Report Finds ‘Best of Breed’ Users Score Highest But Reveals Need for Strategic Focus

A new report produced by the partnership of Amsterdam-based Tripolis and Holistic Email Marketing uncovers a surprising connection between email marketer satisfaction and the email platforms they use to deliver their messages to their customers.

“We are in the age of extreme personalisation,” said Bram Smits, Tripolis CEO. “Technologies such as artificial intelligence are quickly becoming available to create extreme-personalised marketing, which our customers want because it delivers a truly 1:1 experience. But surveys show more advanced personalisation in the UK and the Netherlands still makes up less than 40% of campaigns.

“We wanted to understand how email marketers were connecting with tools and apps to take advantage of the latest technology, such as AI, as well as discover their level of satisfaction with their technology providers.”

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The 28-page “Email Marketing Vendor Satisfaction Report” surveyed a global cross-section of marketers, nearly evenly divided between business and consumer marketers, on issues that measure their satisfaction with the tools they use to send email messages, how extensively they use the services included with their email platforms and whether they rely on strategy or technology to guide their business decisions.

4 top findings in the report

1. Medium to Enterprise ESPs scored highest on customer satisfaction, customer service response and receptiveness to customers’ requests for service modifications.

2. Although suite vendors scored highest on functionality, users expressed more dissatisfaction, especially about cost, platform complexity, service response, and flexibility. They also tended to use fewer than half of the suite’s features.

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3. Email rendering tools and CRM apps are the most popular plug-ins for marketers. Marketers aren’t as likely to use toolsets that give them clear visibility into email performance, such as list hygiene and A/B testing.

4. Fewer than half of marketers have a definitive, written marketing strategy to guide business decisions, especially related to technology use.

How marketers can use the report

“This study doesn’t aim to find the ‘right’ or ‘best’ platform for marketers to select,” Holistic Email Marketing CEO/Founder Kath Pay said. “Each company has unique needs, including team size, budget, programme or audience complexity, data availability, knowledge and needs for training and troubleshooting ability.

“However, the results underline the need to proceed on a strategic basis – to evaluate technology needs and platforms according to how well they fit your company’s overall marketing strategy as well as strategies for all the channel you use.”