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1Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice.

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Presentation on theme: "1Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice."— Presentation transcript:

1 1Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns. © 1997-2013 Info-Tech Research Group Inc. Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions The market has reached its maturity – choose your solution appropriately and don’t overpay. Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.© 1997 - 2013 Info-Tech Research Group

2 2Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions The email marketing services market is very mature and most features are now commodity or integrated into other marketing solutions. If you must select a standalone email marketing service, focus on price and other market differentiators, such as location-based marketing. Introduction Enterprises seeking to select a standalone solution for Email Marketing (EM). Email Marketing use cases that may include: High email volume CRM integrations Mobile campaigns This Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You: Understand what’s new in the email marketing market. Evaluate email marketing vendors and products for your enterprise needs. Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

3 3Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Market Overview The email marketing market was a response to the demand for the automation of sending large volumes of bulk email. Pioneers developed their own approaches using Variable Envelope Return Path (VERP)-aware email software and shell scripts, but this manual process is incredibly cumbersome. The advent of service providers and cloud-based options has greatly increased both the capabilities and attractiveness of email marketing solutions. Outsourcing email services enables marketing to pursue its own projects with a minimal amount of oversight from IT. Similarly, IT can focus on core operational issues and protect the company’s domain from blacklisting. The email marketing market is very mature. There is no secret to what marketers have to do to be successful. The main differentiators between vendors come from the types of advanced features available, pricing, and the volume of email to be sent. The market is fragmented into two camps: products that excel at being cheap and cheerful for small enterprises, and those with advanced features that target mid- and large-sized organizations. The advanced camp is beginning to encroach on territory more typically associated with marketing automation or lead management solutions. In fact, there is so much convergence between these markets, that Info-Tech may not refresh one or more of these Vendor Landscapes going forward. Vendors are catching up in their social and mobile features, and basic social and mobile capabilities are becoming commoditized. Info-Tech credited those vendors who offer these “under one roof” by giving them high scores in Architecture (comprehensiveness). Location-based marketing is the newest differentiator today. With more users reading emails only on a mobile device, the idea of where the customer “is” rather than “lives” is becoming increasingly important for marketers. How it got here Where it’s going As the market evolves, capabilities that were once cutting edge become default and new functionality becomes differentiating. Spam testing and trusted sender relationships have become a table stakes capability and should no longer be used to differentiate solutions, but remain a strong reason to outsource. Instead, focus on analytics, advanced list management, social sharing, and location-based marketing to get the best fit for your requirements.

4 4Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Email Marketing Vendor selection / knock-out criteria: market share, mind share, and platform coverage Benchmark Email. A popular vendor with presence in North America, Europe, and Asia. Constant Contact. An industry veteran that caters to small businesses worldwide. ExactTarget. A global SaaS digital marketing vendor recently acquired by Salesforce.com. iContact. A comprehensive and affordable solution recently acquired by Vocus. Lyris. A viable vendor with a choice of cloud or on-premise deployment options. MailChimp. A rapidly growing vendor that offers an excellent feature set to SMBs. Silverpop. A long-standing market leader with excellent vendor credentials. Yesmail. A vendor that serves large enterprises and has an impressive client portfolio. Included in this Vendor Landscape: The email marketing market is very mature, and most vendors are diversifying into other marketing channels, such as social and mobile. For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that offer broad capabilities and that have a strong market presence and/or reputational presence among mid- and large-sized enterprises.

5 5Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Criteria Weighting: Email Marketing criteria & weighting factors Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap. Strategy Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support. Reach Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long term. Viability Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong. Channel The three-year TCO of the solution is economical. Affordability The solution is comprehensive, i.e. the functionality is under one roof rather than through modules Architecture The solution’s dashboard is intuitive and easy to use, especially on mobile devices. Usability The solution provides basic and advanced feature/functionality. Features Usability Architecture Affordability Product Vendor Viability Strategy Channel Reach Product Evaluation Criteria Vendor Evaluation Criteria

6 6Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions FeatureBasic/Adv.What we looked for: Integration BasicGeneric connectors to CRM systems via API capability. Advanced Native app(s) for bidirectional integration with at least one CRM database through out-of-the-box pre- built connectors. Integration with other analytics and content creation/repository tools. List Management Basic A simple automated set of tools to import lists from other sources (e.g. CSV files, Outlook contacts). Ability to automatically create segments based on demographic criteria. Advanced Advanced list maintenance, including deduplication and data cleansing capabilities. Dynamic/live segmentation based on behavioral characteristics and/or geo-location. A/B Split Testing Basic Ability to do a sample test of which message produces best results before beginning a full-fledged campaign. AdvancedAbility to automatically deploy the winning message. Statistical analysis tools to analyze test results. Email Scheduling BasicPreview and auto-send at a specific time. AdvancedSome level of sending time optimization (e.g. recipients in different time zones). Analytics Basic Customizable pre-packaged reports on basic efficiency metrics (e.g. open rate, click through, social channel use, etc.). Advanced Easy export of data into Excel and other reporting tools. Analytics are advanced enough to guide both dynamic (personalized) content or marketing decisions. Info-Tech evaluated a range of features: basic points were awarded for table stakes, more for advanced functionality* * Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features on a granular scale. Vendors were given partial marks for basic and advanced features, summing up to 1.0 if all the advanced criteria were satisfied. See appendix for scoring methodology.appendix

7 7Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions FeatureBasic/Adv.What we looked for: Social BasicShare to social tools/ thumbnails. AdvancedPublish to social. Visibility into social feeds and pages. Content & Asset Management BasicA variety of customizable templates. A library for storing product brand imagery and video. Advanced Survey and coupon insertions. Support for design of landing pages from email. Browser compatibility testing. Mobile BasicSupport for mobile monitoring of email campaigns (e.g. via a dedicated smartphone app). Advanced Mobile optimized email content. SMS and push campaigns. Analytics about consumer devices (what devices are used to open emails). Trusted Sender Relationships BasicTrusted sender relationships with common consumer ISPs and whitelisting certifications. AdvancedAnti-spam testing/scoring. Anti-virus testing against major anti-virus vendors used by ISPs. Location-based Marketing Basic Ability to target customers based on information collected dynamically through geoIP about their most recent location rather than their residence information. Advanced Ability to use location check-ins from location-based social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) to tailor real-time offers based on proximity to social location. * Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features on a granular scale. Vendors were given partial marks for basic and advanced features, summing up to 1.0 if all the advanced criteria were satisfied. See appendix for scoring methodology.appendix Info-Tech evaluated a range of features: basic points were awarded for table stakes, more for advanced functionality*

8 8Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions These vendors integrate with the following CRM vendors out-of-the-box. Some additional integrations may be available through third-party providers. CRM Integration Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. 3 2 CRM Integration 1 Salesforce.com Microsoft Dynamics CRM NetSuite For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Scenarios

9 9Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Management of large volumes of emails depends on firm size, experience, and storage capacity. Management of large volumes of email Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. Exemplary Performers ExactTarget claims to have the largest deliverability team in the industry, and has a lot of advanced tools to serve organizations with high volume needs. Lyris offers excellent deliverability monitoring services, including contact management and security and spam check. Silverpop works hard to provide customers with strategic sending recommendations, email sender reputation monitoring, and fostering ISP relationships. 3 1 Management of large volumes of email 2 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Scenarios Yesmail targets large enterprises and offers advanced testing tools, inbox monitoring, whitelisting, and IP management features to protect email deliverability.

10 10Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Although many offer mobile-optimized email deployment, these vendors differentiated themselves by executing truly mobile SMS and push campaigns. Mobile campaigns Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. Exemplary Performers Silverpop offers you the ability to launch mobile content and offers, including QR codes, SMS, and push notifications. Yesmail is a comprehensive solution that allows you to deploy mobile SMS campaigns to supplement other marketing channels. Offered as a separate product (module), ExactTarget’s Mobile is a very powerful tool that allows you to create SMS and push campaigns. 2 1 Mobile campaigns 3 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Scenarios

11 11Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Appendix 1.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Overview 2.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Product Selection & Information Gathering 3.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Scoring 4.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Information Presentation 5.Vendor Landscape Methodology: Fact Check & Publication 6.Product Pricing Scenario

12 12Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Email Marketing Solutions Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To: Sign up for free trial membership to get practical solutions for your IT challenges www.infotech.com Quickly get up to speed with new technologies Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget Manage business expectations Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment. - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP Toll Free: 1-888-670-8889


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