Cognitive Expertise, Agility and Design into a unique solution for marketers.
Cognitive - We’re infusing our solutions with the cognitive technology embodied by Watson. This reflects our deeply held belief that cognitive expertise must be embedded into our tools in ways that compliment a market-ers’ skills and seamlessly fit into how marketers work. These cognitive capabilities allow marketers to collabo-rate with Watson to improve marketing. The promise of Watson Marketing’s cognitive capabilities is quite simple – man and machine working together. Enhancing human expertise, not replacing it. Watson will be a trusted advisor, a colleague that marketers collaborate with. And when they do, he expands their expertise and helps them achieve better results. For example, via weather data available through IBM's acquisition of The Weather Company, marketers can personalize messages based on current weather events. Agility - Watson Marketing takes an open and agile approach to integration—both with our partners and our own solutions--making it as easy as possible for customers to connect data between IBM solutions and for partners to integrate with multiple products at once, vs. taking a point-to-point approach. With tools such as the Universal Behavior Exchange, which provides click to connect access to click to connect data integration between IBM applications and to partner applications, Watson Marketing is an open marketing platform. One that is not a walled garden. One that can work with a company’s existing infrastructure, and the other tools you want to use. Marketers can use whatever technology or solution necessary. Design - We are helping marketers work together more efficiently, enabling them to design more engaging, effective and consistent customer journeys. While marketing teams will likely continue to be siloed, this emphasis on design and collaboration helps ensure that technology doesn't reinforce these silos. IBM enables marketers to intentionally and deliberately design the end to end customer journey instead of skipping straight into building and executing campaigns. This allows marketers to collaborate on design across their organiza-tion, their channels, and even the other technologies they use. This is made possible through IBM Journey Designer which features a shared virtual whiteboard where practitioners on multiple teams within an organiza-tion can collaborate with a single view of the customer's multi-channel journey.
GreenRope
No Response.
Harland Clarke Digital
No Response.
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Our mission is to guide clients to make smarter and more strategic marketing decisions so they can better connect with their customers. We achieve transformational results through data, analytics, technology and strategy. We adhere to our own set of cultural values: excellence, discipline, innovation, and a play-to-win attitude and when faced with a challenge, we go over and above.
Committed to excellence and innovation Inbox Marketer has been named to: Profit Magazine’s Fastest 500 Growing companies list for seven consecutive years, Branham300’s list of Canada’s Top Information and Communication Technology Companies for five consecutive years, and been named the No. 1 Mid-Market Overall Vendor in the Red Pill Email Vendor Features & Function Guide for four consecutive years. Full-serve or self-serve, on our platform or theirs, we have the skills and expertise to handle whatever our clients throw our way.
Simple, fast, accurate and secure. CONNECT is our self-serve platform that enables users to quickly and easily manage high volume campaigns while ensuring messages lands in the Inbox, not the Junk folder. CONNECT offers dynamic personalization and drag and drop segmentation ensuring our clients target their customers with relevant content to enhance the customer experience. Reports in real time allow users to see where their customers have clicked, when they viewed their email, and the best ways to target them in real time. CONNECT has six layers of reporting, giving visibility to trends and changes to continually improve campaigns.
Looking for a little more service? We like our clients to think of us as their digital marketing partner. We listen, research, and apply best practices through service and technology, then document a plan to explain the role of email within their marketing mix. We don’t rush into execution. We believe that all great programs start with a strategy. The first step to moving our clients email programs to the next level is to step back and assess what is currently in place. Through our messaging science approach we paint a picture of how their current programs are performing. We then highlight the opportunities that will help them achieve transformational results.
Our Client Services team is comprised of hand-picked, well-rounded marketing professionals from a variety of backgrounds and skill sets. They have the industry experience and strategic know-how to provide our clients with a plan and the valuable insights needed to boost their results and achieve their goals.
Enthusiastic, creative, and market-savvy, our award-winning graphic design team creates static to complex dynamic responsive emails, landing pages, and more. We stay on top of design trends, follow best practices, work with our clients to capture their vision, and put the finishing touches on their marketing campaigns.
Our extensive industry experience, combined with our know-how helps us set up, test and deploy static to complex dynamic campaigns. We analyze results and apply learnings to make smarter campaigns every time. From simple to complex, there is no job too big – or small – for our team of experts. Along with our email platform and enhanced marketing solutions, we have a brilliant team of innovative developers. Whether our clients’ need a new email template coded, custom data reporting, or an integration with an existing platform, our experienced team of front-end developers, data analysts, and technical programmers can find a solution to fit their needs.
We love email because it provides so much data. When it comes to data analysis, we go beyond the campaign and strive to uncover the insights others don’t see. Understanding customer behaviour is the foundation for a successful email campaign and we use these insights to make smarter marketing decisions and design programs that get results.
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MessageGears
Built for global data-centric enterprises, MessageGears is passionate about helping businesses deliver person-alized experiences at scale. As consumers expect (and demand) a consistent, relevant experience from the brands they trust, marketers are under increasing amounts of pressure to deliver timely, 1-to-1 messaging. In order for marketers to be successful, we believe that technology needs to work directly with existing systems rather than creating additional silos of data. MessageGears has reinvented enterprise email marketing technol-ogy with a truly unique solution that combines the power and security of software that lives behind the firewall with the efficiency and scalability of cloud delivery. Our solution integrates directly with our customer's existing systems to empower them to take complete control of their marketing programs.
Trusted by global leaders such as Expedia, Booking.com, Orbitz, Runkeeper, Travelocity, Musictoday, Active Engagement, and PGi, we're solving challenges unique to today's enterprise email marketers.
What sets us apart:
- Fast and easy implementation. Switching email providers doesn't have to be difficult, time-consuming, or expensive. Our simple integration gets global brands moving 5 times faster than the typical marketing cloud integration, meaning you'll be sending marketing campaigns faster than you expected.
- Increased data security. With our solution you don't need to move any data to the cloud. MessageGears installs directly to your existing data sources, leaving sensitive customer data where it belongs - behind your firewall and under your control.
- Technology built for marketing agility. Don't let your ESP limit your success! Today's marketer requires technology that enables control, speed, and the ability to test, learn, and optimize in real-time.
- A solution that scales with your business. We power email for some of the world's largest companies. We currently sends billions of marketing and transactional messages each month. The solution scales quickly and easily, and is designed to handle jobs of any size.
- Industry-leading service and support. Your success is our success. From day one, MessageGears is providing white-glove service, making sure your team is comfortable with the solution and helping you succeed. We've been recognized three years in a row for our excellence in account management and support among ESPs.
- Disruptive pricing. Check your expectations at the door. Our solution doesn't require the overhead of our SaaS competitors, meaning we're able to offer unique, fair pricing packages to our customers. We believe in creating authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients (which is why so many of them were brought to us by existing customers)!
We are led by a team of marketing technology veterans who truly understand the needs and challenges of enterprise marketers. Our senior leadership has experience from major global brands and marketing technol-ogy providers, including Delta Air Lines, IBM Silverpop, Oracle Responsys, Selligent Engagement Sphere, and IgnitionOne. We are proudly involved in industry associations such as the DMA and Only Influencers, and have leadership on the Executive Board at the Email Experience Council. This experience and continued involvement keeps us at the forefront of an ever-changing industry.
Net Atlantic
The Net Atlantic Advantage
Net Atlantic’s email marketing programs give you advanced functionality, unsurpassed training and support, and detailed, actionable reporting. You’ll get higher delivery and conversion rates, and see dramatic improve-ments in your ROI.
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PostUp
About PostUpPostUp is a world class technology platform with over 200 billion emails sent. We don’t believe in “silver bullet” features, and instead focus on a platform with breadth and depth of functionality, with advanced capabilities designed for professional email and multi-channel marketers. PostUp is the only Email Services Provider with a focus on client business outcomes. Our award winning and world class technology platform is only part of the story. Our team brings expertise in the business of email: how to make your program work and maximize email attributed revenue for our clients. In particular, at PostUp we are especially strong when working with clients in the publishing, media, and gaming industries, and have a track record of helping over 500 brands to email and multi-channel success.
Strategic Support and Services
PostUp mobilizes a large, dedicated team for each of our clients. When you partner with PostUp, you work with individual experts that understand your business. When you pick up the phone or email us, you are never in queue; you have direct access to the specific experts that can solve your problem and already know your marketing program:
With more than 20 years of email marketing experience, Net Atlantic offers the most comprehensive email marketing solutions along with the best server management and administration. Our personalized service and support are second to none.
In addition to all the standard features (HTML/plain text messaging, personalization, data import/export capabilities, and email list hygiene capabilities, etc.), we offer:
• High email deliverability: Our solid relationships with all the major ISPs ensure high email deliverability,
and that your messages get into your subscribers inboxes quickly.
• Superior segmentation and automation: Schedule and send personalized, relevant automated email campaigns based on your subscribers' interests and demographics.
• Powerful email tracking and reporting: Our in-depth reports help you improve campaign effectiveness and drive engagement. Track real-time performance including unsubscribes, bounces, replies, forwards, opens, and clickthroughs – PLUS clickstream reporting, interest tracking, and purchase tracking.
• Easy integration with your applications: We offer built-in database and CRM integration plus integration
with many web analytics tools. We also provide Open Database Connectivity and Open API, so you can connect with your own or other applications.
• Complete customization: Private IP addresses, a custom 'From' address, virtual mail server, and preference settings make your emails look like they are sent from your organization.
• Personal and expert service: Our billing, sales, and technical support teams do their best to answer every phone call and take care of your needs promptly. Plus our HDI-certified technical support team is available by phone, email, and live chat to make getting in touch quick and easy.
• Dedicated email marketing servers: For organizations who send out large volumes of email, our fully-
managed dedicated servers provide excellent security, reliability, and customization.
• Agency, reseller and private label solutions: Our private label solutions offer the ability for you to resell services to your customers, or manage your customers with a single login. You can add and remove accounts instantly and manage all accounts easily. Customize logos, domain names, from addresses, clickthrough URLs
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• Account Executive: day to day contact and accountable for your overall success with PostUp
• Business Intelligence Specialist: customizes your dashboards to exactly what you need and helps you interpret the data
• Integration Engineer: builds and maintains PostUp automation and integrations with your existing and 3rd party systems
• Deliverability Specialist: helps manage your email program towards 100% deliverability and alerts you to problems
• Campaign Manager: consults on program strategy and can execute for you when you are resource strapped
• Audience Development Analyst: helps with strategy and can execute on full service organic list growth
Deliverability and Inbox Placement
At PostUp, we’re serious about inbox placement. If it’s not in the inbox, it might as well have not been delivered. Knowing that inbox placement is key, PostUp is the only ESP with best in class Return Path deliver-ability tools baked directly into send workflows, at no additional cost. With PostUp you can be confident that your email will be seen. Our deliverability team is continuously monitoring your program performance, and will alert you to problems before they impact your top line, as well as guide you through solving them.
Automation
We want our clients to be email marketers, not email executors. Our best in class automation capabilities allow email professionals to focus on what they do best: engaging audiences with great content. We integrate with all major CMS and CRM systems, and can typically build fully automated email programs with little or no involve-ment from our client’s IT resources.
Audience Development
PostUp is the only ESP with Audience Development capabilities built directly into the platform. Your marketing team can orchestrate and analyze email capture campaigns on your web properties from a single portal, and with no dependency on your IT teams. We also offer full service Audience Development, where our team of expert list growth strategists will work with you to build a high performance Audience Development system, and then hand over the keys to you. Our average performance from client engagements is an increase of 300% in list growth rate.
Business Intelligence
PostUp has industry leading Tableau business intelligence tools baked directly into the platform, for best-in-class email analytics at no additional charge. PostUp with Tableau provides unprecedented capabilities for visualizing and analyzing your program data, allowing you to see both the big picture and drill down on techn-ical performance data as needed. Our Business Intelligence team will create dashboards and custom reports based on your requirements, and our platform also has a rich set of standard reports out of the box.
Conclusion
If you are looking for not only a world-class email platform, but a true partner in marketing success, choose PostUp. We are a team of email technology and strategy experts, backed by a world-class platform, with highly competitive pricing.
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QuickPivot
QuickPivot is the new technology standard for smart and nimble marketers looking for a fast, flexible, powerful yet affordable marketing suite. The platform combines the six capabilities that marketers want most, and delivers them in one SaaS application, through one seemless and intuitive user experience, that was designed by marketers for marketers.
(1) QuickCollect - A 360-degree View of the Customer that can be built quickly, and evolve incrementally over time to always include fresh data as it becomes available
(2) QuickTarget - A world-class segmentation and analysis module that rivals enterprise campaign automation suites, but with an ease-of-use that allows business marketers to build self-service targets
(3) QuickPalette - A patented and award-winning customer lifecycle module that is 50%+ more efficient than competing tools
(4) QuickInteract - A cross-channel messaging module to deliver content when the customer wants it, wher-
ever the customer happens to be, across six channels including email (ESP), print, web, sms, PURL, and social
(5) QuickImpact - A reporting and analysis tool that allows you to view over 30 standard reports, build custom dashboards, and assemble and extract campaign response data at any time
(6) QuickConnect - 200+ APIs to integrate the QuickPivot marketing hub with any system or data source, so
that marketers never again feel stuck with a technology stack that can't evolve with their needs
But completeness in these six critical areas is only one aspect of the QuickPivot story. Two modules stand apart from the crowd, and deliver incredible gains to forward-thinking marketers. Those two modules are QuickTar-get and QuickPalette.
QuickTarget is a customer segmentation and targeting module that is simply a cut above the rest. It combines impossibly fast performance, scalability, ease-of-use, channel coverage, and affordability all in one solution.
(1) Speed - QuickTarget is fast. Queries run in sub-second time, which allows marketers to work iteratively, and build segments at the speed on brainstorming. That translates into creativity and market advantage
(2) Scale - QuickTarget scales. Sub-second performance is consistent on massive data sets (tens of millions of records), and there is no requirement for a specialized Big Data infrastructure or appliance
(3) Cost - QuickTarget won't break the bank. Performance and scale carry no sticker shock as the underlying engine runs on virtualized, commodity hardware
(4) Pretty in Print - QuickTarget provides full waterfall segmentation planning, which is the lifeblood of catalog marketing strategy, and finally marries online and offline targeting in one UX
(5) Simple - QuickTarget is easy-to-use without dumbing things down. Drag and drop features mean that business users come up to speed quickly, but advanced features satisfy the demand from SQL power users
QuickPalette is the award-winning and patented customer lifecycle management module that is forever changing how automated workflows are designed and delivered. For years marketers complained that planning multi-touch, multi-channel marketing programs, and then turning them into production deployments was an ugly, time-consuming process. QuickPalette makes lifecycle programs simple to design, efficient to develop, a snap to measure, and easy to modify. With a radical new interface based on “Outcome Donuts” rather than traditional decision trees, marketers are able to quickly turn complex ideas into fast moving programs
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Salesforce Marketing Cloud
With Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email, quickly build and send personalized email from basic newsletters to the most complex campaigns. Salesforce delivers promotional, transactional, and triggered messages with robust real-time reporting, to track and optimize performance.
With native predictive intelligence, use behavioral and robust first-party data to create timely and highly relevant messages to engage — and re-engage — customers. Understand customer behavior with contact profiles, collecting user behavior through web tracking codes. Pair customer data profiles with machine learning algorithms to determine the most relevant product, offer, or content — automatically. Personalize interactions by delivering 1-to-1 messages automatically in email, mobile apps, and on the web. Gather insights from every interaction to continually build your customer data profiles.
(1) Clutter Free - QuickPalette cuts 50%+ of the clutter found in traditional decision-tree workflows. A radical new planning object called an Outcome Donut provides the sophistication and simplicity that marketers have craved for years
(2) Save Time - QuickPalette allows marketers to both plan AND deploy all from the same UX, without any rework. No more shuffling your lifecycle design from white-board, to Visio, to PPT and then finally into produc-tion
(3) Real-time Results - QuickPalette allows marketers to see the proverbial "water through the pipes" to understand how, where and how many customers are responding to various facets of the marketing program. The difference with QuickPalette is that marketers see those results in real-time, and can pause running programs and make changes before its too late
The good news is that QuickPivot doesn't require a complex implementation or expensive 3rd party technol-ogy. We built it from scratch to make it affordable to enterprise and mid-market brands alike. The better news is that it’s fast, powerful, intuitive, and your marketing teams will be more productive virtually overnight. But perhaps the best news is that it’s here now, and it’s driving some of the most thoughtful marketing programs in the world, and stands ready as the future-proof marketing hub for any agile marketing team ready to take that first step.
QuickPivot. Marketing at customer speed.
Drag-and-drop tools make it easy to create emails using simple content blocks. Personalize email content with easy-to-use tools and prebuilt templates. Make changes on the fly with ease. With custom content blocks, create reusable blocks, including text, HTML, images, buttons, dynamic content, and A/B testing, to ensure relevant messaging reaches the right person every time. Design for the mobile inbox with mobile-optimized email templates. Preview what your email will look like on a mobile device or desktop with instant rendering tools and constant preview. Create complex emails, with powerful scripting language, writing custom scripts for simple tasks, such as proper name capitalization, as well as complex tasks — like offering each customer a unique coupon code. Save time and effort with content syndication, server-side JavaScript, and AMPscript, our proprietary scripting language that extends email personalization capabilities.
Segment your subscribers based on attributes and behaviors, such as gender, location, purchase history, web browsing data, and customer service activity. Use drag-and-drop segmentation for audience targeting and subscriber segmentation. Boost engagement by sending relevant messages based on data from multiple sources. With profile and behavioral targeting, send emails to customers that reflect their demographics and behaviors – combining location and gender with purchase history and recent web browsing activity.
Boost marketing efficiency by automating everything — from data imports, to email-marketing sends, to scheduled customer reports — using an intuitive workflow to send with confidence, whether on desktop or
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Selligent Engagement Sphere
Selligent helps relationship marketers engage consumers with contextually relevant and valued messages in the moments that matter most. Selligent does this though its natively integrated omnichannel marketing platform, Engagement Sphere. Ideal for forwarding-thinking marketers in agile marketing departments, Engagement Sphere is a proven and easy-to-use platform for what we call “Consumer-First Marketing.” As you look to engage consumers on email, mobile, social, web site, direct mail, customer care, or any other channel, Selligent has got you covered.
ENABLING CONSUMER-FIRST MARKETING
At Selligent, we actively promote our Consumer-First Marketing approach, which is all about enabling market-ers to understand and deliver value to consumers in the moment. And that’s in stark contrast to traditional marketing programs that focus more on the latest promotion or company directive. Selligent does this by bridging the gap between data and campaign execution, making it possible for marketers to exceed the increasing expectations of today’s entitled consumer. With Selligent, marketers can deliver contextually relevant and valued messages in the moment, taking customer loyalty and conversions to new heights.
SELLIGENT VS. THE MARKETING CLOUDS
Unlike the cobbled-together marketing cloud solutions from enterprise technology companies with overly broad product suites, Selligent’s native-built platform is 100-percent focused on meeting the needs of relation-ship marketers. Our tools are easy to use, but extremely powerful for bringing data together, analyzing it, and putting it to work in highly effective 1-to-1 marketing programs. A true omnichannel marketing provider, Selligent offers a comprehensive solution that goes way beyond the limited tools being offered by ESPs or “email-plus” providers. Selligent Engagement Sphere is a natively integrated platform that puts power in the hands of marketers to engage consumers with contextually relevant messages on any channel.
mobile with the Marketing Cloud mobile app. Enjoy intuitive send flow to speed email deployment and foolproof testing to reduce errors. Plus, test email marketing content at the individual user level prior to sending. Use dynamic and predictive content to create highly personalized messages in one email with mobile optimized templates. In addition, Manage Data Imports, by setting recurring tasks to automatically send and receive data from any source. Refresh reports, and send them to the recipients of your choice.
Marketing Cloud Email is built for organizations of any size. Use distributed marketing, reply mail management, high volume sending, and more for maximum flexibility in your email strategy. With distributed sending, local marketers can use email to grow their part of the business, while independent agents, franchisees, and non-marketers can drive email marketing with distributed sending. Define roles and permissions to fit each user in your organization. Give the right people access to the right content and data while keeping brand consistency. Reply Mail Management, simplifies email distribution by automatically scanning replies for keywords based on customized settings. Route each message to the appropriate department in your organiza-tion automatically. Send thousands of unique mass emails per second with burst sending — without sacrificing personalization. And, quickly approve emails and collaborate across teams with this workflow process, helping you control email quality while managing internal reviews either from the desktop or mobile app if you are on the go.
Marketing Cloud powers billions of emails per month. Manage your CRM data securely on the platform trusted by today's most innovative brands. Ensure that email reaches the inbox, detecting spam triggers before you send with built-in tools. Scan every email for content that might prevent its arrival, and track how many messages your subscriber doesn't open. Ensure content reaches the subscriber's inbox, every time, with email from Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
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THE ENTITLED CONSUMER REQUIRES A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Marketing as usual no longer works with the empowered and always-on consumer. This new breed of entitled customer demands more immersive and personalized experiences. Selligent makes this possible by enabling marketers to not only capture data from key moments throughout the customer journey – but also interpret and apply it to automated programs that tailor engagement in real time. Any seasoned marketer knows that delivering contextually relevant messages in real-time is no easy feat. But Selligent is not your typical marketing solution. Selligent’s Engagement Sphere was designed from the ground up to deliver these highly relevant experiences at critical moments of consumer-brand interaction. With Selligent’s proprietary Data Core architecture, omnichannel execution capability, and easy-to-use interface, Engagement Sphere is uniquely positioned to help brands build stronger consumer relationships through individualized real-time engagement.
So, what does Engagement Sphere do? Here’s a list of its core capabilities:
• Omnichannel Campaign Management• Universal Consumer Profiles• Contextual Personalization• Behavioral Targeting• Real-time Optimization• Open Data Architecture
A COMMITTED PARTNER
With Selligent, brands get a committed partner that isn’t distracted by the competing objectives that exist with behemoth marketing cloud providers and their parent companies. Selligent is focused on innovation, and our product roadmap demonstrates that. As emerging technologies, channels, and behaviors change how consum-ers interact with brands, we can immediately respond by developing new solutions that enable relationship marketers to engage customers based on integrity and empathy.
And Selligent’s proven technology is just the start. Selligent’s intense focus on omnichannel engagement enables us to provide a level of service and attention that isn’t found with enterprise marketing software suites. And, according to Forrester, these suites aren’t even true platforms. Forrester’s 2017 Email Marketing Software Suite Wave put it this way: “EMSS offerings are not platforms; they are portfolios of loosely integrated compo-nents —usually based on acquired assets.”
EUROPEAN ROOTS AND GLOBAL SCALE
When describing what sets Selligent apart, it’s helpful to start at the beginning. Born in Europe, Selligent’s vision for how to build 1-to-1 consumer relationships at scale was shaped by the needs of the marketers it first served. Those brands faced diverse consumer populations, early mobile adoption, complex data practices, lean marketing budgets, stringent privacy regulation, and a need to deploy quickly and efficiently. These forces played a major role in the development of Engagement Sphere and its natively integrated platform. With Engagement Sphere, marketers finally get an efficient and cohesive solution for today’s consumer-firstmarketer.
See what’s possible when you choose the right partner with the right technology and a vision for consumer engagement that remains unclouded by the competing priorities of enterprise software suites. It’s easy to make claims, but the proof lies in our ability to make marketers successful – and that’s where Selligent shines. More than 700 brands across retail, travel, automotive, publishing, and financial services rely on our solutions, including InterContinental Hotels Group, Samsung, and ING.
There’s never been a better time to embrace Consumer-First Marketing. With Selligent Engagement Sphere, you have the right solution and partner to be successful.
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Striata Application Platform
We provide strategy, software and professional services that enable digital communication across multiplechannels and devices. Clients choose our software and services to secure, send and store confidentialdocuments; execute integrated marketing campaigns; and distribute high volume digital messages.
Our solution simplifies a business's marketing, service and contractual communications across digital channels.
Our key differentiators
We deliver results
We tailor our solutions to achieve our clients’ specific goals, be it to drive paperless adoption, deliver costsavings, enhance the customer experience or meet campaign objectives.
Security is a core focus
Our customer communication solutions provide end to end security. Our platform and processes are designedto protect customer data; in transfer, during processing, in storage and in the customer’s inbox.
We are data experts
Leveraging data is a core competency. Our approach enables seamless integration with a client's processesand our data integration capabilities ensure a fast project set up.
Our range of capabilities
We are known by many names: digital marketing experts, secure document delivery specialists, paperlessadoption consultants, ESP with security and document security authority. Our range of capabilities means ourclients can engage with one digital communications partner for all their needs.
Our specialist skills and services
We offer a wide range of specialist skills and services: providing guidance on best practice techniques, paper-less adoption strategies, deliverability, as well as generation and analysis of reports to improve futurecampaigns.
We have global expertiseWe hold nearly two decades of experience in the financial, utilities, telecommunications and insurance verticalshelping organizations develop effective digital relationships with their customers. Our operations are located inNew York, London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Sydney and we have partners in North and Latin America,Europe and Asia Pacific.
Our technical services
We provide advanced email deliverability services to achieve the highest possible inbox penetration, increasingthe rate of return-on-investment for clients. Our platform processes and stores millions of messages a dayacross deployed-on-site and SaaS infrastructures.
Our consultative approach
In our consultative approach, we first identify our client’s goals and requirements; then provide the most
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Zeta Hub
Zeta Global is best known as Customer Lifecycle Marketing Company with a strong data and analytics capacity. Zeta helps the world’s leading brands acquire, grow and keep customers. Its marketing platform, Zeta Hub, is a comprehensive, multichannel marketing solution that unifies and unlocks data, driving return on marketing investment. It has grown through organic business moves, fueled by heavy investment in technology, as well as strategic acquisitions. Zeta Hub delivers powerful BI tools built on a relational database that allow a marketer to profile and understand customer behaviors online and offline; intuitive tools to quickly create multi-channel campaigns and cross-channel customer journeys, marketing automation functionality to increase efficiencies, powerful data tools, detailed reporting, analytics and retail models right out of the box, just to name a few. Zeta is the perfect solution for large enterprises, focused on measurable results in acquiring or retaining customers in consumer products, retail, financial services, or the transportation & hospitality industries. Its managed services options appeals to companies who use third parties for digital marketing execution. Zeta’s key differ-
suitable solutions. We hire experts who are passionate about digital communication. In all our engagements,we strive to provide great service.
Our software
Our multichannel, O/S-agnostic platform caters for high-volume digital customer communication generation,distribution and storage for email secure documents, triggered notifications and email marketing.Our application platform is built with security, scalability and robustness as core priorities. It can be hostedin-house, deployed in the cloud or used as a service. The architecture provides for easy integration into existingtechnology and workflows to automate customer communication processes.Our digital customer communication platform offers the following key features:Create
Our platform enables the design & generation of your customized messages and documents using templates,data and composition rules. Clients can select communication templates from predefined themes for quickcomposition or uploaded directly into the template editor.
Send
The platform manages the distribution of customer documents and messages via push channels such as emailand text messaging. To maximize email delivery, the platform supports authentication technologies such asSPF, DKIM and DMARC.
Access
We store customer documents and messages securely in the platform, where they can be retrieved via theuser interface or via an API. Smart compression technology minimizes large file sizes to reduce storage require-ments.
Insight
Our platform provides a range of activity reports and the ability to configure the frequency and deliverymethod of different types of information.
Security
Confidential information is protected at all times while being processed via the platform, no matter where itresides or what processing is underway.
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entiator is its aggressively data-driven approach to cross-channel, cross-device marketing optimization, enabled by its massive proprietary database, delivered with professional support.
Zeta sends over 165 billion email per year; has clients that execute over 25,000 campaigns per month; backed by 24/7 support – powering flawless customer communications for over 500 companies including 20 Fortune 500 clients that use our services to better engage with their customers and prospects. Zeta focuses on saving clients time by bringing all of their data and marketing resources together, so they can better understand how to market to their customers and target the right ones, driving maximum revenue.
Core Assets & Capabilities
• Founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley
• Founding vision: capitalize on the rise of Big Data and Analytics
• People-based marketing pioneer
• 350+ million record consumer database with deep profile information
• Enterprise-class email service provider
• Social, Mobile, Display, Search expertise in a comprehensive digital marketing hub complete with targeting, segmentation, dynamic content, testing, scheduling, triggering, tracking and reporting
• Proprietary People-Based data to allow brands engage or acquire new customers across platform, device, format and channel. This individual level data leverages email address as a universal key to act as the connec-tive tissue between audiences and channels
• Data integration functionality allowing access to any client or partner data through an open API, ETL or other means, e.g. SFTP
• Database Management – Flexible configurable database design and hosting complete with data audits and maintenance
• Comprehensive Analytics including a detailed performance analysis to develop customer understanding as well as experimental design that leverages predictive and descriptive analytic models as an out-of-the-box solution
• Data Services including data cleansing, address standardization, merge/purge and data appending
• Unique cross-channel, cross-device attribution tied to in-store traffic, web visitation and point of sale
• Landing Page Optimization
• Patented machine learning technology
• Patents pending for real time scoring methodology
Our History & Corporate Overview
Founded by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley (former CEO of Apple Computer and Pepsi-Cola) in 2007, Zeta uses big data, advanced analytics and machine learning to power marketing programs for hundreds of Fortune 1000 and Middle Market brands. Zeta was built via several strategic acquisitions in the ESP/MSP space over the last 10 years including eBay Enterprise and Acxiom Impact. With over 1,300 employees worldwide, 500 customers and $350 million in revenue, the company is headquartered in New York City, with Centers of Excellence in Silicon Valley, Boston, London, and Hyderabad, India, Singapore and 12 additional offices around the globe. Zeta is continuously and intensely focused on innovation within our enterprise database & email platforms. We have streamlined the user experience by enhancing team efficiencies—reducing the steps needed to succeed in CRM —and has integrated with industry leading tools to manage quality control and collaboration.
VENDOR SCORESACROSS
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Participants were asked a series of Yes/No questions about their product features and functional capabilities across eight categories; Business Offerings, Product Offerings, Data & Segmentation, Deliverability & List Hygiene, Campaign Building & Workflow, Testing & Reporting, Third-Party Integration, and Training & Support; divided into twenty six subcategories. Vendors are taken at their word as to the capabilities of their product. Responses to our survey questionnaire were converted to binary values by question, category and subcatego-ry, and then weighted by the responses in each category and subcategory.
CATEGORIES
The Business Offerings category includes pricing models, Regions and Channels served, Professional Services, Targeted Verticals, and Targeted Markets. Professional Services and Security are scored in this Guide and are part of the overall vendor score. Not all organizations will require professional services.
Participant platforms are not included when scoring vendors with the exception of Security. Platform informa-tion includes MTAs, operating systems, data base management systems, Disaster Recovery, Security, Authenti-cation, supported browsers, supported APIs and list of available API functions.
In the Data & Segmentation category, participants are scored across 28 questions regarding Data Control, Queries & Segmentation, Form Processing, and UI Export.
In the Deliverability & List Hygiene category, participants are scored across 13 questions while in the Campaign Building & Workflow category vendors are scored on 95 questions across nine subcategories that include Asset Support, Deployment Management, Pre-Configured program options, Content Support, and User Support.
The Testing & Reporting category is scored across 46 questions over four subcategories; Testing, Report Levels, Audit Trails, and Reports.
Third-Party Integration is not scored in this Guide, nor is the Training & Support category.
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Vendors were scored on a 0-5 scale. The number of positive survey responses provided by the vendor by category and subcategories were measured by percentage then divided by the scale. Questions ask what the participant can implement, not how it is implemented. You will find that some vendors are easier to operate than others; that some require more technical skills than others; and that some require more technical support than others.
It is up to the buyer to demonstrate the vendor products under consideration for their organization, and to be sure to question how the functions important to their organization are implemented on the vendor product.
The nuances between clients and vendors are too great and the application of the product by the client too subjective to easily classify a vendor or user into distinct categories. Not all enterprise organizations have sophisticated enterprise-level messaging needs, and not all small businesses have only basic messaging needs.
It is unlikely that a small business would have the need or resources for an in-house application, where a larger or more mid-market organization might. An organization sending millions of emails per day may have minimal feature requirements, but significant volume requirements, while a low-volume operation may have very sophisticated messaging needs. User budget and resources may bring other considerations.
It is important to understand that the Overall Scores below will not reflect most real-world applica-tions, and users of this Guide are advised to focus on the individual categories of functions required to meet an organization’s messaging needs.
It is also important to understand the difference between ability and usability. Because a platform may offer a function or groups of functions does not mean that even an advanced email marketer or production technician can implement the function or even have user access to it through the account front end.
This is sometimes seen in the charts and graphs above where a platform scores high for features and functions, but with a “Pro Services Only” Skill Level.
Overall Scores should be taken with a grain of salt and with the realization that they represent everything and the kitchen sink.
There are vendors that can measure the length of views of video messages of 3-D Bar Code that was simulta-neously posted to Pintrest after being triggered by an RSS feed, and then report mobile device Operating Systems by network carrier in real time.
All of those things will impact a participant’s Overall Score; and without reviewing category-level scores there is nothing to suggest that the vendor with the highest Overall Score would have the functionality to implement such a campaign.
Although we grouped Full-Service vendors together throughout this guide we will be separating Enterprise-Lev-el Self from Full-Service vendor Overall Scores below to help users of this Guide to more easily identify each subset of the greater category.
The following results are based on information provided by the participants to the survey questions
SCORING
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Mid-Market Overall Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
NetAtlantic
Communicator
Delivra
PostUp
ExpertSender
GreenRope
Inbox Marketer Connect
dotmailer
Average
Mid-Market Overall Score
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Mid-Market Overall Ease of Use
Mid-Market Overall Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
NetAtlantic
PostUp
Average
Inbox Marketer Connect
GreenRope
ExpertSender
dotmailer
Delivra
Communicator
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Enterprise-Level Self Service Overall Score
Enterprise Overall Score
0.00 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.001.50 2.50 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
IBM Marketing Cloud
Brick Street Connect
Quick Pivot
Striata Application Platform
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
MessageGears
HCD Subscribermail
Average
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Enterprise-Level Self-Service Overall Ease of Use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Selligent Engagement Sphere
Striata Application Platform
Zeta Global Zeta Hub
Quick Pivot
MessageGears
IBM Marketing Cloud
HCD Subscribermail
Experian Marketing Suite
Epsilon Agility Harmony
Brick Street Connect
Adestra Message Focus
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
Enterprise Overall Estimated Skill Level
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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VENDORSELECTION
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DiscoveryThe primary objective of discovery is to define, map and analyze existing email messages, programs, and processes; and to document their current state within the organization in order to provide a baseline for the project moving forward.
The first step is to discover existing processes, step-by-step, to understand all the functions performed by individuals on legacy systems. Documenting the processes, with all the required views, data, drawings, and analytical reports follows.
The Discovery is intended to provide insight into the underlying business problems that motivated the project. This insight will then serve as the foundation for developing Functional and Non-Functional Specifications required supporting current and future email messaging programs and initiatives.
A sample set of Discover questions may be found in the Appendix. These are a subset of the discovery ques-tions used for all Red Pill Email vendor evaluations and selections.
Specifications
A specification is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by the prospective vendor. Specifications are needed to avoid errors due to lack of specification, for instance, in interoperability issues. For instance, when two applications share data, but use different normal forms or use them incorrectly, in an incompatible way or without sharing a minimum set of interoperability specification, errors and data loss can result.
The specification describes the features the vendor solutions must meet or exceed to support the client's messaging needs. In practice, many successful specifications are written to understand and fine-tune applica-tions that were already well-developed and in operation. Specifications are most important for external interfaces that must remain stable.
Specifications should be divided into two unique parts, Functional and Non-Functional.
Functional
Functional Specifications define what the vendor platform is expected to DO. A functional specification is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of vendor platform or system.
The documentation typically describes what is needed by the user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs of the system. A functional specification is the more technical response onto a matching require-ments document. Thus it picks up the results of the requirements analysis stage. On more complex systems multiple levels of functional specifications will typically nest to each other.
Non-Functional
Non-Functional Specifications define what the platform is expected to BE. A non-functional specification is a requirement that specifies criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system, rather than specific behaviors. This should be contrasted with functional specifications that define specific behavior or functions. The plan for implementing functional requirements is detailed in the system design. The plan for implementing non-functional requirements is detailed in the system architecture.
A system may be required to present the user with a display of the number of records in a database. This is a
PREPARING FOR VENDOR SELECTION
functional specification. How up-to-date this number needs to be is a non-functional specification. If the number needs to be updated in real time, the vendor must ensure that the system is capable of updating the displayed record count within an acceptably short interval of the number of records changing.
Preparing an RFP
Once you’ve determined your functional and non-functional requirements it’s time to assemble your RFP. Begin with an overview of your company, what it does, how long it’s been in business, what it specializes in, and what sets it apart from its competitors.
Next provide an overview of the opportunity for prospective vendors. Explain what you expect the relationship with the vendor to be, and set the expectations of the prospective relationship before moving on to your requirements.
The key to writing requirements is to be thorough without being redundant or repetitive. You can do this by reducing your requirements into core functions. For example, if one of your requirements is for the vendor to have the ability to trigger a Welcome message when someone completes a subscription form and another requirement is to trigger a message when someone completes a survey form, you can reduce this requirement to “Platform must support form-triggered messaging”.
Remember that what we’re looking for is function, not application of a function. While you might feel that you are being thorough, what you’re really doing is adding time to the process as you add unnecessary pages to your RFP.
The vendor is going to give you the same answer for each application of a core function that you list appended with the iteration of that function that you listed. Vendors will not be impressed by your thoroughness, but will more often see you as either inexperienced or high-maintenance. While either of those might be true, the RFP isn’t the place you want to be displayed.
After listing your functional and non-functional requirements, describe and list what types of messages, campaigns, and programs your company sends. Provide examples in an addendum to your RFP. You may also want to include an advanced message that you may not have but would like to, and would like to see in a product demonstration. If so remember to stay reasonable and not over extend your organizations ability to support such a message.
When listing your messages add some volume projections. While some vendors offer a flat rate, the common denominator will always be CPM pricing. If you are including flat-rate pricing vendors, be sure to include the size of you database in records, not bytes. Include all of the records that you will be hosting on the vendor platform; active, inactive, opted-in, opted-out, etc.
Next add your submission guidelines including upon what criteria you will be basing your final decision. Provide your evaluation process and your planned schedule, and list who will be involved in the selection process and their roles. And don’t forget to tell them where to send their proposals and direct any questions.A sample set of Red Pill Email’s RFP template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection RFPs.
Scoring the Prospects
Don’t waste yours or a prospective vendor’s time with a demo until you’ve received responses to your RFP; there is no point to a demo of a platform that doesn’t meet your specifications. Once you’ve reviewed the returned RFPs and have identified three to four vendors that most closely meet your specification it’s time to schedule product demonstrations.
There will be a lot to cover in each of the vendor demonstrations, and there will be stakeholders in the room all looking at and for different things. Technology people will be looking at the platform being demonstrated one way, marketing and/or operations will be looking at it a different way and upper management will be looking for other things.
Three to six hours of product demonstrations many days later it is easy to forget the details of the demonstra-tion, and sometimes hard to remember the different approaches each vendor had to supporting your needs and requirements. It’s easy to remember the nice smile or the bad suit, but not always as easy to remember which vendor supported SOAP and which preferred REST API protocols. That’s where Score Cards come in.
At Red Pill Email we break our score cards into six major requirements categories, Connectivity & Integration, Cultural Fit, Data Structure, Deliverability, Messaging, and Reporting; each with three to six specific needs that are adjusted to meet the needs of our clients.
A sample of Red Pill Email’s Score Card template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection Score Cards.
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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DiscoveryThe primary objective of discovery is to define, map and analyze existing email messages, programs, and processes; and to document their current state within the organization in order to provide a baseline for the project moving forward.
The first step is to discover existing processes, step-by-step, to understand all the functions performed by individuals on legacy systems. Documenting the processes, with all the required views, data, drawings, and analytical reports follows.
The Discovery is intended to provide insight into the underlying business problems that motivated the project. This insight will then serve as the foundation for developing Functional and Non-Functional Specifications required supporting current and future email messaging programs and initiatives.
A sample set of Discover questions may be found in the Appendix. These are a subset of the discovery ques-tions used for all Red Pill Email vendor evaluations and selections.
Specifications
A specification is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by the prospective vendor. Specifications are needed to avoid errors due to lack of specification, for instance, in interoperability issues. For instance, when two applications share data, but use different normal forms or use them incorrectly, in an incompatible way or without sharing a minimum set of interoperability specification, errors and data loss can result.
The specification describes the features the vendor solutions must meet or exceed to support the client's messaging needs. In practice, many successful specifications are written to understand and fine-tune applica-tions that were already well-developed and in operation. Specifications are most important for external interfaces that must remain stable.
Specifications should be divided into two unique parts, Functional and Non-Functional.
Functional
Functional Specifications define what the vendor platform is expected to DO. A functional specification is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of vendor platform or system.
The documentation typically describes what is needed by the user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs of the system. A functional specification is the more technical response onto a matching require-ments document. Thus it picks up the results of the requirements analysis stage. On more complex systems multiple levels of functional specifications will typically nest to each other.
Non-Functional
Non-Functional Specifications define what the platform is expected to BE. A non-functional specification is a requirement that specifies criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system, rather than specific behaviors. This should be contrasted with functional specifications that define specific behavior or functions. The plan for implementing functional requirements is detailed in the system design. The plan for implementing non-functional requirements is detailed in the system architecture.
A system may be required to present the user with a display of the number of records in a database. This is a
functional specification. How up-to-date this number needs to be is a non-functional specification. If the number needs to be updated in real time, the vendor must ensure that the system is capable of updating the displayed record count within an acceptably short interval of the number of records changing.
Preparing an RFP
Once you’ve determined your functional and non-functional requirements it’s time to assemble your RFP. Begin with an overview of your company, what it does, how long it’s been in business, what it specializes in, and what sets it apart from its competitors.
Next provide an overview of the opportunity for prospective vendors. Explain what you expect the relationship with the vendor to be, and set the expectations of the prospective relationship before moving on to your requirements.
The key to writing requirements is to be thorough without being redundant or repetitive. You can do this by reducing your requirements into core functions. For example, if one of your requirements is for the vendor to have the ability to trigger a Welcome message when someone completes a subscription form and another requirement is to trigger a message when someone completes a survey form, you can reduce this requirement to “Platform must support form-triggered messaging”.
Remember that what we’re looking for is function, not application of a function. While you might feel that you are being thorough, what you’re really doing is adding time to the process as you add unnecessary pages to your RFP.
The vendor is going to give you the same answer for each application of a core function that you list appended with the iteration of that function that you listed. Vendors will not be impressed by your thoroughness, but will more often see you as either inexperienced or high-maintenance. While either of those might be true, the RFP isn’t the place you want to be displayed.
After listing your functional and non-functional requirements, describe and list what types of messages, campaigns, and programs your company sends. Provide examples in an addendum to your RFP. You may also want to include an advanced message that you may not have but would like to, and would like to see in a product demonstration. If so remember to stay reasonable and not over extend your organizations ability to support such a message.
When listing your messages add some volume projections. While some vendors offer a flat rate, the common denominator will always be CPM pricing. If you are including flat-rate pricing vendors, be sure to include the size of you database in records, not bytes. Include all of the records that you will be hosting on the vendor platform; active, inactive, opted-in, opted-out, etc.
Next add your submission guidelines including upon what criteria you will be basing your final decision. Provide your evaluation process and your planned schedule, and list who will be involved in the selection process and their roles. And don’t forget to tell them where to send their proposals and direct any questions.A sample set of Red Pill Email’s RFP template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection RFPs.
Scoring the Prospects
Don’t waste yours or a prospective vendor’s time with a demo until you’ve received responses to your RFP; there is no point to a demo of a platform that doesn’t meet your specifications. Once you’ve reviewed the returned RFPs and have identified three to four vendors that most closely meet your specification it’s time to schedule product demonstrations.
There will be a lot to cover in each of the vendor demonstrations, and there will be stakeholders in the room all looking at and for different things. Technology people will be looking at the platform being demonstrated one way, marketing and/or operations will be looking at it a different way and upper management will be looking for other things.
Three to six hours of product demonstrations many days later it is easy to forget the details of the demonstra-tion, and sometimes hard to remember the different approaches each vendor had to supporting your needs and requirements. It’s easy to remember the nice smile or the bad suit, but not always as easy to remember which vendor supported SOAP and which preferred REST API protocols. That’s where Score Cards come in.
At Red Pill Email we break our score cards into six major requirements categories, Connectivity & Integration, Cultural Fit, Data Structure, Deliverability, Messaging, and Reporting; each with three to six specific needs that are adjusted to meet the needs of our clients.
A sample of Red Pill Email’s Score Card template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection Score Cards.
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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DiscoveryThe primary objective of discovery is to define, map and analyze existing email messages, programs, and processes; and to document their current state within the organization in order to provide a baseline for the project moving forward.
The first step is to discover existing processes, step-by-step, to understand all the functions performed by individuals on legacy systems. Documenting the processes, with all the required views, data, drawings, and analytical reports follows.
The Discovery is intended to provide insight into the underlying business problems that motivated the project. This insight will then serve as the foundation for developing Functional and Non-Functional Specifications required supporting current and future email messaging programs and initiatives.
A sample set of Discover questions may be found in the Appendix. These are a subset of the discovery ques-tions used for all Red Pill Email vendor evaluations and selections.
Specifications
A specification is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by the prospective vendor. Specifications are needed to avoid errors due to lack of specification, for instance, in interoperability issues. For instance, when two applications share data, but use different normal forms or use them incorrectly, in an incompatible way or without sharing a minimum set of interoperability specification, errors and data loss can result.
The specification describes the features the vendor solutions must meet or exceed to support the client's messaging needs. In practice, many successful specifications are written to understand and fine-tune applica-tions that were already well-developed and in operation. Specifications are most important for external interfaces that must remain stable.
Specifications should be divided into two unique parts, Functional and Non-Functional.
Functional
Functional Specifications define what the vendor platform is expected to DO. A functional specification is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of vendor platform or system.
The documentation typically describes what is needed by the user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs of the system. A functional specification is the more technical response onto a matching require-ments document. Thus it picks up the results of the requirements analysis stage. On more complex systems multiple levels of functional specifications will typically nest to each other.
Non-Functional
Non-Functional Specifications define what the platform is expected to BE. A non-functional specification is a requirement that specifies criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system, rather than specific behaviors. This should be contrasted with functional specifications that define specific behavior or functions. The plan for implementing functional requirements is detailed in the system design. The plan for implementing non-functional requirements is detailed in the system architecture.
A system may be required to present the user with a display of the number of records in a database. This is a
functional specification. How up-to-date this number needs to be is a non-functional specification. If the number needs to be updated in real time, the vendor must ensure that the system is capable of updating the displayed record count within an acceptably short interval of the number of records changing.
Preparing an RFP
Once you’ve determined your functional and non-functional requirements it’s time to assemble your RFP. Begin with an overview of your company, what it does, how long it’s been in business, what it specializes in, and what sets it apart from its competitors.
Next provide an overview of the opportunity for prospective vendors. Explain what you expect the relationship with the vendor to be, and set the expectations of the prospective relationship before moving on to your requirements.
The key to writing requirements is to be thorough without being redundant or repetitive. You can do this by reducing your requirements into core functions. For example, if one of your requirements is for the vendor to have the ability to trigger a Welcome message when someone completes a subscription form and another requirement is to trigger a message when someone completes a survey form, you can reduce this requirement to “Platform must support form-triggered messaging”.
Remember that what we’re looking for is function, not application of a function. While you might feel that you are being thorough, what you’re really doing is adding time to the process as you add unnecessary pages to your RFP.
The vendor is going to give you the same answer for each application of a core function that you list appended with the iteration of that function that you listed. Vendors will not be impressed by your thoroughness, but will more often see you as either inexperienced or high-maintenance. While either of those might be true, the RFP isn’t the place you want to be displayed.
After listing your functional and non-functional requirements, describe and list what types of messages, campaigns, and programs your company sends. Provide examples in an addendum to your RFP. You may also want to include an advanced message that you may not have but would like to, and would like to see in a product demonstration. If so remember to stay reasonable and not over extend your organizations ability to support such a message.
When listing your messages add some volume projections. While some vendors offer a flat rate, the common denominator will always be CPM pricing. If you are including flat-rate pricing vendors, be sure to include the size of you database in records, not bytes. Include all of the records that you will be hosting on the vendor platform; active, inactive, opted-in, opted-out, etc.
Next add your submission guidelines including upon what criteria you will be basing your final decision. Provide your evaluation process and your planned schedule, and list who will be involved in the selection process and their roles. And don’t forget to tell them where to send their proposals and direct any questions.A sample set of Red Pill Email’s RFP template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection RFPs.
Scoring the Prospects
Don’t waste yours or a prospective vendor’s time with a demo until you’ve received responses to your RFP; there is no point to a demo of a platform that doesn’t meet your specifications. Once you’ve reviewed the returned RFPs and have identified three to four vendors that most closely meet your specification it’s time to schedule product demonstrations.
There will be a lot to cover in each of the vendor demonstrations, and there will be stakeholders in the room all looking at and for different things. Technology people will be looking at the platform being demonstrated one way, marketing and/or operations will be looking at it a different way and upper management will be looking for other things.
Three to six hours of product demonstrations many days later it is easy to forget the details of the demonstra-tion, and sometimes hard to remember the different approaches each vendor had to supporting your needs and requirements. It’s easy to remember the nice smile or the bad suit, but not always as easy to remember which vendor supported SOAP and which preferred REST API protocols. That’s where Score Cards come in.
At Red Pill Email we break our score cards into six major requirements categories, Connectivity & Integration, Cultural Fit, Data Structure, Deliverability, Messaging, and Reporting; each with three to six specific needs that are adjusted to meet the needs of our clients.
A sample of Red Pill Email’s Score Card template may be found in the Appendix. This is the actual format used for all Red Pill Email vendor selection Score Cards.
S.A.M.E.
The S.A.M.E. Project or Support the Adoption of Metrics for Email was created and administered by the Email Experience Council’s Measurement Accuracy Roundtable/Advisory Board. The purpose of project was to create a standardized framework for the reporting of email metrics across the industry for the benefit of both email marketers and email service providers.
S.A.M.E. is not only an acronym for the project’s name; it is also its goal – to have all email metrics reported by ESPs the same way under a uniform industry standard. For email marketers in the field the standard provides four key benefits:
1. The standard improves testing validity by limiting environmental variance.
2. The standard improves industry benchmarking through increased data conformity and validity across samples.
3. The standard improves internal historical reporting for benchmarking by easing the transition between vendors.
4. Use of the standards will eventually normalize data across the industry, a key assumption required for statistical analysis of email data.
Email marketers from around the world use the standards and the benefits of the standardization to the industry increase as more marketers and providers adopt them, continuing email’s advantage over other forms of marketing as the most measureable medium available. This ensures emails versatility, functionality and performance for marketers, promoting its continued use as a key form of communication between businesses and their customers. The ever increasing ability of email marketing to provide relevance and engagement, creating a personalized experience for end users will support its position as a favored medium to receive marketing communications by consumers and customers.
Early adopters of the S.A.M.E. definitions and calculations for email metrics under the project were awarded and display a Seal noting their compliance. Later adopters may not all carry the Project Seal.
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
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THE S.A.M.E. PROJECT METRICS & CALCULATIONS
The following are the definitions and calculations for email metrics under the S.A.M.E. project.
Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
ADDITIONAL CHARTS & GRAPHS
APPENDIX
Supported API Functions
The API functions an organization requires should be listed in its functional specification document prior to any vendor evaluation, RFP, or selection. Functional specifications should be included in any RFP for ESP services.
Table API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Add Fields
Append Tables
Update Tables
Create Tables
Table API Functions
n = '22'
Create Tables Add Fields Append Tables
63% 73%
Update Tables
82%59%
Record API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Update Records
Single Record Transfer
Bulk Data Transfer
Append Records
Bulk File Import Statistics
n = '22'
Bulk File Import Statistics Update Records Single Record Transfer
91% 91%
Bulk Data Transfer
91%
Append Records
91%86%
Other API Functions
Template API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Import Table
Create Category/Segment
Export Table
Create Filter/Query
n = '22'
Create Filter/Query Import Table Create Category/Segment
77% 77%
Export Table
82%73%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Delete Template/Document
Upload Template/Document
Message Body
Update Template/Document
n = '22'
UpdateTemplate/Document DeleteTemplate/Document UploadTemplate/Document
86% 96%
Message Body
96%86%
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Message API Functions
Deployment API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Trigger Message
Schedule/Deploy Message/Campaign
Create Message Envelope
n = '22'
Create Message Envelope Trigger Message Schedule/DeployMessage/Campaign
96% 96%91%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Deployment Stop
Deployment Pause
Deployment Queuing
SMTP Access
n = '22'
SMTP Access Deployment Stop Deployment Pause
68% 68%
Deployment Queuing
77%64%
Timestamp API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Retreive Schema
Retreive Server Timestamp
n = '22'
Retreive Server Timestamp Retreive Schema
50%50%
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Metrics API Functions
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Retrieve Sent Records
Retrieve Record-Level Stats
Retrieve Opt-Out Records
Retrieve Campaign-Level Stats
Retrieve Bounced Records
Retrieve Account-Level Stats
n = '22'
RetrieveAccount-
Level Stats
RetrieveSent Records
RetrieveRecord-
Level Stats
96% 96%
RetrieveOpt-OutRecords
96%
RetrieveCampaign-Level Stats
96%
RetrieveBouncedRecords
96%82%
Asset Support
Participants were surveyed as to their functional capabilities surrounding content management, image hosting, Personalization, dynamic content, and more.
Asset Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Character Case Control
User-Set Default Values
User-Level Permissions
Personalization
Dynamic Subject Lines
Dynamic Content Test Tool
Conditional Content (IF, THEN)
Link Validation Tool
n = '22'
LinkValidation
Tool
CharacterCase Control
User-SetDefaultValues
73% 100%
User-LevelPermissions
100%
Personalization
100%
DynamicSubjectLines
100%
DynamicContentTestTool
100%
ConditionalContent
(IF,THEN)
100%73%
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
100%
n = '22'
Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
User-Level Permissions
Personalization
Link Validation Tool
Dynamic Subject Lines
Dynamic Content Test Tool
Conditional Content (IF, THEN)
Character Case Control
User-Set Default Values
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
Asset Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Cross-Channel Calendar
Campaign Calendar
Task Mgt Workflow
Content Mgt Tool
Test Mailing/Preview
Integrated Rendering Tool
Categorized Campaigns
Content Version Control
ContentVersionControl
Cross-ChannelCalendar
CampaignCalendar
50% 59%
Task MgtWorkflow
64%
Content Mgt Tool
86%
TestMailing/Preview
100%
IntegratedRendering
Tool
100%
CategorizedCampaigns
100%36%
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Average Estimated Skill Level
Asset Support
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Task Mgt Workflow
Integrated Rendering Tool
Cross-Channel Calendar
Content Version Control
Content Mgt Tool
Categorized Campaigns
Campaign Calendar
Test Mailing/Preview
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Drag & Drop Template Builder
HTML to Text Tool
Image Hosting
WYSIWYG Tool
Responsive Design Content
Independent Components
Alt Methods Uploading Content
Pre-Conf Template Library
n = '22'
Pre-ConfTemplate
Library
Drag & DropTemplateBuilder
HTML toText Tool
82% 86%
ImageHosting
95%
WYSIWYGTool
100%
ResponsiveDesignContent
100%
IndependentComponents
100%
Alt MethodsUploadingContent
100%68%
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Standardized Terms and Definitions
Definitions related to current Delivery metrics
Accepted: Any email that is not rejected by a server, including emails delivered to the inbox, spam or junk folders or those are missing from those folders that did not receive a bounce reply.
Accepted = Sent - Bounced
Accepted Rate: The total amount successfully delivered to the server divided by the total e-mail deployed (unique records). The amount successfully delivered is the total amount attempted minus all failures, including hard bounces.
Accepted Emails / Sent Emails = Accepted Rate
Bounce: A message rejected by the receiving server. Typically bounces are referred to as either hard bounce, a delivery failure for permanent reason (e.g. a misspelled email address) or soft bounce, a delivery failure due to a temporary condition (e.g. mailbox is currently full).
Inbox Placement Rate: : This is the ratio of emails that are delivered specifically to the recipient’s inbox divided by the total emails sent.
Definitions related to current Open metrics
Confirmed Open Rate: Is the percentage of unique confirmed opens divided by the total number of accepted emails. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total confirmed opens.
Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Confirmed Open Rate
Unique Confirmed Open: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if images are blocked and the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link. This metric includes both HTML and plain text emails
Unique Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Unique Confirmed Open Rate
Total Confirmed Opens: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel OR if the user clicks any link including the unsubscribe link.
Total Confirmed Opens / Accepted = Total Confirmed Open Rate
Email Render Rate: The number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane), recorded using a tracking image within an HTML format message, divided by the total, and expressed as a percentage. While unique is the preferred method, this rate may be calculated using either the unique or the total email renders.
Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Render Rate
Unique Email Render: The unique number of users that an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using tracking pixel. If a user opens the email multiple times or multiple tracking pixels requests are recorded due to forwarding, only one is counted per unique email address. This metric applies to HTML formatted emails only.
Unique Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Unique Render Rate
Total Emails Rendered: The total number of times an email is displayed (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and recorded using only a tracking pixel for a unique subscriber address. If the user opens the email multiple times, one email render is counted for each occurrence. This metric is based off HTLM formatted emails only.
Total Email Renders / Accepted Emails = Total Render Rate
Average Recipient Render Rate: The total number of times an email is rendered (whether fully opened or within the preview pane) and captured using a tracking image within an HTML format message divided by the unique number of emails rendered, expressed as a percentage.
Total Renders / Unique Renders = Average Recipient Render Rate
Aimed as secondary metric, it provides insight into the average number of times each recipient (that renders a message at least once) views an individual message. This may be of value to senders with deep content and/or content that has a long shelf life, (e.g. newsletters) assuming that a high number of renders per recipient is a positive for certain types of email programs. This metric may also be calculated using Confirmed Opens if that is more applicable for the sender.
Definitions related to current Click metrics
Click Through Rate (CTR): The number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the number of accepted messages. For example if a message is sent to four people and two people open the message, downloading the images. One of two that opened the email clicked on a link one or more times, the resulting CTR for that link is 25% (1 unique clicker/4 accepted emails = 25%).
Clicks / Accepted Emails = Click Through Rate
This metric may be calculated as Unique CTR, which refers to the number of people that clicked or total CTR, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. Email marketers also often calculate CTR for the entire email to compare several emails within a campaign or across campaigns.
Click to Open (CTO): The unique number of times a link is clicked from a message divided by the unique number of confirmed opens for that message. For example if a message is sent to four people, two people render the email, and one of those two click on a link one or more times, the resulting CTO is 50% (1 click /2 confirmed opens = 50%).
Clicks / Email Renders = Click to Open Rate
Again, this metric may be calculated as Unique CTO, which refers to the number of people who clicked, or total CTO, which refers to number of clicks for a specific link. The Click to Open Rate may also be calculated for multiple links within an entire email message rather than for an individual link in a message.
Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Responsive Design Content
Pre-Conf Template Library
Independent Components
Image Hosting
HTML to Text Tool
Drag & Drop Template Builder
Alt Methods Uploading Content
WYSIWYG Tool
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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by
Report Levels
Questions surveying the level of reporting included reporting by segment, message, record, program, dynamic content, and total and unique statistics.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
by Acquisition Source
Drill-Down via GUI
Show Unique Statistics
Show Total Statistics
Real-Time Reporting
by Segment
by Record
by Program or Category
by Link
by Campaign
Values per record/message at deployment
n = '22'
Valuesper
record/message atdeployment
byAcquisition
Source
Drill-Down
via GUI
86% 91%
ShowUnique
Statistics
100%
ShowTotal
Statistics
100%
Real-Time
Reporting
100%
bySegment
100%
byRecord
100%
byProgramorCategory
100%
byLink
100%
Campaign
82% 100%
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Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Show Unique Statistics
Show Total Statistics
Real-Time Reporting
Drill-Down via GUI
by Segment
by Record
by Program or Category
by Link
by Campaign
by Acquisition Source
Values per record permessage at deployment
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
Report Levels
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Record-Level Across All Channels
of Child Accounts
Dynamic Content Reporting
Multi-Channel Reporting
Programatic Report Distribution
Subject Line Reporting
by OS/Platform
Import/Access 3rd Party Data
by Device
by Client
by Time of Day
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n = '22'
by Timeof Day
Record-Level
Across AllChannels
of ChildAccounts
77% 77%
DynamicContent
Reporting
77%
Multi-Channel
Reporting
82%
ProgramaticReport
Distribution
86%
SubjectLine
Reporting
95%
by OS/Platform
95%
Import/Access
3rd PartyData
100%
byDevice
100%
byClient
100%73%
Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Record-Level Across All Channels
Programatic Report Distribution
Multi-Channel Reporting
Master Reporting of Child Accounts
Import/Access 3rd Party Data
Dynamic Content Reporting
by Time of Day
by OS/Platform
by Device
by Client
Subject Line Reporting
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Tracking
100%
Reports
Questions surveying reporting capabilities include the ability to create custom reports, creating campaigns from reports, conversion tracking, performance dashboards, and more.
Reports
Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
List Composition by Source
List Composition by ISP
Growth/Churn
Heat Map Reports
Custom Reports
Integrated Charts
Conversion Tracking
Campaigns from Reports
n = '22'
Campaignsfrom Reports
ListCompositionby
Source
ListCompositionby
ISP
82% 82%
Growth/Churn
86%
Heat MapReports
95%
CustomReports
95%
IntegratedCharts
100%
Conversion
77%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
List Composition by ISP
Integrated Charts
Heat Map Reports
Growth/Churn
Custom Reports
Conversion Tracking
Campaigns from Reports
List Composition by Source
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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Reports
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Comparison to Benchmarks
Attribution Measurement
Report Export
Click Analysis
Report Export
Click Analysis
Predictive Analytics
n = '22'
PredictiveAnalytics
Comparison toBenchmarks
AttributionMeasurement
50% 86%
ReportExport
95%
ClickAnalysis
95%
PerformanceDashboards
100%
DeliverabilityAnalysis
100%45%
Average Estimated Skill Level
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Performance Dashboards
Deliverability Analysis
Click Analysis
Attribution Measurement
Report Export
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Pro Services
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The following questions are a sampling of Discovery questions used by Red Pill Email in vendor evaluations and selections. These are questions asked of our Vendor Selection/RFP clients.
SAMPLE DISCOVERY QUESTIONS
Critical Issues
» What limitations do you face with your current deployment vendor?» What are your strategic messaging objectives (6mos, 12mos, 18mos, 24mos.)?» What are the pain points with current provider?
» What is the biggest challenge your organization faces regarding email messaging?» Who needs to be involved with any solution considered by your organization?» Please identify any technology, resource, or business dependencies:
Vendors
Data
Subscribers
Deployment
Resourcest
Integration
What data is required to support your current messaging?Is data automatically updated, or is data obtained ad hoc? Please describe.What metrics are used to measure success?
What is the total number of active subscribers?What is your average message deployment volume?What is your average overall monthly deployment volume?
»»»
»»»
Please describe your current messaging programs and provide content examples:Please identify message triggers and/or timing:Please provide an overview of your current messaging processes:Where do you see difficulties or obstructions in your current messaging process?
»»»
What resources do you have to support your messaging programs? Availability? How long does it take to develop and deploy campaigns? Ad hoc? Automated?Who initiates and/or requests and/or approves offers and content?
»»»
Are you currently integrated with any third-party solutions?If so, who and for how long?If so, what is your level of integration?If not, do you plan to integrate with any third-party solutions?
»
»
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SAMPLE RFP
Your Company Name Email Marketing Service Provider Request for ProposalMake a confidentially statement right away. This is also a good place to ask if any clients or affiliates pose a conflict of interest.
About Your Company Use this area to explain who your company is and what it does. You want the vendor to see you as a valuable prospect.
Use bullets to highlight things about your organizationEverybody likes bullets. tate when you expect the project to be completed by.
»»»
Overview of Opportunity & Requirements
Relationship with Email Service Provider
Explain or bullet what you expect the relationship with the vendor to be.This is where you will set expectations of the relationship.
»»
Requirements
Here is where you will list your functional and non-functional requirements:»
Functional requirements are what you expect the vendor platform to DOExample: The platform must integrate with Web AnalyticsIf you use a specific analytics tool be sure to list it
Non-Functional requirements are what you expect the platform to BE»
Example: The platform must be user-friendly with intuitive navigationIf you can explain what “user-friendly” is all the better. What’s “friendly” to one isn’t to all
Use top-level bullets like, “Technology must provide/support the following features:”»
Then list the featuresAnd sub featuresAnd sub features if necessary
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Describe and list what types of messages you send
EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
Define your submission guidelines and on what criteria you will base your final decision.
RFP SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Daily Offers»
Daily triggered email campaign with targeted discount/coupon offers.
Subscription activated with Your Company registration. Content dynamically populated from backend database
Transactional Emails »
Receipts
Confirmations Notifications
Lost Password(Project some message volumes)
Ask about the company»
Company name and addressDescription of how/why you are uniquely qualified to partner with Your Company Name
Ask about their technology»
Describe system architecture
How/who will manage your account»
Describe the account management and customer support model
How much will it cost»
Provide an outline of your pricing structures and options
What else do you want to know»
API documentation (and any other white paper or guidelines on data integration options)
Daily O�er
Transactional Emails
Lifecycle Programs
Other
Total
4,620,000
1,386,000
554,400
55,000
6,615,840
11,550,000
3,465,000
1,386,000
138,600
16,539,600
23,100,000
6,930,000
2,772,000
277,200
33,079,200
46,200,000
13,860,000
5,544,000
554,400
66,158,400
85,470,000
Campaign Type Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Total
25,641,000
10,256,400
1,025,640
122,393,040
Project Email Volume
SAMPLE SCORE CARD
Explain your evaluation process and your planned schedule. Describe who will be involved in the process and their roles. Describe your schedule and timeline
Tell them where to send proposals or ask questions:
Give examples of current messages. Put together your most complicated message or program and ask for it to be duplicated for the demo.
SELECTION PROCESS & SCHEDULE
XX/XX/XXXX Detailed Proposals Due
XX/XX/XXXX – XX/XX/XXXX Vendor Presentations
XX/XX/XXXX Final Selection
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The following terms are used throughout this Guide.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
à la carte; user may procure a combination of available self and full services
Access to Logs; user may access account system logs via UI or API
Account Manager; assigned client/vendor liaison
Account Team; assigned individuals with specialized skills
Ad-Serving; Third-party ad serving
Analytics; Third-party analytics
Any Field/Log/List; search any value in any field on any event log or distribution or supplemental data list
API Import/Export; ability to import and export via API
API; Application Program Interface
Appliance; a unique hardware/software component specifically designed to provide vendor product installedat the client location
Authentication; supports one or more DK, DKIM, SPF, Sender_ID
Auto Split-Path; best results of split test deployed to remaining list
Behavior-based; segment by subscriber behavior
Benchmarks; compares to industry benchmarks via UI
Bounce Log; account log recording reasons for message bounce
Bounce Rules; user-set soft bounce criteria
Case Control; user control of character case (JOHN or john becomes John)
Categorize Campaigns; ability to group campaigns by category
Click/Response Log; account log recording by links, message, and recipient
Components; installation of message and list not dependent on the other
Composition by ISP; reports ISP list representation by percentage
Compound Rules; use of Boolean operators to combine query structures
Content Mgmt; some method of managing message content using rules, processes, and/or workflows
Control Over Tables; user ability to create, name, define, query, and/or join data tables and set primary andforeign keys
Conversion Tracking; tracked/reported by vendor or integrated third-party
CPM-Based; price per thousand messages sent
Deliverability Svs; integrated services reseller
Different Opt-out; subscription/list-level opt-out
Disposition Alerts; message completion/fail, volume alerts
DK (DomainKeys); authentication protocol to verify sender DNS
DKIM; DK joined with Identified Internet Mail. Standards-track replacement of DK authentication protocol
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DNS; Domain Name Server
Domain Exclusion; user ability to globally exclude TLDs
Drill-Down; ability to query any field of any table and view results via UI
Dynamic Content; rules-driven insertion of blocks/cells of content
Failed/Skipped Log; log of recipients not mailed due to missing values/record duplication
Flat Rate; single fixed fee regardless of usage
Form Processing; supports hosted or remote <form></form> HTML and/or HTTP GET or POST
Free Trial; free limited use of service
Frequency Caps; user-set limits number of messages to recipient
FTAF; Forward To A Friend
FTP Import/Export; bulk file transfer
Integrated Charts; account and/or campaign statistics graphically displayed via UI
Integrated FBL; logging of Feedback Loop data by recipient by time/date, by message/iteration
Integrated Rendering; previews message across common clients via UI
Integrated Social; social media sharing and/or tracking
Integrated Survey; advanced survey logic and reporting
ISP Throttle/Meter; measured deployment volume by ISP
Landing Pages; vendor-hosted and measured
Licensed Software; grants an end-user permission to use software applications on their own hardware whileretaining the software owner's exclusive rights under copyright law
Link Swap; user ability to change link URL post-launch
List Reporting; composition by ISP, growth/attrition, churn
List Seeding; ability to add recipients to mailing without adding them to main distribution list
Logs; account system files listing activities and/or actions
Multiple Indices; may index data for query on more than one table
Multiple TLD; support multiple domain identities in a single account
Multivariate; simultaneously test the performance of several content or design variations in a message
Null Handling; skips/fails individual messages for missing data
Open Log; account log recording all opened messages by time/date, recipient, message
Personalization; simple text value replacement (e.g., %%firstname%% = John)
Random Segment; ability to randomly segment a list
Record; recipient email address and/or ID
Renaming; user ability to name message links
SaaS; Software as a Service - software applications provided to end users without requiring the end user torun the application on their own computer
Scoring; measuring the likelihood of passing spam filters
Sender_ID; enhanced SPF authentication protocol
Sent Log; account log recording all messages sent by time/date, recipient, message
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SPF; Sender Policy Framework authentication protocol
Split-Test; testing two or more unique messages in a shared segment
SQL Queries; ability to code SQL language via UI
Stop/Pause; ability to stop or pause a message deployment
Term Contract; contracted period of time & volume
Test/Preview; message preview via UI and/or email
Third-Party Suppression; integration with
Tiered Rates; escalating volume discounts
TLD; Top Level Domain
Total & Unique; logs/displays both total and unique activity
Trans/Promo IPs; provides separate IP addresses for transactional and promotional messaging
Trans/Promo; integrated transactional/promotional platform
Triggering; auto-deployment by field filter/date, by form, or 1:1 event by API
UI; User Interface
Unique/Foreign Key; supports unique and foreign data keys
Unsub/Pref Page; hosted unsubscribe and/or subscriber preference page
Uploading Content; alternative methods of uploading content
User-Defined Primary; user defines primary (unique) data key
White-Label; product provided ready for branding by another company
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We’ve lived on the client side, building multi-million dollar email channels with our own hands. We’ve walked the path of systems integration to bring highly complex automated data-driven messaging programs to life.
As the developers of the annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, we have an unparalleled view of the email vendor landscape and vendor capabilities. Other consultants use our Guide in helping clients to select suitable vendors, so why not go straight to the source? We won’t always tell you what you want to hear, but will always tell you what you need to know to make the best decisions for your organization.
Our extensive knowledge of the email industry can help you find the best fit for your needs and budget for your email program. We can assist you with installation of critical APIs to enable advanced email messaging such as trigger based messages, lifecycle email marketing and retrieve all the data so you can make decisions based upon facts and solid analysis, not guess work
We are the agency behind other agencies and vendors alike. From process-driven vendor selection, tosystem integration, to deep analytics, data-driven profiling and personas, to strategic analysis and tacticalimplementation, to production support, we have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help you take your messaging programs to the next level.
We focus on the Tactical, Technical, and Analytical elements of Email Marketing and applying them to quickly bring our clients email messaging online. We don’t just crunch numbers, we show what they mean and how to use the results to improve your messaging.
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
We start with the client’s current messaging inventory and business rules; we move on to data requirements, and consider future growth and initiatives while looking for areas for technical improvement. We’ll identify the functional and non-functional requirements needed to be met by the vendor to secure our client’s business. Based on those requirements we’ll identify a select group of capable vendors to participate in the RFP process. Working many years with both clients and vendors, we have developed an RFP framework that is clear, concise, and welcomed by vendors participating in the selection process.
Menu of Services
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years
ABOUT
of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times were a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Performance Optimization
Strategies and tactics to boost the ROI of specific campaigns – or of your entire email marketing program.
Design, Coding, & Copywriting
Email messages today are read on a variety of devices and screens of all sizes. Our designers and coders make sure that your email messages look good regardless of where your message is viewed. With email seconds count in capturing your recipient’s attention. Our experienced copy writers can help write compelling copy and targeted content that can maximize your brand and your bottom line.
Messaging & Content Strategy
Maybe you want to develop a new lifecycle email marketing program, or maybe you just want to find holes in or improve your existing programs. We can help you formulate and act on a comprehensive email marketing strategy that meets and exceeds your organization's goals.
Targeted Content
Today’s marketing is based on the user and their preferences. We implement systems to capture the type of content the user prefers and dynamically swap that content to ensure that the user is seeing the most relevant content for them.
Training & Workshops
Our trainers are some of the best in the business. Strategy and Tactical workshops include case studies, real-life examples and interactive exercises to help attendees walk away with practical knowledge they can use to boost bottom line performance.
Social Integration
Our social marketers are working to place content where your users are looking for it. We look at your users behaviors to determine the most appropriate and most accurate content to display to them.
Deliverability Optimization
Getting your email marketing campaigns into your subscribers’ inboxes is the first and most necessary step to email marketing success. At Red Pill Email, we have a team of email deliverability experts who work to ensure
your delivery rate remains one of the highest in the email marketing industry.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times was a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Integrating data from client systems to vendors and back is the first step in increasing email messagingproductivity. Integration can be as basic as automating bi-directional data transfer or as advanced as bringing disparate data sets to a central point for processing decisions. Automating repetitive processes based on specific business rules further streamlines messaging programs while reducing the risk of human error. We show our clients how to do it, or do it for them freeing internal resources to focus on their core business.
Reporting Dashboards
Our reporting dashboards provide the ability to quickly view data for informed observations and business decisions. Dashboard charts, graphs, tables, and gauges provide a snapshot of your key metrics andperformance indicators for day-to-day decisions and month-over-month reporting with a robust platformfor monitoring, visualizing and analyzing associated data.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. You can’t reach the customer if you don’t understand the customer. We leverage client data to develop personas of different segments of the subscriber base that help to guide message and timing to each profile segment based on buying or other patterns. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Production Services
Contracted production services and blocked time units available to Agencies and select clients.
Bonded and Insured
For our client’s peace of mind, Red Pill Email consulting services are fully bonded and insured.For more information call Red Pill Email at 310-488-6769
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We’ve lived on the client side, building multi-million dollar email channels with our own hands. We’ve walked the path of systems integration to bring highly complex automated data-driven messaging programs to life.
As the developers of the annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, we have an unparalleled view of the email vendor landscape and vendor capabilities. Other consultants use our Guide in helping clients to select suitable vendors, so why not go straight to the source? We won’t always tell you what you want to hear, but will always tell you what you need to know to make the best decisions for your organization.
Our extensive knowledge of the email industry can help you find the best fit for your needs and budget for your email program. We can assist you with installation of critical APIs to enable advanced email messaging such as trigger based messages, lifecycle email marketing and retrieve all the data so you can make decisions based upon facts and solid analysis, not guess work
We are the agency behind other agencies and vendors alike. From process-driven vendor selection, tosystem integration, to deep analytics, data-driven profiling and personas, to strategic analysis and tacticalimplementation, to production support, we have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help you take your messaging programs to the next level.
We focus on the Tactical, Technical, and Analytical elements of Email Marketing and applying them to quickly bring our clients email messaging online. We don’t just crunch numbers, we show what they mean and how to use the results to improve your messaging.
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
We start with the client’s current messaging inventory and business rules; we move on to data requirements, and consider future growth and initiatives while looking for areas for technical improvement. We’ll identify the functional and non-functional requirements needed to be met by the vendor to secure our client’s business. Based on those requirements we’ll identify a select group of capable vendors to participate in the RFP process. Working many years with both clients and vendors, we have developed an RFP framework that is clear, concise, and welcomed by vendors participating in the selection process.
Menu of Services
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years
of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times were a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Performance Optimization
Strategies and tactics to boost the ROI of specific campaigns – or of your entire email marketing program.
Design, Coding, & Copywriting
Email messages today are read on a variety of devices and screens of all sizes. Our designers and coders make sure that your email messages look good regardless of where your message is viewed. With email seconds count in capturing your recipient’s attention. Our experienced copy writers can help write compelling copy and targeted content that can maximize your brand and your bottom line.
Messaging & Content Strategy
Maybe you want to develop a new lifecycle email marketing program, or maybe you just want to find holes in or improve your existing programs. We can help you formulate and act on a comprehensive email marketing strategy that meets and exceeds your organization's goals.
Targeted Content
Today’s marketing is based on the user and their preferences. We implement systems to capture the type of content the user prefers and dynamically swap that content to ensure that the user is seeing the most relevant content for them.
Training & Workshops
Our trainers are some of the best in the business. Strategy and Tactical workshops include case studies, real-life examples and interactive exercises to help attendees walk away with practical knowledge they can use to boost bottom line performance.
Social Integration
Our social marketers are working to place content where your users are looking for it. We look at your users behaviors to determine the most appropriate and most accurate content to display to them.
Deliverability Optimization
Getting your email marketing campaigns into your subscribers’ inboxes is the first and most necessary step to email marketing success. At Red Pill Email, we have a team of email deliverability experts who work to ensure
your delivery rate remains one of the highest in the email marketing industry.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times was a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Integrating data from client systems to vendors and back is the first step in increasing email messagingproductivity. Integration can be as basic as automating bi-directional data transfer or as advanced as bringing disparate data sets to a central point for processing decisions. Automating repetitive processes based on specific business rules further streamlines messaging programs while reducing the risk of human error. We show our clients how to do it, or do it for them freeing internal resources to focus on their core business.
Reporting Dashboards
Our reporting dashboards provide the ability to quickly view data for informed observations and business decisions. Dashboard charts, graphs, tables, and gauges provide a snapshot of your key metrics andperformance indicators for day-to-day decisions and month-over-month reporting with a robust platformfor monitoring, visualizing and analyzing associated data.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. You can’t reach the customer if you don’t understand the customer. We leverage client data to develop personas of different segments of the subscriber base that help to guide message and timing to each profile segment based on buying or other patterns. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Production Services
Contracted production services and blocked time units available to Agencies and select clients.
Bonded and Insured
For our client’s peace of mind, Red Pill Email consulting services are fully bonded and insured.For more information call Red Pill Email at 310-488-6769
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igne
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ail M
onks
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We’ve lived on the client side, building multi-million dollar email channels with our own hands. We’ve walked the path of systems integration to bring highly complex automated data-driven messaging programs to life.
As the developers of the annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, we have an unparalleled view of the email vendor landscape and vendor capabilities. Other consultants use our Guide in helping clients to select suitable vendors, so why not go straight to the source? We won’t always tell you what you want to hear, but will always tell you what you need to know to make the best decisions for your organization.
Our extensive knowledge of the email industry can help you find the best fit for your needs and budget for your email program. We can assist you with installation of critical APIs to enable advanced email messaging such as trigger based messages, lifecycle email marketing and retrieve all the data so you can make decisions based upon facts and solid analysis, not guess work
We are the agency behind other agencies and vendors alike. From process-driven vendor selection, tosystem integration, to deep analytics, data-driven profiling and personas, to strategic analysis and tacticalimplementation, to production support, we have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help you take your messaging programs to the next level.
We focus on the Tactical, Technical, and Analytical elements of Email Marketing and applying them to quickly bring our clients email messaging online. We don’t just crunch numbers, we show what they mean and how to use the results to improve your messaging.
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
We start with the client’s current messaging inventory and business rules; we move on to data requirements, and consider future growth and initiatives while looking for areas for technical improvement. We’ll identify the functional and non-functional requirements needed to be met by the vendor to secure our client’s business. Based on those requirements we’ll identify a select group of capable vendors to participate in the RFP process. Working many years with both clients and vendors, we have developed an RFP framework that is clear, concise, and welcomed by vendors participating in the selection process.
Menu of Services
Email Vendor Evaluation & Selection
The average email marketer will be involved in selecting a vendor for their organization a few times in their career; we’re involved in client vendor selection several times a year. From producing our Annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide, our insight into vendor capabilities is second to none. We’ve leveraged our years
of experience in vendor evaluation and selection to develop an effective process designed to most closely match vendors to the client’s needs.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times were a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Performance Optimization
Strategies and tactics to boost the ROI of specific campaigns – or of your entire email marketing program.
Design, Coding, & Copywriting
Email messages today are read on a variety of devices and screens of all sizes. Our designers and coders make sure that your email messages look good regardless of where your message is viewed. With email seconds count in capturing your recipient’s attention. Our experienced copy writers can help write compelling copy and targeted content that can maximize your brand and your bottom line.
Messaging & Content Strategy
Maybe you want to develop a new lifecycle email marketing program, or maybe you just want to find holes in or improve your existing programs. We can help you formulate and act on a comprehensive email marketing strategy that meets and exceeds your organization's goals.
Targeted Content
Today’s marketing is based on the user and their preferences. We implement systems to capture the type of content the user prefers and dynamically swap that content to ensure that the user is seeing the most relevant content for them.
Training & Workshops
Our trainers are some of the best in the business. Strategy and Tactical workshops include case studies, real-life examples and interactive exercises to help attendees walk away with practical knowledge they can use to boost bottom line performance.
Social Integration
Our social marketers are working to place content where your users are looking for it. We look at your users behaviors to determine the most appropriate and most accurate content to display to them.
Deliverability Optimization
Getting your email marketing campaigns into your subscribers’ inboxes is the first and most necessary step to email marketing success. At Red Pill Email, we have a team of email deliverability experts who work to ensure
your delivery rate remains one of the highest in the email marketing industry.
Migration, Integration, & Automation
Moving from one email deployment vendor to another can be overwhelming the first few times. For us those first few times was a long time ago. Based on our years of experience migrating and integrating dozens of client’s to a new vendor, we’ve developed a process for this, too. We’ll lay out the steps to take and order of implementation for a transparent and successful vendor migration.
Integrating data from client systems to vendors and back is the first step in increasing email messagingproductivity. Integration can be as basic as automating bi-directional data transfer or as advanced as bringing disparate data sets to a central point for processing decisions. Automating repetitive processes based on specific business rules further streamlines messaging programs while reducing the risk of human error. We show our clients how to do it, or do it for them freeing internal resources to focus on their core business.
Reporting Dashboards
Our reporting dashboards provide the ability to quickly view data for informed observations and business decisions. Dashboard charts, graphs, tables, and gauges provide a snapshot of your key metrics andperformance indicators for day-to-day decisions and month-over-month reporting with a robust platformfor monitoring, visualizing and analyzing associated data.
Analytic Analysis & Persona Profiling
Cluster, Scale, Factor, Meta, Regression, or Multivariate, we go deep into client’s data to gain the insight needed to maximize revenue. You can’t reach the customer if you don’t understand the customer. We leverage client data to develop personas of different segments of the subscriber base that help to guide message and timing to each profile segment based on buying or other patterns. We provide the intelligence needed to consistently optimize efforts, resources, and revenue.
Production Services
Contracted production services and blocked time units available to Agencies and select clients.
Bonded and Insured
For our client’s peace of mind, Red Pill Email consulting services are fully bonded and insured.For more information call Red Pill Email at 310-488-6769
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An email marketing practitioner since 1996, Red Pill Email founder, John Caldwell, has worked on the agency side, the client side, and as a consultant, using deployment tools from ESPs to in-house to homegrown email systems.
He has been involved in over 50 ESP vendor selections for major clients since 2005, and has produced an annual Email Vendor Features & Functions Guide since 2009. The annual vendor guide reviews ESPs across 600 data points and is the only ESP vendor guide written by an experienced hands-on practitioner providing objective analysis of email vendors’ functional capabilities.
John Caldwell – Founder, Red Pill Email
Jeanne has over 20 years of experience in the email and online marketing and product development world. She is a recognized expert and sought-after speaker on email marketing issues for industry conferences and workshops in the email marketing world. Her direct response approach to digital marketing strategy, tactics and creative direction helps organiz-ations make their email marketing initiatives more effective and more profitable
Jeanne Jennings – VP Client Strategy & Creative Services
Jeremy has participated in every aspect of email marketing. He has configured in-house solutions from the ground up and has automated list management and hygiene for popular ESPs.
Jeremy has written custom applications that automate the transfer of data between client and vendor platforms, and has developed integrated channel dashboards to optimize reporting efforts that follow customers through the sales funnel with greater accuracy and speed.
Jeremy Grecco – VP Programming & Production